Michael Keenan (Stirling, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Justice, Customs and Border Protection) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the Customs Tariff Amendment (2012 Measures No. 1) Bill. The purpose of this bill is to make amendments to the Customs Tariff Act 1995 to list Serbia as a developing country for the purposes of the Australian System of Tariff Preferences. The bill will also reinsert a subheading applicable to coir yarn and correct a number of technical errors contained within the customs tariff.

The bill will amend the Customs Tariff Act 1995 to incorporate alterations that were contained in Customs Tariff Proposal (No. 1) 2012, tabled in the House on 16 February 2012, as follows. There is the re-insertion of subheading 5308.10.00, applicable to coir yarn. For members who are not aware, coir yarn is typically used in the manufacture or ropes and mats. Different varieties of coir yarn are used for geo-textile manufacturing. The yarn is made from fibre extracted from coconut husks. The other amendment, and possibly the more significant one, is to list Serbia as a developing country for the purposes of the Australian system of tariff preferences. Finally, the bill will correct a number of technical errors in the customs tariff that have occurred as a result of drafting or clerical mistakes. Notably, the first two parts of the bill were previously given effect through the tabling of Customs Tariff Proposal (No. 1) 2012 in the House in February this year. The remaining amendments in the bill correct the technical errors I referred to.

The bill lists Serbia as a developing country, which is consistent with Australia's approach to other states that were formerly part of Yugoslavia. Total trade with Serbia equates to approximately $14.1 million per year. As I was discussing with the member for Hughes as we walked into the chamber, that seems relatively low for a country that has such good people-to-people links with Australia. Both my electorate and the electorate of the member for Hughes, and, I think, the electorate of the member for Fowler, contain large Serbian populations.

Generally, when there are larger populations of people who have emigrated to Australia, or the children and grandchildren of immigrants to Australia, you would expect those people-to-people links to result in trading opportunities between the two countries. That is certainly the case for a lot of other immigrant groups within my electorate, which have very good trading links between countries where there are large populations of recent migrants or the descendants of migrants who hailed from that particular area. It seems to me that there is the ability for us to increase our trade with Serbia from the level it is at the moment. We in the coalition will continue to support having good and effective links with Serbia to ensure that we can maximise trading opportunities between the two nations.

We are debating this bill at a time when mainstream Customs officers, who deal with these tariff issues, are suffering incredibly badly from the cuts the Labor Party have made to Customs since they came to office. Those cuts are both funding cuts, which have occurred in almost every budget, and personnel cuts, which again have occurred in almost every budget. This comes at a time when the resources of Customs have been stretched enormously by their having to deal with our border protection crisis in the north of the country. At the same time as they are struggling to cope with the pressures of this influx of illegal boat arrivals, the Labor Party have consistently rolled back Customs funding and cut personnel. In the 2009-10 budget, Labor cut 220 staff from Customs. In the following year they cut a further 250 staff. That was followed by a 90-person staff cut in the 2011-12 budget.

At a time when Customs are really at breaking point because of those significant personnel cuts, coupled with those funding cuts, Labor decided in this year's budget to cut another 190 staff from the agency. That is a total of 750 staff that have been cut from Customs since the Labor Party came to office. Clearly, this agency is struggling to cope with the responsibilities that it has, and that is why we are seeing criminals getting a leg-up in being able to bring things across our borders that should not be here, such as illegal weapons and drugs or the precursors to drugs.

These personnel cuts have occurred in conjunction with funding cuts—$58.1 million was slashed from the cargo screening program, which, as I said, makes it easier for criminals to get stuff across Australia's borders that should not be here. When the Howard government left office, 66 per cent of air cargo consignments were inspected when they came into Australia. The number of air cargo consignments inspected is now down 74 per cent because of this cut, meaning that criminals have a better chance of getting stuff into Australia.

Sea cargo inspections have been reduced by 25 per cent, and this is coming at a time when agencies such as the Australian Crime Commission openly acknowledge that organised criminal gangs are taking advantage of the lax conditions on our wharves and are exploiting weaknesses in the system to further their criminal enterprises—a fact, might I say, that the member for Fowler has picked up on in his chairmanship of his committee, which has done some very important work looking at security at our wharves and our airports.

