Anne Ruston (SA, Liberal Party, Assistant Minister for Agriculture and Water Resources) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That these bills be now read a second time.

I seek leave to have the second reading speeches incorporated in Hansard.

Leave granted.

The speeches read as follows—

COPYRIGHT AMENDMENT (DISABILITY ACCESS AND OTHER MEASURES) BILL 2017

The digital age has fundamentally altered the way Australians engage with copyright. Content is more accessible than ever before. While this brings with it unique challenges for the protection of copyright, it also provides incredible opportunities for creators and consumers alike. Respect for the creative efforts and economic rights of creators is essential to a properly functioning copyright regime, but in order to harness the opportunities and respond to the challenges presented by the digitisation of content, it is critical that Australia's copyright laws are also flexible and facilitate fair access to, and use of, content.

The Copyright Amendment (Disability Access and Other Measures) Bill 2017 responds in a meaningful way to views expressed by copyright stakeholders indicating that reform is needed to address outdated, prescriptive and overly complex provisions of the Copyright Act. Stakeholders provided feedback that these provisions were unfairly impacting on the ability of persons with a disability, libraries, archives and educational institutions to access and use copyright material. The Bill is designed to be technology and format neutral, ensuring that these important reforms will remain relevant in an environment of rapid technological change.

Disability Access Provisions

Even with the significant amount of digital content made available online, the vast majority of published material worldwide is not presently accessible to persons who are blind, visually impaired or who have a disability that affects the way a person reads, views, hears or comprehends copyright material. This Bill puts in place a consolidated, flexible exception for use by organisations that assist people with a disability. The Bill also introduces a fair dealing provision for people with a disability.

These measures reflect the Government's commitment to improving accessibility for persons with a disability following the ratification of the Marrakesh Treaty on 10 December 2015, and bring Australia in line with global best practice to provide a flexible copyright framework that recognises the various ways people with a disability use accessible format content. These measures are designed to be format neutral to ensure that Australians with a print disability will be able to continue to have fair and equal access to material in line with technological advancements.

Library and Archive exceptions

The digital era also offers us the chance to preserve copyright materials in ways that were not available, and therefore not contemplated, under the existing Act. For this reason, the

Bill replaces the current preservation copying provisions in the Act with simpler, uniform provisions that give libraries, archives and key cultural institutions greater flexibility in preserving the material in their collections.

The new preservation provisions will apply to libraries accessible to members of the public, parliamentary libraries, archives (including the archives of museums and galleries) and prescribed key cultural institutions that hold copyright material of historical or cultural significance to Australia. There are currently three prescribed key cultural institutions, including the Australian Broadcasting Corporation (ABC), the Special Broadcasting Service Corporation (SBS) and the Australian National University Archives Program.

The new provisions enable libraries and archives to make, if necessary, multiple copies of copyright material in a version or format that is in line with best practice preservation policy, if a copy of the material cannot be obtained in a version or format that is required for preservation. These changes remove the restrictions in the current Act under which preservation copies of published material can only be made after the material has suffered damage, has deteriorated, or is lost or stolen. The new provisions will enable libraries and archives to take a proactive approach to the preservation of the material in their collections for future generations without infringing copyright.

Further, the measures introduced by this Bill will enable greater access to the public to the copyright materials held in the collections of libraries and archives for research purposes. The Bill includes measures to ensure that preservation and research copies of copyright material in electronic form will be able to be made available for access by a person at the library or archives, provided that the library or archives take reasonable steps to ensure that the person accessing that copy does not infringe copyright in that copy. The measures are technology and format neutral, ensuring that organisations and institutions can use the best and most effective preservation methods in line with technological advancement.

Educational provisions

Reducing red tape and adapting to technological advancement are key factors in the measures included in the Bill to streamline the educational statutory licence provisions for the copying and communication of works and broadcasts for educational purposes, and to permit the use of copyright material for online examinations.

