Mike Kelly (Eden-Monaro, Australian Labor Party, Parliamentary Secretary for Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

The Horse Disease Response Levy Collection Bill 2011 is a companion bill to the Horse Disease Response Levy Bill 2011. This bill will provide authority for the Australian government to collect and administer the horse disease response levies.

A separate bill is necessary as the Australian Constitution requires that provis­ions dealing with the collection and administration of a levy must be in legislation separate from that which imposes the levy itself.

This bill also includes provision for periodic review of the levy mechanisms. It requires the minister to ensure that the mechanisms are reviewed every five years, unless the levies are active at the time the review is due. If this occurs, the minister has the option to postpone the review until the levies are set back to zero. The minister will seek advice from affected parties before determining whether the review should be postponed.

I commend the bill to the House.

Debate adjourned.