Another area where mainstream Customs has been slugged is in facilitating passengers through our airports. Clearly, this is problematic for the tourism industry, as the member for Paterson, who is in the chamber, would know. But it also affects our people-to-people links with other countries, because if you are waiting 90 minutes when you come into Australia then clearly you are not getting a very good first impression and it is a big disincentive to come here. But Labor hit Customs with a $34 million cut to passenger facilitation, and they axed a further $10.4 million from the program at a time when passenger numbers into Australia are expected to increase from 32 million to 38 million over the next four years.

That is just a small example of the cuts that have been made to Customs. I thought I would highlight some of those, in light of the fact that we are discussing changes to the customs tariff arrangements for Australia, in relation to Serbia in particular with this bill. Clearly, this is an agency that is going to struggle to cope with the pressures that are placed on it with these significant funding and personnel cuts that the Labor Party has visited on them since the government changed in 2007.

But the contents of this bill are not controversial in themselves. As I said, the opposition supports broadening as much as possible our relationship with Serbia. It is a country with very good links to Australia, through people who have immigrated here, particularly through previous generations. And obviously we have no objections to the tidying up that this bill does to some clerical and drafting errors that have been spotted within customs legislation. We therefore do not oppose the passage of this bill through the House today.

Chris Hayes (Fowler, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I too rise to support the passage of the Customs Tariff Amendment (2012 Measures No. 1) Bill 2012, which makes important amendments to the Customs Tariff Act 1995. In the main, the bill lists the Republic of Serbia as a developing country for the purposes of Australia's tariff preference system. Giving preferential trade status to Serbia is a very good thing to occur, I think—certainly to open up trade with a country that has worked very hard to improve its position throughout the Balkan region.

This bill will allow Serbia to benefit from a reduction in customs duty on a defined range of goods imported into Australia, allowing Serbia to enjoy the same status as other countries that are part of the former Yugoslavia when it comes to trade with Australia. Last year Australia's imports from Serbia were valued around $11.5 million. Certainly, that is not a big figure considering Australia's dealings elsewhere in that region. Australia's major imports from Serbia include various prepared and preserved fruits and vegetables, electrical distribution and communications equipment as well as arms and ammunition.

Overall, the trade between Australia and the Republic of Serbia at the moment is worth a little over $14 million. Granted, that figure is not high compared with Australia's, and no doubt Serbia's, level of trade and exchange with other countries. But, importantly, that actually represents a 24 per cent increase over the last year.

The bill will undoubtedly open the door for increasing levels of trade and economic development as well as political cooperation between our two countries. The bill also acknowledges Serbia's recent strong efforts to open up greater economic and political ties with Europe and the rest of the developed world, including Australia. Serbia has recently acquired the status of a candidate for the European Union, which is a testament to the strengthening of the economic position of Serbia and its prospects for future economic development.

Significant progress has also been made in the entire region, once plagued by the horrors of a civil war, to move away from conflict and towards reconciliation and cooperation. Credit must go to the respective leaderships of these countries, as it reflects their determination to focus on the mutual benefit of a prosperous future for the entire Balkans region and its peoples. Clearly, Serbia is one of those countries leading the way in looking to a positive future, through a greater political and economic cooperation within the region, particularly throughout the broader areas of Europe, and also the rest of the world.

I have had the opportunity on a number of occasions to discuss these matters with the Serbian ambassador, Her Excellency Ms Neda Maletic. Her Excellency is a wonderful representative and a strong diplomatic voice for the Serbian community across Australia. She is doing much to further the interests and the welfare of the Serbian community here in Australia, and she has been a very strong advocate for stronger economic and cultural cooperation between our two countries. Through her efforts I have seen great development in our people-to-people relationships.

Together with the ambassador and other members of the parliamentary friendship group for Serbia in this House, earlier this year I had the opportunity to meet with the then Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of the Interior of the Republic of Serbia, the Hon. Ivica Dacic. During the meeting we discussed a number of issues of mutual interest to our two countries, but very much to the forefront of the discussion was our mutual cooperation in tackling transnational crime. Given Serbia's location and its position within the Balkans, from an Australian perspective Serbia has a very key role to play in tackling the drug trade that is occurring, since much of it passes through the Balkans or is logistically manipulated through various criminal enterprises that operate out of that region.

