Mr MARTIN FERGUSON (Minister for Resources and Energy and Minister for Tourism) (10:19 AM) —I move:

This bill amends the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage (Safety Levies) Act 2003 to provide transitional arrangements in relation to the phasing out of the pipeline safety management plan levy.

These arrangements provide time for the states and the Northern Territory to amend their jurisdictional regulations to reflect recent changes in this, the parent act, and in Commonwealth regulations which have replaced the pipeline safety management plan levy with a safety case levy covering pipelines. These changes were applied to pipelines in both Commonwealth waters and designated coastal waters.

The amendments in this bill specifically relate to the safety regime for pipelines in designated coastal waters. This amendment provides that from 1 January 2010, when amendments to this act and related regulations came into force, until 31 December 2012 a pipeline safety management plan in force is treated, for the purposes of this act, as if a safety case for the pipeline is in force. These amendments ensure that safety levies relating to pipelines in designated coastal waters can continue to be collected.

The amendments also include similar transitional amendments to reflect minor changes in relation to a safety case in designated coastal waters, understood to be within the meaning of regulations of a state or Northern Territory that have not yet been amended to reflect Commonwealth changes made on 1 January 2010. I commend the bill to the House.

Debate (on motion by Mr Billson) adjourned.