EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

 

Select Legislative Instrument 2006 No. 312

Issued by the authority of the Minister for the Environment and Heritage

 

 

Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Act 1989

Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Amendment Regulations 2006 (No. 2)

Section 70 of the Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Act 1989 (the Act) provides, in part, that the Governor-General may make regulations, not inconsistent with the Act, prescribing matters required or permitted by the Act to be prescribed, or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.

Subsection 45A(1) of the Act provides, in part, that regulations may be made that:

▪          regulate the sale, purchase, acquisition and disposal of scheduled substances; and

▪          regulate the storage, use or handling of scheduled substances.

Methyl bromide is a scheduled substance and is controlled under Schedule 1 to the Act. Methyl bromide contributes to the depletion of the ozone layer when released into the atmosphere, and most uses of it are emissive by nature. The Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Regulations 1995 (the Principal Regulations) currently regulate the supply and end use of non-quarantine and pre-shipment methyl bromide through record keeping and reporting systems.

Australia’s obligations under the Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer (the Protocol) ensure that stocks of methyl bromide are only sold and used for authorised purposes. Under the Protocol, non-quarantine and pre-shipment (non-QPS) uses of methyl bromide were phased out from 1 January 2005 except where critical use exemptions are granted by Parties to the Protocol or an emergency use is granted by Parties.

 

The purpose of the Regulations is to make provision for an Exemption List for Non-QPS Applications of Methyl Bromide (the List) for the year 2007 and an Intermediate Supplier List for 2007. The List details, for 2007, the exempt use, the individual holders of critical use exemptions, their nominated suppliers and the maximum quantity of methyl bromide that they may purchase from that supplier. The Intermediate Supplier List for 2007 allows for non-importers to supply methyl bromide to other non-importers who appear on the Exemption List for Non-QPS Applications of Methyl Bromide as suppliers.

 

Along with these regulatory changes, the definition of ‘allocated amount’ has been amended to include the term ‘exempt use’ to provide further clarification on the purpose of the allocated amount of methyl bromide.

These Regulations make changes of a minor or machinery nature, facilitating access to methyl bromide for approved critical uses and public consultation was not considered necessary.

Details of the Regulations are set out in the Attachment.

The Regulations are a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.

The Regulations commenced on 1 January 2007.

 

Attachment

Details of the proposed Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Amendment Regulations 2006 (No. 2)

Regulation 1 Provides that the Regulations are to be known as the Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Amendment Regulations 2006 (No. 2).

Regulation 2 Provides that the Regulations will commence on 1 January 2007.

Regulation 3 Provides that the Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Regulations 1995 (the Principal Regulations) are amended in accordance with the amendments contained in Schedule 1.

Schedule 1 These items would enable the sale and purchase of methyl bromide for approved critical uses and regulate its appropriate use in 2007.

Item [1] Includes the term ‘exempt use’ as a new definition, under regulation 200, to allow this term to be applied in the definition for ‘allocated amount’ under regulation 211 (see item [4]).

Item [2] Substitutes part of the definition for Non-QPS Exemption List under regulation 200. The word ‘and’ is inserted to make allowance for the 2007 year listing.

Item [3] Prescribes for 2007, the Non-QPS Exemption List to be the document called Exemption List for Non-QPS Applications of Methyl Bromide in 2007. Companies listed are able to access methyl bromide in 2007, in accordance with the regulations. The list of names generally reduces each year as industry groups reduce their need to use methyl bromide in line with new technologies and alternatives.

Item [4] Amends the current definition of Allocated Amount by adding the following underlined words:

211 Meaning of allocated amount

The amount of methyl bromide set out in a Non-QPS Exemption List for an exempt person and the person’s nominated supplier (or 1 of the person’s nominated suppliers) in respect of the person’s exempt use is the person’s allocated amount for that supplier and the use for the year to which the Non-QPS Exemption List relates.

 

These changes would ensure that an individual does not use more methyl bromide than their allocation allows for a particular use. For example, some individuals may have separate allocations for both strawberries and flowers and revising this definition prevents them from redistributing their allocations between uses.

Item [5] Substitutes part of the definition for Non-QPS Intermediate Supplier List under regulation 200. The word ‘and’ is inserted to make allowance for the 2007 year listing.

Item [6] Prescribes for 2007, the Non-QPS Intermediate Supplier List to be the document called Intermediate Supplier List for Non-QPS Applications of Methyl Bromide in 2007. Companies listed are able to supply methyl bromide in 2007 to exempt users, in accordance with the regulations.