David Johnston (WA, Liberal Party, Shadow Minister for Defence) Share this | Hansard source

The reason I read to you the US export administration regulations is that they deal with exports, which is the main mischief we are seeking to arrest here. Exporting is the most obvious way of dealing with controlled goods, and that is what we want to stop, but let me reiterate because I am not sure we are getting to the point that I would like to get to: the reassurance that we can withdraw this amendment in confidence.

As I said to you just before question time, the items that are not subject to export administrative regulation are those on the control list. If it is a matter of the control list and you want to take issue with that definition, maybe we can look at that, but I do not think it is. I think the list is exactly the same. 'On the commercial control list that are already published or will be published, to arise during a result from fundamental research' et cetera et cetera. Fundamental research is as I have set out. It is qualified under a paragraph. The intent behind these rules is to identify as fundamental research basic and applied research in science and engineering where the resulting information is ordinarily published and shared broadly within the scientific community. That is a pretty broad statement in the face of export-control legislation. All I am saying is that the exemptions in the DSGL are nowhere near as broad as that. They do not impact upon what is the direct mischief sought to be arrested by this legislation.

I think that, for us to be on all fours here and not to be disadvantaged in our future research, we can fit within the regime that the US has set out because they are happy with it. If people have to have permits to do things, if foreign nationalities are issues and if things of that nature come in, we can deal with that. I think that is a matter for the regulation and the minister. But the broad thrust of where the Americans have gone is the space we want to be in, and I am just not sure that we are getting there given their legislation. I think we are in a much worse position, and that really does concern me. But I remain to be persuaded.