Senator IAN CAMPBELL (9:33 AM) —I table the explanatory memoranda relating to the bills and 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—

CUSTOMS LEGISLATION AMENDMENT BILL (No.1) 1998 (No. 2)

This bill is identical to the Customs Legislation Amendment Bill (No.1) 1998, introduced into the House of Representatives on 2 July 1998 before the last Parliament was dissolved on 31 August 1998. It represents the first instalment of legislative amendments proposed by the Government implementing the "Tough on Drugs" strategy, an initiative announced by the Prime Minister on 2 November 1997.

Illicit drugs damage our society, especially our young people. The Government is determined to do everything it can to reduce the menace of illicit drugs. The Prime Minister's personal leadership in announcing the `Tough on Drugs' strategy is a very clear demonstration of that commitment.

Recent significant seizures of illicit drugs underline the Government's commitment.

The Government's strategy is three-fold. First, it aims to reduce demand for illicit drugs by educating people, particularly our young people, about the dangers of drug use. Second, it aims to reduce the harm being done to drug users, for example through education about the risks of HIV/AIDS among injecting users. Thirdly, it aims to reduce the supply of illicit drugs by stopping them from coming into the country in the first place. Each of these parts of the strategy received a significant boost in funding in the Prime Minister's initial announcement of 2 November 1997 and were emphasised in his second announcement on 16 March this year.

As well as making sure that our law enforcement agencies have the people and the tools that they need to combat this menace, we also need to make sure that they are equipped with adequate and appropriate legal powers. That is what this bill is about.

The bill amends the Customs Act 1901 (the Act) with the objective of providing Customs officers with more effective powers in relation to the detection of illicit drugs at the border. The bill also amends the Customs Administration Act 1985 in relation to the use made of information obtained or held by the Australian Customs Service. A brief outline of the proposals included in the bill is as follows.

Currently, passengers and crew who arrive in Australia on a ship or a plane are required to report to Customs. In respect of such people, Customs has powers to ask questions, search bags and, subject to establishing a `reasonable cause', conduct searches of people. But there is a gap in these powers. Customs does not currently have these powers in relation to a large number of people who have access to ships and planes that have arrived in Australia and which may have illicit drugs aboard. This group of people includes people such as maintenance crews, caterers and cleaners and, in relation to ships, visitors. This gap is a weakness which has been exploited as a means of importing illicit drugs. The proposed amendments seek to provide Customs officers with a power to examine the bags or other containers in the possession of such persons to ensure illicit drugs are not being landed by them.

Similarly, Customs officers do not currently have any power to frisk search such persons. This inability, where the Customs officer has reasonable grounds to suspect that the person is carrying prohibited goods on his or her body, provides a significant opportunity for such persons to walk illicit drugs off a ship or aircraft. The amendments propose to provide Customs officers with the power to undertake a frisk search of a person in such circumstances.

It is proposed that these powers will also apply in circumstances where Customs officers are involved in the boarding and searching of a ship or aircraft whether it is berthed or parked at a wharf or airport respectively or whether a vessel is boarded at sea by Customs officers on an Australian Customs Vessel.

In summary, the powers proposed are not new ones: as I have explained, Customs already has these powers in respect of arriving passengers. The proposal is simply to extend the powers to other people in a `Customs place' who have unrestricted access to planes and ships for quite legitimate purposes. The proposed frisk search powers will provide the same safeguards and rights to individuals as currently apply to passengers, thereby ensuring that the dignity of a person being frisk searched is maintained.

In relation to Customs officers on board Australian Customs Vessels, there has, for some time, been a concern within the Australian Customs Service about the safety and welfare of Customs officers operating at sea in an isolated environment. Customs officers are not armed. They should be able to feel safe and without the fear of any threat when administering the Customs Act and protecting our borders. This is particularly the case in relation to Customs officers operating at sea when boarding a ship. Unlike the controlled environment at an airport, Customs officers do not necessarily know in advance the circumstances they will confront on boarding. For this reason a special frisk search power is being sought in these circumstances. When an officer suspects that he or she is in danger of being injured by a person on the ship, the officer will be able to frisk search the suspect person without consent and take possession, if necessary with reasonable force, of any implement such as knives, guns or other implements which could harm the officers.

