Vince Connelly (Stirling, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

The current times have really forced us to assess where our priorities lie, as we rightly should periodically, and make adjustments where we need to. One of those areas has been in personal protective equipment, or PPE. We're all rolling with face masks at the moment in many places around the country and, indeed, the world. Along with face masks, gloves, gowns and the like are significantly high-volume disposables. So we have had to make some legislative amendments in order to give favour to the flexibility with which we can import PPE. The second priority I will touch on today as I speak to this bill is that of defence industry. I see the shadow assistant minister for defence, the member for Paterson, is in the chamber, and I know that she is incredibly passionate about defence industry, particularly the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, as are we all. Supporting defence industry absolutely is another priority which as a nation we are absolutely getting behind. The third priority I'd like to touch on is lower carbon transport. There is an awful lot of innovation going into lower-carbon transport options. These include dual-cell vehicles, which have a traditional hydrocarbon power source mixed with electric, and electric vehicles. Some of the emerging research is going into the use of hydrogen as a fuel for transport. I highlight these three priority areas because they are captured in the intent behind this bill. The Customs Tariff Amendment (Incorporation of Proposals) Bill 2021, is set to amend the Customs Tariff Act by paying particular attention to three proposals around these three priorities, which have already been tabled in parliament.

Importantly, the first proposal contains a measure that has the effect of extending the free rate of customs duty for eligible medical and hygiene products which are capable of use as we combat COVID-19. This extends that eligibility from 30 June 2021. This tariff concession commenced last February. The Morrison government, through consultation with a range of Aussie businesses, recognised the importance of this measure, and so has extended it twice already. With infections still current in at least three states at the moment, it's more vital than ever that we continue to meet the needs of our community through the pandemic. We cannot step on or even contemplate applying the brakes any time soon. Indeed, we are powering ahead with the delivery of the vaccine so that we can suppress the virus. So far, and I congratulate Australians on their wonderful acceleration in the take-up of vaccines, 13.6 million doses of COVID-19 vaccines have been administered. This takes our rate of fully vaccinated people to over 22 per cent and rising. Our rate of vaccination is well over one million doses per week. This weekend we hit another significant milestone when we saw 140,225, to be precise, people roll up their sleeves, marking a record rate for a Saturday. This government is overcoming hurdles that are thrown at us.

Much as all of us, I'm sure, would like to possess a crystal ball, nobody does. There have been changes in our plan throughout the pandemic as the situation has changed, even as the virus itself has changed. German Field Marshal Helmuth von Moltke commented, 'No operational plan survives first contact with enemy forces.' A learning that all young military offices, at least in Australia, are reminded of is that once you confront the enemy things are absolutely, guaranteed, going to change. That's what we've seen through this pandemic, and we will keep amending our plan as need be.

In Australia we can celebrate a great deal of success. I look around OECD nations, for example, and if we were to experience the same rate of deaths from COVID on a per-head of population basis, we would have experienced 30,000 deaths. Whilst every single death that we have unfortunately experienced in Australia is an absolute tragedy, it is certainly a fortunate circumstance indeed that we have avoided tens of thousands more deaths.

Over three million Australians have also been supported through JobKeeper, and one million Australians are now back at work. This absolutely fits within the government's consistent mantra of focusing on saving lives and livelihoods. It is particularly pleasing that Lieutenant General Frewen has been appointed to oversee the vaccine rollout. I can attest to General Frewen's capabilities, having served as one of the officers under his command during my time as a military officer. He was a fantastic commanding officer and a wonderful commander of the joint task force in the complex environment of the Solomon Islands. He certainly has some great runs on the board. So it's wonderful to see him as part of the team fighting COVID here on our shores.

We're witnessing a significant ramp-up, as I said, in the vaccine program. Another measure of this is that we are now seeing the arrival every week of one million doses of Pfizer. Thanks also to the Prime Minister and national cabinet's agreed four-phase national plan, we're powering through this first phase by accelerating the vaccine rate. This does come at a price, though, and extending the tariff exemption for PPE over the forward estimates will cost in the order of $3.8 million, an investment I think we can all agree is absolutely well founded.

The second part of this proposal relates to a free rate of customs duty on imported goods for use in the F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter, or JSF, program. This is the most advanced fighter jet in the world, and Australia should be very rightly proud to be a lead participant in this program. The use of the concessional item is limited to goods that are for use in the program and are not currently eligible for a free rate of customs duty. The F-35 has the capability to strengthen our national security, enhance global partnerships and power economic growth. This is a part of the Morrison government's commitment of $270 billion on defence capability over the next decade. This is of course in response to a complex and contested environment strategically, both in our region and right across the globe. Strong national security absolutely underpins also our economic prosperity and our ongoing social cohesion. We're living, as I said, in a contested region, and it is more important now than ever that we continue keeping Australians safe and sovereign, and investing in our military and our defence industry is how we are going to keep doing that. This measure is estimated to reduce customs duty receipts by $6.7 million over the forward estimates—again, a very appropriate expenditure.

Finally, the third proposal is to provide a free rate of customs duty to certain motor vehicles and components imported for research and development activities by our automotive service providers. This tariff concession will be applicable till 30 June 2025. It enables automotive service providers who were previously registered under the Automotive Transformation Scheme to continue accessing concessional treatment for eligible goods. This measure responds to concerns from industry that the end of the concession would significantly disrupt their research and development activities. As Australia looks towards more environmentally friendly modes of transport which are lower carbon, such as hybrid electric cars—and I mentioned emerging research into hydrogen powered vehicles—it's really important that we reduce the financial burden upon those who are undertaking this research and development and driving forward that leading edge of our lower-carbon future.

Australia is on track to meet and beat our 2030 Paris target through a technology focused approach. That stems from our aversion to solving problems with taxes and preference for leveraging technology. That's where this bill absolutely lends a helping hand. Australia's Technology Investment Roadmap is expected to guide $20 billion worth of government investment over the next decade and drive around $80 billion in total new investment in low-emissions technologies in Australia by 2030. The 2021-22 budget includes $1.2 billion over 10 years for investments in low-emissions technology. This includes $565 million to establish international partnerships on practical low-emissions projects and $263 million to accelerate the development of carbon capture, use and storage.

Research shows that a hybrid vehicle can use 40 to 60 per cent less fuel and emit around 30 per cent less carbon dioxide than a conventional vehicle. Meanwhile, electric vehicles produce zero tailpipe CO2 emissions. If a 100 per cent renewable energy such as solar power is used to recharge the batteries, then the power is free and greenhouse gas emissions are eliminated. Lower-carbon transport options are increasingly being selected by Australians. In fact, we saw the sale of EVs and plug-in hybrids increase by almost 300 per cent in 2019, to 6,718, compared to 2018, when it was 2,357. As I said, that is an incredible 300 per cent increase. That is why this government is investing in lower-carbon transport options, with the introduction of this proposal estimated to reduce customs duty receipts by $1.7 million across the forward estimates.

In summary, we have shifted, and rightly so, in a range of priority areas, particularly those touching on PPE, defence industry and lower-carbon transport options. I commend this bill to the House, as it goes a long way to helping us achieve those objectives.

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