Craig Laundy (Reid, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

It is a pleasure, for the first time in my political career, to stand at this dispatch box and introduce my first bill into this great place. I would like to, at a personal level, thank my senior minister, Minister Hunt, for giving me this opportunity. It is greatly appreciated.

The Competition and Consumer Amendment (Country of Origin) Bill 2016 seeks to simplify and clarify the safe harbour provisions within the Australian consumer law.

This bill forms part of the government's country of origin labelling reform package that was agreed by the states and territories in March this year. A key element of this reform package, the Country of Origin Food Labelling Information Standard 2016, actuallycommenced in July this year.

Before I detail the specific amendments this bill seeks to make, please allow me to briefly elaborate the objectives of the government's country of origin labelling reform package.

The reforms aim to provide consumers with clear, more meaningful and easier to find country-of-origin information so they can make informed purchasing decisions in line with their personal preferences.

Inquiries and research conducted in recent years show that the current labelling framework is largely ineffective in meeting its objectives.

Amanda Rishworth (Kingston, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for Health) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Hear, hear!

Craig Laundy (Reid, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I note that the member opposite said, 'Hear, hear!' How many times have you stood in front of shelves in supermarkets trying to work out how to do the right thing? If given the opportunity, consumers really do want to support local produce, but with myriad terms and ways to hide this historically has resulted in this needing to be simplified and clarified, which is what this bill very much aims to do. I note again for the member opposite that we have bipartisan support for reforming country-of-origin labelling, because this is an issue that has vexed parliamentarians of all political persuasions for many years—and it is worth noting that these reforms meet a key commitment of the Agricultural competitiveness white paper, released last year.

The government's reform package has benefited from extensive consultations and discussions with businesses, the community and their representatives—as well as state and territory governments, and our overseas trading partners. It is particularly important to note that we have secured broad state and territory support for these reforms throughout this process.

We take this opportunity to thank the thousands of people who took the time and trouble to contribute their views and to work with us during the development of these reforms. Your participation has helped us achieve our goal of providing Australian consumers with country-of-origin labelling, without imposing excessive costs on business. This is a major breakthrough that Australians have long been waiting for.

As part of the reforms, the mandatory country-of-origin-labelling requirements for food will be enhanced and moved from the Australia New Zealand Food Standards Code to an information standard under the Australian Consumer Law.

As Australians, we want to know whether the food we buy is from the country we live in, or it comes from somewhere else—and, if it was made or packaged here, we really want to know how much of it was grown here by our farmers.

Under the new information standard, the well-known kangaroo in a triangle symbol will be required on many foods found on Australian retail shelves, identifying those that were grown, produced or made in Australia.

The new labels for food will also include a bar chart and words to indicate the proportion of Australian ingredients in the food. Research has shown that this is the most important piece of country-of-origin information for consumers when it comes to food.

Through this package of reforms, consumers will be able to trust that claims such as 'made in' and 'product of' are applied consistently and in a way that can be easily understood. Businesses will be able to use these terms with greater certainty and will be less inclined to make meaningless origin claims like 'made in Australia from local and imported ingredients'.

These changes will give consumers a clearer understanding about where their food comes from, while ensuring Australian businesses receive the information and support they need as they transition to the new rules.

I am delighted to announce to the House that many Australian companies have already adopted these reforms. I urge all those in the chamber the next time they are in the supermarket to keep an eye out for it. Many of us have started noticing these new labels already in our local supermarkets. Companies such as Maggie Beer Products, which has a wonderful ice-cream that they serve on Qantas every now and again, recently launched the labels for their range of products and are fully supportive of the reforms that clearly indicate where the food we are eating comes from—something Australian consumers have told this government loud and clear is very close to their hearts.

To support the effective implementation of the reforms, the government has provided the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission with additional funding of $4.2 million over five years to undertake compliance and enforcement activities in relation to the new requirements. The government is also funding a $15.2 million information campaign to ensure consumers and businesses understand the revised framework.

Please allow me now to describe some of the detailed amendments that the Competition and Consumer Amendment (Country of Origin) Bill 2016 aims to achieve.

The Australian Consumer Law prohibits false or misleading representations about the origin of goods.

To provide certainty for businesses, the Australian Consumer Law provides 'safe harbour' defences for country-of-origin claims where goods meet certain criteria. If goods satisfy the relevant criteria, the business has not engaged in misleading or deceptive conduct, or made a false or misleading representation.

The proposed changes to the Australian Consumer Law will impact in three main ways: firstly, make it clear that minor processes such as packaging, slicing or canning are not sufficient to justify origin claims like 'made in', consistent with consumer expectations and international norms; secondly, remove unnecessarily burdensome or redundant provisions; and, finally, amend and align remaining provisions with the new information standard.

Inclusion of changes to these safe harbour defences in the package of reforms is broadly supported by all industry sectors. Businesses will find it easier to make reliable country-of-origin representations through a clarified substantial transformation test and the removal of the burdensome and capricious production cost test.

In fact, even a couple of weeks ago, Tindo Solar, a well-known South Australian manufacturer of solar panels, wrote to my colleague Minister Hunt seeking the removal of the exceedingly onerous production cost test so that the company could supply panels certified as Australian-made into the market. Tindo Solar and many other small and innovative businesses will benefit from these amendments.

Consumers will also welcome the change that makes it clear goods cannot be claimed to be made here just because their form or appearance has changed.

Before I conclude, please allow me to acknowledge the detailed and exhaustive consultations undertaken by my department, the department of industry, and the Department of Agriculture and Water Resources during the various stages of this reform development process. I congratulate them for their hard work and effort. I also wish to thank once more the many businesses, peak industry groups and individuals who invested precious time and resources in responding to questionnaires and participating in detailed discussions during the consultation phase.

I would also like to acknowledge the leadership of the former Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science, Christopher Pyne, who very bluntly told me in the party room on Tuesday that this was all his idea, in seeking to ensure these reforms were implemented as quickly as possible. Finally, I wish to commend my colleague Deputy Prime Minister Barnaby Joyce on the commitment he has shown throughout this process, and over many years, to reform in this important area of public policy.

I commend this bill to the chamber.

Debate adjourned.

Greg Hunt (Flinders, Liberal Party, Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On indulgence, I want to pay particular congratulations to the member for Reid and Assistant Minister for Industry, Innovation and Science for taking up the cudgels on the country-of-origin labelling. He has shown incredible zeal. I also want to acknowledge the work of the previous minister, the Leader of the House, as well as the Deputy Prime Minister, for whom this has been a passion. In the spirit of bipartisanship commensurate with the joy felt by all in the new House, I want to acknowledge the work of the member for Kingston, who has long been a campaigner for this as well. So there are many hands in this success.