Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) Share this | Hansard source

I table the supplementary explanatory memoranda relating to the government requests for amendments to be moved to these bills. The memoranda were circulated in the chamber on 16 September 2008.

Excise Legislation Amendment (Condensate) Bill 2008

Bill—by leave—taken as a whole.

by leave—I move:

That the House of Representatives be requested to make the following amendments:

(1)    Clause 2, page 1 (lines 7 to 9), omit the clause, substitute:

2 Commencement

        (1)    Each provision of this Act specified in column 1 of the table commences, or is taken to have commenced, in accordance with column 2 of the table. Any other statement in column 2 has effect according to its terms.

Note:   This table relates only to the provisions of this Act as originally passed by both Houses of the Parliament and assented to. It will not be expanded to deal with provisions inserted in this Act after assent.

        (2)    Column 3 of the table contains additional information that is not part of this Act. Information in this column may be added to or edited in any published version of this Act.

(2)    Schedule 1, item 7, page 5 (line 3), omit “or in the regulations”.

(3)    Schedule 1, item 7, page 5 (line 9), omit “or in the regulations”.

(4)    Schedule 1, item 7, page 5 (line 12), after “following in”, insert “the regulations, or in”.

(5)    Schedule 1, item 13, page 7 (after line 14), after subitem (2), insert:

Determination of interim VOLWARE prices

(2A) Subsections 7(2), (3) and (4) of the Petroleum Excise (Prices) Act 1987 apply, in relation to a prescribed condensate production area and the pre-commencement period, as if those subsections were replaced with the following:

      “(2)    The Minister, or a person authorised by the Minister to exercise the Minister’s powers under this section, must, not later than 2 months, or such longer period as the Minister allows, after the day on which Schedule 1 to the Excise Tariff Amendment (Condensate) Act 2008 commences, determine a price in relation to each month in the pre-commencement period and an oil producing region, to be known as the interim VOLWARE price for that month and that region, being an estimate by the Minister or authorised person, on the basis of the information available to him or her at the time (being information obtained under section 6 or otherwise), of the amount that will finally be determined to be the volume weighted average of realised prices for that month and that region.”

      “(3)    The Minister, or a person authorised by the Minister to exercise the Minister’s powers under this section, must, not later than 6 months after the day on which an interim VOLWARE price is determined for a month in relation to an oil producing region, determine a price in relation to that month and that region, to be known as the final VOLWARE price for that month and that region, being the final determination by the Minister or authorised person of the volume weighted average of realised prices for that month and that region.”

      “(4)    A determination of the final VOLWARE price for a month and an oil producing region must not be made unless:

             (a)    the Minister or authorised person is satisfied that accurate and complete information concerning all of the transactions relevant to determining the price has become available to the Minister or authorised person; or

             (b)    5 months and 20 days have passed since the day on which an interim VOLWARE price was determined for that month and information that the Minister or authorised person is satisfied is accurate and complete concerning all of those transactions has not yet become available to the Minister or authorised person.”

(6)    Schedule 1, item 13, page 7 (before line 15), before subitem (3), insert:

Definitions

(7)    Schedule 1, item 13, page 7 (after line 16), after the definition of month, insert:

pre-commencement period means the period:

             (a)    beginning at midnight (by legal time in the Australian Capital Territory) on 30 April 2008; and

             (b)    ending at midnight on the last day of the last month that ends before the day on which Schedule 1 to the Excise Tariff Amendment (Condensate) Act 2008 commences.

(8)    Schedule 1, item 14, page 8 (lines 11 and 12), omit “the definition of first day were 14 May 2008”, substitute “the references to “the first day” in paragraph (a) and subparagraph (b)(iii) of the definition of transition period, and in subparagraph 15(4)(a)(ii) and paragraph 15(4)(b) of the Excise Act 1901,were references to “the day on which Schedule 1 to the Excise Tariff Amendment (Condensate) Act 2008 commences”“.

