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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2003 Week 14 Hansard (11 December) . . Page.. 5227 ..

MS GALLAGHER (continuing):

That this bill be agreed to in principle.

The Dangerous Substances Bill 2003 that I am introducing today will establish a modern duty-based framework for the regulation of dangerous goods and hazardous substances and anticipate international developments in integrated chemicals management. The objective of the bill is to protect the health and safety of people and to protect property and the environment from damage from the hazards associated with dangerous substances. Dangerous substances have intrinsic properties of explosiveness, flammability, the capacity to oxidise, corrosiveness, toxicity and ecotoxicity. The bill focuses on controlling the substantial risks of harm to people, property and the environment from the physical health and environmental hazards associated with dangerous substances.

Importantly, the bill brings together the regulation of dangerous goods and hazardous substances within a larger harmonised framework of work and safety legislation. Like the Occupational Health and Safety Act 1989, the bill is focused on positive obligations in the form of duties of care, and puts systematic safety management at the centre of dangerous substance-handling practices.

The ACT Dangerous Goods Act 1975 and the Dangerous Goods Regulations 1978 are based on outdated and overly prescriptive New South Wales legislation. The legislation has lost relevance for contemporary regulatory requirements in relation to dangerous goods and hazardous substances. Like the ACT, New South Wales is also developing new regulatory regimes based on nationally agreed standards for regulation in this area.

Australian jurisdictions agreed in 1991 to pursue national uniformity in key areas of work safety regulation and to pursue the development of nationally consistent performance-based regulations under parent safety legislation. Since that time, the National Occupational Health and Safety Commission has prepared seven national standards or packages for adoption by jurisdictions into occupational health and safety and dangerous goods legislation. Of these, the national hazardous substances regulatory framework has been adopted by all jurisdictions, with the exception of the ACT. The more recently developed national standard for the storage and handling of dangerous goods is currently being adopted across Australia.

The bill I am introducing today will establish a legislative framework for both hazardous substances and dangerous goods. As such, it will align the ACT with other Australian jurisdictions in a manner consistent with the national standards and it will make significant improvements in the regime for the storage and handling of all dangerous substances. The proposed regime will also ensure that there are appropriate safety and licensing controls for a range of substances, including explosives, about which the public has a right to be concerned.

The bill will also implement the government's commitment for the reform of the transport, storage and handling of dangerous goods legislation under national competition policy. The bill incorporates the major elements of the national standard for the storage and handling of dangerous goods and provides the framework for further incorporation of the more detailed provisions of the standard in the regulations.

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