Commonwealth Numbered Regulations - Explanatory Statements

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DAIRY PRODUCE REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT) 1995 NO. 310

STATUTORY RULES 1995 No. 310

Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Primary Industries and Energy

Dairy Produce Act 1986

Dairy Produce Regulations (Amendment)

The Dairy Produce Act 1986 (the Act) relates to the functions of the Australian Dairy Corporation, the marketing and export of dairy produce, and the operation of the dairy market support arrangements for manufacturing milk products.

Section 51A of the Act provides that regulations may prescribe a method for ascertaining the International Dairy Arrangement (IDA) minimum price to be complied with in relation to the export of dairy products.

Regulation 4 prescribes the International Dairy Arrangement with the purpose of making Australian traders exporting dairy products at prices below the IDA minimum subject to the penalty provisions prescribed under section 51A of the Act.

The former International Dairy Arrangement came into operation on 1 January 1980 as a result of the Tokyo Round of Multilateral Trade Negotiations, and was terminated with the entry into force on 1 January 1995 of the World Trade Organisation, and the. commencement of a new International Dairy Agreement (IDA) . Australia's membership of the former Arrangement expired at that time.

Careful consideration was given to the advantages and disadvantages of membership of the new Agreement. Following consultation with the peak dairy industry body, the Australian Dairy Industry Council (ADIC), and with the agreement of the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Minister for Trade, the Government has decided that Australia will not join the new IDA.

As Australia is no longer a member of the IDA, there is no need for Australia to be bound by the IDA minimum price provisions. Australia's non membership of the IDA, however, does not of itself extinguish either the requirement for exporters to abide by IDA minimum prices, or the associated penalty provisions.

The purpose of these regulations is to remove the minimum price provisions in the regulations so that Australian traders exporting dairy products at prices below IDA minimum prices are no longer subject to the penalty provisions prescribed under section 51A of the Act.

Details of the Regulations are as follows:

Regulation 1 provides for the Dairy Produce Regulations to be amended.

Regulation 2 omits the definition of "controlled dairy produce" from subregulation 2(1).

Regulation 3 omits regulation 4 (Conditions of export of controlled dairy exports).

The Regulations commenced on gazettal.