Carol Brown (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party, Shadow Assistant Minister for Infrastructure and Regional Tourism) Share this | Hansard source

I rise today to contribute to the debate on the Customs Tariff Amendment (2022 Harmonized System Changes) Bill 2021 and the Customs Amendment (2022 Harmonized System Changes) Bill 2021. I will say from the outset that Labor will support these bills.

The purpose of the Customs Tariff Amendment (2022 Harmonized System Changes) Bill 2021 is to amend the Customs Tariff Act 1995 to implement the outcomes of the World Customs Organization's sixth review of the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System—the harmonised system—which is scheduled to commence internationally on 1 January 2022.

The parliament is also considering the Customs Amendment (2022 Harmonized System Changes) Bill 2021, which seeks specifically to amend the definition of tobacco products in the Customs Act 1901. This second bill is required because the first bill provides that e-cigarettes and vapes will have their own classification code under the international harmonised system. Consequently, one of the oldest acts of this Australian parliament, the Customs Act 1901, must be amended to reflect this change and the emergence of these new types of tobacco products. The amendments will ensure that these products continue to be subject to the existing regulatory requirements, such as tax and excise, that apply to tobacco products under the Customs Act.

Today I will speak primarily on the first bill, which deals with the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System. The harmonised system allocates classifications and descriptions used to identify all tradable goods. The World Customs Organization maintains this system, and the organisation's members, including Australia, review it on a five-yearly basis. The coding system changes to reflect emerging technologies and changing trade patterns. It also seeks to monitor trade in dangerous and lethal components and products. The system plays an important role in helping to monitor goods that can be exploited to the detriment of their country of origin. Essentially, as the world changes and technology advantages, so do classifications of the goods we trade. Codes for new goods are added, some goods are reclassified and other goods' codes drop off the list altogether. For example, some products have been given a separate code because they are increasingly present in international trade. These include 3D printers, smartphones and electric vehicles.

The harmonised system is also used in the monitoring of trade patterns to help conservation efforts. For example, in this review the potential impact of the overexploitation of the African cherry tree in the wild because of the growing use of its bark in the pharmaceutical industry will be monitored by the application of a dedicated code for this product. Many would be unaware that these new codes will also help facilitate the monitoring and control of substances controlled under the chemical weapons convention and of goods required for the production and use of improvised explosive devices. Adjustment of the harmonised system also monitors substances controlled by virtue of the Kigali amendments to the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.

As we can see from these examples, the harmonised system works to do much in international trade. I believe it is important that we recognise the good work done in the global interests by institutions such as the World Customs Organization and all the nation-states that are active in negotiations. The coded harmonised system is an important and wholly undervalued tool in the global effort to curb the development of chemical weapons and improvised explosive devices and the re-emergence of products that endanger the ozone layer. These are just three examples.

With this background, Labor will support both of these bills. We commend them to the Senate.