James McGrath (Queensland, Liberal National Party, Assistant Minister to the Prime Minister) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I give notice that, on the next day of sitting, I shall move:

That the provisions of paragraphs (5) to (8) of standing order 111 not apply to the following bills, allowing them to be considered during this period of sittings:

Appropriation Bill (No. 3) 2016-2017

Appropriation Bill (No. 4) 2016-2017

Biosecurity Amendment (Ballast Water and Other Measures) Bill 2017

Competition and Consumer Amendment (Misuse of Market Power) Bill 2016

Copyright Amendment (Disability Access and Other Measures) Bill 2017

Crimes Amendment (Penalty Unit) Bill 2017

Disability Services Amendment (Linking Upper Age Limits for Disability Employment Services to Pension Age) Bill 2017

Personal Property Securities Amendment (PPS Leases) Bill 2017

Protection of the Sea (Prevention of Pollution from Ships) Amendment (Polar Code) Bill 2017

I table statements of reasons justifying the need for these bills to be considered during these sittings and seek leave to have the statements incorporated in Hansard.

Leave granted.

The statements read as follows—

STATEMENT OF REASONS FOR INTRODUCTION AND PASSAGE IN THE 2017 AUTUMN SITTINGS

APPROPRIATION BILL (NO. 3) 2016-2017

APPROPRIATION BILL (NO. 4) 2016-2017

Purpose of the Bills

The bills request legislative authority for additional appropriations to fund expenditure to be incurred in 2016-2017.

Reasons for Urgency

Appropriations proposed in the bills provide funding for expenditure that is required to implement decisions and funding adjustments that involve further expenditure in 2016-2017, which have been agreed since the 2016-2017 Budget. Passage of the bills before the last day of the 2017 Autumn sittings will ensure continuity of the Government's programs and the Commonwealth's ability to meet its obligations as they fall due; and facilitate the commencement of new measures. Should passage not be granted in the 2017 Autumn sittings then activities to be funded by the bills may be deferred or significantly delayed.

(Circulated by authority of the Minister for Finance)

STATEMENT OF REASONS FOR INTRODUCTION AND PASSAGE IN THE 2017 AUTUMN SITTINGS

BIOSECURITY AMENDMENT (BALLAST WATER AND OTHER MEASURES) BILL

Purpose of the Bill

The bill will provide for critical additional powers for human biosecurity officials to manage the risks associated with mosquitos and other disease carrying vectors at Australia's airports and seaports that pose a risk to human health. These amendments allow enforcement of relevant biosecurity measures.

The bill will also amend Chapter 5 of the Biosecurity Act 2015 to align fully with the International Convention for the Control and Management of Ships' Ballast Water and Sediments (the Convention).

Passage of the bill in the 2017 Autumn sittings is essential for Australia to minimise the human health risks from vectors and to give full effect to the Convention when it enters into force internationally on 8 September 2017.

Reasons for Urgency

There is an immediate requirement to strengthen vector control measures to counter threats from, amongst other things, mosquito-borne diseases.The amendments will allow for the improved management of potential human health and biosecurity risks, drawing on recent experiences in Australia and overseas.

Amendments to Chapter 5 of the Biosecurity Act 2015 are needed in order for Australia to be legislatively compliant with the Convention. This will provide certainty for the shipping industry, both local and international.

Australia will need to ratify the Convention prior to 8 June 2017 if it is to come into force in Australia at the same time it comes into force internationally on 8 September 2017.

Introduction and passage of the bill in the 2017 Autumn sittings will enable Australia to give full legislative effect in the Act to the Convention in line with the above-mentioned timeframe. This will maintain Australia's positive international standing in relation to biosecurity and environmental control measures. If this does not occur, Australia is at risk of damaging its positive international reputation.

Australia is seen as a world leader in biosecurity risk management. Failure to pass this bill in the 2017 Autumn sittings will cause repercussions from Australia not being fully legislatively compliant with the Convention when it comes into force internationally. This will also affect our ability to enforce key biosecurity and human health measures.

