Murray Watt (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Employment and Workplace Relations) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I table a revised explanatory memorandum relating to the Australian Naval Nuclear Power Safety Bill 2024 and I move:

That these bills be now read a second time.

I seek leave to have the second reading speeches incorporated in Hansard.

Leave granted.

The speeches read as follows—

AUSTRALIAN NAVAL NUCLEAR POWER SAFETY BILL 2024

This bill is the critical next legislative step in establishing the highest standards of nuclear safety and stewardship of Australia's future conventionally armed nuclear-powered submarine enterprise under the AUKUS partnership.

This is essential for ensuring the safety and security of Australians.

This bill would enable the establishment of a new, fit-for-purpose regulatory framework, including an independent regulator, to ensure nuclear safety within Australia's nuclear-powered submarine enterprise and capability lifecycle. The new framework would be harmonised with other schemes—including those relating to work health and safety, nuclear non-proliferation and civilian nuclear safety.

Following its introduction on 16 November 2023, this bill, together with the Australian Naval Nuclear Power Safety (Transitional Provisions Bill) 2023, was referred to the Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee for Inquiry and Report.

The Committee considered the bills and made seven recommendations to improve the Australian Naval Nuclear Power Safety Bill, ultimately recommending the bill be passed. The Government has accepted, either in full or in-principle, all of those recommendations and the bill was amended in the House of Representatives to address them.

The Government thanks the Committee for its work in thoroughly considering the Bills, and acknowledges all those that supported the inquiry process.

The Government is committed to establishing a robust, effective regulatory framework to maintain the highest standard of nuclear safety as part of these bills.

The Australian Naval Nuclear Power Safety Bill 2024makes clear the activities that are to be regulated. There are three types of regulated activities:

(1) Facility activities—that relate to particular facilities in Australia that are relevant to AUKUS submarines;

(2) Submarine activities—that relate to AUKUS submarines themselves; and

(3) Material activities—that relate to certain material, equipment and plant that emit or produce radiation and is from, or is for use on, AUKUS submarines.

While 'regulated activities' are relevant to AUKUS submarines, this Bill would not apply to conduct on board UK and US submarines. The focus of this Bill is on regulating activities associated with facilities in Australia that will be supporting Australian, UK and US submarines and eventually Australia's own conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines.

Under this Bill, regulated activities can only occur within 'designated zones' in Australia or in relation to Australia's conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines, wherever they are located.

It is necessary for zones to be designated so that it will be clear where the boundaries lie between Australia's existing civil nuclear safety framework, established by the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Act 1998,and the new arrangements under this Bill.

Two zones will be designated initially, one at HMAS Stirling in Western Australia and another at the Osborne Naval Shipyard in South Australia. The limits of those zones will be prescribed in regulations that will be made after the commencement of this Bill.

In response to the Senate Committee's Inquiry Report, the Government has amended the Bill to require the Minister for Defence to consult on the boundary of any future designated zones before regulations may be made or amended, prescribing that designated zone. This would not apply to the Osborne designated zone or the Stirling designated zone.

The consultation requirements at subsection 143(2) are not intended to be exhaustive or constrain the Minister for Defence from undertaking any other consultation or notification activities the Minister may consider necessary.

While the Government has been clear that Australia will only be responsible for managing its own spent nuclear fuel, which isn't expected to occur until the 2050s, the Bill puts beyond doubt that Australia will not store or dispose of spent nuclear fuel from non-Australian submarines, including US or UK submarines.

Under this Bill, there are to be nuclear safety duties that apply to people when they undertake a regulated activity. It is necessary to impose duties on persons undertaking regulated activities because it is those persons who bear prime responsibility for nuclear safety. For example, a person must ensure nuclear safety so far as reasonably practicable, and must be authorised by a licence. A person who is a licence holder must also establish, implement and maintain a nuclear safety management system to ensure nuclear safety. A licence holder would also be required to report nuclear safety incidents and to ensure that persons who are authorised by a licence have the appropriate expertise, training and information to ensure nuclear safety.

Under this Bill, a person must comply with the conditions of a licence. Work is underway to develop regulations that would, amongst other things, specify the conditions applicable to particular licences that would be required. The regulations will draw on Australia's experience in ensuring civil nuclear safety and relevant international best practice—which includes the International Atomic Energy Agency—as well as the measures applied by the United States and the United Kingdom.

While the primary purpose of the Bill is the promotion of the nuclear safety of activities relating to AUKUS submarines, it is necessary to establish a range of significant civil and criminal penalties for contraventions and offences—including breaches of licence conditions and contraventions of nuclear safety duties. These have been benchmarked against other offences in the Commonwealth statute book, and certain penalties contained in the Fair Work Legislation Amendment (Closing Loopholes) Act 2023.

This Bill will also establish a new independent regulator, the Australian Naval Nuclear Power Safety Regulator. This new Regulator would work with existing regulators to promote the safety of our submariners, Australian and international communities, and the environment.

The Regulator would have a range of functions, including considering applications for licences that would authorise regulated activities. The Regulator would only issue a licence where it is satisfied the statutory criteria are met, including that the applicant will be able to comply with the conditions of a licence.

The Regulator would also have important functions of monitoring, and, where necessary, enforcing compliance with the requirements of the Bill. These functions would largely be discharged by inspectors, who would be appointed under the Bill.

The powers of the Regulator and its inspectors are comprehensive and are first directed towards promoting nuclear safety. The powers include entering monitoring and investigation areas, conducting searches, operating equipment, and securing or seizing evidence. Inspectors may also give directions, improvement and prohibition notices, and make certain requirements of persons.

