Tim Hammond (Perth, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

very seriously. It never got any better, Mr Deputy Speaker. And it is certainly no better now, I can tell you right now, under this divided, conservative, weak, lily-livered government as opposed to when Labor was in government. Labor took the issue for consumers and consumer rights much more seriously than those opposite ever did and probably ever will. We started the review in relation to the country-of-origin laws. In government, we conducted a comprehensive review of labelling laws and worked closely with the states through COAG to improve guidance for both consumers and industry. It is critical that consumers are protected without putting an undue burden on Australia's food processors which would simply have the perverse effect of sending more manufacturing offshore and costing jobs.

So what is it that we did? I am very happy to outline the number of steps taken by the Labor Party whilst in government. Labor actually committed to finding a bipartisan solution on food labelling in February 2015, calling on the government to consult with consumer groups and food industry representatives. We highlighted the need to get all relevant ministers together to develop a comprehensive and consistent approach to supporting Australia's food industry. We also said that the government should start by addressing the recommendations of the bipartisan House of Representatives report on food labelling and that we stood ready to constructively consider any positive policy proposals that might actually result from this process. So that is why we joined with this government in supporting this new legislation.

In going to the new regime, what new arrangements for food labelling does this bill create and what does that do to help consumers make decisions at the supermarket? The Competition and Consumer Amendment (Country of Origin) Bill 2016 amends the Competition and Consumer Act 2010, altering country-of-origin labelling safe harbour provisions under the Australian Consumer Law. Safe harbour provisions are designed to provide businesses with certainty about the types of claims they can make regarding country of origin without breaching Australia Consumer Law. Changes to country-of-origin labelling requirements for food sold in Australia were announced in July 2015 and came into effect in July 2016 with a two-year transition period for industry.

The main change in relation to this new regime, giving consumers greater rights and a greater level of awareness in relation to what is contained within the products that they buy off grocery shelves, is that labels for most food that is grown, produced or made in Australia includes a logo—which is a kangaroo in a triangle symbol—as well as a bar chart and a text statement to show the proportion of Australian ingredients in any particular product that a consumer will purchase.

This amendment bill complements those changes, simplifying the tests used to justify a country-of-origin 'made in' claim by clarifying what 'substantial transformation' means and altering the definition of 'substantial transformation' as it applies to the safe harbour provisions under the Australian Consumer Law. It also removes the current 50 per cent production cost test, which becomes redundant for food products with the introduction of labels showing the percentage of Australian ingredients.

The bill sets out a new regime as follows: goods can be represented as being grown in Australia, if each significant ingredient or component has been actually grown in Australia and all processes involved in the production or manufacture of the good also happened here. This is much the same as the previous regime, but the terms in the legislation have been significantly clarified. The rules around goods having a produce of Australia are not changing. Importantly, the requirements of goods with a 'made in', 'manufactured in' or 'originating from' Australia label are as follows: the good must have been last substantially transformed in Australia and, more importantly, no representation must be made that the goods were grown or produced in that country. Further, the bill also governs the use of country-of-origin marks such as the 'Made in Australia' gold kangaroo in a green triangle. It also defines the idea of a good being substantially transformed. The bill makes it clear that packaging materials are not treated as ingredients or components—

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