weekly hansard - Queensland Parliament - Queensland Government

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23 Aug 2005 Transport Legislation Amendment Bill 2579 The Bill also inserts a new definition of an ‘authorised busway user’. This amendment clarifies that a maintenance vehicle or bus providing a public passenger service may be authorised to operate on a busway as well as another person authorised by the chief executive. Minor administrative amendments will introduce consistency in references to the terms "busway" and "busway transport infrastructure". Miscellaneous transport infrastructure The definition of "miscellaneous transport infrastructure" in the Transport Infrastructure Act 1994 will be amended by this Bill. The Transport Infrastructure Regulation 1995 is due to expire on 1 September 2006. As part of the review of that regulation, the definition of "miscellaneous transport infrastructure" will be moved from the regulation to the Transport Infrastructure Act 1994. This is in line with current best drafting practice. Non-rail corridor land In relation to "non-rail corridor land", there is currently a definition of that term in the Transport Infrastructure Act 1994. The definition will be extended to include land that was part of a rail corridor where the lease of the land has been surrendered by a railway manager. This will enable the chief executive to retain the land in the perpetual lease for future use as part of a transport corridor, on the same status as for existing non-rail corridor land. Transport Operations (Marine Pollution) Act 1995 The Bill also amends the Transport Operations (Marine Pollution) Act 1995. The purpose of this Act is to implement at a state level the international convention for the prevention of pollution from ships which protects Queensland’s marine and coastal environment by minimising deliberate and negligent discharges of ship sourced pollutants into coastal waters. Queensland has a proactive approach to the protection of the marine environment through its maritime pollution legislation and the state maintains a recognised role in developing world’s best practice in this area. The protection of our marine environment is of paramount importance to the state, for tourism, the economy and the enviable waterway activities that all Queenslanders can enjoy. There are four amendments to this Act, dealing with the issues of shipboard waste management plans, monitoring transfer operations, the position of Marine Pollution Controller and the powers of Maritime Safety Queensland to deal with "potential" as opposed to "imminent" dangers. Shipboard waste management plans Existing legislation requires shipboard waste management plans to be carried on all ships with a measurement of at least 400 gross tons. This requirement has proved impractical and difficult to enforce because many owners and masters do not know the gross tonnage of their ship. The amendment will refer to a ship’s length overall rather than gross tonnage. A vessel with an overall length of at least 35 metres or designed to sleep at least 15 persons will be required to have a shipboard waste management plan. Monitoring transfer operations Mr Speaker, the Bill introduces an obligation on a ship’s crew to monitor transfer operations. Transfer operations include things such as filling the ship’s tank with fuel. Ships’ crews are not currently required to monitor transfer operations. This has resulted in spills in Queensland coastal waters from overfilled tanks. Similarly there have been spills from burst hoses or loose couplings. These could have been prevented at a very early stage if proper monitoring had been in place. For example in 2000, substantial spills in the Brisbane River, and again in 2003 at Thursday Island resulted from poorly maintained fuel couplings on commercial vessels. These incidents would not have happened if the fittings had been regularly maintained and a crew member had been actively monitoring the couplings for overfilling and leaks. Marine Pollution Controller This Bill introduces a statutory basis for the position of the "Marine Pollution Controller". Maritime Safety Queensland is the lead agency for responses to oil spills from ships. The position of the Marine Pollution Controller is recognised and acknowledged tacitly across agencies. The position is established under the National Plan for the Prevention of Pollution of the Sea by Oil and Other Noxious Hazardous Substances. Given the increasing importance of the role, as was seen during the groundings of the Bunga Teratai Satu in 2000 and the MV Karma in 2003, the position needs to be formalised. The amendments will establish the role of the Marine Pollution Controller and its functions, thereby providing certainty and direction during major responses to ship sourced pollution within Queensland waters. Powers of MSQ to deal with "potential" as opposed to "imminent" dangers The Transport Operations (Marine Pollution) Act 1995 will also be amended to give Maritime Safety Queensland greater ability to act if a ship presents a "potential" danger