Mr PEARCE (Parliamentary Secretary to the Treasurer) (11:47 AM) —It is my pleasure to represent the Minister for Justice and Customs and the Attorney-General in summing up this bill this morning. The Customs Tariff Amendment (Incorporation of Proposals) Bill 2006 contains amendments to the Customs Tariff Act 1995 that were included in Customs Tariff Proposal No. 4 of 2005 and Customs Tariff Proposal No. 1 of 2006.

Firstly, the bill will alter item 47 of schedule 4 to the Customs Tariff Act by reducing the rate of customs duty from three per cent to free for goods entered under this item. Item 47 applies to machinery that incorporates, or is imported with, other goods which for technical reasons render the machinery ineligible for a tariff concession order. The lowering of the duty rate maintains consistency with the 2005-06 budget decision to remove the three per cent duty on business inputs that are subject to a tariff concession order.

Secondly, the bill alters item 31 of schedule 4 to the Customs Tariff Act. This item allows for duty-free entry of certain aircraft parts, materials and test equipment for use in the manufacture, repair and maintenance of aircraft. The bill proposes to amend item 31 by extending duty-free entry to certain goods used in the modification of aircraft. The extension of item 31 will strengthen the international competitiveness of Australia’s aviation and maintenance industries, and is consistent with the government’s policy to improve the international competitiveness of these industries.

Finally, the bill will alter item 71 of schedule 4 to the Customs Tariff Act by expanding the Enhanced Project By-law Scheme to include the duty-free entry of qualifying goods for the power supply and water supply industries. The inclusion of the power supply and water supply industries in the terms of item 71 will encourage investment, increase opportunities for Australian industry to participate in major projects and lower business input costs. I want to thank the member for Gellibrand for her remarks, and through her I thank the Australian Labor Party for supporting this bill. I commend the bill to the House.

Question agreed to.

Bill read a second time.