Joe Ludwig (Queensland, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Hansard source

Without naming or indicating countries, it is about the due diligence process. The importer will be required to undertake a due diligence to their satisfaction that it is not illegally logged timber. The compliance system in place will ensure whether or not the due diligence has been undertaken. The system is not new or novel. It works in a range of industries, and it works very effectively in a range of industries. It was one that the Senate committee looked at and adopted. It is one that I have been persuaded would operate fairly and effectively to ensure that we would do two things: we would minimise the risk of illegally logged timber entering Australia but still allow the trade to continue—that is, the trade in legally logged timber—without tying it up in that much red tape that it would prohibit the industry from operating.