Bills Digest no. 16 2008–09
Offshore Petroleum Amendment (Datum) Bill
2008
WARNING:
This Digest was prepared for debate. It reflects the legislation as
introduced and does not canvass subsequent amendments. This Digest
does not have any official legal status. Other sources should be
consulted to determine the subsequent official status of the
Bill.
CONTENTS
Passage history
Purpose
Background
Financial implications
Main provisions
Concluding comments
Contact officer & copyright details
Passage history
Date introduced:
27 August 2008
House: House of Representatives
Portfolio: Resources, Energy and
Tourism
Commencement:
The formal parts of the
Bill commence on Royal Assent. Schedule 1 commenced on 1 July
2008.
Links: The
relevant links to the Bill, Explanatory Memorandum and second
reading speech can be accessed via BillsNet, which is at http://www.aph.gov.au/bills/.
When Bills have been passed they can be found at ComLaw, which is
at http://www.comlaw.gov.au/.
The Bill amends
the Offshore Petroleum Act 2006 (Cth) (the Act), largely
to correct a technical error that occurred as a result of the
passage of the Offshore Petroleum Amendment (Miscellaneous
Measures) Act 2008 (Cth) (the Miscellaneous Measures Act).
The Act was amended earlier this year by the
Miscellaneous Measures Act. The purposes of the Miscellaneous
Measures Act were to:
- correct technical errors in the Offshore Petroleum Act
2006 (the Offshore Petroleum Act)
- implement a policy change by repealing section 327 of the
Offshore Petroleum Act, which relates to declarations of emergency
by the Commonwealth Minister, and
- convert geodetic data references of area descriptions in
Schedules 1 and 2 of the Bill to the Geocentric Datum of Australia
(GDA 94).[1]
The Bills Digest for the Bill which became the
Miscellaneous Measures Act explained the term geodetic datum as
follows (footnotes omitted):
According to the explanatory memorandum, a
geodetic datum is a
mathematical model of the world.
The previous geodetic datum was designed for
the mainland and its centre was not the centre of the earth.
However, new global positioning systems are
more suited to an earth centred or geocentric datum.
The conversion to the geocentric datum means
that the same point on the earth now has different coordinates.
These are built into the amendments.
Unfortunately, as the Hon. Martin Ferguson MP,
Minister for Resources and Energy and Minister for Tourism,
explained in his second reading speech for the Bill on 27 August
2008, it was an error to convert all geodetic data references of
area to the Geocentric Datum of Australia (GDA 94). Mr Ferguson
stated:
This bill will correct an error resulting from
a technical oversight in the Offshore Petroleum Amendment
(Miscellaneous Measures) Act 2008 which inadvertently replaced
all references to the AGD66 with the GDA94. Although the advent of
global positioning systems justifies the adoption of an
international geocentric (earth centred) datum, the Offshore
Petroleum Act still needs to refer to the AGD66 for the purposes of
determining the position of graticular sections or blocks and refer
to GDA94 for certain other purposes, including describing
coordinates of a point in a title.
If graticular sections or blocks are determined
by reference to GDA94, as currently required by the Offshore
Petroleum Act, the grid used to determine the position of the
titles will move approximately 200 metres in a north-easterly
direction from a grid that refers to AGD66. This outcome was not
the policy intention of the Offshore Petroleum (Miscellaneous
Measures) Act 2008 and would cause concern and uncertainty for
industry if not corrected. This bill will correct the technical
error.[2]
The adjective geodetic comes from the noun
geodesy , which is defined as that branch of applied mathematics
which determines the shape and area of large tracts of country, the
exact position of geographical points, and the curvature, shape,
and dimensions of the earth .[3]
The adjective graticular comes from the noun
graticule , which is defined as a grid of meridians of longitude
and parallels of latitude drawn on a particular map projection; the
basis on which a map or chart is plotted .[4] The term graticular section is defined
in section 6 of the Act as having the meaning given by section 16
of that Act. Section 16 provides:
Graticular section
- For the purposes of this Act, the surface of the Earth is taken
to be divided:
- by the meridian of Greenwich and by meridians that are at an
angular distance from that meridian of 5 minutes, or a multiple of
5 minutes, of longitude; and
- by the equator and by parallels of latitude that are at an
angular distance from the equator of 5 minutes, or a multiple of 5
minutes, of latitude;
into sections called graticular
sections, each of which is bounded:
- by portions of 2 of those meridians that are at an angular
distance from each other of 5 minutes of longitude; and
- by portions of 2 of those parallels of latitude that are at an
angular distance from each other of 5 minutes of latitude.
Simplified map
- This subsection sets out a simplified map illustrating
graticular sections off the coast of Western Australia in the
vicinity of Barrow Island:
Blocks
- For the purposes of this Act:
- a graticular section that is wholly within an offshore area
constitutes a block; and
- if a part only of a graticular section is, or parts only of a
graticular section are, within an offshore area, the area of that
part, or of those parts, constitutes a
block.
Note: See also
section 245 (certain portions of blocks to be blocks).
