Nick Xenophon (SA, Nick Xenophon Team) Share this | Hansard source

I am not suggesting that the glass is not half full; I just want to make sure it is an Australian glass with Australian water in it. I want to put this to the minister. I support the legislation. I believe it should go further, but I support it. The Australian Made Campaign Limited has reasonable concerns. Their submission states:

Definition of 'substantial transformation'

AMCL's principal concern in this area is that both the current and the proposed definition of 'substantial transformation' are very far from providing a clear and objective criterion against which to assess claims. The phrase "fundamentally different in identity, nature or essential character" is highly subjective and open to interpretation.

AMCL argue for that simple administrative mechanism. The minister says that there is a website and that there will be guidelines from the ACCC, but can the minister assure us that the claims that are made about Australian made, with the new substantial transformation test, will be robust? How do you resolve a dispute? If a manufacturer goes to the ACCC saying, 'We want to make this claim,' it is not the ACCC's job to make a determination for them. I do not think that is the way the ACCC operates unless they are able to in the context of this legislation.