Speaking at the Australia-China Coal Summit in Brisbane last week minister for industry, tourism and resources, Ian Macfarlane said the issue was on the agenda for the upcoming Ministerial Council on Energy.

The successful formation of the National Offshore Petroleum Safety Authority (NOPSA) was an example of how a mish-mash of state- and territory-based regulatory systems could be simplified, Macfarlane said.

NOPSA, which started operations in January, regulates occupational health and safety and provides nationally consistent safety regulations across the offshore petroleum industry.

Australia’s mining industry is currently regulated by a mix of occupational health and safety legislation and specific mining legislation. As a result, companies operating across several states often find there are inconsistencies between various operations.

Macfarlane emphasised the move was not a commonwealth takeover because states would still be responsible for day-to-day operations.

“Here’s a model that works. Let’s take the step and look at how this can be applied to the mining industry,” he said.

Macfarlane conceded there were challenges in applying a national authority to mining given all royalties and control of operations were under local state government, different to offshore regulations.

Some Queensland state government representatives, however, believe the agenda should not be driven by Canberra at all and that local governments and even mining companies should be tackling the issue more aggressively.

Macfarlane also announced the formation of an industry-led taskforce on coal mine safety to aid China’s efforts in reducing coal-related fatalities. He said the taskforce would strengthen the cooperative dialogue between the two nations and provide a mechanism for the exchange of safety expertise.

“Australia has a strong record in mining safety, and as the Chinese Government embarks on a safety drive of its own, there’s much we can learn from each other,” he said.

“It’s my hope that these opportunities will be actively pursued with the Chinese State Administration of Work Safety during their visit to Australia in August.”

A second summit meeting, proposed for October 2005 in Beijing, is also expected to address issues of clean coal technology and coal bed methane.