Jason Wood (La Trobe, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Customs, Community Safety and Multicultural Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

Customs Tariff Proposal (No. 1) 2021.

Today I table Customs Tariff Proposal (No. 1) 2021. This proposal continues the concessional tariff treatment for essential medical and hygiene goods required by our community as we continue to meet the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic. Concessional tariff treatment for essential medical and hygiene goods has been in effect since 1 February 2020 and has facilitated the importation of hundreds of millions of dollars worth of essential goods needed to treat, diagnose and prevent the spread of the coronavirus. The government remains committed to ensuring that the Australian community is best placed to respond to these challenges. As such, the customs tariff proposal that I've just tabled, effective from 1 January 2021, extends this concessional tariff treatment until 30 June 2021 in recognition of the ongoing need for these vital goods. This is achieved by inserting a new concessional item, item 57B, into the Customs Tariff Act 1995. This new concessional item operates in the same way as previous concessions. It applies to the same range of goods, including masks, gloves, face shields, gowns, goggles, test kits, certain disinfectants and soap. It applies regardless of where the goods are made.

Debate adjourned.