Senator IAN MACDONALD (Regional Services, Territories and Local Government) (4:27 PM) —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—

WORKPLACE RELATIONS AND OTHER LEGISLATION AMENDMENT (SUPERANNUATION) BILL 1998

The Workplace Relations and Other Legislation Amendment (Superannuation) Bill 1998 will amend the Workplace Relations Act 1996 to remove the regulation of superannuation as an allowable matter in federal awards. The bill will mean that businesses and employees would no longer be forced to have their superannuation rights and obligations governed by duplicate layers of regulation—the existing layer of regulation created by the award system will be subsumed by rights and obligations under the Superannuation Guarantee legislation. This measure will reduce compliance costs, minimise complexity and simplify administration.

It will also enhance the process of award simplification.

This proposal is not new. When the Workplace Relations and Other Legislation Amendment Bill 1996 was originally introduced, the allowable award matters proposed did not include superannuation. The amendments subsequently agreed with the Australian Democrats retained superannuation in the list of allowable award matters as a temporary measure, on the in-principle basis that superannuation could be removed from award regulation in conjunction with the implementation of the Coalition's `choice of funds' legislative package.

The continued pursuit of this sensible measure to remove the regulation of superannuation from the award system was specifically reaffirmed in the Coalition's workplace relations policy More Jobs Better Pay released during the recent 1998 federal election campaign.

The Australian Industrial Relations Commission, in its 1994 superannuation test case decision, recognised that the Superannuation Guarantee legislation established the safety net for superannuation entitlements. Removing superannuation from award regulation reflects the safety net role of the Superannuation Guarantee legislation. Those employers and employees who wish to use the workplace relations system to regulate occupational superannuation beyond the safety net level can continue to do so through the agreement making processes of the Workplace Relations Act 1996 or through over-award payments.

An earlier bill dealing with this matter, the Workplace Relations Amendment (Superannuation) Bill 1997, was introduced in the House of Representatives on 4 December 1997, along with the Taxation Laws Amendment Bill (No. 7) 1997, which contained provisions for the choice of superannuation funds. That bill was passed by the House, but did not pass through the Senate in the previous term of the Coalition Government. The bill introduced today is similar to the previous bill, but now includes transitional provisions that were not previously necessary (as the removal of superannuation from awards would have then been effected as part of the award simplification process introduced by the 1996 amendments).

The present bill will amend the Workplace Relations Act 1996 to prevent the Commission from dealing with disputes about superannuation by arbitration. Superannuation will cease to be an allowable award matter, and the Commission will not be able to make exceptional matters orders about superannuation.

The transitional provisions in the bill will have the effect that existing superannuation provisions in awards will cease to operate after a six-month transitional period, and the Commission will then be required to remove superannuation provisions from awards. The bill will preserve existing superannuation clauses beyond this six-month period, where they are `special consent provisions'. This is consistent with the treatment of special consent provisions by the award simplification process under the Workplace Relations and Other Legislation Amendment Act 1996. Special consent provisions are provisions of awards made in accordance with particular Wage Fixing Principles of the Commission that were put in place through National Wage Decisions from 1991 to 1995. Such special consent provisions are no longer provided for and therefore this preservation will not be an avenue to introduce new or amended superannuation provisions into the award system.

Schedule 2 of the bill amends the Superannuation Guarantee (Administration) Act 1992 so as to enable employers to continue to use `notional earnings bases', based on current award provisions, in determining obligations under that act, even after the award provisions cease to operate. This will ensure that employers do not incur additional superannuation costs as a result of the removal of superannuation from awards. In combination with the Superannuation Legislation Amendment (Choice of Superannuation Funds) Bill 1998, the changes in this bill will mean that `flat dollar amounts' will also continue to be recognised for superannuation guarantee purposes. These amendments will complement the new choice of funds arrangements contained in the Choice of Funds Bill, introduced into the Senate on 17 February 1999. In combination, these bills deliver genuine superannuation reform.

This bill will have no significant impact on Commonwealth expenditure.

I commend the bill to the Senate.

