Michael Sukkar (Deakin, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister to the Treasurer) Share this | Hansard source

I thank everyone for their contributions—sadly, we're missing a contribution from the member for Bass—and all stakeholders who contributed to the development of the Intellectual Property Laws Amendment (Productivity Commission Response Part 1 and Other Measures) Bill 2018. This bill represents extensive public consultation over a number of years, including from the Productivity Commission, the Department of Industry, Innovation and Science, and IP Australia. The government heard from a wide range of stakeholders, from individual intellectual property academics to legal practitioners in the attorney profession, from small nurseries to major agricultural operations, from small, innovative businesses to large Australian firms operating globally. The government values each and every one of these contributions.

The continuing success of the Australian economy will depend on our ability to be innovative, productive and competitive in the global marketplace. The intellectual property system is an important part of the economy because it promotes and incentivises investment in creativity, innovation, research and technology.

This bill delivers on the Turnbull government's commitment to review and reform our IP arrangements. In 2015, we asked the Productivity Commission to undertake a comprehensive review of the IP system, including copyright, trademarks, patents designs and plant breeder's rights. The government responded to the Productivity Commission's recommendations in August last year. This bill therefore contains the first suite of changes to ensure that our IP laws provide an appropriate balance between access to ideas and products and encouraging innovation, investment and the production of creative works.

The proposed legislation will bring a number of benefits. It will reduce uncertainty for importers of trademarked goods, which will ultimately strengthen competition and benefit consumers. It will strengthen plant breeders' protections to more effectively deal with anyone who, unfairly, freely rides on their innovative efforts. It will reduce barriers to competition, with fewer unused trademarks on the register, which will also increase our alignment with international standards. It will improve the protection that owners of IP rights have against unjustified threats, which will help level the playing field. The proposed legislation will also streamline and modernise aspects of the Australian intellectual property system, reducing barriers and regulatory costs for Australian businesses.

I also draw the House's attention to the report on the bill by the Senate Economics Legislation Committee, which was released on 22 June. The committee noted the extensive consultation that I referred to that has gone into developing the bill, and commended IP Australia on its thoughtful response to the public consultation on the exposure draft legislation. Accordingly, the committee did not propose any amendments and unanimously recommended that the bill be passed.

To conclude, therefore, in the light of that endorsement: the IP system, in our view, is vital to the strength of the Australian economy because it encourages invention and investment in new technologies, products and markets. A good IP system must provide appropriate incentives for Australian businesses to innovate, but it also must be balanced to ensure that all Australians are able to benefit from innovation and competition. This bill is an important step in enhancing Australia's IP system so that it can ultimately better support innovation and growth in this country, and therefore I commend the bill to the House.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.

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