Deborah O'Neill (NSW, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Innovation) Share this | Hansard source

Just because of the hard marker in the Senate papers, I was making some remarks about Labor's reason for moving this partial disallowance motion, which relates particularly to our concerns about illegal logging and the devastation that it causes in the social and environmental contexts as well as the economic damage that it does. When my time this morning concluded, I was at a point where I was talking about Australian Labor Party values with regard to third-party certification as a means of helping demonstrate sustainability, and I was supporting its inclusion in Commonwealth procurement systems, particularly for products that are certified in Australia. But one of the concerns that we have with this particular construction from the government is that there are a number of examples of certified products that are proving to have been sourced from illegally logged forests in recent times. Having now been uncovered, this cannot be ignored, and that is why this partial disallowance is being put by Labor.

The requirements assess whether the information and evidence obtained by using the framework are accurate and reliable, and we are concerned that this should remain. We believe that we need the requirements to identify and assess, by using the framework and the gathered information, whether there is a risk that the product is made from or includes illegally logged timber. We also consider that the requirements should be used to consider any other information the importer knows, or ought reasonably know, that may indicate whether the product is made from or includes illegally logged timber. We also consider a written record should be kept of the process used to make the assessment.

These sorts of conditions are not unduly onerous. These are practical ways of preventing illegal logging and interrupting the trade in illegal logging. For the processing of domestically harvested logs, where there is a pretty strong understanding of local supply chains, we think that these provisions should remain.

These requirements are not worth removing when it entails a heightened risk of the penetration of illegally logged timber and timber products into the Australian market, which we know would undermine the Australian industry and Australian jobs. This is at the core of why Labor is making these partial disallowances today. Australian jobs matter to us. Making sure that we don't undermine the supply chain and that we support Australian industry is a critical business that we take very seriously in this place.

The matter of the make-up of the regulations is finally concluded, more than three years after Minister Frydenberg initiated the government review. It is slow, but Labor plans to focus on encouraging a greater emphasis on compliance with the law and regulations, and will explore options to enhance the department's capacity to ensure adherence to the law. I thank the chamber for its attention to these matters.