1.4 CONDUCT OF THE INQUIRY
On 8 August 1995 the Governor in Council had approved Terms of Reference for an earlier Inquiry into the Ballast Water and Hull Fouling Problem in Victoria. The Minister responsible was the Hon Mark Birrell, MLC, Minister for Conservation and Environment. The Terms of Reference were published in the Victoria Government Gazette of 7 September 1995 (p2385).
Terms of Reference for the Inquiry and calls for submissions were published in the Daily Commercial News (3 November 1995), The Age, Herald Sun and The Australian (4 November 1995). The due date for submissions to the Environment and Natural Resources Committee's office was 25 January 1996. The Committee received twenty submissions in response to these invitations.Print, radio and television media interest further alerted the public to the Inquiry, while letters inviting submissions were sent to Victorian, interstate and federal government ministers and agencies; to shipping industry, conservation and community group representatives; and to various agencies, researchers and individuals with ballast water interests both in Australia and overseas.
Melbourne field inspections were undertaken at the Port of Melbourne; the Victorian Fisheries Research Institute (now the Marine and Fresh Water Resources Institute (MAFRI)) located at Queenscliff; the Port of Geelong; and the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology's Department of Manufacturing, Mechanical and Marine Technology. The Committee was also briefed by the Victorian Ballast Water Committee.
A number of invited bodies and individuals provided factual information but declined to make a submission for reasons of unfamiliarity with Victorian marine and management conditions. The Committee thanks those who provided such information.
On 5 March 1996 the Parliament of Victoria was dissolved. As a result of the dissolution, the Inquiry lapsed.
Following the general election of 30 March 1996 the first session of the 53rd Parliament of Victoria commenced on 14 May 1996. New Parliamentary Committees were formed. With two exceptions, an entirely new membership was appointed to the Environment and Natural Resources Committee. New research and administrative personnel were also appointed.
The Environment and Natural Resources Committee wishes to acknowledge the work completed by the previous Committee. It would also like to acknowledge those individuals and organisations that made submissions to the Environment and Natural Resources Committee before the dissolution of the 52nd Parliament of Victoria.
Following commencement of the 53rd Parliament, Terms of Reference for an Inquiry into the Ballast Water and Hull Fouling Problem in Victoria were again referred to the Environment and Natural Resources Committee. On 25 June 1996, the Governor in Council referred the same Terms of Reference as those issued to the Environment and Natural Resources Committee of the 52nd Parliament, to the new Committee. Minister Tehan briefed the Committee on the Terms of Reference on 12 August 1996.
Although the Terms of Reference do not make specific mention of the problems of organism transfer via hull fouling, the Committee notes that marine fouling is regarded as significant as, if not more significant than ballast water as a medium for the translocation of exotic marine organisms. At minimum, the two issues are inseparable. The Committee therefore judges it appropriate to include marine/hull fouling within the ambit of the Terms of Reference. In response to the Committee's concerns regarding this issue, Minister Tehan advised the Committee during her briefing that:
We are not going to be particularly concerned about how you address the need for prevention of pollution of introduced pests, be it ballast or hull fouling.
Accordingly, the Committee addresses both ballast water and hull fouling in its response to the Terms of Reference for the Inquiry.
Advertisements calling for submissions to the Inquiry appeared in The Age, Herald Sun and The Australian (24 July 1996). Those who had submitted to the previous Inquiry were invited to add to or amend their earlier submissions. The due date for submissions to the Environment and Natural Resources Committee's office was 16 September 1996. The Committee received four new submissions in response to this call, giving a total of 26 submissions to the Inquiry (Appendix A). While this is many fewer than normally received by the Environment and Natural Resources Committee, it is explained by the fact that public concerns over the introduction of exotic marine organisms have been couched in terms that emphasise particular organisms - for example, the northern Pacific sea star - rather than in terms of wider issues of ballast water or hull cleaning management. Not surprisingly, many submissions (10) were received from government agencies. The remaining 16 submissions were received from: shipping representatives (3); commercial and recreational fishing industry representatives (2); local government (1); semi-government boards (1); environmental and community groups (5); academic institutions (2); and from private individuals and companies (2).
The Committee here wishes to record its thanks to those individuals, groups and organisations that provided written information to the Inquiry.
The Committee conducted two public hearings at which it heard evidence from 24 witnesses. Hearings were held in Melbourne (2 December 1996, nine witnesses; and 9 December 1996, fifteen witnesses). A full list of witnesses appearing before the Committee may be examined in Appendix B.
The Committee travelled to Hobart where it was briefed by the Tasmania Museum and Art Gallery, the National Sea Star Task Force, University of Tasmania Researchers, the Marine Board of Hobart, the Tasmanian Ballast Water Working Group, the CSIRO Centre for Research on Introduced Marine Pests, and the Department of Primary Industry and Fisheries. The Committee was also briefed in Melbourne by BHP Transport. The Committee conducted a field inspection to the Port of Melbourne, hosted by the Victorian Channels Authority and Mobil Oil Australia. A full list of those who briefed the Committee is provided in Appendix C.
Background information relevant to the Inquiry was gathered from throughout Australia and from overseas both from government and private bodies. Major government, conservation and aquaculture agencies in Canada, New Zealand, Switzerland, Sweden, Japan, the Netherlands, France, South Africa, Poland, the United Kingdom and the United States provided commentary and literature. Committee Members Mr John Pandazopoulos, MLA, and the Hon Barry Bishop, MLC, met with representatives from the International Maritime Organization (IMO) in London, England.
The Committee thanks all those who in some way contributed to the conduct of the Inquiry and to the outcomes of this Report.
