Robert McClelland (Barton, Australian Labor Party, Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

in reply—In responding to the debate, I would like to thank members for their contributions. This bill is an important part of personal property securities reform. It will make certain the operation of existing Commonwealth laws following the reform. PPS reform will harmonise Australia’s secured financing laws and will further strengthen Australia’s position as a leading global financial centre.

PPS reform is an important part of the Council of Australian Governments deregulation agenda. There are currently over 70 Commonwealth, state and territory laws, common law and rules of equity governing security interests in personal property. There are around 40 different registers on which security interests in personal property might be registered. These arrangements are unnecessarily complex and result in high transaction costs. This reform will harmonise and rationalise the law to establish a single national regime for secured lending over personal property, relieving business and consumers of a significant red-tape and cost burden. The PPS regime will establish a single national online register to record security interests in personal property.

As members have acknowledged, the Personal Property Securities (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2009 will amend the Commonwealth acts that deal with the creation, priority, extinguishment or enforcement of interests in personal property. These amendments clarify the operation of legislation that will operate concurrently with the Personal Property Securities Bill 2009. This will assist in adding certainty to, and reducing the complexity of, this area of the law. The bill also amends legislation to remove requirements to register security interests on the Australian shipping register and Commonwealth fishing registers. Those interests will instead be registered on the PPS Register. A single register will mean that businesses only need to search and register on one register, regardless of the type of personal property or the location of the debtor. Both lenders and borrowers will benefit from this new, streamlined approach. Consumers will also benefit from being able to make any necessary pre-purchase inquiries in one place.

PPS reform will also facilitate the use of different types of personal property as collateral in accessing secured lending. This is likely to be of particular benefit to small businesses. Australia’s secured transactions law will become more closely aligned with legislation in the United States, Canada and New Zealand. This is an important initiative in the context of our current economic climate. This regime will open up new opportunities for Australian businesses to access more competitive domestic and international financing.

The bill also seeks to address concerns raised by stakeholders through the recent Senate committee inquiry into the provisions of the PPS Bill. I thank the inquiry and senators for their contribution. Some minor technical amendments to the PPS Bill have been incorporated in the bill. The amendments have been included in the bill rather than moved as government amendments to the PPS Bill in order to avoid the need for a further referral of power from the states.

I should acknowledge that this bill was prepared with the assistance of my ministerial colleagues and I thank them for their commitment to reform of this area. In conclusion, by harmonising the law and creating a streamlined approach to secured lending, PPS reform will generate real benefits for all parties involved in secured finance.

Bill read a second time.

Ordered that the bill be reported to the House without amendment.

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