Trevor Evans (Brisbane, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Waste Reduction and Environmental Management) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

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I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

The purpose of this bill is to ensure that cost recovery arrangements for the Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Program can continue to be effective.

The bill will amend the Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas (Import Levy) Act 1995 (the import levy act) to remove the levy on the import of equipment that operates using ozone depleting substances.

This levy is no longer needed as this type of equipment is largely banned from import and may only be imported in very limited circumstances—such as where the equipment is essential for public safety or for scientific purposes and no practical alternative exists. It is appropriate not to charge a levy in those kinds of circumstances.

The bill will also amend the import levy act to provide for the levy rates to be set by regulation rather than being fixed in the act itself.

The change will allow for more timely and responsive cost recovery approaches in the program and ensure that the Commonwealth's likely costs in administering the program can continue to be recovered.

Any change to the levy rate would have to be appropriate and not recover more than the likely reasonable costs of administering the program. This would only take place after review of cost recovery arrangements.

The capped levy rate has been in place since 2003. As such, it does not reflect the current cost of administering the program.

Removing the cap allows the levy to be adjusted periodically so that activities under the act and regulations can be fully cost recovered in the future.

I commend the bill to the House.

Debate adjourned.