Senator HEFFERNAN (12:44 PM) —I table the explanatory memorandum and I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

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

Leave granted.

The speech read as follows—

Fundamentally, the purpose of the Environment and Heritage Legislation Amendment Bill 1999 (the bill) is:

. to amend the Environment Protection (Sea Dumping) Act 1981 (the Sea Dumping Act) to implement the 1996 Protocol (the Protocol) to the Convention on the Prevention of Marine Pollution by Dumping of Wastes and Other Matter, 1972 (the London Convention); and

. to amend the Sea Installations Act 1987 (the Sea Installations Act) to remove the prohibitions on issuing, and varying, a permit that would authorise a sea installation to be located partly within and partly outside an adjacent area (which, generally speaking, is an area of Commonwealth waters adjacent to State coastal waters).

Indicative of the Commonwealth's commitment to the preservation of Australia's marine environment, the bill will also include a number of additional amendments to the Sea Dumping Act that are intended to simplify, encourage compliance with, and the enforcement of, the Sea Dumping Act.

The Sea Dumping Act

Under the Sea Dumping Act, Australia fulfils its obligations as one of 74 Contracting Parties to the London Convention.

The London Convention is aimed at promoting the effective control of pollution of the marine environ ment, by regulating the dumping of waste that is liable to: create hazards to human health; to harm living resources and marine life; to damage amenities; or to interfere with other legitimate uses of the sea.

It embodies a complicated framework for regulating the dumping into the sea, based on a list of substances for which dumping is prohibited and list of substances requiring special care, and the incineration at sea based on incineration guidelines.The London Convention generally does not, however, apply in respect of:

. vessels and platforms entitled to sovereign immunity under international law;

. the disposal of wastes or other matter derived from, or incidental to, the normal operations of a vessel, aircraft or platform; or

. the disposal of wastes or other matter directly arising from, or related to, the exploration, exploitation and associated offshore processing of seabed mineral resources.

In summary, therefore, the Sea Dumping Act currently regulates activities involving:

. dumping into the sea;

. incineration at sea; and

. loading for dumping into the sea or incineration at sea;

from, or on, a vessel, aircraft or platform in, or above, Australian waters, and the regulation of these same activities from, or on, an Australian vessel or an Australian aircraft, anywhere at sea, or above the sea.

The proposed construction of artificial reefs is also assessed, and permitted, under this act, although the legal basis to do so in all cases, has been somewhat uncertain.

On 25 March 1998, Australia signed the 1996 Protocol to the London Convention, which entirely supersedes the London Convention.

Under the Protocol Contracting Parties are obliged to take effective measures, according to their scientific, technical and economic capabilities, to reduce and where practicable eliminate pollution caused by the dumping into the sea or incineration at sea of wastes or other matter.

The Protocol embodies a more modern and comprehensive, and yet simplified, regulatory framework which aims to provide greater protection to the marine environment.

It provides a list of seven categories of wastes or other matter that may be considered for dumping at sea. These are:

. dredged material;

. sewage sludge;

. fish waste, or material resulting from industrial fish processing operations;

. vessels and platforms or other man-made structures at sea;

. inert, inorganic geological material;

. organic material of natural origin; and

. bulky items primarily comprising iron, steel, concrete and similarly unharmful materials for which the concern is physical impact, and limited to those circumstances where such wastes are generated at locations, such as small islands with isolated communities, having no practicable access to disposal options other than dumping.

The Protocol also prohibits incineration at sea and the export of substances for dumping into the sea or incineration at sea, although it is important to note that there is an emergency situation exemption in respect of these dumping and incineration rules.

Furthermore, the general exemptions contained in the London Convention, as outlined above, are also incorporated in the Protocol.

At of 23 February 1999 there were five Contracting Parties to the Protocol (Denmark, the Republic of South Africa, the United Kingdom, the Federal Republic of Germany and the Republic of Vanuatu).

Passage of the bill will satisfy Australia's legislative requirements for ratifying the Protocol. It will reinforce the Commonwealth's commitment to the preservation of Australia's marine environment, and Australia's standing as an international leader in responsible environmental promotion and protection.

Additionally the bill will also revise the substantive offence provisions in the Sea Dumping Act, in relation to dumping into the sea, incineration at sea and loading for dumping or incineration at sea, and include new offences in respect of the unauthorised creation of artificial reefs and the export for dumping or incineration at sea.

A person engaging in activities constituting an offence against any of these revised or new offences, will be liable to a penalty of up to:

. 10 years imprisonment, a fine of 2000 penalty units (approx $210 000), or both, where the material involved (ie the material dumped into the sea) includes seriously harmful material, which will include radioactive material and any other material (to be) prescribed by the regulations;

. 2 years imprisonment, a fine of 500 penalty units (approx $55 000), or both, where the material involved includes non-Annex 1 material (ie is outside the category of substances that may be considered for dumping under the Protocol); and

. 1 year imprisonment, a fine of 250 penalty units (approx $27 500), or both, in any other case.

