Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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CUSTOMS (PROHIBITED IMPORTS) REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT) 1994 NO. 241

STATUTORY RULES 1994 No. 241

Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Small Business, Customs and Construction

Customs Act 1901

Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations (Amendment)

Section 50 of the Customs Act 1901 (the Act) provides in part that:

"(1) The Governor-General may, by regulation, prohibit the importation of goods into Australia.

(2)       The power conferred by the last preceding subsection may be exercised -..(c) by prohibiting the importation of goods unless specified conditions or restrictions are complied with.

(3)       Without limiting the generality of paragraph (2)(c), the regulations -...(a) may provide that the importation of goods is prohibited unless a licence, permission, consent or approval to import the goods or a class of goods in which the goods are included has been granted as prescribed by the regulations; and ......

The Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations (the Regulations) control the importation of goods specified in the various regulations or the Schedules to the Regulations, by prohibiting importation absolutely, or making the importation subject to the permission of a Minister or a specified person.

Regulation 4Q of the Regulations prohibits the importation of goods from South Africa, or of South African origin, as specified in Schedule 7A of the Regulations unless the permission of the Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade or an authorised person is produced to a Collector of Customs.

On 25 May 1994 the United Nations Security Council, by Resolution 919, decided to lift the arms embargo against South Africa, imposed by Resolutions 418 (1977), 558 (1984) and 591 (1986). The Australian High Commission in London also advised the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade that Commonwealth Secretary-General Anyaoku considered that the trigger for the lifting of the Commonwealth arms embargoes had been met by the election of a nonracial democratic Government of National Unity in South Africa.

Regulation 4Q and Schedule 7A of the Customs (Prohibited Imports) Regulations give effect to Australia's obligation as a member of the United Nations to control the importation of arms (amongst other goods) from South Africa. In order to lift the arms embargo, the regulations omit regulation 4Q and Schedule 7A (regulations 2 and 3 refer).

The Regulations commence on gazettal.