to the Queensland coastal and marine environment. This will ensure that Maritime Safety Queensland can take action to prevent an incident at an earlier stage than is currently possible. The grounding of the MV Karma demonstrated clearly the need for the State to be able to intervene before the currently "grave and imminent" danger threshold is reached. With this amendment, as soon as a potentially serious threat is presented, the full powers of the State to intervene to prevent and minimise a discharge will be activated. Transport Operations (Marine Safety) Act 1994 I will now address the proposed amendments to the Transport Operations (Marine Safety) Act 1994. That Act achieves an appropriate balance between regulating the maritime industry to ensure marine safety and developing the effectiveness and efficiency of the Queensland maritime industry. The changes proposed by this Bill include identifying the legal owner of a vessel, the temporary closure of pilotage areas, the creation of exclusion zones around ships, the sharing of fishing vessel data, the recovery of costs incurred by the State in salvage operations and allowing criminal history checks for marine licence examiners and training providers. These changes, and the amendments to the Transport Operations (Marine Pollution) Act 1995, are in direct response to a number of issues identified as a result of recent marine safety and ship sourced pollution incidents. These amendments are the first stage of a larger program being undertaken by this government to strengthen our legislative scheme to prevent the loss of life and minimise harm to the marine environment.
2580 Transport Legislation Amendment Bill 23 Aug 2005 Identifying the legal owner of a vessel Due to the complex ownership arrangements that apply in shipping, there have been problems with identifying the owner of a ship when it is lost, abandoned or stranded, particularly where an operator walks away from their responsibilities. This is exactly what happened with the grounding of the MV Karma at Agnes Water in late 2003. This meant that the state had to bear the costs of response and removal of this wreck because the state could not give directions to the owner or recover costs when action had been taken because directions were not followed. The amendments will deem the owner of the ship to be the person who was the registered owner of the ship immediately before it was lost, abandoned or stranded, and ensure that persons operating ships do so responsibly. Temporary closure of pilotage areas Harbour masters can currently close pilotage areas if the closure is urgently required for a limited period to ensure safety. The Bill will allow the temporary closure of pilotage areas or part of a pilotage area to ensure safety without an emergency situation having to be in place. For example, closing part of a pilotage area around particular ships, or during ship to ship transfers of pollutants to minimise wash disturbance from passing vessels. Creation of exclusion zones around ships Another amendment will enable the general manager of Maritime Safety Queensland to declare a temporary exclusion zone around a ship involved in a marine incident for a period up to 28 days. Before declaring such a zone, the general manager must be reasonably satisfied that the safety of vessels, persons, infrastructure or the environment is jeopardised. Often onlooking vessels and the media place themselves in danger to be near a casualty and are an impediment to safe clean up or salvage operations. The amendment creates an offence for failure to comply with the declaration of an exclusion zone by the general manager and a penalty for entering a declared exclusion zone without reasonable excuse or permission of the general manager. Sharing of fishing vessel data Changes proposed by the Bill will enable data collected by the Queensland Fisheries Service under their vessel monitoring system to be used by Maritime Safety Queensland to enhance navigational safety and in search and rescue response. This data is already collected by Queensland Fisheries in relation to catch monitoring. Access to this data by Maritime Safety Queensland and, when necessary, search and rescue agencies will improve both traffic monitoring information and rescue capabilities. This will provide better information about commercial fishing vessels and maritime traffic information in the Torres Strait and Great Barrier Reef region. Since 1999, investigations into six collisions in shipping lanes involving ships and fishing vessels or small craft have shown a major contributing factor to be a failure to maintain an appropriate lookout on fishing vessels, and that these vessels are hard for the crew of big ships to see on radar. This amendment will significantly enhance safety at sea by enabling warnings to be given to shipping about commercial fishing vessel activity in their transit area and by narrowing search areas in the event of a marine incident. This amendment to enhance safety has been welcomed by the Queensland Seafood Industry Association on behalf of its