The Deputy Prime Minister's visit was highly productive and, for the record, as a consequence of his visit the Australian Federal Police and the Serbian Police Directorate signed a memorandum of agreement to cooperate on transnational crime including money laundering and drug trafficking. That was an exercise that concluded well. It also saw Serbia, as a sovereign nation, very much stepping up to the mark and playing a key role in doing something about the effects of transnational crime, working cooperatively—in this case with the Australian Federal Police and other law enforcement organisations—to help investigate, prosecute and disrupt the actions of organised syndicates operating throughout the region, peddling drugs to the world.

This is an example of the growing strength of Australia's bilateral relationship with Serbia and other countries in the Balkan region. The increased cooperation between our two nations is also providing an opportunity for investment in areas such as education, and one of the other things that was canvassed during our meeting with the Deputy Prime Minister was the fact that Australia's reputation as an education provider is well known and well respected. I genuinely believe that, as a consequence of our improving relationship with the Republic of Serbia and the understanding that has grown between our two countries because of our very significant people-to-people relationships, we as a country will do very well by making the education market available to the young people of Serbia, who will benefit from tertiary and vocational education here in Australia.

The Serbian community indeed makes a great economic, social and cultural contribution to the vibrancy of our multicultural society. I have the honour of representing about five per cent of all people of Serbian origin living in Australia. Representing an electorate with possibly the highest proportion of constituents from a Serbian background has allowed me to witness the many positive contributions that Serbian people have made to their adopted country. Last Sunday, in fact, I attended the 26th Serbian Folkloric Festival at the Bonnyrigg Sports Club. More than 10,000 people attended the three-day festival where more than 1,000 young people performed traditional folkloric dances and songs. I attended the event with the Serbian Orthodox Bishop of Australia and New Zealand, His Grace the Right Reverend Irinej; the Serbian ambassador to Australia, Her Excellency Ms Neda Maletic; various members of parliament, including the Labor member for Liverpool, Paul Lynch, the Liberal member for Smithfield, Andy Rohan, and the Labor member for Cabramatta, Nick Lalich, himself a Serbian immigrant who now occupies the elected position of the member for Cabramatta.

As to the event, we could not be anything other than impressed by the hospitality and the warmth with which we were welcomed, but we were also impressed beyond belief by the colour, the vibrancy and the very positive spirit displayed by the Serbian community. As I indicated, there were over 1,000 children who participated in that event. It was very significant to see young people making an effort to follow the traditions and observe the culture of their forebears. Whilst they were very much distinctly Australian kids, they were certainly revelling in the fact that they have a culture that goes back hundreds and hundreds of years, and they sought to demonstrate that through song and dance.

As someone who represents the most multicultural electorate in the whole of Australia, I have to say that this is something that does distinguish us. For people who come to this country to make this their land of opportunity we do not ask them to disregard their culture, their traditions or their religion; what we do ask them to do is be part of our future, and this event was very much a showcase of that. This was a very positive demonstration of Serbian culture and tradition in the context of what has made this country great, and that is immigration.

The Serbian community in my electorate has also made significant contributions in the area of sport. Recently I attended a function organised by the Obilic Basketball Club, a youth sporting organisation based in Cabramatta's PCYC. The community also has two football clubs, part of the Bonnyrigg Sports Club: one is the Bonnyrigg White Eagles Football Club and the other is the Bonnyrigg football club for juniors. Both have recorded significant results in the local and state football league. Many members of the Serbian community greatly contribute to the fabric of Australia and are very proud to be Australian, but they are certainly also very proud of their history, culture and traditions.

This bill will strengthen economic and political cooperation between Australia and Serbia and open the door for mutually beneficial exchange in goods, knowledge and services. Additionally, the bill will reinsert subheading 5308.10.00, which was apparently incorrectly omitted in the Customs Tariff Amendment (2012 Harmonized System Changes) Bill 2011. This subheading applies to coir yarn, which is something I was not aware of before but I now understand is integral to the manufacture of various types of matting and, more particularly, ropes. The bill also corrects a number of technical errors currently in the Customs Tariff Act.

I do apologise to the House for using some of the debating time for this bill to reflect upon the very valuable relationship we have with the Serbian community here in Australia. I think anyone who has that association could not be anything other than proud of the contribution the Serbian people have made to the very fabric of our way of life. I commend the bill to the House.

