EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
Woomera Prohibited Area Rule 2014
Woomera Prohibited Area Rule 2014 (Suspension of Standing Permission to Travel on the Tarcoola to Darwin Railway Line) Repeal Instrument 2021
Authority
Subsection 11(3) of the Woomera Prohibited Area Rule 2014 provides that the Minister for Defence may, by legislative instrument, suspend standing permission to use certain roads and railways if the Minister is satisfied that it is necessary for:
(a) the security of defence activities; or
(b) the safety of persons in the Woomera Prohibited Area.
The Minister has delegated the power to suspend permission for travel on the access routes in subsection 11(1) of the Woomera Prohibited Area Rule 2014 within the Woomera Prohibited Area (WPA).
The Suspension of Standing Permission to Travel on Tarcoola to Darwin Railway Line During the Period 21 October 2021 to 21 November 2021 (the Suspending Instrument) was made by the Director Woomera Prohibited Area Coordination Office as a delegate of the Minister for Defence on 24 September 2021.
Subsection 33(3) of the Acts Interpretation Act 1901 relevantly provides that, where an Act confers a power to make, grant or issue any instrument of a legislative or administrative character, the power shall be construed as including a power exercisable in the like manner and subject to the like conditions (if any) to repeal, rescind, revoke, amend, or vary any such instrument. This instrument is made in accordance with that provision.
Purpose
The purpose of the Woomera Prohibited Area Rule 2014 (Suspension of Standing Permission to Travel on the Tarcoola to Darwin Railway Line) Repeal Instrument 2021 (the Repealing Instrument) is to repeal the Suspending Instrument. During the suspension of standing permission period, members of the public may be prevented from travelling between specified locations on the Tarcoola to Darwin Railway Line within the WPA during the specified period and during specified times when access control points are established while Defence testing activities are occurring in the WPA. This is to allow the testing activities to be conducted in a safe and secure manner.
Given the nature of Defence testing activities in the Woomera Prohibited Area, the actual duration of an exclusion period and the extent of exclusion areas are subject to change. Defence testing activities in the vicinity of the Tarcoola to Darwin Railway Line within the WPA have concluded and there is no requirement to continue impeding travel on the Tarcoola to Darwin Railway Line.
Legislative Instrument
The Repealing Instrument is a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislation Act 2003.
Regulatory Impact Statement
There is no regulatory impact.
Consultation
Consultation was not undertaken in relation to the making of the Repealing Instrument on the basis that the repeal of the Suspending Instrument will have a beneficial impact on those members of the public who have, since 21 October 2021, been prevented from travelling between specified locations on the Tarcoola to Darwin Railway Line within the WPA while Defence testing activities were occurring. Upon the suspension ceasing, members of the public will once again be able to enjoy unimpeded travel on the Tarcoola to Darwin Railway Line through the WPA, enjoying their usual freedoms of movement and work and participation in cultural life. In addition to registration of the Repealing Instrument, Defence will ensure that the cessation of the suspension and lifting of restrictions on travel on the Tarcoola to Darwin Railway Line is made public by publication on the Woomera Prohibited Area Coordination Office website as soon as practicable.
Details of Amending Instrument
Details of the Amending Instrument are set out at Attachment 1.
Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights - Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.
A statement of compatibility with Human Rights is set out at Attachment 2.
Attachment 1
Section 1 – Name
This section provides that the name of the Repealing Instrument is the Woomera Prohibited Area Rule 2014 (Suspension of Standing Permission to Travel on the Tarcoola to Darwin Railway Line) Repeal Instrument 2021.
Section 2 – Commencement
This section provides that the whole of the Repealing Instrument commences on the day it is signed by the Director Woomera Prohibited Area Coordination Office.
Section 3 – Authority
This section provides that the legislative authority for making the Amending Instrument is subsection 11(3) of the Woomera Prohibited Area Rule 2014.
Section 4 Schedules
Section 4 provides that each instrument that is specified in a Schedule to the Amending Instrument is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items in the Schedule concerned, and any other item in a Schedule to the instrument has effect according to its terms.
Schedule 1 – Repeals
Schedule 1 Suspension of Standing Permission to Travel on Tarcoola to Darwin Railway Line During the Period 21 October 2021 to 21 November 2021
Item 1 – The whole of the instrument
Item 1 repeals the whole of the instrument.
