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1998-1999-2000-2001
The Parliament of the
Commonwealth of Australia
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Presented and read a first time
Border Protection Bill 2001
No. , 2001
(Immigration and Multicultural Affairs)
A Bill for an Act to provide for the
removal of ships from the territorial sea of Australia, and for related
purposes
Contents
A Bill for an Act to provide for
the removal of ships from the territorial sea of Australia, and for
related purposes
The Parliament of Australia enacts:
1
Short title
This Act may be cited as the Border Protection Act 2001.
2 Commencement
This Act is taken to have commenced on 29 August 2001 at 9.00 am by legal
time in the Australian Capital Territory.
3 Definitions
In this Act:
Australia
includes all the external Territories.
officer
means any of the following persons who is authorised (whether orally
or in writing) for the purposes of this Act by the Prime Minister or
the Minister:
(a) the
Secretary, or an employee, of the Department;
(b) a
person who is an officer for the purposes of the
Customs Act 1901;
(c) a
member of the Australian Federal Police or of the police force of a
State or an internal Territory;
(d) a
member of the police force of an external Territory;
(e) a
member of the Australian Defence Force.
ship means any vessel used
in navigation, other than air navigation, and includes a barge, lighter
or any other floating vessel.
territorial sea,
in relation to Australia, means the territorial sea area whose outer
limits are from time to time specified in a Proclamation made by the
Governor-General for the purposes of section 7 of the
Seas and Submerged Lands Act 1973.
4 Direction that ship be removed from
Australian territorial sea
(1) An
officer may, in his or her absolute discretion, direct the master or
other person in charge of a ship that is within the outer limits of
the territorial sea of Australia to take the ship, and any person on
board the ship, outside the territorial sea.
(2) A
direction given under subsection (1) must not be called into question,
or challenged, in any proceedings in any court in Australia.
(3) An
officer may use any reasonable means to give a direction under subsection (1).
(4) To
avoid doubt, a direction is given under subsection (1) even if:
(a) there
was no master on board the ship to receive the direction; or
(b) the
master did not receive or understand the direction.
5 Enforcement of direction
Where a direction has been given under section 4, an officer may detain
the ship, and take it, or cause it to be taken, outside the territorial
sea of Australia. For this purpose, reasonable means, including reasonable
force, may be used by the officer or another person.
6 Persons may be returned to ship
An officer, or a person assisting an officer, may return to a ship a
person who:
(a) at
the time when a direction is given under section 4 in respect of the
ship, is on board the ship; and
(b) later
leaves the ship.
For this purpose, reasonable means, including
reasonable force, may be used by the officer or another person.
7 Liability for actions taken under
this Act
(1) Proceedings,
whether civil or criminal, may not be instituted or continued against
the Commonwealth in respect of action taken under section 5 or 6.
(2) Proceedings,
whether civil or criminal, may not be instituted or continued against
an officer who takes action under section 5 or 6, or a person who assists
in taking action under section 5 or 6, if the officer or other person
acts in good faith.
8 No proceedings available to prevent
removal of ship
Proceedings may not be instituted or continued by any person in any
court to prevent a ship, or any persons on board a ship, being removed
to a place outside the territorial sea of Australia pursuant to a direction
given under section 4.
9 No applications for protection visas
(1) Any
application for a protection visa under the
Migration Act 1958, made by a person who is on board a ship at
the time when a direction is given under section 4 in respect of the
ship, is not a valid application.
(2) Section 91F
of the Migration Act 1958 applies in relation to an application
covered by subsection (1) of this section as if it were an application
covered by section 91E of that Act.
10 Act has effect in spite of any other
law
This Act has effect in spite of any other law.
11 Validation of actions taken before
Assent to this Act
(1) This
section applies to action taken during the period between the commencement
of this Act and the time when this Act received the Royal Assent.
(2) If,
during that period, the Prime Minister or the Minister authorised a
person (the authorised person) described in any of the
paragraphs of the definition of officer in section 3 to
give a direction of the kind described in section 4 (however that authorisation
was expressed), then:
(a) any
action of the kind described in section 5 or 6 that was taken pursuant
to that authorisation (including any action taken by any other person
at the request or direction of the authorised person) is deemed for
all purposes to have been validly taken under this Act; and
(b) section 7
applies in respect of any such action as if the action had been taken
under section 5 or 6; and
(c) section 8
applies in respect of any removal of a ship pursuant to such an authorisation
as if a direction had been given under section 4; and
(d) section 9
applies to any application made by a person who was on board the ship
at any time during that period as if a direction had been given under
section 4 in respect of the ship concerned while the person was on board
the ship.
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