Chris Evans (WA, Australian Labor Party, Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

This seems like a full committee stage, not non-controversial legislation, but I will do my best to indicate to Senator Milne why we will not be supporting her amendment. The bill provides that the resale right is absolutely inalienable and unable to be waived. It also provides that an agreement to repay a resale royalty is void. The provisions have been included in the bill to ensure artists cannot be exploited by being persuaded or coerced to waive or reassign their right to primary sale.

The opt-out clause included is an important balance to these provisions. It provides that an artist may instruct the collecting society not to collect the resale royalty on their behalf. To be effective, the request to opt out must be made in writing for each and every sale and within a limited period following the sale of the relevant work. Artists are also entitled to choose not to receive their resale royalty right through the collecting society in certain situations but instead to collect the resale royalty directly. We think these provisions are important to provide a balance between the need for artists to be able to choose when and how their resale royalty rights are exercised and the need to safeguard against the possibility that artists may be pressured to waive their rights to royalties on resales of their works.

Question negatived.