Rex Patrick (SA, Independent) Share this | Hansard source

I will just come back to you with my apology. It's worth saying this because people watching wonder if this is all just politicking. I can absolutely assure you I will end up making my decision on the floor on the basis of the debate that I've heard and the answers that are coming, so it is an important process. My apology really is for my ill preparedness personally in respect of this, having been originally of the understanding that it wasn't controversial, so that's where my apology rests. I do like the process, and, for people who are watching, this is quite a genuine process.

In relation to your answer, Minister, the area I have particular concern over is the reduction of scrutiny, where something that would require a regulation no longer requires a regulation; it simply becomes an automatic process. And I take what you said about previous passings of the bill. But when I read the committee report last night it became obvious that attention came to this in some sense accidentally through a Bills Digestsomeone raised a concern. I think Labor have responded to that concern, which is why they've changed their position. We all know that sometimes in this place not everything's perfect, and it does rely on the different gateways a bill goes through. So, I'm not particularly persuaded in this instance about what's happened in the past. I really just want to get to the point of perhaps a new understanding about a scrutiny element.

As I understand it, when we're dealing with these PSRs, they're associated with harmonised codes, with which I am familiar from a previous life. It was put to me by the department this morning—and I thank you for organising the briefing that you did—that the bill that's before us today only changes the harmonised code and the mapping of harmonised codes to PSRs. Harmonised codes are changed every five years. You might have a harmonised code—I'll use the example that might be associated with some sort of food-related oil—and then five years comes along. I'm using this as a hypothetical, so I'm not going to get technical on you. But say you have an oil as a harmonised code and then some country decides they want to break that up into palm oil and olive oil. So, now we end up with two harmonised codes that map to a PSR or to the PSRs. My understanding is that this legislation, if I were to take what the department told me at face value, deals only with the mapping of the harmonised codes to the PSRs; it doesn't deal with changes to the PSR itself.

My first question is: is that the case? Is that your view? My second question is: the department put to me that, if there is to be a change to the PSR itself—and it's a different story to what's been told to me in this chamber and outside the chamber—that still requires a regulation. I just want to confirm that. So, first question: this bill is dealing only with the mapping of harmonised codes to PSRs. Second question: in order to change a PSR, that has to be done by way of regulation, if I understand this correctly.