Craig Kelly (Hughes, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I note that the Customs Tariff Amendment (2012 Measures No. 1) Bill 2012 is not controversial and enjoys the support of both sides of this chamber. As well making a few minor technical amendments to our customs act, the main part of this bill lists Serbia as a developing country for the purposes of the Australian system of tariff preferences.

Australia has had a system of preferential tariff arrangements for specific countries dating back to the Menzies government. It was introduced to benefit developing countries as they grew, so their citizens could enjoy an increase in their standard of living and raise their prosperity. The system of preferential tariffs also benefits our bilateral relationships and our standing as a global citizen.

The listing of Serbia as a developing country will accord it a reduction in customs tariff duty on a defined range of goods imported into Australia. This is consistent with Australia's approach to other states which were formerly part of Yugoslavia and are listed as developing countries. This is a small but important recognition of the difficult times the Serbian nation has been through and of the economic and political advances which have occurred in Serbia over recent years.

With the reclassification of Serbia as a developing nation, many goods from Serbia will become cheaper to Australian consumers. The reclassification will also increase the availability of these goods in the Australian market. As discussed by the member for Stirling, it is interesting to see what upside there is in our trade with Serbia. In 2011, the two-way trade between Australia and Serbia was a little over $14 million, ranking Serbia as our 134th largest trading partner. However, that figure did represent 23 per cent growth on previous years. Within that $14 million in bilateral trade, we imported just over $11 million worth of goods and services from Serbia. That was made up of just over $1 million in vegetables, prepared or preserved; just over $1 million in electrical distribution equipment; close to $1 million in fruit, prepared or preserved; and $810,000 worth of arms and ammunition.

I am fortunate to have the town of Liverpool in my electorate. There are many shops there which stock very fine produce from Serbia. If you have an opportunity to try it, I can truly recommend Serbian blackberry jam, as well as some of the Serbian beers. The reduction in import duties will also serve to create stronger ties with Serbia. It will give Serbian exporters who do not currently export to Australia greater opportunity to start selling their products here and that is something we should all be looking forward to.

There are very strong community links between Australian and the Republic of Serbia. In the 2006 census, 95,000 Australians identified themselves as having Serbian heritage. Australia has maintained an embassy in Belgrade since 1967. I am proud that the electorate of Hughes has many Serbians living in it who have made a very valuable contribution to the Australian economy.

While I am speaking on the Customs Tariff Amendment (2012 Measures No. 1) Bill 2012, it is worth noting, as did the member for Stirling, some of the cutbacks which have been made to our customs service over recent years. Certainly of great concern to many constituents in my electorate is the 75 per cent reduction in the level of air cargo screening. This is a major concern. This simply opens the door and gives those importing illegal goods—including drugs and counterfeit items—greater opportunity to get those goods through our customs searches.

For most Australians, however, the main concern is the cutback of 750 Customs staff over the period Labor has been in office and how this will affect the long queues at our airport. Our tourism sector is struggling enough as it is. We always have the great disadvantage of the tyranny of distance. When tourists come off a long flight of 12 hours or more, the last thing they need is a long queue at the airport and these cutbacks will just make those queues longer—and we all know how important first impressions are. If someone is forced, after stepping off a 12-hour flight, to wait an hour or more, that gives them a very negative image of our country. As I said, this legislation is uncontroversial and I commend the bill to the House.

Tony Zappia (Makin, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Customs Tariff Amendment (2012 Measures No. 1) Bill 2012, which I support, amends the Customs Tariff Act 1995. It does so for good reason. Under our legislation, developing countries are accorded preferential rates of duty under what is known as the Australian system of tariff preferences. The bill contains amendments which list Serbia as a developing country.

The listing will accord Serbia a reduction in customs duty on a defined range of goods imported into Australia. This is consistent with Australia's approach to other states which were formerly part of Yugoslavia and which were also listed as developing countries.

The amendment will also reinsert subheading 5308.10.00 effective from 1 January 2012. Subheading 5308.10.00 applies to coir yarn, which is commonly used in the manufacture of mats and rope. This subheading was incorrectly omitted in the Customs Tariff Amendment (2012 Harmonized System Changes) Act 2011. The remaining amendments in the bill correct a number of technical errors.

