| House of Representatives Notice Paper Question No 0165 Schedule Number: 300032 |
Publication Date: 26 August 2008 Hansard: Page 6284 |
|
Nuclear powered warships |
Member: Melham | |
Mr Melham asked the Minister for Defence, in writing, on 25 June 2008:
Which Australian ports are currently approved to receive visits by nuclear powered warships; and when was the suitability of each port to receive such visits last re-validated.
Mr Fitzgibbon - The answer to the honourable member's question is as follows:
The re-validation of Nuclear Powered Warship ports is conducted at two yearly intervals and, in accordance with extant procedures, if the port has not had a visit in the preceding 12 months a validation will be conducted prior to any planned visit.
| Port | Revalidated |
| Fremantle (WA) | October 2007 |
| HMAS STIRLING (WA) | October 2007 |
| Albany (WA) | October 2007 |
| Darwin (NT) | October 2007 |
| Gladstone (Qld) | July 2006 (scheduled for revalidation in October 2008) |
| Brisbane (Qld) | August 2006 (scheduled for revalidation in October 2008) |
| Melbourne (Vic) | September 2006 |
Hobart (Tas) was last visited by a Nuclear Powered Warship in May 2002, and was last revalidated in December 2005. The Visiting Ships Panel (Nuclear) is currently considering when this port should again be validated.
Jervis Bay (NSW/ACT) is a secondary port and last received a visit in 1983. Jervis Bay was last revalidated in December 2005. The revalidation process is underway, but is delayed while local authorities redraft the Port Safety Plan.