Creating a new all-powerful national regulator for the offshore oil and gas industry would be a top priority of a re-elected Gillard Labor government, federal resources minister Martin Ferguson said today.
Creating a new all-powerful national regulator for the offshore oil and gas industry would be a top priority of a re-elected Gillard Labor government, federal resources minister Martin Ferguson said today.
And though he would prefer a collaborative approach with the states, he said the regulator could be established by the start of 2012 even if the Western Australian state government refused to sign up to the plan.
Speaking at an oil industry safety conference in Perth, Mr Ferguson said last year's Montara oil spill in the Timor Sea and the recent Gulf of Mexico spill had further highlighted the need for a more effective and efficient regulatory authority for the industry.
Mr Ferguson said the industry itself wanted a national regulator because the current arrangements sharing responsibility between state and commonwealth agencies had led to significant duplication, slow and inconsistent decision making, the inefficient use of expertise and "a resistance to change".
Consequently, Mr Ferguson said the existing National Offshore Petroleum Safety Authority's responsibilities would be extended from just offshore occupational health and safety to also cover the integrity of facilities and wells, the protection of the environment, and day to day operations.
Furthermore, the new regulatory authority would assume the primary functions currently under the control of state-based designated authorities, he said.
"These amendments are vital if we are serious about safety because the simple truth is that the health and safety of people is inextricably entwined with the integrity of facilities," Mr Ferguson said.
"Under the new national arrangements I am proposing, we will take these measures much further to recognise that safety cannot be separated from day to day operations processes or environment protection procedures either."
To date, the WA government has refused to endorse the federal government's plans for a national regulator on the grounds that it would deny the state the right to play a key role in determining the way one of its key industries operates.
Mr Ferguson said the proposed changes would "absolutely" maintain WA's influence over key activities such as the award and administration of titles.
Consequently, he hoped there would be a "coming together and understanding with the West Australian government" that would allow the proposal to proceed in a spirit of "co-operative federalism".
Nonetheless, if that failed and the incoming government could secure the support of the senate, the government could proceed without WA's support, he said.
Mr Ferguson said he would continue discussions with WA ministers and hoped to have the issue finalised by Christmas.
He also confirmed he would not release the commission of inquiry report into the Montara spill until due diligence processes were completed to ensure it did not "endanger any potential prosecutions".
