Carol Brown (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

I take a few moments to make a contribution to the debate on the Customs Tariff Amendment (2012 Harmonized System Changes) Bill 2011. The bill contains amendments to the Customs Tariff Act 1995. The amendments will implement changes resulting from the World Customs Organisation's fourth review of the International Convention on the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System, the 'harmonised system'. Australia is a signatory to the International Convention on the Harmonised Commodity Description and Coding System, commonly referred to, as I have mentioned, as the harmonised system. The harmonised system is administered by the World Customs Organisation. The harmonised system is a list of numbers and descriptions of goods that has, since 1988, been used to identify inputs into and exports from Australia. More than 200 countries and economies use the harmonised system as a basis for their custom tariffs and for the collection of international trade statistics. In Australia the harmonised system is reflected in the Customs Tariff Act 1995.

The WCO reviews the harmonised system every five years to reflect changes in industry practice, technological developments and changes in international trade patterns. The WCO completed its fourth review of the harmonised system in June 2010. As a signatory to the harmonised system, Australia is required to implement the changes resulting from the fourth review. The changes will create, among other things, new subheadings for specific chemicals controlled under the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade, and for ozone-depleting substances controlled under the Montréal protocol. So with those few comments, I just commend the bill to the Senate.