House Standing Committee on Primary Industries and Resources

Committee activities (inquiries and reports)

Inquiry into the Draft Offshore Petroleum Amendment (Greenhouse Gas Storage) Bill

Terms of Reference

Specifically, the Committee will ascertain whether the Bill:

a) Establishes legal certainty for access and property rights for the injection and long-term storage of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in offshore Commonwealth waters;

b) Provides a regulatory regime which will enable management of GHG injection and storage activities in a manner which responds to community and industry concerns;

c) Provides a predictable and transparent system to manage the interaction between GHG injection and storage operators with pre-existing and co-existing rights, including, but not limited to, those of petroleum and fishing operators, should these come into conflict;

d) Promotes certainty for investment in injection and storage activities; and

e) Establishes a legislative framework that provides a model that could be adopted on a national basis.