EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Issued by the authority of the Minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources
Greater Sunrise Unitisation Agreement Implementation Act 2004
Proclamation
Subsection 2(1) of the Greater Sunrise Unitisation Agreement Implementation Act 2004 (the Act) provides that most of Schedules 1 and 2 to the Act commence on a day to be fixed by Proclamation. Part 2 of Schedule 1, which makes some technical corrections, was taken to have commenced on 7 March 2000. The remainder of the Act commenced when it received Royal Assent on 21 April 2004.
The purpose of the Proclamation is to fix 7 February 2007 as the day on which items 1 to 86 of Schedule 1 to the Act commence. The commencement date coincides with the date on which Timor-Leste is expected to enact complementary legislation.
The Act amends the Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Act 1967, the Petroleum Resource Rent Tax Assessment Act 1987 and the Radiocommunications Act 1992 to implement Australia's obligations pursuant to the Greater Sunrise Unitisation Agreement of March 2003 between Australia and the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste. These amendments will regulate joint development of the Greater Sunrise petroleum field. This field straddles the Joint Petroleum Development Area and Australian waters. For its part, Timor-Leste needs to legislate to implement the Treaty between Australian and the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste on Certain Maritime Arrangements in the Timor Sea (CMATS) and its mirror legislation for the Greater Sunrise Unitisation Agreement. This will set aside maritime boundary claims for 50 years and lift Timor-Leste's share of Greater Sunrise revenues from under 18 per cent (under the Unitisation Agreement) to 50 per cent. Together, Australian and Timor-Leste legislation will permit the field to be exploited as a single unit under the Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Act 1967.
All the provisions of the Act, other than Schedules 1 and 2, commenced on 21 April 2004. Schedule 1 to the Act amends the Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Act 1967 to give effect to the Greater Sunrise Unitisation Agreement and bring the development of the Project under the auspices of the Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Act 1967. There are also a number of technical corrections to the Petroleum (Submerged Lands) Act 1967 unrelated to the Unitisation Agreement. Schedule 2, which commences at the same time as items 1 to 86 of Schedule 1, amends the Petroleum Resource Rent Tax Assessment Act 1987 and the Radiocommunications Act 1992 for changes consequent to entry into force of the Agreement and CMATS. These changes deal with the taxation treatment of production from the Greater Sunrise Project and to bring the Project within Australian regulation for the purposes of radiocommunications.
The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has been consulted in the preparation of this Proclamation.
The Proclamation is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003.