Kristy McBain (Eden-Monaro, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Regional Development, Local Government and Territories) Share this | Hansard source

The Australian agriculture levy system is critical to supporting the agriculture sector's productivity, sustainability and competitiveness in global markets. Through the levy system our agriculture, fisheries and forestry industries can collectively invest in strategic activities such as research and development, marketing, biosecurity measures, biosecurity responses and residue testing.

There are over 110 levies, across over 75 commodities, which are spent by 18 separate bodies. This package of bills will modernise and streamline the legislative framework so that the levy system can continue to grow and help industry to respond to opportunities and challenges in the future. The bills will establish a new legislative framework that will make it easier for levy payers to understand their obligations and for industry bodies to pursue new levies or amendments to existing levies. Research and development corporations will also have increased funding certainty.

There are currently more than 50 pieces of legislation supporting the levy system. These have been condensed to five bills, each with associated subordinate legislation. The bills will simplify the administration of the levy system by reducing complexity and inconsistencies. The three imposition bills—the Primary Industries (Excise) Levies Bill, the Primary Industries (Customs) Charges Bill and the Primary Industries (Services) Levies Bill—will provide a consistent framework for excise levies, customs charges and service levies by including equivalent provisions for common matters such as definitions. The imposition bills will increase the levy system's responsiveness to industry by locating all operational levy details in subordinate legislation. This will make it easier for an industry to locate and understand their levy settings and to request that government adjust the settings of an existing levy or introduce a new levy. The imposition bills will also allow new levies for agriculture services such as the long-called-for levy on pollination services.

The government does not support the opposition's proposed amendments to the imposition bills. The amendments would reduce the flexibility and responsiveness of the levy system. In his speech to the House yesterday, the member for Maranoa noted the importance of the agriculture levy system and the need to ensure that these bills do not adversely affect this important system. As previous speakers have noted, the bills already provide an appropriate level of flexibility to Animal Health Australia and Plant Health Australia, in consultation with their industry members, to decide how biosecurity activity and biosecurity response levies and charges will be spent.

This is the whole intent of the modernising agriculture levies package. If the amendments were to be accepted, for spending to be permissible AHA and PHA would need to undertake all biosecurity activities using levy funds. In practice, only some of the activities described would be undertaken by AHA and PHA. In many cases, AHA and PHA may contract third parties to undertake activities. Where appropriate, R&D activities may be undertaken through an RDC. The proposed amendment could unnecessarily limit spending of biosecurity activity and biosecurity response levies and charges.

Given the breadth and diversity of Australia's agricultural fisheries and forestry industries, it is crucial that the imposition bills can adapt to deliver the levies requested by industry members into the future. The proposed amendments would risk limiting industries flexibility to request biosecurity activity and response levies that meet their needs, especially in new and emerging parts of the industry.

The Primary Industries Levies and Charges Collection Bill 2023 will replace the Primary Industry Levies and Charges Collection Act 1991 with a framework that will be easier for participants to understand and to comply with. It will introduce infringement notices and civil penalties, reserving criminal penalties for only the most serious of offences. The bill will also provide for the appropriate use and disclosure of information while ensuring effective safeguards for sensitive information. The Primary Industries Levies and Charges Disbursement Bill 2023 allows rural research and development corporations to operate with greater funding certainty by streamlining the calculation of matching payments by government for research and development. Importantly, the Primary Industries (Consequential Amendments and Transitional Provisions) Bill 2023 will ensure continuity for levy and charge payers, collection agents and bodies that receive levy amounts from the repeal of the existing acts and commencement of the new legislation.

I'll conclude by addressing some of the member for Maranoa's remarks about the government's approach to biosecurity. The government's historic $1 billion investment in a sustainable biosecurity funding model, something the industry has wanted for years, demonstrates Labor's commitment to protect and to grow our vibrant agricultural, fisheries and forestry sectors. We've achieved this where the previous government comprehensively failed. They thought it was a good idea to provide short-term terminating funding for our essential biosecurity services. They thought they could do biosecurity on the cheap, locking in biosecurity funding cuts of over $1 million a year. It was the Albanese Labor government that put a stop to that by locking in permanent long-term funding at a sustainable level to ensure our pest and disease protection remain strong.

The member for Maranoa continues to talk a big game about making so-called risk creators—that is, importers paying more towards the cost of biosecurity—but it has taken a Labor government to deliver it. The member had over 1,300 days as agriculture minister, but in that time he did nothing to make importers pay their fair share. Nothing changed between 2015 and 2022. He had 1,300 days to deliver the container levy that he holds up as a silver bullet. It was supposed to raise more than $100 million a year but did not raise a single cent.

In contrast, this government has done the first comprehensive review of importer fees and charges since 2015. As a result, importers are now paying their fair share after the first full review of their fees and charges since 2015. So far this year importers have paid over $132 million, well over the amount that the failed container levy was supposed to raise. That's money that goes directly to biosecurity, protecting our agricultural industries, protecting our rural communities and protecting tens of thousands of jobs from the threat of pest and disease outbreaks.

The Australian agricultural levy system is widely supported. The key features of the levy system that make it so successful will remain the same under the new legislative framework. Levy settings will generally continue to be industry initiated and led. Key settings for existing levies such as levy rates will not change as part of bringing in this new legislation. Passage of these bills without amendment will ensure the continuation of a successful industry-government partnership under a more effective and fit-for-purpose legal framework.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.

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