Senator CARR(9.33 p.m.) —The opposition supports the amendment to the Sydney 2000 Games (Indicia and Images) Protection Act 1996. The amendment to the principal act has two main purposes. Firstly, this bill seeks to enable the Sydney Organising Committee for the Olympic Games and the Sydney Paralympic Organising Committee and licensed users to take action against all parties who may be involved in the supply of goods and services to which protected indicia and images have been applied by an unauthorised user.

In other words, this bill will make it easier for the organisers of the Sydney 2000 Olympics and Paralympic Games and licensed users to take action against those persons who are engaged in ambush marketing. Ambush marketing is the unauthorised association of a business with the marketing of an event such as the Sydney Olympics. The ambush marketeer seeks to gain some benefit by suggesting an association with an event without paying for the marketing rights or the licensing fee.

The amendments contained in this bill will enable games organisers and the licensed users to take action against retailers, distributors or other parties in the supply chain rather than having to pursue through the supply chain the unauthorised person who applied the indicia or images to the goods or services.

Secondly, this bill will provide that action may be taken against those who aid, abet, counsel or procure breaches of the principal act. This will enable the Sydney organising committee and the Sydney Paralympic Organising Committee and licensed users to take action against persons whose involvement in the contravention of the legislation is in the nature of assisting the unauthorised application of indicia and images rather than in their direct application. These measures will help ensure the preservation of the games marketing revenues.

As well as protecting the revenue of the games against ambush marketing, they help ensure that the interests of legitimate retailers are protected from less scrupulous competition. Retailers, distributors and other parties will need to check to ensure that persons who applied the indicia or images to the goods or services are licensed. To do this, they need to check the register of licensed users located at the Sydney Olympics organising committee office in Sydney or the state offices of the Australian Industrial Property Organisation to ensure that the person is entered on the register. The Sydney organising committee proposes to provide easy access to the register of licensed users of the indicia and images and to provide a sophisticated identification system for genuine products.

The Sydney organising committee will also conduct a public awareness campaign and will be advertising in the various media. Retailers and other industry associations have agreed to cooperate with the Sydney organising committee in the dissemination of information so that the public is aware of and understands the legislation as it relates to the licensing of users of the protected indicia and images.

The provisions contained in this bill, together with those in the principal act, will cease to operate after 31 December 2000, following the completion of the games. The Olympic Games is going to be a substantial event in Australia's history and the benefits which will flow to Australia because of it will be outstanding.

I again indicate that we have absolutely no objections to the proposals contained in the amendment. I commend the government for taking the necessary action to protect those retailers and others who have paid considerable sums of money for the rights to produce material for the Olympics that contain the appropriate logos and images. They deserve the protection of this legislation.