These reforms include consolidating and simplifying the existing provisions relating to educational use of works and broadcasts and providing greater flexibility for educational institutions and collecting societies in their negotiations for licensing and access arrangements for copyright material. The measures appropriately balance the interests of copyright owners and the needs of educational institutions while also removing the cumbersome and unnecessary mandatory record keeping requirements of the existing educational statutory licences scheme.

The changes to the educational statutory licensing provisions also consolidates the framework for the operation of declared collecting societies by specifying the requirements for bodies seeking to be declared as collecting societies under the Copyright Act and the circumstances in which such declarations may be revoked. The Bill empowers the Copyright Tribunal to determine questions relating to this new educational statutory licence scheme, upon application by either party.

The Bill also extends the operation of existing provisions that permit the use of hardcopy material by educational institutions for the purposes of examination to allow the use of copyright material for online examinations. This extension will enhance and expand the ways in which examinations are delivered to students and assist our educators to operate competitively in the digital education era.

Term of protection for unpublished material

Facilitating access to culturally important content is at the heart of the measures in the Bill aimed at aligning the terms of protection for unpublished materials with published materials. Currently, if copyright materials are unpublished they remain in copyright in perpetuity, so their productive uses may be lost. By contrast, generally the copyright in a published work subsists for 70 years from the death of the author or, if the work was not published until after the death of the author, for 70 years from first publication. Currently, copyright in a published sound recording or film subsists for 70 years from first publication.

The Bill harmonises the copyright term for works (including a literary, dramatic, musical or artistic work) by creating a new standard term of 70 years from the death of the author, irrespective of whether the relevant work has or has not been made public. This means that an unpublished work will have the same term of copyright protection as a published work. Where the identity of the author remains generally unknown, or the work is made by an international organization to which the Act applies, the standard copyright term will be 70 years from when it is made. However, if this work is made public within 50 years of being created, the copyright term will be 70 years from first being made public. For sound recordings and films, a standard copyright term of 70 years from the year in which the material is made will apply. However, if the sound recording or film is made public within 50 years of being made, the copyright term will be 70 years from first being made public.

Libraries, archives and other cultural institutions hold large numbers of unpublished materials which are an important part of Australia's cultural heritage. Setting a term of protection for unpublished materials will give these institutions greater opportunities to deal with unpublished materials and improve access to important Australian historical and cultural materials that were not previously available to the public.

The new copyright terms will commence on 1 January 2019, and will apply to copyright material created before 1 January 2019 that remains unpublished (or otherwise not made public) at that date. These new copyright terms are consistent with the requirements under international conventions and agreements to which Australia is a party. This will also bring Australia into line with jurisdictions such as the United Kingdom, United States, Canada, New Zealand, Singapore and the European Union, where all works have a copyright term, whether they are published or not.

This Bill is an important step in simplifying Australia's existing copyright framework, in response to specific challenges and concerns identified by copyright stakeholders and sectors of the community. The Bill enables the law to more flexibly respond to the constant technological changes in the digital age by ensuring that these sectors and the wider Australian community have fair and reasonable access to copyright material.

CRIMES AMENDMENT (PENALTY UNIT) BILL 2017

The Crimes Amendment (Penalty Unit) Bill 2017 will ensure our courts can continue to punish breaches of Commonwealth law with strong, financial penalties that help to deter future offending and keep Australian communities safe.

Penalty units are used to set the maximum fines which can be imposed for offences in Commonwealth legislation and Territory ordinances.

Commonwealth penalties are generally expressed in terms of penalty units rather than specific values. This means that any updates to penalties are applied efficiently and consistently across the statute book. The Commonwealth penalty unit is also indexed to the Consumer Price Index (CPI) every three years, to ensure that financial penalties keep pace with inflation and maintain value over time.

The Bill will increase the amount of the Commonwealth penalty unit from $180 to $210, with effect from 1 July 2017. It will also delay the first automatic CPI adjustment of the penalty unit until 1 July 2020, with indexation to occur every three years following that date.

