EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

Select Legislative Instrument 2005 No. 108

Issued by Authority of the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry

Primary Industries (Customs) Charges Act 1999

Primary Industries (Customs) Charges Amendment Regulations 2005 (No. 2)

Statutory Basis

Section 8 of the Primary Industries (Customs) Charges Act 1999 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations, prescribing matters required or permitted by the Act to be prescribed, or necessary or convenient to be prescribed for carrying out or giving effect to the Act.  Schedule 14 clause 2 of the Act allows the regulations to impose a charge.

Purpose of the Regulations

The purpose of the Regulations is to vary the apportionment of the charge on the export of certain live animals between marketing and research and development pursuant to the Australian Meat and Live-stock Industry Act 1997.  The Australian Livestock Export Corporation Ltd (LiveCorp) is declared as the relevant livestock export marketing body and the livestock export research body.  This is in accordance with the outcome agreed by the Government in its response to the “Live-stock Export Review”, chaired by Dr Keniry (the Keniry Review).

The Regulations are a legislative instrument for the purposes of the Legislative Instruments Act 2003. 

Background to the Regulations

The Keniry Review recommended that the Australian Livestock Export Corporation Ltd (LiveCorp) be responsible for research and development, marketing, improved quality assurance and capability for the live export industry (Recommendation 2).

 

On 30 March 2004, the Government announced its support for this recommendation as part of its response to the Keniry Review, and that these new bodies would be funded by way of a compulsory Customs Charge.  This would replace the voluntary contribution system which had previously been in place.

 

The current apportionment in the Primary Industries (Customs) Charges Regulations 2000 (the Principal Regulations) allows LiveCorp to expend 90 per cent of revenue raised on marketing and 10 per cent of revenue raised on research and development.  These figures are consistent with those initially put forward by industry, as they approximated historical expenditure patterns on marketing and research and development.  Further consultation led to agreement between industry and government that a more appropriate apportionment would be for 80 per cent of revenue raised to be expended on marketing and 20 per cent to be expended on research and development to better reflect an increased emphasis on research and development, particularly in the area of animal welfare, as a result of the Keniry Review.  There would be no increase in the overall charge.

 

 

 

DETAILS OF THE PRIMARY INDUSTRIES (CUSTOMS) CHARGES AMENDMENT REGULATIONS 2005 (No. 2)

 

Explanation of Clauses Under the Regulations

 

Regulation 1 provides for the citation of the regulations.

 

Regulation 2 provides that the regulations will commence on 1 July 2005.

 

Regulation 3 provides that Schedule 1 amends the Primary Industries (Customs) Charges Regulations 2000.

 

Schedule 1 amends Schedules 2 and 11 of the Primary Industries (Customs) Charges Regulations 2000.

 

Schedule 2, subclause 2 (1) is substituted to amend the charge rates to be applied to cattle to those requested by the body specified in the declaration (i.e. the live-stock export marketing and research body) (as stipulated in Clause 5 of Schedule 2 of the Customs Charges Act).  The rate will be 0.5712 of a cent per kilogram for marketing.

 

Schedule 2, subclause 2 (2) is substituted to amend the charge rate to be applied to cattle to 0.1428 of a cent for research.

 

Schedule 11, subclause 2 (1) is substituted to amend the charge rate to be applied to sheep to 24 cents per head for marketing.

 

Schedule 11, subclause 2 (2) is substituted to amend the charge rate to be applied to sheep to 6 cents per head for research.

 

Schedule 11, subclause 3 (1) is substituted to amend the charge rate to be applied to lambs to 24 cents per head for marketing.

 

Schedule 11, subclause 3 (2) is substituted to amend the charge rate to be applied to lambs to 6 cents per head for research.

 

Schedule 11, subclause 4 (1) is substituted to amend the charge rate to be applied to goats to 20 cents per head for marketing.

 

Schedule 11, subclause 4 (2) is substituted to amend the charge rate to be applied to goats to 5 cents per head for research.