Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Families and Social Services) Share this | Hansard source

Senator Steele-John, we are not going to support the amendment, because it would deny the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment its legal basis to ensure tariff quotas were not overallocated. The intention of the bill that's before us is to provide greater clarity under the Export Control Act, and the inclusion of tariff rate certificates in addition to tariff rate entitlements reflects the fact that some of the trading partners use different terms. It's also important to note that the measure is already in the Export Control Act 2020, and the proposed government bill seeks to avoid confusion for exporters.

The amendment that you've put forward would, as I've said, deny the Department of Agriculture, Water and the Environment the legal basis to ensure that quotas aren't overallocated. The bill and the retrospective measures also make clear that exporters will be unable to seek a formal review of the quota allocated to them, where the full quota has been allocated. Quota arrangements are negotiated as part of bilateral arrangements, regional and multilateral trade agreements, and it would be inappropriate for the department and the government to be put in a position where it is exceeding its agreed quotas and allocations. That is the reason why we will not be supporting your amendment, Senator Steele-John.