(Circulated by authority of the Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources)

STATEMENT OF REASONS FOR INTRODUCTION AND PASSAGE IN THE 2017 AUTUMN PARLIAMENT SITTINGS

COMPETITION AND CONSUMER AMENDMENT (MISUSE OF MARKET POWER) BILL 2016

Purpose of the Bill

This Bill makes amendments to the misuse of market power provisions of the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (the Act) following the recommendations of the Harper Review of Competition Policy.

Reasons for Urgency

The Bill contains important reforms to a key provision of the Act relating to the misuse of market power. The Government announced the reforms in March 2016. Passage of the Bill as soon as possible is required to provide stakeholders with certainty in relation to a major provision of the competition laws.

(Circulated by authority of the Treasurer)

STATEMENT OF REASONS FOR INTRODUCTION AND PASSAGE IN THE 2017 AUTUMN SITTINGS

COPYRIGHT AMENDMENT (DISABILITY ACCESS AND OTHER MEASURES) BILL

Purpose of the Bill

The bill amends the Copyright Act 1968 to streamline, modernise and simplify provisions relating to the use of copyright material by the disability, education, library and archives sectors. The bill will also introduce new standard copyright terms for published and unpublished materials.

Reasons for Urgency

Whilst Australia's Copyright Act already fully complies with the requirements of the Marrakesh Treaty, expedited introduction and passage of the bill will enhance Australia's copyright scheme to better reflect the principles of the Marrakesh Treaty to Facilitate Access to Published Works for Persons Who Are Blind, Visually Impaired or Otherwise Print Disabled, which was ratified by Australia on 10 December 2015 and which entered into force on 30 September 2016. Passage of the bill will remove regulatory burden and improve access to and use of valuable information by the disability, education, library and archives sectors.

The bill is the culmination of long term and extensive consultation with key stakeholders in the disability, education, library and archives sectors, rights holders' representatives and relevant Commonwealth and state and territory government agencies.

(Circulated by authority of the Minister for Communications)

STATEMENT OF REASONS FOR INTRODUCTION AND PASSAGE IN THE 2017 AUTUMN SITTINGS

CRIMES AMENDMENT (PENALTY UNIT) BILL

Purpose of the Bill

The bill amends the Crimes Act 1914 to increase the value of the Commonwealth penalty unit from $180 to $210, to take effect from 1 July 2017. It also delays the first indexation of the value from July 2018 to July 2020.

Reasons for Urgency

The bill must be passed in the first half of 2017 to allow the amendment to commence by 1 July 2017.

The urgency of the bill derives from the need to maintain effective and dissuasive penalties for Commonwealth criminal offences. The measure forms part of a broader package of cross-portfolio Budget repair measures, announced as part of the 2016-17 MYEFO.

The penalty unit was introduced in 1992 to allow financial penalties for offences across the entire Commonwealth statute book to be adjusted in line with inflation with a single amendment to the Crimes Act. Maintaining the value of the penalty unit over time (in real terms) is necessary to ensure that financial penalties remain effective punishments and deterrents to the commission of Commonwealth offences.

(Circulated by authority of the Minister for Justice)

STATEMENT OF REASONS FOR INTRODUCTION AND PASSAGE IN THE 2017 AUTUMN SITTINGS

DISABILITY SERVICES AMENDMENT (LINKING UPPER AGE LIMITS FOR DISABILITY EMPLOYMENT SERVICES TO THE PENSION AGE) BILL

Purpose of the Bill

The bill aims to substitute the upper age limit from section 18(a) of the Disability Services Act 1986, with reference to the pension age in the Social Security Act 1991.

Reasons for Urgency

This bill gives effect to a mechanical amendment to the Disability Services Act 1986 to align the upper age limit of the Disability Employment Services – Disability Management Service program (DES-DMS) to the pension age under the Social Security Act 1991.

Under the Social Security Act 1991, the Age Pension eligibility age will be raised by increments of six months occurring every two years from 1 July 2017 until the Age Pension eligibility age reaches 67 in 2024.

