EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Transport and Communication
Subject - Ships (Capital Grants) Act 1987
Ships (Capital Grants) Regulations (Amendment) 1989 No. 317
Section 42 of the Ships (Capital Grants) Act 1987 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations not inconsistent with the Act, prescribing all matters which by the Act are required or permitted to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.
The Act is intended to provide an incentive in the form of taxable grants for the introduction of more efficient ships into the Australian shipping industry. To be eligible for a grant a ship must comply with certain crew levels specified in the Act which are prescribed according to the category of ship. The Act provides for regulations to create categories where proposed ships do not fit the existing categories.
It is necessary to make a regulation specifying a category of the “Aurora Australia”, a polar research and supply ship which has operational requirements and work practices different from those of the major trading ships to which the existing categories relate.
It is not appropriate, due to the multi-purpose nature of the operations of this ship and the peak cargo handling workload experienced at the Antarctic bases that the maximum crew level of 21 prescribed for major trading ships be applicable to the “Aurora Australia”. It is proposed to create a regulation under the Act specifying a maximum crew level of 24, the level assessed by the Department of Transport and Communications to be safe and efficient for this ship’s operations. This crew level is applicable only to this unique ship and does not set a precedent for higher crews on normal trading ships.
The regulations declare a category of ships in respect of the ‘Aurora Australia” defining the operations of this ship as voyages undertaken for the purposes of the Australian National Antarctic Research Expedition. For these operations a maximum crew level of 24 is prescribed.