members. Recovery of costs incurred by the State in carrying out Harbour Master’s directions Mr Speaker, the Bill also facilitates the recovery of costs incurred by the State in carrying out a harbour master’s direction or for damage to an aid to navigation. Where a ship is a hazard to navigation, and needs to be moved, a Harbour Master can give a direction to remove the ship. If no action is taken, the Harbour Master may then remove the obstruction, which means the State has to bear the cost. The Act is to be amended to give courts the power, in the prosecution for an offence against the Act, such as failing to obey a Harbour Master’s direction, to order the recovery of costs incurred by the State from the owner of the ship. Currently, any action for recovery must be pursued in a separate civil action making more work for the courts. This amendment streamlines this process and complements the amendment to ascertain an owner for the purposes of determining who is responsible for costs and the operation of a vessel. Allowing criminal history checks for marine licence examiners and training providers The final change to the Transport Operations (Marine Safety) Act 1994 will enable criminal history checks to be undertaken on licence examiners and training providers who perform work on behalf of Maritime Safety Queensland. When approving persons or entities to provide training or conduct examinations, Maritime Safety Queensland must be satisfied that the person or entity is appropriately qualified and suitable. This amendment is consistent with other transport provisions including the Transport Operations (Passenger Transport) Act 1994. For example, school children in this State can undertake marine studies as part of their school studies. These studies mean that they can then undertake an examination for a recreational marine driver licence in a training course. This examination is provided by individuals or organisation that are not part of the school system and such persons or groups should meet the same requirements as any others who deal with vulnerable persons. This amendment is consistent with other transport provisions including the Transport Operations (Passenger Transport Act 1994). Transport Operations (Passenger Transport) Act 1994 I would now like to turn to the proposed amendments to the Transport Operations (Passenger Transport) Act 1994. That Act regulates public passenger transport to promote efficiency, equity and safety. The principal changes are in relation to driver disqualifying offences and TransLink service contracts. Driver disqualifying offences There are a number of changes to clarify provisions on driver disqualifying offences. Over time, some serious child-related sexual offences in the Criminal Code of Queensland have been re-categorised or renamed as other offences. The amendment will remove any doubt that any person convicted of one of these offences will remain ineligible to hold a driver authorisation, even though the offence may now be renamed or categorised differently. The Bill will also correct an anomaly that possession of a large amount of a drug may be considered a less serious offence than possession of a smaller amount of the same drug. Drivers are required to notify the chief executive of Queensland Transport if they are charged with a driver disqualifying offence. However, there is no requirement on operators to notify the chief executive if they believe one of their drivers has committed a driver disqualifying offence. The amendments will introduce such a requirement. This will remove any doubts that operators are required to pass on such information if it comes to their attention.
Page 1 and 2: PROOF ISSN 1322-0330 WEEKLY HANSARD
Page 3 and 4: Table of Contents — Tuesday, 23 A
Page 5 and 6: 2536 Papers 23 Aug 2005 PAPERS PAPE
Page 7 and 8: 2538 Ministerial Statement 23 Aug 2
Page 19 and 20: 2550 Scrutiny of Legislation Commit
Page 21 and 22: 2552 Private Members’ Statements
Page 23 and 24: 2554 Questions Without Notice 23 Au
Page 33 and 34: 2564 Members’ Ethics and Parliame
Page 35 and 36: 2566 Matters of Public Interest 23
Page 45 and 46: 2576 Constitutional and Other Legis
Page 47: 2578 Transport Legislation Amendmen
Page 51 and 52: 2582 Housing Legislation Amendment
Page 53 and 54: 2584 Education (Queensland College
Page 55 and 56: 2586 Succession Amendment Bill 23 A
Page 57 and 58: 2588 Succession Amendment Bill 23 A
Page 59 and 60: 2590 Queensland Competition Authori
Page 69 and 70: 2600 Racing Venues Development Amen
Page 81 and 82: 2612 Plumbing and Drainage and Othe
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2630 Child Safety Legislation Amend
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2642 Adjournment 23 Aug 2005 One pa
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2644 Adjournment 23 Aug 2005 years.
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2646 Adjournment 23 Aug 2005 Finall
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weekly hansard - Queensland Parliament - Queensland Government

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