Darren Cheeseman Speech on Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Legislation
Friday, 26 June 2009 05:31
Darren Cheeseman Speech on Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Legislation Amendment Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage (Safety Levis) Amendment 2009
Mr Speaker, I would again like to take the opportunity to speak to another climate change related Bill both because of my interest in the area, but also because it is, of course, so important to my own electorate.
Corangamite, and the region surrounding it, will be one of the areas in Australia most affected by climate change Mr Speaker, in both an economic and geographic sense.
Mr Speaker, these Bills propose to amend the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage Act 2006 (the Act) and the Offshore Petroleum and Greenhouse Gas Storage (Safety Levies) Act 2003.
The amendments are technical and minor policy changes but they are about the biggest of policy issues confronting us.
Firstly, I’ll go through some of the detail of the Bill.
The Bill streamlines requirements, provides clarification, and reduces the overall regulatory burden on industry.
That’s very important Mr. Speaker.
Whilst we absolutely have to bring about change to reduce climate change, we also have to bring about change that does not get bogged down in complicated regulatory regimes where people and industry are mired in red tape.
Measures to address climate change have to happen and they have to happen fast and efficiently .
And it is worth noting here Mr. Speaker that it would be very easy to get bogged down in excessive regulation.
We are dealing with a relatively new industry when we talk about greenhouse gas storage.
We are talking about some significant infrastructure, hundreds of millions invested in pipelines and the like.
So we want to make sure the regulatory environment is simple and easy to follow, where regulations are clear.
Business always wants, clarity and certainty Mr. Speaker when it comes to regulations.
The changes proposed result from three reviews of different aspects of the offshore petroleum regulatory system which have been conducted by the Department of Resources, Energy and Tourism over the past two years.
There are no adverse effects on industry from these Bills or any additional costs Mr. Speaker.
A number of the changes relate to altered arrangements for pipelines commencing on 1 January 2010. These arrangements will be set-out in revised regulations to come into effect next year.
Pipelines are being treated on the same basis as other facilities under the safety regulations.
This will see the removal of the pipeline management plan and pipeline safety management plan from regulations.
As such the pipeline safety management plan levy will become a safety case levy.
The removal of consent to operate a pipeline is part of these overall changes and will also take effect from 1 January 2010.
There are several other changes such as providing an expedited consultation process on the granting of access authorities and making the Joint Authority the decision-maker in relation to the declaration of locations and the granting of scientific investigation consents, designed to streamline current arrangements.
Moving the power to vary coordinates based on the current datum, from regulations into the Act, is also to streamline regulatory processes.
Other changes are to remove several inconsistencies and ambiguities arising from amendments made in the Senate.
So Mr. Speaker, the Bill provides clarity and some simplicity in the regulation of this new area of industry.
Mr. Speaker, it is likely that some greenhouse gas storage activities will take place in my region, or offshore from my region.
It is potentially an important source of well-paid employment, and I hope this industry is successful.
This Bill will certainly help in providing certainty and simplicity in regulation.
There is great potential to now undertake significant steps to effectively reduce carbon pollution through carbon capture and storage.
This legislation provides an important legal framework that could underwrite Australia’s concerted efforts to reduce our carbon footprint.
This is not a silver bullet that will solve the carbon pollution problem, but it may be an important step in helping with carbon pollution abatement for the period ahead, in which we will rely upon coal whilst we move to more sustainable energy generation processes.
This legislation is integral in making sure the framework exists to develop and implement this important carbon capture and storage process.
The risk of doing nothing—which perhaps the other side supports—is that it will threaten our economy very substantially.
In my electorate, areas such as the Great Ocean Road, the Surf Coast and parts of the Bellarine Peninsula will be adversely threatened by rising sea levels.
Mr. Speaker, as I said earlier, I want to again put on record a few important facts about how my region will be affected by climate change.
Just a few facts.
The Great Ocean Road Mr. Speaker, an icon of Australia and the engine room of our local tourism economy, will be largely destroyed.
It will be breached in place after place, if sea level rise is as expected.
Huge swathes of the Bellarine Peninsula will be inundated.
Current areas of the mainland will be cut off and become islands.
Queenscliffe will become an island.
The area from Barwon Heads to Breamlea will become an island.
Many areas of heavy industry will be over-run and inundated.
Key public infrastructure facilities, such as caravan parks in Ocean Grove and in other parts of the Bellarine Peninsula will be inundated and lost.
Many private homes will also be lost.
Mr. Speaker, it is absolutely imperative we address climate change.
It is important for our own self interest, and morally.
We all should now know that as Victorians we are, per head, the heaviest carbon emitters in a national that is one of the worst offenders in the world, largely as a result of our dependence on the coal industry.
I believe Australians, and Victorian in particular, have a moral obligation to lead on this question. We have a moral obligation to set an example to the rest of the world.
It is very important that we contribute to reducing carbon emissions, and that we are seen to be leading on it.
This Bill Mr. Speaker is another part of the answer.
I commend the Bill to the house.
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