Strong penalties are a central tenet of an effective justice system. This Bill will strengthen courts' ability to impose appropriate punishments on serious offenders, including those involved in organised crime, white-collar crime, fraud and cybercrime. This measure is estimated to result in increased revenue of $80 million over the next four years, which will support the Government's efforts to repair the Budget and benefit everyday Australians.

Tackling crime and improving community safety is a top priority for the Australian Government. The Crimes Amendment (Penalty Unit) Bill 2017 underlines this commitment by strengthening the value of the penalty unit and ensuring that our financial penalties remain an effective deterrent and punishment for those breaking Commonwealth law.

DISABILITY SERVICES AMENDMENT (LINKING UPPER AGE LIMITS FOR DISABILITY SERVICES TO THE PENSION AGE) BILL 2017

Disability Services Act 1986 SocialSecurity Act 1991

Social Security Act 1991

Disability Services Act 1986Social Security Act 1991

pension reform package

Disability Services Act 1986

PERSONAL PROPERTY SECURITIES AMENDMENT (PPS LEASES) BILL 2017

The Personal Property Securities Amendment (PPS Leases) Bill 2017 progresses urgently needed reform of the Personal Property Securities Act 2009 to minimise the impact of the PPS regime particularly on small and medium Australian businesses.

The Personal Property Securities Act was introduced with bipartisan support in 2009. A cornerstone of this reform was the establishment of the Personal Property Securities Register. This introduced a single national system for the creation, registration, priority and enforcement of security interests in personal property.

The PPS regime has increased the range of property available to secure finance, especially for small businesses, while providing greater confidence to lenders and securing their interests.

The PPS regime replaced 23 state, territory and Commonwealth property and securities registers and over 70 pieces of supporting legislation.

This alone involved the migration of 4.7 million registrations to the new, national Personal Property Securities Register. Reform on this scale is not without its challenges.

Ongoing assessment and adjustment where necessary, is important to ensure that the PPS system meets the needs of the Australian marketplace.

In consultation with Australian businesses and particularly the hire and rental industry, it became clear that although the PPS Act was an important initiative, it has created several challenges for small business in particular. These include the imposition of significant administrative burden and substantial compliance costs, which need to be addressed.

Small and family businesses which do not have the resources to meet this significant burden are vulnerable to the risk of losing crucial business assets. For example, under the Act as it stands, if a hire business fails to register a PPS lease (or registers incorrectly) and the lessee becomes insolvent while in possession of the goods, the goods vest in the insolvent estate of the lessee.

While this arrangement is important to protect creditors and ensure that notice of a security interest is made available to prospective lenders of purchasers, in the small business context and especially for the equipment hire industry, the combination of this administrative burden and the risk of losing key business assets, creates an imminent need for reform.

This is why the government proposes to adjust the rules under the framework which deem certain leases to be security interests for the purposes of the PPS Act. These include leases of goods for a term of more than 12 months or for an indefinite term.

Since its commencement, it has become clear that these deeming provisions have created a disproportionate risk to small business in the short term hire and rental sector. Many Australian businesses, which lease goods to customers for short periods of time, permit their customers to use the goods for as long as they need them. It often does not make sense for a hire business to insist on fixed terms for the lease of a chain saw or cement mixer, for example. If the customer needs the goods for an extra day or a week, the lessor needs the flexibility to accommodate this without an onerous administrative burden.

The Bill will amend the Act's definition of PPS Lease to ensure that it captures only leases which are long enough to necessitate registration on the PPS Register to meet the Act's policy objectives. Leases with an indefinite term will only require registration once they have exceeded two years in length. Similarly, fixed term leases will only require registration if they are for a term of more than two years.