The members of the Regulator would include the Director-General, Deputy Director-General, staff, inspectors, and other persons assisting the Regulator. These members would assist the Regulator in the performance of its functions.

A person would not be appointed as the Director-General or Deputy Director-General unless the Minister is satisfied of their competence, independence, technical expertise and relevant experience to properly discharge the functions of the office.

In response to a recommendation of the Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee Inquiry, an additional criterion for the qualification for appointment to the positions of Director-General and Deputy Director-General of the Regulator was inserted. The new requirement provides that a person must not be appointed as, or remain, the Director-General or Deputy Director-General of the Regulator if they served at any time in the previous 12 months as a staff member of Defence or the Australian Submarine Agency. This strengthens the independence of the Regulator by ensuring an appropriate separation period from any service in the Australian Defence Force or Australian Public Service employment in the Department of Defence or the Australian Submarine Agency.

The Director-General or Deputy Director-General is not to be a 'Defence staff member'. The Bill has been amended to insert a new definition of 'Defence staff member' to include ADF service chiefs, ADF members, APS employees of the Department of Defence and Australian Submarine Agency, in addition to the Secretary of the Department and the Head of the Australian Submarine Agency. This is an additional measure that will ensure the independence of the new Regulator.

The Bill provides the Minister with a power to give the Regulator a direction about the performance of its functions and the exercise of relevant powers. This power would only be exercisable in exceptional circumstances, where the Minister is satisfied that it is necessary to give the direction to the Regulator in the interest of national security and to deal with an emergency. Should the power be exercised, the Bill would require that the Minister must table, in each House of Parliament, a statement that such direction was given to the Regulator.

A Ministerial direction in these exceptional circumstances would not have any effect on the operation of nuclear safety duties in relation to regulated activities. This includes the operation of an Australian conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarine.

The purpose of this section is to provide a mechanism to ensure that the functions of the Regulator do not prejudice, and are not contrary, to national security during an emergency.

The Regulator will be required to report to Parliament where certain nuclear safety incidents occur. This also ensures consistency with the requirements for reporting in the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Act 1998.

The Bill has also been amended to require the establishment of an advisory committee, to support the Minister by providing a further source of expert technical advice in relation to a range of matters, including the operation of the legislation, having regard to its objects, as well as the suitability of measures to ensure the independence of the Director-General, Deputy Director-General and members of the Regulator.

The offence provisions have been broadened to protect all members of the Regulator and persons assisting the regulator from inappropriate pressure, hindering or coercion. This is to address concerns raised during the Committee process regarding the independence of the Regulator.

The amendments also include a change to the Commencement provision of the Bill, allowing it to commence up to 12 months after it receives Royal Assent, or a date to be fixed by Proclamation. This timeframe is required to ensure an orderly transition to a new regulatory scheme which enables the establishment of the Regulator.

The Government has stated that it will continue to adopt a methodical, phased approach that builds our capacity as a nation to safely and securely build, maintain and operate conventionally armed nuclear-powered submarines.

The Defence Legislation Amendment (Naval Nuclear Propulsion) Act 2023 clarified that the moratorium on civil nuclear power—as reflected in the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Act 1998 and the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999does not limit the performance of regulatory functions that might be necessary in respect of conventionally-armed nuclear-powered submarines and their supporting infrastructure and facilities.

This Bill makes clear that it does not displace the moratorium and does not authorise the construction or operation of certain facilities, including nuclear power plants, that are not related to an AUKUS submarine, and that Australia will not undertake enrichment or reprocessing of nuclear material.

The Government is committed to providing an exposure draft of the regulations associated with this Bill at the appropriate time and as soon as possible.

As Australia continues on the path to acquiring a conventionally-armed, nuclear-powered submarine capability—the single biggest leap in Australian military capability since the Second World War—the Government will ensure the highest standards of nuclear safety are in place.

I commend the Bill.

AUSTRALIAN NAVAL NUCLEAR POWER SAFETY (TRANSITIONAL PROVISIONS) BILL 2023

This Bill is part of the next legislative step to support Australia's acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines through the AUKUS Partnership, dealing with transitional matters relating to the enactment of the Australian Naval Nuclear Power Safety Bill 2024.

In May 2023, the Government passed the Defence Legislation Amendment (Naval Nuclear Propulsion) Bill 2023, which clarified that the moratorium on civil nuclear power—as reflected in the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Act 1998 and the Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act 1999does not limit the performance of regulatory functions that might be necessary in respect of conventionally-armed nuclear-powered submarines and their supporting infrastructure and facilities.

Those amendments, which have now been enacted, mean that the Chief Executive Officer of the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Agency (ARPANSA) can perform their functions in support of the nuclear-powered submarine enterprise. These functions would relevantly include the issue of licences, where applicable safety criteria are met.

This Bill will support a transition between the existing regulatory regime and the new regulatory framework that would be established through the Australian Naval Nuclear Power Safety Act, on commencement.

Following the commencement of this bill, any licences granted by the CEO of ARPANSA under the Australian Radiation Protection and Nuclear Safety Act 1998, to support Government's timeframes for Australia's acquisition of nuclear-powered submarines, will be treated as licences for corresponding activities under the Australian Naval Nuclear Power Safety Act on its commencement.

This Bill supports the orderly transition between the existing regulatory regime and the new regulatory framework that would be established through the Australian Naval Nuclear Power Safety Act on commencement.

I commend the Bill.

Debate adjourned.