Corporations convicted of offences against these revised provisions will, in accordance with the Crimes Act, be liable to up to five times these penalties.

To ensure consistency between offence provisions in Commonwealth legislation, the bill will also apply Chapter 2 of the Criminal Code to the offences under the Sea Dumping Act.

Significantly the bill will also put it beyond doubt that the Commonwealth has the responsibility for regulating the construction of artificial reefs, and will limit the potential liability of the Commonwealth, and Departmental officers exercising powers under the Sea Dumping Act, in relation to artificial reefs.

The bill will apply the Sea Dumping Act to Australia's Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ), rather than, as is currently provided, the Australian Fishing Zone.

The bill will revise the defence force exemption as agreed between the Department of Environment and Heritage and the Department of Defence, and revise the exemption in relation to the naval, military or air forces of a foreign country, in accordance with international law.

The bill will simplify the section 9 rollback provision which authorises the Minister administering the Sea Dumping Act to make a declaration regarding the application of that act to a State or the Northern Territory.

Recognising that officers of the Australian Customs Service have the expertise, and are generally well placed, to assist in the enforcement of the provisions of the Sea Dumping Act, the bill will amend the act to include these officers as ex officio inspectors for the purposes of the Sea Dumping Act.

Finally, the bill will also include a number of machinery nature amendments designed to simplify the Sea Dumping Act.

The Sea Installations Act

The Sea Installations Act was enacted to:

. ensure that sea installations installed in adjacent areas are operated with regard to the safety of the people using them and of the people, ships and aircraft, near them;

. to apply appropriate laws in relation to such installations; and

. to ensure that such installations are operated in a manner that is consistent with the protection of the environment.

A sea installation refers to any man-made structure that when in, or brought into, physical contact with the seabed, or when floating, can be used for an environment related activity.

An environment related activity is defined to include any activity relating to:

. tourism or recreation;

. the carrying on of a business; or

. the exploration and exploitation of the living resources of the sea, the seabed or the subsoil of the sea bed.

The Sea Installations Act does not, however, generally include fishing installations, some exploration installations (eg such as installations and pipelines used by the petroleum industry), defence installations and some cable installations.

The act applies in respect of an adjacent area of a State or affected Territory, which, in general terms, are the Commonwealth waters from three nautical miles out from the territorial sea baseline, out to the outermost limits of Australian waters. It does not apply in respect of sea installations located wholly within State coastal waters.

The proposed Basslink Interconnector cable, which will link Tasmania to the National Electricity Market by means of a submarine electricity cable across Bass Strait, will be a sea installation for the purposes of the Sea Installations Act.

As such, the lawful installation and use of the Basslink cable will require a permit, or exemption certificate, to be issued under that act.

At present the Sea Installations Act prohibits the issuing of a permit that would authorise a sea installation to be located partly within and partly outside an adjacent area. There is also some uncertainty in relation to the validity of issuing of an exemption certificate for such an installation.

The bill will amend the Sea Installations Act to remove these permitting prohibitions, and the uncertainty in relation to the issuing of exemption certificates.

This will remedy the unworkable situation of, on the one hand, proposals falling within the scope of the Sea Installations Act and, on the other hand, that act not conferring sufficient powers upon the administering Minister to regulate or exempt these same proposals.

The issuing of a permit under the Sea Installations Act for the Basslink proposal will provide a secure trigger for the Environment Protection (Impact of Proposals) Act 1974 (the EPIP Act), and thereby ensure a secure legal basis for the Commonwealth's involvement in the environmental impact assessment stage of the Basslink project.

The Tasmanian Government has called for expressions of interest for the construction and operation of the Basslink Interconnector cable, and it is currently anticipated that the successful tender will be announced in November 1999.

It is therefore highly desirable that passage of the bill occur as soon as possible, and prior to the conclusion of the tender process, to enable the issuing of a permit for this proposal under the SI Act, and the subsequent designation of a proponent under the EPIP Act.

Conclusion

Passage of the Environment and Heritage Legislation Amendment Bill 1999 will reaffirm Australia's commitment to the protection of the marine environment by implementing the 1996 Protocol to the London Convention.

Passage of the bill will also increase the likelihood that all sea installations installed in an adjacent area are operated with regard to safety, and in a manner consistent with the protection of the environment, by enabling permit conditions to also be imposed in respect of installations located both within, and outside, an adjacent area.

Ordered that further consideration of the second reading of this bill be adjourned till the first day of the winter sittings 1999, in accordance with standing order 111.