(9)    Schedule 1, page 8 (after line 12), at the end of the Schedule, add:

15  Time for compliance with Excise Act 1901

Section 15 of the Excise Act 1901 applies in relation to condensate as if the references to “the first day” in the following provisions were references to “the day on which Schedule 1 to the Excise Tariff Amendment (Condensate) Act 2008 commences”:

             (a)    paragraph (a) and subparagraph (b)(iii) of the definition of transition period in subsection 15(3);

             (b)    subparagraph 15(4)(a)(ii);

             (c)    paragraph 15(4)(b).

Parliamentary Counsel

Excise Legislation Amendment (Condensate) Bill 2008

PD349

Statement of reasons: why certain amendments should be moved as requests

Section 53 of the Constitution is as follows:

Powers of the Houses in respect of legislation

53. Proposed laws appropriating revenue or moneys, or imposing taxation, shall not originate in the Senate. But a proposed law shall not be taken to appropriate revenue or moneys, or to impose taxation, by reason only of its containing provisions for the imposition or appropriation of fines or other pecuniary penalties, or for the demand or payment or appropriation of fees for licences, or fees for services under the proposed law.

The Senate may not amend proposed laws imposing taxation, or proposed laws appropriating revenue or moneys for the ordinary annual services of the Government.

The Senate may not amend any proposed law so as to increase any proposed charge or burden on the people.

The Senate may at any stage return to the House of Representatives any proposed law which the Senate may not amend, requesting, by message, the omission or amendment of any items or provisions therein. And the House of Representatives may, if it thinks fit, make any of such omissions or amendments, with or without modifications.

Except as provided in this section, the Senate shall have equal power with the House of Representatives in respect of all proposed laws.

Amendment (5)

The effect of this amendment is to allow the Minister to make retrospective determinations of VOLWARE prices which are used to calculate the amount of excise to pay on condensate during the period from 15 May 2008 until Schedule 1 to the Excise Tariff Amendment (Condensate) Act 2008 commences. It is covered by section 53 because, in allowing the determinations to be made retrospectively, it “increase[s] any proposed charge or burden on the people”.

Excise Legislation Amendment (Condensate) Bill 2008

Statement pursuant to the order of the Senate of 26 June 2000

This bill is treated as a bill imposing taxation because the amendments it makes to other legislation are integral to the imposition of taxation by the Excise Tariff Amendment (Condensate) Bill 2008. As the Senate, under section 53 of the Constitution, cannot amend a bill imposing taxation, the amendments to the bill are treated as requests.

The Excise Tariff Amendment (Condensate) Bill 2008 and the Excise Legislation Amendment (Condensate) Bill 2008 amend the Excise Tariff Act 1921 to apply the crude oil excise regime to condensate produced in the North West Shelf project area and onshore Australia. Condensate is a light crude oil extracted from natural gas. The measure applies to condensate produced after midnight Canberra time on 13 May 2008 and has the effect of removing the current exemption of condensate from the crude oil excise regime. Some minor amendments are required to ensure that the measure operates from the announcement date of 13 May 2008.

Amendments to the Excise Legislation Amendment (Condensate) Bill 2008 will ensure that a price can be declared for condensate produced in the period following announcement of the measure and prior to the legislation receiving royal assent. Minor amendments to the Excise Act 1901 and the Petroleum Excise (Prices) Act 1987 will extend interim arrangements in the bills to ensure that condensate may be produced and entered for home consumption lawfully prior to the bills receiving royal assent. These amendments are transitional changes and do not establish a precedent for future excise measures.

Two other technical amendments strengthen the operation of the legislative framework, in particular, removing any doubts as to the operation of regulations prescribing the commencement date for excise in production areas producing both stabilised crude petroleum oil and condensate. This measure makes a significant contribution to the government’s commitment to fiscal discipline, generating revenue estimated at $2.5 billion over the period 2011-12. The measure increases the return to the Australian community for allowing private interests to extract non-renewable energy resources located in the North West Shelf project area and onshore. Full details of the amendments to these bills are contained in the supplementary explanatory memoranda.