Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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GREAT BARRIER REEF MARINE PARK AMENDMENT REGULATIONS 2001 (NO. 3) 2001 NO. 197

STATUTORY RULES 2001 No. 197

ISSUED BY AUTHORITY OF THE MINISTER FOR THE ENVIRONMENT AND HERITAGE

Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act 1975

Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Amendment Regulations 2001 (No. 3)

Subsection 66(1) of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act 1975 ("the Act") provides that the Governor-General may make regulations, not inconsistent with this Act or with a zoning plan, prescribing all matters required or permitted by this Act to be prescribed or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to this Act. Subsection 66(2)(e) of the Act provides for the making of regulations which regulate or prohibit acts (whether in the Marine Park or elsewhere) that may pollute water in a manner harmful to the animals or plants in the Marine Park. Subsection 66(2)(o) of the Act also provides for the making of regulations which regulate the use of vessels in, and the passage of vessels through, the Marine Park and the landing and use of aircraft in, and the flying of aircraft over., the Marine Park.

On 21 June 2001, the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Amendment Act 2001 (No. 48 of 2001) received Royal Assent. The provisions of this Act commence on the 28th day after the day on which it received Royal Assent, being the day on which the Regulations commence.

The purpose of the Amendment Regulations is to:

*       Declare compulsory pilotage areas for the inner shipping route north of Low Isles (north of Cairns), Hydrographer's Passage (offshore Mackay), and the . Whitsundays, for the purposes of subsection 3(1) of the Act. The Whitsundays will be a newly declared compulsory pilotage area and the Hydrographer's Passage includes an extension to the compulsory pilotage area previously declared in the Act. The inner shipping route. was previously declared in the Act.

*       Regulate the discharge of sewage from vessels in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park ("the Marine Park").

*       Provide that a permission granted under regulations 13 and 22 of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Regulations 1983 ("the principal Regulations") is declared to be a permission to which paragraphs 38CB(1)(c), 38MA(1)(d), and 38MA(3)(c) of the Act apply.

Subsection 3(1) of the Act (as amended by the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Amendment Act 2001) defines the Compulsory Pilotage Area as any part of the Great Barrier Reef Region that is prescribed by the regulations. The new provision enables the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority ("the Authority") to provide for the declaration of, or adjustment of, the compulsory pilotage areas by means of regulation rather than an amendment to the Act. Whilst in compulsory pilotage areas, vessels over 70 metres in overall length, or vessels that are loaded oil tankers, chemical carriers, or liquefied gas carriers are required to carry a licensed pilot when navigating through the declared compulsory pilotage areas. These Amendment Regulations will further enhance the protection of the Marine Park.

Subsection 38J(1) of the Act (as amended) provides that it is an offence for a person to intentionally or negligently discharge waste in the Marine Park where that discharge is not authorised by a permission which is granted or transferred under the regulations and is of a kind declared by the regulations to be a permission to which this section applies. Subsection 38J(1A) goes on to state that subsection (1) does not apply if the discharge is sewage.

The provisions of section 38J of the Act do not adequately protect the sensitive marine environments in the Marine Park from the effects of sewage. Sewage contains pathogens that can negatively affect human health, and nutrients and other compounds that can adversely impact on coral reefs, seagrasses and other benthic communities. These regulations will further enhance the protection of the Great Barrier Reef from the impacts of sewage discharges.

The Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Amendment Act 2001 inserted a number of new provisions into the Act which relate to illegal fishing and shipping. The Amendment Regulations insert a provision into the principal Regulations which deems that a permission granted under regulations 13 or 22 is declared to be a permission to which new paragraphs 38CB(1)(c), 38MA(1)(d), and 38MA(3)(c) of the Act apply.

The Amendment Regulations commence on the commencement of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Amendment Act 2001.