Northern Territory Second Reading Speeches

[Index] [Search] [Bill] [Help]

PETROLEUM (SUBMERGED LANDS) AMENDMENT BILL 2002

(This an uncorrected proof of the daily report. It is made available under the condition that it is recognised as such.)

Madam Speaker, I move that the bill now be read a second time.

The main purpose of this bill is to mirror the provisions of the corresponding Commonwealth Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Act (1967) and provide for more efficient title administration. The Northern Territory Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Act applies to the coast line of the Northern Territory at the mean low water mark to the three nautical mile limit, also referred to as the adjacent area.

With the Offshore Constitutional Settlement of 1967, the Commonwealth, states and Northern Territory agreed to, as far as practicable, administer the exploration and exploitation of petroleum resources with common principles and practices. Therefore, the Northern Territory offshore legislation should be as consistent as possible with the provisions of the corresponding Commonwealth PSLA.

With the possibility of an offshore pipeline project to bring gas from the Bayu-Undan field in Area A of the Zone of Cooperation, it is necessary to update the corresponding Northern Territory PSLA. The pipeline will run through both the Commonwealth and Northern Territory offshore areas.

Turning to the actual amendments, there are three main provisions. Firstly, it is proposed that the term of the pipeline licence remain in force indefinitely. Secondly, amendments are included to make possible the conveyance of petroleum from outside the adjacent areas covered by the Northern Territory PSLA, including the area in which the Bayu-Undan field is situated. Thirdly, the amendments will incorporate the shift to a new datum, the Geocentric Datum of Australia, GDA94, to describe the position of titles. These amendments are relevant to the project.

The term of the pipeline licence will be indefinite as it will correspond to a similar section under the Commonwealth PSLA. This amendment will enable consistency in the grant and administration of the pipeline licences in both jurisdictions. With the amendment to an indefinite pipeline licence, the consequential amendment is the removal of renewal provisions relating to pipeline licences. Whilst the term is indefinite, a provision is included to terminate the pipeline if no work has been conducted, or if there was no use of the pipeline for a continuous period of five years without justification. These amendments would provide security for the pipeline holder, and ensure there is no warehousing, so the pipeline licence holder will commence activities on the pipeline licence as authorised by its grant.

I would also like to flag to honourable members that I will be introducing similar amendments to the Energy Pipelines Act early next year, so that the portion of the pipeline from the low water mark to where it enters the LNG plant has the same term for its licence.

On 1 January 2000, Australia adopted a new world wide coordinate system called GDA94, to replace the existing Australian Geodetic Datum, AGD66. Put simply, the position of the existing grid will remain, but it will be referenced to the GDA94. The new Datum is based at the earth’s centre of mass and is linked directly to the orbit of satellites. The change will allow Australian latitude and longitudes to be integrated in the new global system for greater accuracy and efficiency.

The Commonwealth PSLA has adopted this system and has provided the relevant amendments to the Northern Territory PSLA to mirror these provisions. In principle, the amendments provide for the description of a point, line, block or other area in a title or instrument in latitude and longitude, under the GDA94. This shift in datum means that the physical position of the title will remain the same on the earth’s surface, but its coordinates will change as they will be referenced under the new datum. The distance between the same set of coordinates for a position on the different datums will be approximately 200 metres to the north east. The advantages of this shift are that it is compatible with modern survey techniques, it provides for the integration and compatibility with an international global system, and it includes the direct use of satellite positioning systems.

With these changes, the opportunity has been taken to amend the penalty regimes to conform with the Northern Territory government policy of establishing a penalty units structures for offences.

With the exception of a pipeline licence application, there are no other titles under the Northern Territory PSLA. The existing transitional provisions and the corresponding schedules, which were relevant in 1985, are proposed to be repealed to avoid confusion, particularly if there is need for new transitional provisions in the future. A corresponding savings clause for the pipeline licence application has been included, so that the grant of the pipeline will be subject to the amended act.

The amendments also include the update of gender provisions to keep in line with existing Northern Territory government policy.

The Commonwealth PSLA is currently being rewritten and a more extensive amendment to the Northern Territory PSLA would be appropriate at a later stage so that the mirror legislation principle, pursuant to the Offshore Constitutional Settlement, is maintained. As the project is underway to repeal and replace the Commonwealth PSLA, recent proposed amendments in the Northern Territory PSLA have been included to cover the existing Commonwealth act and the act that will be re-enacted in the future. They are pre-emptive changes and the Northern Territory will be the first among the states and territories to include these amendments. These amendments will ensure that the references to the Commonwealth PSLA and the Northern Territory PSLA will remain valid if and when the Commonwealth act is rewritten and renamed.

Getting the Northern Territory act consistent with the Commonwealth Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Act is an important element in ensuring the harmonisation of the offshore regulatory regime, and it would avoid any impediments arising from inconsistencies that may disrupt the eventual arrival of the offshore gas to the Northern Territory mainland. It is important we act now to amend our legislation and I comment this bill to honourable members.

[Index] [Search] [Bill] [Help]