EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

 

Select Legislative Instrument 2009 No. 102

 

Issued under the authority of the Minister for Infrastructure, Transport, Regional Development and Local Government

 

Protection of the Sea (Shipping Levy) Act 1981

 

Protection of the Sea (Shipping Levy) Amendment Regulations 2009 (No. 1)

 

Section 9 of the Protection of the Sea (Shipping Levy) Act 1981 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations for the purposes of sections 6 and 7 of the Act. Section 6 of the Act enables the regulations to prescribe the rate of levy and section 7 enables the regulations to prescribe a minimum amount of levy payable for a ship for a quarter.

 

The Act imposes a levy on ships of 24 metres or more in length and having on board a quantity of ten tonnes or more of oil in bulk as fuel or cargo. The rate of levy is prescribed in the Protection of the Sea (Shipping Levy) Regulations 1982 (the Principal Regulations) for the purposes of section 6 of the Act. Previously a quarterly levy of 9.6 cents per ton of the tonnage of a ship was imposed.

 

The amending Regulations amended the Principal Regulations to increase the rate of the quarterly levy to 11.25 cents per ton on all ships to which the Act applies, effective from 1 July 2009. The minimum levy prescribed in the Principal Regulations for the purposes of section 7 remains at its current level of $10.

 

The levy is payable once in every quarter that a ship to which the Act applies is in an Australian port. The levy is used to fund the operations and management of the National Plan to Combat Pollution of the Sea by Oil and other Noxious and Hazardous Substances (the National Plan). Since 1 July 2007 the levy has also been used to fund the National Maritime Emergency Response Arrangements (NMERA).

 

This increase is the third and final annual increase intended to fully fund the NMERA. The cumulative effect of the three increases is to increase 2009-10 levy collections by an estimated $12.5 million in comparison with the amount collected in 2006-07 (when the rate was 3.3 cents per ton). With this latest increase, the amount collected will increase 2009-10 levy collections by an estimated $2.5 million in comparison with the amount collected in 2008-09. Most of the levy is used to fund the NMERA.

 

The main purpose of the NMERA is to enhance current response arrangements under the National Plan by making available Emergency Towage Vessels (ETVs) at strategic locations around Australia to respond to significant threats to the Australian marine environment, such as ships running aground. There is one dedicated ETV operating out of Cairns. A number of other vessels which perform normal towage within ports are also available to be called upon in the case of a major incident.

 

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

 

No formal consultation was undertaken in relation to these specific amendments. However, industry stakeholders were extensively consulted during the development and implementation of the NMERA and in relation to the management of levy arrangements, including the proposed increase in the levy rate. Industry stakeholders indicated strong support for these arrangements as the increased costs to industry arising from the levy increase are considered to be minor when compared with the overall operating costs of a ship.

 

The Regulations commenced on 1 July 2009.