Philip Ruddock (Berowra, Liberal Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

by leave—I move:

That the amendments be agreed to.

The Copyright Amendment Bill 2006 makes wide-ranging and innovative reforms to the Copyright Act 1968, demonstrating the government’s ongoing commitment to effective, world-class and up-to-date copyright laws. The major reforms will make it legal for people to record TV or radio programs and play them on devices at another time in or outside the home. It will legalise format shifting of materials such as music, newspapers and books, meaning that people can put their CD collection on iPods or MP3 players. It will provide new exceptions allowing schools, universities, libraries and other cultural institutions to use copyright material for non-commercial purposes. It will provide new exemptions for people with a disability. It will allow for the use of copyright material for parody or satire as fair dealing. It will facilitate the availability of more films, music and software online and a more up-to-date and practical technological protection measures regime. It will provide new enforcement measures, including on-the-spot fines and proceeds of crime remedies to tackle copyright piracy.

These amendments to the bill strengthen the certainty and effectiveness of the reforms and demonstrate that we the government have listened to the Senate committee and the stakeholders and have ensured that the bill meets our stated policy objectives. In particular, the amendments to private copyright exceptions make it clearer what consumers can legally do. The removal of some of the strict liability offences to ensure that enforcement measures are focused on activities that commercially harm copyright owners is evidence of my statement in the House on 19 October that the government would listen and respond to the issues raised. The process has resulted in a better set of reforms. Copyright law is an exercise in balancing of rights in the public interest, and the government believes that the bill, together with the amendments, has got the balance right for copyright owners and users. I thank members for their support for these measures in the debate that we have seen.

I am pleased and, in the spirit of goodwill, acknowledge that Labor will support the government on the passage of the bill. But I have to say that it is taking it a bridge too far to suggest that the government listened to Labor on copyright. The government did not accept one amendment from the opposition; in fact, we did not receive one workable amendment from the opposition. We received a flawed proposal to remove all the strict liability provisions. But, in the collegiate approach that we take to these matters, we pointed out the problems with Labor’s approach outside the parliament, and they did not push their amendments. The only amendments that Labor pushed were changes to the technological protection measures, which were driven by one of my Senate colleagues who has an ideological anti-American approach. The government rejected these changes.

We formed a considered approach after talking to all the stakeholders, an approach which will deliver more content for Australian consumers and allow them to continue to use their multiregional DVD players. The government put out an exposure draft to get people’s views. We listened to their views. We listened to the majority of the Senate. But let me say again in the spirit of goodwill that we welcome Labor’s support for the amended bill.

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