Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Minister for the Environment and Water) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That this bill be now read a second time.

The purpose of this bill is to ensure that cost-recovery arrangements for the Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas Management Program can continue to be effective.

The bill will amend the Ozone Protection and Synthetic Greenhouse Gas (Import Levy) Act 1995 (the import levy act) to remove the levy on the import of equipment that operates using ozone-depleting substances.

As a result of the successful implementation of the phase-out of ozone-depleting substances, in line with the Montreal Protocol, imports of equipment that uses these substances are now limited to exceptional circumstances where no alternative exists, such as for public safety or scientific purposes.

It is appropriate not to charge a levy in those circumstances.

The bill will also amend the import levy act to provide for the levy rates to be set by regulation rather than fixed in the act.

The capped levy rate has been in place since 2003 and as such is not an accurate reflection of the current cost of administering this program.

Removing the cap allows the levy to be adjusted periodically so that activities under the act and regulations can be fully cost recovered in the future.

Following the review of cost-recovery arrangements, a logical and appropriate change to the levy rate may occur to reflect the present-day cost of administering the program.

The bill will allow for the delegation of power to appropriate officials to exempt a person from paying the levy.

Effective delegation is a fundamental component of good governance and risk management. Limiting delegations to officials at executive level 2 or above ensures that only persons with appropriate seniority and expertise would be exercising these powers.

Debate adjourned.