Block that is constituted
by a graticular section
- A reference in this Act to a block that is
constituted by a graticular section includes a
reference to a block that is constituted by the area of a part
only, or by the areas of parts only, of a graticular section.
Graticular section that constitutes a block
- A reference in this Act to a graticular section
that constitutes a block includes a reference to:
- a graticular section only part of which constitutes a block;
or
- a graticular section only parts of which constitute a
block.
Note: For datum, see
section 22.
Section 16 was not amended by the
Miscellaneous Measures Act.
The Bill has no financial impact on the
Government budget because it makes purely technical amendments
.[5]
According to the Regulatory Impact Statement
contained in the Explanatory Memorandum for the Bill, the Bill does
not impose any regulatory burden on the petroleum industry
.[6]
Schedule 1 to the Bill
contains only six items.
Item 1 amends the note
following subsection 16(5) of the Act (quoted above) to replace the
reference to section 22 of the Act with a reference to
proposed section 21A (see
item 4 below).
Item 2 amends section 20 of
the Act, by repealing paragraphs 20(a) and (b) and replacing them
with proposed paragraphs 20(a), (b) and (c).
Section 20 contains the objects of Subdivision A , which sets out
datum for ascertaining the position of points etc. (Subdivision A
is located in Division 2 of Part 1.2 of the Act, which deals with
interpretation.) The amendments are largely consequential upon the
introduction of proposed section 21A into the Act
(see item 4 below), but also involve minor
revision of the language used in section 20.
Item 3 inserts a definition
of the term Australian Geodetic Datum into section 21. The
definition refers to the definition of that term in
Gazette No. 84 of 6 October 1966 (AGD66 geodetic data
set). That definition is a technical one, with the Gazette
notice stating:
At the twenty-fourth meeting of the National
Mapping Council held in Melbourne the Council, on the
21st April, 1966, adopted the following datum for
Australian Geodetic Surveys:
Designation. The Australian Geodetic Datum.
Reference Spheroid. The Australian National
Spheroid with a major (equatorial) radius of 6,378,160 metres and a
flattening of 1/298.25.
Origin. The Johnston Geodetic Station situated
in the Northern Territory at East Longitude 133 12′
30.0771″ and south latitude 25 56′ 54.5515″ and
with a ground level elevation of 571.2 metres above the
Spheroid.[7]
Item 4
inserts proposed section 21A into the Act.
Proposed subsection 21A(1) states that for the
purposes of the Act, the position on the surface of the Earth of a
graticular section or block is to be determined by reference to the
Australian Geodetic Datum, as defined in the proposed amendment to
section 21 set out above. However, proposed subsection
21A(2) limits the application of proposed
subsection 21A(1) by stating that it does not apply for
the purposes of describing, in a title or other instrument under
this Act, the position on the surface of the Earth of a point, line
or area . In this way, the application of the definition of
Australian Geocentric Datum is confined to graticular sections or
blocks.
As stated in the Explanatory Memorandum for
the Bill:
This amendment will remove uncertainty about
title boundaries for petroleum titles, ensure alignment between
existing and future titles, and facilitate the award of new
exploration permits and the release of new exploration
acreage.[8]
Item 5 repeals paragraph
22(1)(a), which refers to the position on the surface of the Earth
of a graticular section or block being determined by reference to
the Geocentric Datum of Australia. The term Geocentric Datum of
Australia is defined in section 21 of the OP Act by reference to
the GDA94 geocentric data set (being one of the key subjects of the
amendments in the Miscellaneous Measures Act mentioned at the
beginning of this Digest). Such amendment is consequential upon the
introduction of proposed section 21A (see
item 4 above). The effect of the amendment is that
while the position on the surface of the Earth of a graticular
section or block will be determined by reference to the Australian
Geodetic Datum, the position on the surface of the Earth of the
parallel of latitude described in subsection 7(2) of the Act (the
Coral Sea area), and areas such as scheduled areas for the states
and territories, and the Greater Sunrise offshore area (being
matters mentioned in section 22), will continue to be determined by
reference to the GDA94 (ie by earth-centred data used by global
positioning systems). The reason for the distinct treatment of
graticular sections or blocks is stated in the Explanatory
Memorandum for the Bill:
If graticular sections or blocks are determined
by reference to GDA94, the grid used to determine the position of
title boundaries will move approximately 200 metres in a
north-easterly direction from a grid that refers to AGD 66. This is
not the policy intention and would cause concern and uncertainty
for industry if not corrected.[9]
As mentioned above, the Bill corrects a
technical error made by the Miscellaneous Measures Act which could
cause concern and uncertainty for industry [particularly the
petroleum industry] if not corrected.[10]
The Bill operates retrospectively. In some
circumstances, retrospective operation of legislation may be
problematic, particularly in the areas of criminal law or property
law where an amendment affects a substantive legal right. Here,
however, the Bill makes only minor technical amendments to the Act
and returns the method of determining the position on the surface
of the Earth of a graticular section or block to the way it was
before the commencement of the Miscellaneous Measures Act on 1 July
2008 (just two months ago).
Morag Donaldson
3 September 2008
Bills Digest Service
Parliamentary Library
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