MARINE SAFETY (DOMESTIC COMMERCIAL VESSEL) NATIONAL LAW (APPLICATION) BILL

Second Reading

Adjourned debate on second reading.

(Continued from 16 May 2013.)

The Hon. R.P. WORTLEY (15:55): I rise to address the Marine Safety (Domestic Commercial Vessel) National Law (Application) Bill. This bill represents our state's endorsement of a national maritime regulator and our support for a marine safety regime that is specific, covers all states and the Northern Territory, and captures all domestic commercial vessels by way of a single legislative instrument. We all know that coastal shipping is an integral part of South Australia's history. It is difficult in these days of rapid air, rail and road transport, not to mention the increasing use of pipelines to transport liquid and gaseous materials such as oil and gas, to understand how vitally important intrastate and interstate commercial shipping was to the far-flung centres of the new colonies.

In the early days, survival, growth and prosperity for the colonies was almost entirely dependent on sea transport and on the sea lanes that circumnavigated the country and connected its communities to each other and the world. Shipping was king in the 19^th century in Australia when interstate trade was dominated by small coastal steamers. But federation, two world wars, the Depression that divided them, and the advent of increased competition from newer, faster modes of transport in trade and commerce, not to mention foreign shipping, impacted the industry along with industrial reform and policy changes over the decades of the new century.

By the 1950s and 1960s, the traditional markets for mixed cargo coastal shipping had declined, and these days it is clear that the principal cargoes of our coastal shipping fleet are goods and materials that cannot feasibly be transported in other ways. According to Mary Gantner in the Royal Australian Navy's Papers in Australian Maritime Affairs:

Based on developments in logistics and the growth of the population, economy and international trade, the future rate of increase (in our freight transport task) is expected to be significant. The vast majority of this increase will affect the road sector...whilst the sea transport segment should remain relatively stable in tonne per kilometre terms.

Despite this, coastal shipping will remain an integral part of the domestic transport network...due to the type of cargo carried, the fundamental importance of this cargo to the economy, and the continuing inability of road and rail to effectively service the transport area currently covered by the coastal shipping industry.

So while coastal shipping is no longer the dominant transport mode, it still has a major role to play, particularly in the area of long-haul bulk commodities. There are about 2,000 domestic commercial vessels in South Australia and more than 28,000 such vessels in the country as a whole. The most recent figures in Lloyd's List Australia tell us that a total of 1.08 billion tonnes of cargo transited our wharves nationally in 2010-11, with coastal shipping accounting for about 20 per cent of the freight task.

In view of these statistics, it can be accurately said that the bill I am addressing today represents some of the most significant maritime reforms in our state and national history, because for many years now, the current jurisdiction-based system had led to variations in standards and competencies across the country. And that is not all. It has also represented efficiency and cost burdens on interstate commercial vessel operators which, given that the seas and oceans have no state or territory boundaries, make little sense. So in 2009 an agreement was reached on a national approach to the safety regulation of domestic commercial vessels by the Council of Australian Governments. The marine safety national law would replace what are currently eight commonwealth, state and territory regulators with the sole regulator I mentioned earlier, the Australian Maritime Safety Authority, referred to as AMSA.

AMSA will take responsibility for domestic commercial vessels plying our coasts as well as those larger vessels taking our goods and materials to overseas markets. Furthermore, it will replace some 50 separate legislative instruments across both state and territory jurisdictions with a single clear and consistent law for our commercial vessel owners and associated personnel. In fact, the national law will apply to all vessels engaged in commercial, government and research activities. However, there are some exclusions: it is not intended to capture recreational, foreign or defence vessels, vessels operated by primary and secondary schools, or vessels regulated under the federal Navigation Act 2012.

It is well known that safety in the transport industry has long been a major preoccupation of mine. The single national system for the regulation of marine safety that I have discussed today means that standards will be consistent—and will be applied consistently—right around the nation. So, those who are involved with commercial shipping for their business income or employment, or as a means of transporting goods and materials, will be able to feel absolutely confident that each vessel, regardless of its whereabouts in our waters, will be subject to consistent, transparent, nationally agreed standards of safety.

