George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

As with the last bill, the Customs Legislation Amendment (Modernising) Bill 2008 is a legacy measure from the previous government. The amendments were also included in the Customs Legislation Amendment (Augmenting Offshore Powers and Other Measures) Bill 2006 and the Customs Legislation Amendment (Modernising Import Controls and Other Measures) Bill 2006, which lapsed when the parliament was prorogued last year.

The bill amends both the Customs Act 1901 and the Customs Legislation Amendment and Repeal (International Trade Modernisation) Act 2001 to update the broker licensing provision to allow more flexibility in employment practices; modernise provisions relating to duty recovery and payments under protest and to allow refunds to be applied against unpaid duty in some circumstances; make it an offence to make false or misleading declarations in using the new SmartGate automated passenger-processing solution; and reflect the new certificate of origin requirements for the Singapore-Australia Free Trade Agreement. The bill puts into legislative form, in part, practices that Customs are already, in effect, carrying out. The purpose of the bill is to regularise those practices as well as to create the new offence and incorporate the relevant provisions of the Singapore-Australia Free Trade Agreement. The opposition supports the bill.