Steven Ciobo (Moncrieff, Liberal Party, Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

This bill amends the Customs Tariff Act 1995 to enact two tobacco excise equivalent customs duty measures that should help to reduce disease and premature death due to smoking by increasing the cost of consuming tobacco products.

This bill imposes the same measures on imported goods, also known as excise equivalent goods, as the Excise Tariff Amendment (Tobacco) Bill 2014 imposes on local goods. This ensures imported tobacco products are treated the same as local tobacco products.

Firstly, this bill increases the rates of excise equivalent customs duty on tobacco and tobacco products through a series of four staged increases of 12.5 per cent, commencing on 1 December 2013 with subsequent increases on 1 September each year until the last staged increase on 1 September 2016.

Secondly, this bill also changes the basis of indexation of excise equivalent customs duty on tobacco and tobacco products from the consumer price index (CPI) to average weekly ordinary time earnings (AWOTE). The last CPI indexation occurred on 1 August 2013 and the first AWOTE indexation occurs on 1 March 2014.

The tobacco measures in this bill were previously tabled by the Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer—that is, me; I missed it the first time, Mr Deputy Speaker Mitchell!—as Customs Tariff Proposal (No. 2) 2013 on 10 December 2013. Consistent with normal parliamentary practice, the customs tariff proposal now requires incorporation in the Customs Tariff Act.

Full details of the measures in this bill are contained in the explanatory memorandum.

I commend the bill to the House.

Debate adjourned.

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