Ken Wyatt (Hasluck, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

As I was saying before the debate was interrupted, the Intellectual Property Laws Amendment Bill 2014 finally implements the TRIPS Protocol, something that the Labor government did not do in their two terms of government. The TRIPS Protocol implementation will result in Australian pharmaceutical manufacturers being given the ability to apply to the Federal Court for a compulsory licence to manufacture generic versions of patented medicines and export those medicines to developing countries in need. The patent holders will be provided with adequate compensation for the use of their patented inventions.

This is important and commendable because the health of a nation is fundamental to its development and success. Developing countries often face severe barriers to manufacturing or attaining patented pharmaceuticals. This means that they are unable to respond to serious and often avoidable health crises in their nation. Millions of people die from diseases such as HIV-AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis—something that we do not worry about here in Australia due to the availability of vaccinations and medical treatments. Australian pharmaceutical manufacturers will now, as a result of the passing of this bill, be able to supply these countries with the lifesaving patented medicines they need. This is one way that Australia can contribute to a healthier global society and ultimately boost the global economy by assisting developing nations with their health needs. This should also provide a much needed boost to Australian pharmaceutical manufacturers who can access these new markets.

The bill will also make it easier for the owner of plant breeder's rights, or PBR, to take action against alleged infringers. Currently, PBR owners can only take action in the Federal Court. This is a costly exercise for PBR owners. As a result of this bill, PBR owners will be able to take action through the Federal Circuit Court, which is designed to deal with less complex matters more efficiently and effectively than the Federal Court. This will assist PBR owners across Australia greatly, many of whom are small businesses who will benefit not only from a cheaper alternative to taking action but also from the added protection of being able to take affordable action to protect their IP rights.

This bill reaches out to our neighbours across the Tasman as well. Currently, patent applications have to be filled out under the Australian system and the New Zealand system. It is found that many patent owners file the same application in New Zealand as in Australia, a huge regulatory burden. Businesses that want to obtain identical patents in Australia and New Zealand will find that the process will be streamlined by allowing a single patent application and examination process. This will reduce the significant red-tape burden of duplicate patent applications, making it easier and cheaper for businesses to protect their IP in both Australia and New Zealand. This will also strengthen our economic relations with our friends across the ditch.

Patent attorneys assist businesses by drafting applications for the grant of patents and prosecuting those applications before patent offices. Again, patent attorneys currently have to register once in Australia and again in New Zealand, with evidence that many register in both countries. This bill provides for a single trans-Tasman register of patent attorneys, with registration giving a person the right to practice in both countries. This will make the regulation of patent attorneys more efficient and will save patent attorneys time and money. These single economic market initiatives will save time and money and reduce the burden on the patent application process across Australian and New Zealand.

Speaking of reducing the regulatory burden, something that this government is proud to do, this bill will enable the government to dispose of unwanted IP documents sooner, saving the government hundreds of thousands of dollars in administration costs. Unlike the former Labor government, we are committed to releasing businesses from the red-tape stranglehold that inhibits them from achieving their full potential in the Australian economy. Healthier businesses across the country mean more jobs and a better quality of life for Australians. This government wants Australia to be open for business, and that means cutting red tape at every opportunity.

I pay tribute to the Hon. Bob Baldwin MP, the Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister for Industry, who has taken a keen interest in intellectual property protections in Australia. When the parliamentary secretary visited my electorate of Hasluck, we held a roundtable on intellectual property which was well attended by local innovators. Hasluck is home to people with great ideas and the enthusiasm to turn their dreams into reality. The parliamentary secretary saw this firsthand and committed to supporting their desire to innovate within Australia with the protections that they needed. Those within my electorate who were seeking solutions and responses to IP enjoyed the knowledge that the parliamentary secretary had of their industries and his capacity to get across the complex issues that they were raising.

After speaking with them, Mr Baldwin left them with a sense that this was a government that was prepared to listen and a government that was prepared to come away from that meeting, consider the opportunities and consider what could be done in the context of the pressure points that they experience. It is important that we give serious consideration to developing industries that are going to make a difference, because at some stage our reliance to a heavy extent on education and mining will change, as it did with cheap wheat. Australia needs to be well positioned to develop those innovations into a marketable commodity or product that will create sales not only across this nation but around the world that generates income through global economies.

All of the local Hasluck innovators that attended the roundtable with the parliamentary secretary reflected on the keen interest and knowledge that he had when discussing their inventions and the difficulties they had in protecting their intellectual property. It was heartening to see a government listen to people and make positive changes to support their aspirations.

Whilst there is more to do, this bill is a step in the right direction to make it easier for innovators to protect their ideas and reduce the red tape burden of IP Australia.

I will continue to advocate for the rights of those within Hasluck and across Australia who dare to dream and contribute to innovation, inventions, ideas and processes of the future. Nothing is more frustrating for those who create a new product than to register it and see that their idea cannot go any further because, in some instances, their ideas or designs have been copied by others. They do not have the capacity to pursue costly and expensive legal pathways, but they certainly look to governments to provide the direction that safeguards IP within Australia, encourages the development of their innovation and creates a pathway. When I spoke with them, all of them talked about wanting to carry their idea through to a real product that was marketable and saleable across our country. But the more important element that came through from all of them was that they wanted to create jobs for younger people; they wanted to create opportunities for employment and stretch into the marketplace to make a real difference in the way in which they deliver their products.

As I said, I will continue to fight for those who have issues around IP, work closely within our government and be a strong advocate for the issues they face.

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