Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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GREAT BARRIER REEF MARINE PARK REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT) 1991 NO. 296

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

STATUTORY RULES 1991 No. 296

Issued under the authority of the Minister for the Arts, Sport, the Environment, Tourism and Territories

Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Act 1975

Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Regulations (Amendment)

The purpose of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Regulations (Amendment) is to give effect to the provisions of the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Amendment Act 1991, which introduced compulsory pilotage for certain categories of ships when navigating in the hazardous northern part of the Great Barrier Reef Region and in Hydrographer's Passage, which is located off Mackay, Queensland.

Regulation 1 makes 1 October 1991 the date on which these regulations commence.

Regulation 2 provides for the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Regulations to be amended.

Regulation 3 provides for the insertion of 'Part 4A-Compulsory Pilotage' into the Regulations. This new part incorporates the following provisions:

Regulation 26A(1) sets out the range of information an applicant must provide to the Minister in order for the Minister to make a decision on whether to exempt the applicant from the pilotage requirement. The regulation retains a discretionary power for the Minister to make a decision even if all the prescribed information is not provided so as to take account of instances where all the information is either not required or is not applicable to the nature of the particular shipping operation proposed. A definition for the terms 'hazardous goods' and 'oil' have been provided in regulation 26A(2) which are consistent with the use of those terms in the Navigation Act 1912 and the Protection of the Sea (Prevention of Pollution from Ships) Act 1983.

Regulation 2613(1) provides a means for the Minister to seek further information from an applicant for an exemption from the pilotage requirements if the Minister considers that information is necessary for the Minister to make a decision. Regulation 26B(2) allows for an application for exemption to be considered to have lapsed if this further information is not provided.

The provisions of regulation 26C allow the Minister to apply conditions to the granting of an exemption.

An applicant who has been granted an exemption from the pilotage requirements is obliged under regulation 26D to notify the Minister in writing, if the circumstances of the operation of the vessel change while it is operating in the compulsory pilotage area if these changes may have altered the Minister's decision to grant an exemption.

Regulation 26E provides a means for the Minister to terminate an exemption should the applicant breach the conditions that have been applied to the granting of the exemption.

Regulation 4 amends the heading of Part V of the Regulations to reflect that there will be a fee for applications to the Minister for exemption from the compulsory pilotage provisions and that this fee is separate to those charges which apply to applications for permission from the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority under a zoning plan. This regulation has been amended so as to reflect current legislative drafting practice.

The new regulation 28 describes the fees detailed in Schedule 4. These refer only to applications for permission from the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority for activities of a commercial nature in the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park.

Regulation 6 amends the wording of regulation 29 which refers to the indexation of fees applying to applications for permission under Marine Park Zoning Plans so as to reflect current legislative drafting practice.

Regulation 7 inserts a new regulation 33 which imposes a $500 fee for an application for an exemption from the requirements of compulsory pilotage.

Regulation 8 inserts a new Schedule 3 which describes the form of the identity card that will be carried by inspectors appointed to enforce the compulsory pilotage regulations.

Regulation 9 amends the heading of Schedule 4 to make it clear that this Schedule only refers to fees in respect of applications for permission from the Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority for activities of a commercial nature under the provisions of a zoning plan.


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