Similarly, vessels designed in, say, South Australia and built, perhaps, in New South Wales will not need to be recertified by other states or territories so as to be able to operate in their waters. National freight and related companies that operate vessels in more than one jurisdiction will be able to more efficiently manage their fleets and crews without the added burden of changing requirements with regard to regulation and administration. Workforce mobility will be enhanced, as seafarers move from vessel to vessel and jurisdiction to jurisdiction, providing better career opportunities.

These reforms represent another example of what can be achieved through cooperation between the commonwealth, states and territories and the relevant stakeholders who, in this particular case, are, unsurprisingly, supportive of the national law, a national law that will benefit not only those who own, operate, are employed on, or travel in commercial vessels but also our economy. However, let us not forget that seafaring remains a dangerous occupation with still unacceptably high levels of fatalities and injuries, especially in smaller vessels. Fundamentally, it is worker safety that underlines the reforms I have discussed today. That is their most important purpose. On that note, it is my pleasure to commend the bill to the council.

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Minister for Forests, Minister for Regional Development, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for State/Local Government Relations) (16:02): I thank those members who have contributed to the second reading of this bill. I thank them for their support, and I look forward to dealing with the bill expeditiously through the committee stage.

Bill read a second time.

Committee Stage

In committee.

Clauses 1 to 20 passed.

Schedule 1 passed.

Schedule 2.

The Hon. G.E. GAGO: I move amendments Nos 1 to 3:

Page 102—

Line 5 [Schedule 2 clause 15, inserted section 47A(4)(a)]—After 'operation' insert:

on the River Murray system (within the meaning of the River Murray Act 2003) between the border of South Australia and a line joining the upstream sides of the landings used by the ferry at Wellington

Line 24 [Schedule 2 clause 15, inserted section 47A(4)(b)]—After 'operation' insert:

in waters specified by the CE for the purposes of this paragraph

After line 29 [Schedule 2 clause 15, inserted section 47A]—Insert:

(4a) For the purposes of subsection (4)(b), the CE may specify waters—

(a) by reference to particular waters, or waters of a specified class; or

(b) by reference to the waters in which a particular hire and drive small vessel, or a hire and drive vessel of a specified class, may be operated.

I will speak to all three amendments, if that is helpful. It has been identified that an in-house amendment is needed to clause 15 of schedule 2 of the bill. The clause concerns section 47A of the Harbors and Navigation Act 1993 which combines current provisions within the Harbors and Navigation Act and Regulations concerning hire and drive operations.

Section 47A was added just prior to this bill being settled, following last-minute advice from AMSA in early March 2013 that the national law subordinate legislation would be amended so that it did not regulate qualifications required for hirers of hire and drive vessels. AMSA advised that the states and territories would have to continue to regulate this. This obviously required urgent changes to the bill. On further review it has been identified that section 47A contains some unintended gaps that change existing policy positions.

The proposed amendment will clarify the following: that the requirement to only hold a car driver's licence to operate a houseboat is limited to the River Murray. This will continue the current policy position. In the sheltered waters of the River Murray, where the riverbank is always close at hand, the lower safety risk means that it is not considered necessary for the hirer of a houseboat to have a boat operator licence or commercial crewing qualification.

Without this amendment, a houseboat operated off the coast of South Australia could be operated just with a driver's licence. This is obviously not the intention and it would be most inappropriate because of the higher risk of operating in unsheltered waters, where the houseboat could be subject to adverse weather and high seas and be quite far from shore.

The amendment will also clarify that hire and drive small vessels (that is, jet skis and motorised dinghies less than five metres) can be operated by a person over 16 years old without a boat operator's licence only in waters specified by the CEO (who is the regulator under the Harbors and Navigation Act). This will preserve the current position.

The consequence of not making this amendment is that a hirer of a hire and drive small vessel, as young as 16 years old, would be able to operate the small vessel in any waters, including all the way around the coast of South Australia without a licence. This would obviously be highly unsafe and undesirable. They are quite straightforward amendments and I hope that members will support them.

The Hon. D.W. RIDGWAY: The opposition will support the amendments.

Amendments carried; schedule as amended passed.

Title passed.

Bill reported with amendment.

Third Reading

The Hon. G.E. GAGO (Minister for Agriculture, Food and Fisheries, Minister for Forests, Minister for Regional Development, Minister for the Status of Women, Minister for State/Local Government Relations) (16:10): I move:

That this bill be now read a third time.

Bill read a third time and passed.