Second Report of the Auditor-General for the year ended 30 June ...

4.5 DEPARTMENT OF MINERALS AND ENERGY
Introduction
4.5.1 The stated principal objectives of the Department of Minerals and
Energy are:
(1) to promote and assist the orderly exploration, developnent,
production and management of the State's mineral, extractive,
oil and gas arxj groundwater resources;
(2) to foster the responsible use of the State's energy resources
through the developnent of comprehensive energy plans and
policies, and by encouraging, where practicable, the
substitution of plentiful or renewable resources for scarce
energy sources; and
(3) to protect the envirorment, the public and those employed in the
mining, extractive, oil and gas arxj related chemical industries
from potential hazards associated with those industries.
Financial Responsibilities
4.5.2 The Department collects fees for a variety of licences, leases and
permits associated with mining and extractive activities.
4.5.3 Payments by the Department include salaries, general administrative
expenses and the cost of other services provided by the divisioris of
the Department - Energy Conservation, Oil and Gas, Geological Survey,
Hazardous Materials and Mining.
4.5.4 The Department is also responsible for the administration of the
Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Act 1967 which includes the verification
of and accounting for offstore petroleum royalties payable under that
Act.
Scope of Audit
4.5.5 In addition to the audit activities identified in paragraph 4.1.1 of
this report, audit undertook a progressive monitoring of the
accounting and collection procedures for petroleum royalties.
Audit Observations and Recoaaiendations
Offstore Petroleum Royalties
4.5.6 The Ccmmonwealth Petroleum (Submerged LarxJs) Act 1967, which is
applicable to areas teyond the 3 mile territorial sea, governs the
exploration, recovery arxJ royalty basis of Bass Strait petroleum. The
Designated Authority under the Act is the Minister for Minerals and
Energy, and the Department, in its support role, is responsible for
the administration of the legislation in respect of waters adjacent to
Victoria, which involves the verification of arxj accounting for
petroleum royalties.
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