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Energy and Resources Legislation
Amendment Bill 2008
Amended Print
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
General
The Bill amends the Electricity Industry Act 2000, the Electricity Safety
Act 1998, the Electricity Safety Amendment Act 2007, the Geothermal
Energy Resources Act 2005, the Mineral Resources (Sustainable
Development) Act 1990, the Petroleum Act 1998 and the Pipelines Act
2005.
Clause Notes
PART 1--PRELIMINARY
Clause 1 sets out the main purposes of the Bill.
Clause 2 is the commencement provision. The Bill (other than section 8
which will be proclaimed to coincide with the commencement
of Part 2 of the Electricity Safety Amendment Act 2007), will
come into operation on the day after the day it receives the Royal
Assent. If section 8 does not come into operation before
1 January 2010, it comes into operation on that day.
PART 2--AMENDMENT OF ELECTRICITY
SAFETY ACT 1998
Clause 3 amends section 31 of the Electricity Safety Act 1998 to provide
that the registration period of electrical contractors continues for
periods of up to five years.
Clause 4 repeals sections 34(2)(a) and 41(2)(a) of the Electricity Safety
Act 1998 as they are redundant provisions. Sections 34 and 41
set out the range of disciplinary measures that Electricity Safe
Victoria (ESV) may take against a registered electrical contractor
or licensed electrical worker. Sections 34(2)(a) and 41(2)(a)
allow ESV to impose fines, however, ESV has not used these
561183 1 BILL LA AMENDED 8/5/2008
powers and does not intended to do so in the future.
The remaining disciplinary powers that ESV will retain under
sections 34 and 41 are adequate. These powers include the
ability to suspend or cancel registration or a licence.
Clause 5 amends section 45(4) of the Electricity Safety Act 1998 to
increase the penalty for licensed electrical inspectors who fail to
record defects in electrical work when issuing a certificate of
inspection.
Clause 6 substitutes section 93 of, and inserts new section 93A into, the
Electricity Safety Act 1998 to make it clear that the owner of a
cathodic protection system must not operate the system unless it
is registered by Energy Safe Victoria and must ensure that the
system is operated in accordance with the Act and relevant
conditions of registration. The defence of reasonable belief
applies under certain circumstances.
Clause 7 substitutes the definition of prescribed offence in section 140A
of the Electricity Safety Act 1998 to mean an offence against
various sections of the Act for which an infringement notice can
be served. These offences are currently prescribed in regulations.
Clause 8 substitutes the definition of prescribed offence for the
commencement of section 140A of the Electricity Safety
Amendment Act 2007 to mean an offence against various
sections of the Act. This amendment is necessary as a
consequence of changes to section numbering that will occur
after Part 2 of the Electricity Safety Amendment Act 2007
commences operation.
PART 3--AMENDMENT TO GEOTHERMAL ENERGY
RESOURCES ACT 2005
Clause 9 amends section 23 of the Geothermal Energy Resources Act
2005 to make it clear that where a tender application has not
resulted in exploration permits being issued, it is open to the
Government to invite another tender application for the
remaining land at any time. Clause 9 also makes other
amendments to make clear that the Minister may specify new
chief factors that will be taken into consideration in assessing
further applications and places an obligation on the Minister to
state whether he or she will consider those chief factors in her or
his decision making process.
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Clause 10 inserts new section 23A into the Geothermal Energy Resources
Act 2005 to enable the Government to assign an order of priority,
based on a merit assessment, to geothermal exploration permit
applications received in response to an invitation from the
Minister under section 23 in respect of the same land on the same
day.
Clause 11 amends section 34 of the Geothermal Energy Resources Act
2005 to make it clear that an application for a retention lease
must be made at least 90 days before the applicant's permit is due
to expire, failing which the Minister may consider such
applications on payment of a late fee set by regulations.
PART 4--AMENDMENT OF MINERAL RESOURCES
(SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT) ACT 1990
Clause 12 substitutes reference to subsection (4) in section 41(6) of the
Mineral Resources (Sustainable Development) Act 1990 with
a reference to subsection (3).
Clause 13 substitutes a reference to "Fire Protection Regulation 1992" in
section 43B(2) of the Mineral Resources (Sustainable
Development) Act 1990 with a reference to the "Forests (Fire
Protection) Regulations 2004".
Clause 14 amends section 59 of the Mineral Resources (Sustainable
Development) Act 1990 to clarify that a tourist fossicking
authority (TFA) may be granted to both an individual and a
company.
Clause 15 increases the penalty from 10 penalty units to 50 penalty units for
a breach of section 62(3) of the Mineral Resources (Sustainable
Development) Act 1990. Section 62(3) outlines the obligations
of a TFA holder.
Clause 16 repeals sections 108 and 124(1)(e) of the Mineral Resources
(Sustainable Development) Act 1990 as they are redundant.
Section 108 provides for proof of prior convictions in relation to
infringement offences and is being repealed as a consequence of
the Infringements Act 2006. Section 124(1)(e) is a specific
regulation making power for the purposes of section 22 of the
Mineral Resources (Sustainable Development) Act 1990
which has been repealed.
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PART 5--AMENDMENT OF PIPELINES ACT 2005
Clause 17 amends section 14 and section 15 of the Pipelines Act 2005 to
increase the penalties for breaches of the offences in those
sections from 120 penalty units for a natural person and
600 penalty units for a body corporate to 240 penalty units for
a natural person and 1200 penalty units for a body corporate.
The offences relate to the construction and operation of a pipeline
without a licence to construct and operate the pipeline.
Clause 18 inserts new section 95(1A) into the Pipelines Act 2005 to
provide that when making a decision for access to land for
pipeline, the Minister must consider whether the proponent or
licensee has satisfied the requirement set out in an approved
consultation plan.
PART 6--AMENDMENT OF OTHER ACTS
Clause 19 substitutes in section 16(2) of the Electricity Industry Act 2000
(which does not prohibit the transmission, distribution or supply
of electricity by and for the use of the Public Transport
Corporation) the words "the Public Transport Corporation
established under the Transport Act 1983" for "a passenger
transport company within the meaning of the Transport Act
1983".
Clause 20 amends section 7 of the Electricity Safety Amendment Act
2007 to substitute in proposed section 117(3) of the Electricity
Safety Act 1998 the words "the network operator referred to in
section 116" for "the person". This provision will ensure that if
ESV accepts an electricity safety management scheme, ESV may
exempt a person from compliance with any of the regulations
relating to the installation and operation of electrical installations
or supply networks.
Clause 20 also amends proposed new section 120H(4) of the
Electricity Safety Act 1998 (being inserted by section 7 of the
Electricity Safety Amendment Act 2007) which ensures that
an accepted ESMS operator must comply with a requirement of
ESV. The amendment to section 120H(4) increases the penalty
provision from 50 penalty units to 200 penalty units.
Clause 21 amends section 38 of the Petroleum Act 1998 to provide that the
holder of an exploration permit must make an application for a
retention lease at least 90 days before the applicant's exploration
permit is due to expire. The Minister may on the payment of any
late fee consider a late application for a retention lease.
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PART 7--REPEAL OF AMENDING ACT
Clause 22 provides for the automatic repeal of this amending Act on
1 January 2011. The repeal of this Act does not affect in any
way the operation of the amendments made by this Act (see
section 15(1) of the Interpretation of Legislation Act 1984).
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