Attachment 2
Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights
Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011
Woomera Prohibited Area Rule 2014 (Suspension of Standing Permission to Travel on the Tarcoola to Darwin Railway Line) Repeal Instrument 2021
The Repealing Instrument is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011.
Overview of the Repealing Instrument
The Suspension of Standing Permission to Travel on Tarcoola to Darwin Railway Line During the Period 21 October 2021 to 21 November 2021 (the Suspending Instrument) was made by the Director Woomera Prohibited Area Coordination Office as a delegate of the Minister for Defence on 24 September 2021. During the suspension of standing permission period, members of the public may be prevented from travelling between specified locations on the Tarcoola to Darwin Railway Line within the Woomera Prohibited Area (WPA) during the specified period and during specified times when access control points are established while Defence testing activities are occurring in the WPA.
The purpose of the Woomera Prohibited Area Rule 2014 (Suspension of Standing Permission to Travel on the Tarcoola to Darwin Railway Line) Repeal Instrument 2021 (the Repealing Instrument) is to repeal the suspension on standing permission to travel on the Tarcoola to Darwin Railway Line within the WPA. Defence testing activities in the vicinity of the Tarcoola to Darwin Railway Line within the WPA have concluded and there is no requirement to continue impeding travel on the Tarcoola to Darwin Railway Line.
Human rights implications
The Repealing Instrument is likely to engage the following human rights:
Freedom of Movement – Article 12 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR)
The right to freedom of movement includes the right, for those who are lawfully within a country, to move freely within that country. During the suspension of standing permission period, members of the public may have been unable move on the specified part of the Tarcoola to Darwin Railway Line within the WPA when access control points were established. The freedom of movement was limited to ensure personal safety and the security of people due to Defence testing activities taking place within the WPA. Although the suspension period was for a finite period of time and only between specified locations considered reasonably necessary to conduct the testing activities in a safe and secure manner, now that the Defence testing activities have concluded, there is no requirement to continue impeding travel on the Tarcoola to Darwin Railway Line. Repealing the suspension of standing permission period will ensure that the limitation on the right to freedom of movement is reasonable, proportionate and necessary in these circumstances.
The right to work and the right to just and favourable working conditions – Article 6 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR)
The right to work recognises the right to just and favourable conditions of work including a right to safe and healthy working conditions. During the suspension of standing permission period, members of the public may have been unable to work and/or conduct business activities on the specified part of the Tarcoola to Darwin Railway Line within the WPA when access control points were established. The right to work was limited to ensure personal safety and the security of people due to Defence testing activities taking place within the Woomera Prohibited Area. Although the suspension period was for a finite period of time and only between specified locations considered reasonably necessary to conduct the testing activities in a safe and secure manner, now that the Defence testing activities have concluded, there is no requirement to continue impeding travel on the Tarcoola to Darwin Railway Line. Repealing the suspension of standing permission period will ensure that the limitation on the right to work is reasonable, proportionate and necessary in these circumstances.
The right to enjoy and benefit from culture – Article 27 of the ICCPR and the right to take part in cultural life – Article 15 of the ICESCR
These rights recognise the rights of all people to enjoy and benefit from culture and take part in cultural life. For Indigenous Australians, enjoying and benefiting from culture and taking part in cultural life may include traditional, social and economic activities such as fishing or hunting and the right to live on traditional lands. During the suspension of standing permission period, indigenous Australians may have been unable to fully enjoy their culture life by being prevented from travelling on the specified part of the Tarcoola to Darwin Railway Line within the WPA while access control points were established. The right to enjoy culture and take part in cultural life was limited to ensure personal safety and the security of people due to Defence testing activities taking place within the WPA. Although the suspension period was for a finite period of time and only between specified locations considered reasonably necessary to conduct the testing activities in a safe and secure manner, now that the Defence testing activities have concluded, there is no requirement to continue impeding travel on the Tarcoola to Darwin Railway Line. Repealing the exclusion period will ensure that the limitation on the right to enjoy culture and take part in cultural life is reasonable, proportionate and necessary in these circumstances.
Conclusion
The Repealing Instrument is compatible with international human rights instruments to which Australia is a signatory. It helps ensure that limitations that were placed on human rights were reasonable and proportionate by ceasing the limitations when they were no longer necessary to achieving legitimate objectives.
Kathleen Leane, Director Woomera Prohibited Area Coordination Office