Sophie Mirabella (Indi, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Innovation, Industry and Science) Share this | Hansard source

Do not get too excited! We do not support the government's approach or, more accurately, the lack of a detailed approach to antidumping more generally. To put it bluntly, there are a series of problems that are plaguing the current operation of antidumping arrangements in Australia. While Australian industries and Australian workers are rightly objecting to what is happening, Labor is simply not listening. If passed, the bill currently before the House will change the way in which antidumping measures are reviewed and revoked. The coalition believes that this does represent an appropriate response to the full Federal Court's decision in the Minister of State for Home Affairs v Siam Polyethylene, also called the Siam decision case.

We agree with the government that the ways in which Customs powers relating to revocation were interpreted in that case are problematic and we share its view that as a result of the Siam decision it is now significantly more likely that a finding of no dumping or no injury during a review period will lead to revocation. We are fearful about the impact that that might have on Australian industry and we are of the view that it is difficult to predict or pre-assess the likely ramifications of the removal of antidumping measures, especially the potential for the subsequent resumption of dumping causing material injury.

The idea that is at the heart of this bill, that the current revocation test should be strengthened to give Australian industry greater redress against unfair trading practices, is not contentious as far as we are concerned. Nor is the more general principal that improvements to the review process under the current system are necessary in order to strike a better balance between the interests of foreign and local companies.

We also believe that the changes that are being legislated through this bill are consistent with Australia's World Trade Organisation obligations and the current practices of the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service. But we will naturally reserve our rights to make amendments following the Senate committee's review process that is not due to be completed until later this year. We make the broader point that the introduction of this bill really represents nothing more from the government than the application of a bandaid to a gaping wound. Whilst it will legislate for an improvement to one facet of Australia's antidumping system it is a move of small consequence when set against the government's complete unwillingness to engage in the broader debate about how effectively the overall system is working or, as the case may be, is not working.

What is long overdue is far more widespread serious and lasting action. For way too long—in fact, for close to the entirety of its time in office—this government has simply sat on its hands when it comes to antidumping. Under the Howard government, changes were made to the arrangements to try and ensure that they appropriately kept pace with broader trends in the manner in which goods were being imported into Australia. We did this on the basis that it is important to keep monitoring the operation of the system on a regular basis and making changes where they are necessary.

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