Jason Wood (La Trobe, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Customs, Community Safety and Multicultural Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

The Excise Levies Legislation Amendment (Sheep and Lamb) Bill 2020 updates the definition of lamb for the purposes of imposing and collecting primary industry levies and charges to align with the new definition of lamb used for export purposes and by the industry. The bill updates the definition of land across four pieces of legislation: the Primary Industries (Excise) Levies Act 1999 and the Primary Industries (Customs) Charges Act 1999, which authorise the imposition of levies and charges on primary producers, processors and exporters; and the National Residue Survey (Excise) Levy Act 1998 and the National Residue Survey (Customs) Levy Act 1998, which authorise the imposition of levies for the purposes of residue testing.

The sheep and lamb industry contributes $4.5 billion to the Australian economy each year, with around 31,000 agricultural businesses involved in sheep and lamb production. The definition of lamb used in Australia for export and industry purposes was changed in July 2019 following a proposal from the sheep and meat processing sectors. Extensive stakeholder consultation on the charge was undertaken by Sheep Producers Australia and the Australian Meat Industry Council. The new definition of lamb is designed to bring Australia's definition into line with our international competitors and provide a definite signal for producers about when a sheep is no longer a lamb.

If these bills are not passed it represents a lost opportunity to reduce regulatory inconsistency for industry and to ensure that the intent of the sheep- and meat-processing industries are reflected in the levies they pay. Updating the definition of lamb used for the purposes of imposing levies and charges to align with the new industry definition will provide administrative clarity for levy payers and will support compliance with levy systems by ensuring consistency across legislation. I commend the bill to the House.

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