EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

 

Select Legislative Instrument 2010 No. 148

 

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

 

Primary Industries (Excise) Levies Act 1999

 

Primary Industries (Excise) Levies Amendment Regulations 2010 (No. 4)

Section 8 of the Primary Industries (Excise) Levies 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 the Act.

Schedule 3 to the Act imposes levies in relation to cattle transactions. Funds corresponding with the amounts of revenue raised under each Schedule are appropriated for Meat & Livestock Australia Ltd (MLA) for marketing and research activities, Australian Animal Health Council Ltd (trading as Animal Health Australia) to ensure that Australia’s national animal health system delivers competitive advantage for Australia’s livestock, and National Residue Survey for recovery of costs incurred in monitoring and testing residues and contaminants in food production.

The purpose of the Regulations is to allow for the levy to continue at $5.00 per transaction of adult live cattle by removing the date of cessation of 31 December 2010 for the $1.50 component. The Regulations allow the marketing amount destined for MLA, as the marketing body, to remain at $3.66 per transaction for grass-fed cattle and at $3.08 per transaction for lot-fed cattle under the Levies Act.

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

The marketing component of the cattle transaction levy was increased from 1 January 2006 for five years by $1.50, bringing the overall levy to $5.00 a head. Following a review of the increase and an industry-wide consultation and ballot in 2009, the prescribed industry bodies responsible for cattle transaction levies, the Cattle Council of Australia and the Australian Lot Feeders’ Association, approached the Australian Government to keep the levy at $5.00. The voting results from the ballot registered an aggregate industry figure of approximately 72.5 per cent in favour of keeping levy at $5.00. The retention of the levy at $5.00 will bring in an additional $21 million a year compared with projected income should the $1.50 component be removed, and enable MLA to sustain its domestic and export beef marketing programs.

The Office of Best Practice Regulation has been consulted in the preparation of these Regulations and a Regulation Impact Statement is not required (reference number ID 11044).

 

 

 

 

 

 

Details of the amending provisions are:

Primary Industries (Excise) Levies Amendment Regulations 2010 (No. 4)

Regulation 1 – Name of Regulations

This regulation provides for the citation of the Regulations.

Regulation 2 – Commencement

This regulation provides for Schedule 3 of the Regulations to commence on the day after registration

Regulation 3 – Amendment of Primary Industries (Excise) Levies Regulations 1999

This regulation provides that the Primary Industries (Excise) Levies Regulations 1999 are amended as set out in Schedule 1.

Schedule 1 – Amendment

Item [1] – Schedule 3A, heading

Item [1] inserts a new heading for Schedule 3A, to reflect the provisions in Schedule 3A reverting to those in the previous Schedule 3.

Item [2] – Schedule 3A, clause 1

Item [2] repeals clause 1, to allow the levy to continue at $5.00 a head beyond the date specified in the sunset clause.

Item [3] – Schedule 3B

Item [3] repeals Schedule 3B, because this provision is not required following the removal of the sunset date in Schedule 3A, clause 1.