The framework will continue to appropriately capture some longer term, high value hire industry leases by not imposing a blanket exemption on the whole of the industry. Adjusting the PPS lease timeframe will lift the burden on the hire and rental industry and importantly have a minimal impact on the operation of the rest of the PPS framework.

The regulatory burden imposed on the industry by the PPS Act in its current form, is more than is necessary for the achievement of effective and certain secured lending against personal property in Australia. It doesn't make sense for a lease which runs for three days instead of two to require registration on a PPS Register. Businesses for which high volumes of short but indefinite term leases are central to their business model, often struggle to meet the administrative burden imposed by the Act.

This measure will provide relief to industries covered by the PPS Act and, in particular, the hire and rental industry, an important industry with a total turnover of around $6.6 billion, that employs over 18,000 Australians and provides essential support to the building and construction sectors. It is expected to reduce the number of registrations that may need to be made and free business using these types of leases from the risks associated with absent or incorrect registrations.

Finally, on behalf of the government, I wish to extend thanks to our state and territory counterparts for their support in developing this measure. The PPS regime is underpinned by a referral of powers from the States and the reform process is governed by an intergovernmental agreement which requires that all reforms must be assented to by State and Territory governments prior to introduction. Without the support and cooperation of state and territory Attorneys-General and Ministers for Justice, reform to this important area of economic regulation would not be possible.

PROTECTION OF THE SEA (PREVENTION OF POLLUTION FROM SHIPS) AMENDMENT (POLAR CODE) BILL 2017

It is important that the Government's laws for the prevention of marine pollution are adequate, up to date and consistent with our international obligations.

The Bill I present today, the Protection of the Sea (Prevention of Pollution from Ships) Amendment (Polar Code) Bill 2017 (the Bill), will ensure that our framework for preventing marine pollution remains consistent with international requirements.

The Bill will amend the Protection of the Sea (Prevention of Pollution from Ships) Act 1983 (known as the POTS Act) to implement domestically our international obligations stemming from conventions adopted at the International Maritime Organization (IMO).

Through the IMO, Australia has been integral to the development of the International Code for Ships Operating in Polar Waters (known as the Polar Code). The Polar Code is implemented through amendments to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships, 1973, as modified by the Protocol of 1978, and the International Convention for the Safety of Life at Sea, 1974. The Polar Code has been developed to supplement existing IMO instruments to increase the safety of ships' operation and mitigate the impact on the people and environment in the remote, vulnerable and harsh polar waters.

The Polar Code addresses the specific risks of operating in the Antarctic and the Arctic polar waters and specifies a range of operational and structural measures. It covers ship design, construction and equipment, as well as seafarer training and qualifications, search and rescue capabilities, and environmental discharges.

This Bill will amend the POTS Act to ensure Australia implements its international obligations into domestic law, by ensuring that the stricter discharge requirements for oil, noxious liquid substances, sewage, and garbage that exist for certain ships operating in polar waters, as set out in the Polar Code, are reflected in Australian legislation.

Marine Orders will also be amended to properly implement the Polar Code. Marine Orders are legislative instruments made under the POTS Act by the Australian Maritime Safety Authority's Chief Executive Officer.

Australia has a strong national interest in Antarctica, including in the safety of shipping and the environmental protection of Antarctic waters. Australia has responsibilities in a very significant portion of the Southern Ocean, including search and rescue coordination, environmental protection, hydrography and nautical charting, and safety of vessels operating in the area.

Australia has been actively engaged in the development of the Polar Code, in order to influence and improve safety and pollution prevention outcomes in respect of Antarctic waters. Australia's Southern Ocean maritime interests are best advanced through internationally agreed arrangements that are consistent with Antarctica's unique legal and political status.

Australia's implementation of these amendments is consistent with our long-standing support for the protection of life and safety at sea and the marine environment, and with our active backing of, and participation in development of the Polar Code.

I commend the Bill.

Debate adjourned.

Ordered that the bills be listed on the Notice Paper as separate orders of the day.