Jason Falinski (Mackellar, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I'd like to thank my friend the member for Fremantle for pointing out how successful this scheme has been and what great community good it has done. The excise levies amendment is an important step in cutting red tape and standardising sheep and lamb legislation. The livestock industry contributes upwards of $4.5 billion to the economy each year and employs nearly half a million people. Australia is the largest exporter of sheepmeat in the world and the second-largest exporter of lamb and mutton in the world, with over 31,000 agricultural businesses involved in the red meat and livestock industry.

The amendment is an important step in creating a consistent regulatory framework and making life easier for farmers who have been doing it tough. With recent droughts, fires and, more recently, COVID-19, as the party of responsible economic management, small business and a fair go, this legislation is part of a broader vision to create a more competitive industry. Reducing the regulatory burden on farmers is a critical step for an industry that so many Australians and rural communities rely on. As food security continues to be an important issue for our region, the agricultural sector is of particular strategic importance. By supporting our farmers, we are backing a powerhouse industry that has defined our nation for generations.

As part of this government's commitment to cutting red tape and implementing smarter regulation, we are working to support businesses by streamlining regulatory compliance. It is a sad legacy that the bureaucracy of this country has a history of disadvantaging small businesses. This bill works to resolve this issue by unifying definitions across multiple pieces of legislation. Many Australian industries are globally competitive but are hampered by chronically poor and inconsistent regulation. When so many Australians are relying on us to get this right, especially as we emerge from COVID-19, complacency is no longer an option when it comes to our regulatory framework. This amendment reflects our belief in smarter regulation, not just more regulation, which cuts compliance costs and makes doing business in Australia easier. All too frequently, bureaucrats with no industry or business experience are making regulatory requirements that are completely out of step with industry and end up costing jobs and taxpayers money. Rebuilding our economy in the wake of COVID-19 will not be done from the ivory tower of Capital Hill in Canberra but from hardworking Australians starting businesses, innovating and getting ahead.

The agricultural industry has a deep legacy in the history of our country and remains crucial for our national economy. Whilst a lot of attention is given to the tech space, one of the areas Australia can excel at is the agritech sphere, which will be of growing importance, given increasing biosecurity risks across the world. As food security remains a growing concern across the world, Australian farmers not only provide us with an important guarantee for the future of our food security but also enable us to help those in need. That is why amendments like this are so important. They help Australian farmers spend time doing what they do best.

The nature of this legislation is in updating the definition of 'lamb' to keep it in line with other definitional changes that have subsequently taken place in other bills. When there are two definitions for what constitutes a lamb then we can begin to understand the Gordian knot that is Australian bureaucracy. The new definition will be standardised across multiple pieces of—

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