The bill also proposes to give Customs officers the power to copy a document in circumstances where a Customs officer has reasonable grounds to suspect that the document contains information in relation to the importation of illicit drugs. Such information will be invaluable in the detection of significant drug importations.

In addition the bill proposes a number of amendments which will assist in the detection of drugs by generally making Customs controls more effective at the border. These may be summarised as follows:

. A Customs officer currently has the power to require a vehicle to stop in a Customs place for the purpose of checking goods leaving Customs control. There is no deterrent if the driver of the vehicle fails to stop. It is proposed to make it an offence in cases where the vehicle fails to stop.

. Currently the act makes it an offence for craft or goods coming from a place outside Australia to go directly to a sea installation without Customs permission. A similar offence exists in relation to a craft or goods leaving a sea installation directly for a place outside Australia. It is proposed to extend the application of this provision to resources installation. The potential for sea installations to be used to breach border controls is equally relevant in relation to resources installations.

. It is an offence under the act for an Australian based craft to transfer goods at sea to a craft on an international voyage. It is proposed to also make it an offence for the craft on the international voyage to be involved in such a transfer of goods.

. A Customs officer currently has the power to board and search a foreign flagged ship in the Australian territorial sea. As a consequence of Australia becoming a signatory to the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, it is proposed to extend these powers to the contiguous zone in cases where the Customs officer has reasonable grounds to suspect that the ship has been, is, or is to be involved in the commission of an offence against the act. It is also proposed to extend the area in which the general powers to board and search ships may be exercised to include the sea to the landward side of the base line to the coastline of Australia as well as the territorial sea.

Amendments are also proposed to the Customs Administration Act 1985. These amendments will modernise the official secrecy and disclosure provisions and will recognise the necessity of arrangements for intelligence sharing in acting against illicit drug smuggling and trafficking (including performance enhancing drugs) as well as in relation to other unlawful activity. Such arrangements also assist efficient operational and regulatory activity by Customs and other bodies. Special safeguards are also included to ensure the appropriate protection of personal information.

The bill also includes a proposal related to the control of weapons in accordance with the Government's gun control policy. The objective of this proposal is that a person on a craft on an international voyage visiting Australia, for example a yacht, is to be subject to the same gun controls as if such a person arrived in Australia as a passenger, similar to all Australians.

To this end it is proposed that such a person be required to keep such weapons in secure storage on board their craft for the duration of their stay in Australia. If they are unable to provide secure storage on their craft for the storage of the weapon, the Customs officer is to have the power to take the weapon into custody for the duration of the person's stay in Australia. The weapon will be returned to the person upon departure from Australia.

The proposals I have outlined will be of valuable assistance to the Australian Customs Service in controlling movements of people, craft and goods across the Australian border, and in particular, enhance the ability of the Australian Customs Service to detect importations of illicit drugs into Australia.

NATIONAL ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION MEASURES (IMPLEMENTATION) BILL 1998

INTRODUCTION

The National Environment Protection Measures (Implementation) Bill represents a further significant milestone in the development of environment protection in Australia. The bill represents a commitment of the Commonwealth and the States and Territories to work cooperatively to develop and implement national environment protection measures, a commitment which was agreed to by the Council of Australian Governments in the Intergovernmental Agreement on the Environment in May 1992. The Government made an election commitment to introduce legislation, as necessary, to implement the Commonwealth's obligations under the COAG Agreement in relation to compliance with State environment legislation. Introduction of this bill fulfils the Government's election commitment.

It bears repeating that the objectives of national environment protection measures are to ensure that people, wherever they live in Australia, enjoy the benefit of equivalent protection from air, water, soil pollution and noise and secondly, to ensure that decisions by business are not distorted and markets are not fragmented by variations between jurisdic tions in relation to the adoption or implementation of major environment protection measures.

On 12 March 1998 the Senate Environment, Recreation, Communications and the Arts Legislation Committee presented its report on the National Environment Protection Measures (Implementation) Bill. The Committee recommended that the passage of the bill should proceed.