Currently, to be eligible to start to receive services under the DES-DMS program, a person must be aged between 14 and 64. The purpose of the age restrictions was to conform with the intention of the program to provide support to persons with disabilities of working age.

The increase in the pension age means that there will be people with disability who are aged 65 or older but who have not reached the pension age; who are on income support with mutual obligations to seek work; and who under the current provisions would be excluded from receiving support under DES-DMS to meet those obligations.

By linking the upper limit to the pension age rather than a set age, the Bill ensures that there will be no gap between the pension age and the upper limit for services under the DES-DMS program during the period of the increase to the pension age between 2017 and 2024.

Any delays in the passage of legislation beyond this date will mean that there will be people with disability aged 65 who may be required to seek work as part of their income support, but who are unable to access the usual supports through Disability Employment Services from 1 July 2017 because the age limit for DES-DMS will remain at 64 years old and will not have been adjusted to match the increased age of qualification for the age pension.

Introduction and passage of the bill in the 2017 Autumn sittings is also required to implement these changes before 1 July 2017, as it is necessary to allow at least three months to adjust the relevant IT systems.

(Circulated by authority of the Minister for Social Services)

STATEMENT OF REASONS FOR INTRODUCTION AND PASSAGE IN THE 2017 AUTUMN SITTINGS

PERSONAL PROPERTY SECURITIES AMENDMENT (PPS LEASES) BILL 2017

Purpose of the Bill

The Bill amends section 13 of the Personal Property Securities Act 2009 (the Act) to extend the minimum duration of a lease after which it is deemed to be a PPS Lease, a type of security interest, from more than one year, to more than two years. The Bill also amends the Act to provide that leases of an indefinite term will not be deemed to be PPS leases unless and until they run for more than two years.

Reasons for Urgency

The Bill will significantly reduce the Act's regulatory impact on short term equipment hire and rental businesses, many of which are small and medium businesses. The hire and rental sector relies on indefinite term leases which usually run for less than a week and rarely exceed two years. Very few equipment hire leases would be caught by the amended provision. However, section 13 as amended by this bill would continue to appropriately capture longer term leases. The amendments would not modify the operation of the Act in relation to leases which are 'in-substance' security interests.

The equipment hire and rental industry is largely comprised of small and medium size enterprises, which due to the complexity of certain aspects of PPS Act have difficulty consistently making legally accurate registrations on the Personal Property Securities Register. Making a correct registration (a perfected registration) will protect the priority position of a lessor's security interest against competing interests in the same collateral. Many hire and rental operators unknowingly face the risk of losing valuable assets to the estates of insolvent customers by operation of the vesting provision which provides that an unperfected security interest will vest in the customer (the grantor) in the event that the customer becomes insolvent. This can have serious consequences for small businesses.

The passage of this Bill in the Autumn sittings will reduce the risk to small business of unknowingly losing ownership of assets where customers become insolvent, and provide certainty about the operation of PPS Leases for small and medium businesses.

(Circulated by authority of the Attorney-General)

STATEMENT OF REASONS FOR INTRODUCTION AND PASSAGE IN THE 2017 AUTUMN SITTINGS

PROTECTION OF THE SEA (PREVENTION OF POLLUTION FROM SHIPS) AMENDMENT (POLAR CODE) BILL

Purpose of the Bill

The bill amends the Protection of the Sea (Prevention of Pollution from Ships) Act 1983 to implement the International Code for Ships Operating in Polar Waters (Polar Code), which is a mandatory code adopted by the International Maritime Organization.

Reasons for Urgency

The Polar Code entered into force internationally on 1 January 2017. To ensure Australia remains compliant with its international obligations, an amendment to the Protection of the Sea (Prevention of Pollution from Ships) Act 1983 is required. Passage of the bill in the Autumn sittings would indicate Australia's full support for the Polar Code and enable our international obligations to be met.

Australia has a strong national interest in Antarctica, including in the safety of shipping, environmental protection of Antarctic waters and search and rescue responsibilities. The Polar Code benefits these interests by making shipping in Antarctic waters safer.

(Circulated by authority of the Minister for Infrastructure and Transport)