EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

 

Select Legislative Instrument 2006 No. 237

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

 

 

Subject - Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Act 1989

Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Amendment Regulations 2006 (No. 1)

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 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 proposed Regulations is to amend the “as in force” date of the 2006 Exemption List for Non-QPS applications of Methyl Bromide (the List) from
1 January 2006 to 15 September 2006. The List details, for 2006, the individual holders of critical use exemptions, their nominated suppliers and the maximum quantity of methyl bromide that the may purchase from that supplier. Along with the regulatory change, the List will be updated to increase Ricegrowers’ Cooperative Limited’s (SunRice) quantity of methyl bromide from 6.150 tonnes to 10.3 tonnes. Rice growers use methyl bromide as a fumigant to control pests in the packaging of rice. Under the Protocol, provision is made that a country can grant an emergency application for methyl bromide. In this instance, the exempt person (SunRice) seeks approval to use more methyl bromide than was originally granted because the 2006 growing season substantially exceeded expectations.

The Regulations make changes of a minor or machinery nature, and will not substantially alter existing arrangements. To this end, consultation was not considered appropriate or 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 15 September 2006.

 

Attachment

Details of the Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Amendment Regulations 2006 (No. 1)

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

Regulation 2 Provides that the Regulations will commence on 15 September 2006.

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 Item 1 substitutes part of the definition for Non-QPS Exemption List in regulation 200. For the year 2006, the document called ‘Exemption List for Non-QPS Applications of Methyl Bromide’ as in force on 1 January 2006 is replaced by the ‘Exemption List for Non-QPS Applications of Methyl Bromide in 2006’ as in force on 15 September 2006.

This enables the List to be amended and SunRice to be allocated with more methyl bromide than was originally approved in 2005.