Mr IAN MACFARLANE (Minister for Industry, Tourism and Resources) (10:04 AM) —I move:

The Customs Tariff Amendment (Textile, Clothing and Footwear Post-2005 Arrangements) Bill 2004 contains amendments to the Customs Tariff Act 1995.

Those amendments are complementary to the amendments contained in the Textile, Clothing and Footwear Strategic Investment Program Amendment (Post-2005 Scheme) Bill 2004. Together, these bills extend the provisions of the Textile, Clothing and Footwear Strategic Investment Program for another 10 years.

The Customs Tariff Amendment (Textile, Clothing and Footwear Post-2005 Arrangements) Bill 2004 will reduce customs duty rates applicable to clothing and certain finished textiles to 10 per cent from 1 January 2010 and to five per cent from 1 January 2015. The bill also reduces customs duty rates applicable to other textile, clothing and footwear goods to five per cent from 1 January 2010.

The enactment of the post-2005 duty rates at this time provides transparency and certainty for textile, clothing and footwear manufacturers, enabling sufficient time for planning prior to the reductions in 2010 and 2015.

I commend the bill to the House and I present the explanatory memorandum to the bill.

Debate (on motion by Mr Stephen Smith) adjourned.