As the member for Fowler has pointed out, there is a large Serbian community in Australia. My understanding is that there are over 100,000 Australians of Serbian ancestry and that, of those, over 17,000 were born in Serbia. Although Serbian people began migrating to Australia over 100 years ago, the majority of them arrived after World War II, with a substantial wave coming in the 1980s when conflict began escalating in their homeland. Whilst most of them settled in Sydney, Melbourne and Perth, there is a sizeable population of Serbian people in my home state of South Australia, with most living in Adelaide's western suburbs.

Regardless of where they have settled, the Serbian people have added value to Australia's business, sporting, entertainment, arts and academic life, with many Australians of Serbian descent having become household names in Australia. Wherever they have settled, they have also established a wide range of services for the Serbian community, including aged care, broadcasting and sports, and religious, youth and social programs. In the last two years, I have had the pleasure of attending the Serbian Film Festival in Adelaide, held in my electorate of Makin, and viewing two excellent Serbian produced films.

Serbia is a country with a population of over seven million which has been rebuilding itself over many years of hostilities and destruction. In 2009, the Serbian economy's share of the world's total GDP, adjusted for purchasing power parity, was 0.11 per cent. Its major industries are base metals, furniture, food processing, machinery, chemicals, sugar, tyres, clothes and pharmaceuticals. In recent years its main source of foreign trade has been iron and steel, clothes, cereals, vegetables and nonferrous metals. Most of its trade is with neighbouring European countries—and I note that it is now a candidate for European Union membership.

Australia's trade with Serbia, as previous speakers have pointed out, is not very high at all, with around $14 million in total two-way trade in 2011. However, it is understandably important that Serbia is on an even playing field with other nations that we trade with. For Serbia, that is particularly important under the current tough global financial circumstances.

Australia maintains good diplomatic relations with Serbia. We have an ambassador in New Belgrade, and Serbia has an embassy here in Canberra which is headed by Her Excellency Neda Maletic. A memorandum of understanding has also been established between the Serbian and Australian chambers of commerce. At a meeting I had with Ambassador Neda Maletic last year, the issue of trade between Serbia and Australia dominated our discussion. Serbia is growing its economy and looking for investors in Serbia and export markets for its products.

With that in mind, this bill is both timely and appropriate. Indeed, earlier this year the Serbian Prime Minister and Leader of the Socialist Party of Serbia, Ivica Dacic, visited Australia. Several members of this House, including me, had the pleasure of meeting with him over lunch and later at a reception hosted by the Serbian ambassador. At that time, Prime Minister Dacic was Deputy Prime Minister but, following the election in Serbia in May, he is now Serbian Prime Minister after his Socialist Party formed a coalition government with others—and I congratulate him on his election.

The discussions that we had with him on that day when he was visiting Australia also centred largely around trade opportunities between our two countries. Given the large Serbian population that now resides in Australia and the links that we can establish with Serbia through that population, it is understandable that there is a push to try and increase trade between our two countries. I am sure that that would be welcomed also by the Serbian people both here in Australia and in Serbia.

This bill corrects an anomaly in respect of the previous legislation that I have referred to. More importantly, it recognises the importance of the relationship between Australia and Serbia. This government recognises the importance of that relationship and is making the necessary adjustments and amendments to the current legislation to improve trade relations between our two countries. I commend the bill to the House.

Jason Clare (Blaxland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Home Affairs ) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The Customs Tariff Amendment (2012 Measures No. 1) Bill 2012 achieves three things. The first two parts of the bill give effect to the Customs Tariff Proposal (No. 1) 2012, which I tabled on 16 February this year. This includes listing Serbia as a developing country for the purposes of the Australian system of tariff preferences, consistent with our approach to other states which were formerly part of Yugoslavia. Second, the bill reinserts subheading 5308.10.00, applicable to coir yarn, in the customs tariff. This subheading was incorrectly omitted from the customs tariff in the Customs Tariff Amendment (2012 Harmonized System Changes) Act 2011.

Last, the bill corrects a number of minor technical errors that have occurred in the customs tariff. These corrections do not affect the classification of goods or customs duty payable. These are minor amendments to our Customs Act, and I thank the House for supporting them today. I commend the bill to the House.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.