However, passage of the bill was delayed due to proroguing of Parliament. The bill is the second part of a package of complementary State and Commonwealth legislation. It follows the National Environment Protection Council Act 1994 which established the National Environment Protection Council and allowed for the development and application of national environment protection measures. National environment protection measures, which may be a combination of goals, guidelines, standards or protocols, will apply as valid law in each participating jurisdiction.

The first face-to-face meeting of the Council occurred on 21 June 1996, after the States and Territories had passed mirror legislation to put in place commitments to implement national environment protection measures.

The National Environment Protection Council Act 1994 determined that measures may be made in relation to:

(a) ambient air quality

(b) ambient marine, estuarine and fresh water quality;

(c) noise, where differences in environmental requirements relating to noise would have an adverse effect on national markets for goods and services;

(d) general guidelines for the assessment of site contamination;

(e) environmental impacts associated with hazardous wastes;

(f) the re-use and recycling of used materials;

(g) motor vehicles noise and emissions, also where differences in standards would affect national markets.

OPERATION OF THE BILL

The purpose of the National Environment Protection Measures (Implementation) Bill is to provide for the implementation of national environment protection measures in respect of activities by the Commonwealth and Commonwealth authorities.

The bill provides the means by which the Commonwealth and Commonwealth authorities are able to implement national environment protection measures. These means consist of:

. the application of provisions of State and Territory environment laws;

. the making of regulations;

. the use of an existing law of the Commonwealth which can deliver appropriate environmental outcomes; and

. the carrying out of an environmental audit and preparation of an environment management plan.

The National Pollutant Inventory National Environment Protection Measure was made by the Council in February 1998. Council also made two further measures relating to ambient air quality and the transport of controlled wastes across State and Territory borders on 26 June 1998. In addition, measures on guidelines for the assessment of site contamination and used packaging materials are also being developed.

COOPERATION WITH STATES AND TERRITORIES IN ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT

The bill is breaking new ground and will establish stronger co-operation between the Commonwealth and the States and Territories in relation to environment protection initiatives.

It is envisaged that the mechanism of application of State and Territory laws will be the first option considered for the implementation of a national environment protection measure with regard to Commonwealth activities and sites.

COMPLIANCE WITH NATIONAL ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION MEASURES

The Commonwealth, and the States and Territories will have to comply with any national environment protection measure developed by the National Environment Protection Council. This strong commitment by all governments ensures national harmonisation of approaches which aim to protect the environment. The National Environment Protection Measures (Implementation) Bill is the mechanism through which the Commonwealth will fulfil this important commitment.

An exemption from implementing a particular measure at a certain Commonwealth place or with regard to a specific Commonwealth activity will ONLY be given on the ground of a matter of national interest. A matter of `national interest' is confined to:

(i) Australia's relations with another country or Australia's international obligations, national security, national defence or a national emergency; or

(ii) a matter relating to telecommunications or the management of aviation airspace and airports, including aircraft emissions, aircraft noise and on-ground airport management, but not including matters specified by 1.04 (2) of the Airports (Environment Protection) Regulations; or

(iii) any other matter agreed to between the Commonwealth, the States and the Territories.

Australia is part of an international aviation community and it is the Government's view that matters relating to aviation airspace management and airport management would benefit from being regulated under a single national regime. In providing an holistic regime for the effective environmental regulation for airspace and airports, the Commonwealth will be meeting the objectives of national environment protection measures provided by the Intergovernmental Agreement on the Environment.

The bill provides for the implementation of national environment protection measures by another law of the Commonwealth if the Environment Minister is satisfied it will achieve appropriate environmental outcomes. One of the Objects of the Airport (Environmental Protection) Regulations, made under the Airports Act 1996, is to establish, in conjunction with national environment protection measures, a Commonwealth system of regulation for activities at airports that generate, or have the potential to generate, pollution or excessive noise. By operating in conjunction with national environment protection measures, it is my view that the Regulations will provide the appropriate environmental outcomes.

To ensure these outcomes are achieved, the Regulations prescribe the development of an environment strategy for each airport and the establishment of an enforcement regime.

Noise emissions from aircraft in flight or when landing, taking off or taxiing at an airport and engine emissions will continue to be regulated by the Air Navigation (Aircraft Noise) Regulations and the Air Navigation (Aircraft Engine Emissions) Regulations respectively which will continue to meet Australia's international obligations.

