9.8 SUMMARY

In developing the Victorian Ballast Water Management System the Committee has sought to develop practical, achievable measures derived from statements of first principles. They are:

· The Committee finds that the jurisdictional split between international and domestic shipping is not constitutionally necessary and leads to a duplication of effort and resources in preventing the introduction of exotic marine species into local waters.

· The Committee finds that the threat of further exotic organism introductions warrants immediate action. The current federal approach involving voluntary guidelines does not provide sufficient protection for habitats such as Port Phillip Bay. The Committee considers, therefore, that more effective measures are called for at the State and port levels.

· The Environment Protection Authority is the appropriate agency to administer the Victorian Ballast Water Management System.

· The Committee recommends that the Australian (International) Guidelines and a risk assessment process be used as the basis for the implementation of a Victorian Ballast Water Management System.

A Victorian Ballast Water Management System could be administered under the authority of existing legislation through the Environment Protection Act 1970. The Committee therefore believes that statutory reform is not necessary to support such a System. The System could be implemented through State Environment Protection Policies, Industrial Waste Management Policies or regulations to the Environment Protection Act 1970.

A Victorian Ballast Water Management System should comprise a number of elements including a risk assessment process, Port Ballast Management Plans, compliance monitoring and an extensive education and awareness program for the shipping industry.

The costs to the shipping industry of en route ballast water exchange ($500 to $1600 per visit), are relatively minor when compared to other shipping operational costs (Table 20). The Committee therefore considers, that in the interests of preventing further exotic introductions into Victorian coastal waters, such costs are not unreasonable.

The number of vessels which may be required to undertake remedial action as part of the Victorian Ballast Water Management System is likely to be a very small proportion of total ship visits to Victoria, particularly if ships comply with the Australian (International) Guidelines.

The Committee concludes that if the shipping industry acts responsibly in complying with the Victorian Ballast Water Management System, few vessels will incur significant costs for ballast water management.

There are a number of different avenues through which sanctions could be imposed upon vessels which fail to comply with any aspect of the Victorian Ballast Water Management System. In addition to the large penalties available under the Environment Protection Act 1970, other aspects of the proposed Ballast Water Management System provide incentives and deterrents for compliance with the System.
Most domestic vessels can fulfill the depth and time requirement for effective ballast water exchange en route to Victorian ports. For ships making short intrastate journeys between Victorian ports, however, ballast water exchange may not be possible. Further consultation between the EPA, Victorian ports, DNRE and the shipping industry is therefore required to address this issue.