In the case where State or Territory law is not the mechanism for implementation of a particular national environment protection measure, there is an obligation on the part of Commonwealth authorities to implement the measure either through an existing Commonwealth law which will deliver the necessary environmental outcomes, through Commonwealth regulations or through development of an environment management plan.

Non-compliance with a national environment protection measure will be published in the Gazette, and the details of authorities not complying will also be publicly available through the annual report to Parliament on implementation of the measures.

RIGOROUS DEVELOPMENT OF THE MEASURES

In developing a national environment protection measure, regional environmental differences must be taken into account, as must the environmental, economic and social impacts of the measure. The Council must also take into account whether the measure is the most effective means of achieving the desired environmental outcome, and whether the measure can be simply and effectively administered.

National environment protection measures must also be consistent with the principles of ecologically sustainable development as outlined in the Intergovernmental Agreement on the Environment.

As stated earlier, the National Environment Protection Council has finalised Measures for the National Pollutant Inventory, the movement of controlled wastes across State and Territory borders and ambient air quality. These measures aim to address issues of national significance.

The Government made an election commitment to continued its support of the National Environment Protection Council and promote measures that address ambient standards for marine and estuarine water quality; packaging waste; the rehabilitation of contaminated sites; and diesel fuel emissions.

A number of studies have been undertaken to ensure that the current measures being developed can stand up to rigorous scrutiny, both in relation to their scientific basis and administrative efficiency as well as their effectiveness in contributing to achieving the desired environmental outcome. For example, the Government's Air Pollution Inquiry assisted the development of the ambient air quality measure through the funding of important work on air quality standards.

An impact statement is required for each national environment protection measure by the National Environment Protection Council Act 1994. These impact statements include comprehensive explanations of the measure and identify where possible economic, environmental or social costs or benefits are likely to arise.

NON-GOVERNMENT INVOLVEMENT IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF MEASURES

Public consultation is an important component of the process to develop national environment protection measures. Draft measures are published in the Commonwealth Gazette and submissions regarding the draft measures invited over a minimum of two months.

Non-government advisory groups, with membership relevant to the various national environment protection measures, have been involved in the development of those measures. Membership of these groups has included representatives of groups as diverse as the Australian Institute of Petroleum, Minerals Council of Australia, ACTU, Greenpeace Australia and the Queensland Conservation Council.

Non-Government representatives have also participated in the technical advisory panels for national environment protection measures.

Further, the community will have an opportunity to examine each draft measure and to provide submissions during the consultation period following publication of the draft measure in the Commonwealth Gazette. It is very likely that changes will be made to the national environment protection measures after receiving important feedback from various sources during the public consultation phase.

HARMONISATION OF ENVIRONMENTAL OUTCOMES ACROSS AUSTRALIA

An outcome of the adoption of national environment protection measures will be greater certainty for business, and a greater capacity for industry to manage environmental issues which cross State borders.

While implementation strategies may vary somewhat across States and Territories, it is likely that information will be shared between jurisdictions in relation to implementation of measures and that, over time, the implementation strategies themselves will have a tendency to become uniform nationally.

CONCLUSION

The passage of the National Environmental Protection Measures (Implementation) Bill is a landmark event for environmental management in Australia. The legislation will provide the implementation vehicle for the development of national environment protection measures on, as I have mentioned previously, a range of issues including ambient marine and estuarine water quality, packaging waste, the rehabilitation of contaminated sites and diesel fuel emissions.

Cooperation between the Commonwealth and State and Territory governments in the development of measures represents a major benefit not only to the people of Australia and to the environment, but also to Australian industry.

There will be benefits to the environment through the close attention given to the specific environment issues and to identifying an effective environmental outcome in development of national environment protection measures. The Australian people will benefit through having access to equivalent protection from pollutants wherever they live in Australia, and industry will benefit from ensuring competitive neutrality in relation to their activities throughout Australia.

I commend the National Environmental Protection Measures (Implementation) Bill to you as an important achievement in environmental management for Australia and for all Australians.

Ordered that further consideration of the second reading of these bills be adjourned until 14 days after today, in accordance with standing order 111.