MOTOR VEHICLE STANDARDS AMENDMENT BILL 1998

The Motor Vehicle Standards Amendment Bill 1998 amends the legislative framework for the setting of standards for motor vehicles when first supplied for use in transport in Australia and provides for improvements to the administration of the act.

The proposed amendments will provide a wider definition of a "vehicle standard" to include standards designed to promote energy saving. This will allow the development of a standard for model specific fuel consumption labelling as announced by the Prime Minister on 20 November 1997 in his statement on greenhouse issues "Safeguarding the Future: Australia's Response to Climate Change". This amendment is an important early step in implementing Australia's international commitments to reducing the level of growth in emissions of greenhouse gases to 8 per cent above 1990 levels by 2010.

This standard is being developed by the Australian Greenhouse Office and will be subject to the normal consultative and development processes. The standard will provide consumers with comparative information about the fuel consumption of particular models of motor vehicle so they will be able to take this information into account when purchasing a vehicle. In the longer term, it is hoped that this initiative will encourage industry to develop more fuel efficient vehicles.

The bill also includes amendments to establish the position of "Associate Administrator". The Administrator performs the function of my delegate and can exercise certain of the powers under the legislation. The appointment of one or more Associate Administrators allows more routine matters to be dealt with at a more appropriate level.

The remaining amendments improve the administration of the act by correcting errors and restoring the connection between this act and the Customs Act 1901. They are mechanical in nature but designed to improve the enforcement provisions of the legislation. Importantly, one amendment removes a duplication of penalties by removing criminal sanctions where there are already administrative sanctions.

The net budgetary impact of the amendments will be nil.

The amendments will come into force on the day on which they receive Royal Assent.

AUSTRALIAN SPORTS DRUG AGENCY AMENDMENT BILL 1998

Purpose of the Bill

This bill amends the Australian Sports Drug Agency Act 1990.

The Australian sporting community has been fully consulted on these amendments, from the administrators of our peak national sports bodies to the elite athletes who are themselves subject to drug testing. They recognise that the Agency must have the flexibility to keep abreast of change.

The proposed amendments will ensure that Australia's anti-doping regime is more efficient, fairer to athletes who are themselves subject to drug testing, but, importantly, tougher on drug cheats.

Background

In 1990, Australia became the first country in the world to establish a national sports drug testing authority under legislation.

However, the act, in its current form, has hampered ASDA's pursuit of best practice principles. In late 1997, the Government initiated an independent review of the ASDA legislation. That review recommended the removal of significant levels of operational detail from the act. The Government endorsed those recommendations.

Major Features of the Bill

The amendments streamline the ASDA Act so that it clearly establishes the legislative framework under which ASDA will operate. The act will no longer contain detailed operating instructions. These will be removed to subordinate legislation.

Through the Regulations, ASDA will be required to conduct testing in accordance with a "charter of athlete rights" that preserves all rights which this Parliament guaranteed for athletes in 1990.

The bill strengthens the capacity of ASDA to deal with positive test results recorded by foreign athletes. If an international body takes no action, ASDA will be able to notify a relevant Australian sports body so that it may take appropriate action. This creates a level playing field for Australian athletes in Australia.

The bill puts in place a mechanism to enable the Australian Customs Service to pass information to ASDA about prohibited imports which are also banned for use in sport. The Agency will use this information to better plan its testing activities.

The bill provides for the establishment of an Australian Sports Drug Medical Advisory Committee. The Committee will provide scientific and medical expertise to support ASDA's drug testing activities, and the anti-doping policies of national sporting organisations. The establishment of this Committee is strongly supported by the Australian sporting community.

The Committee will assist laboratories determine whether the presence of a banned endogenous substance is due to the substance being present at naturally high levels for that competitor, or due to doping—in other words, cheating.

Secondly, the Committee will provide independent approval of athlete requests to use prohibited substances for therapeutic reasons where the athlete has a serious medical condition. The Committee will only do this where the rules of the sporting organisation permit therapeutic usage.

Finally, the Committee will be able to provide expert medical advice to the sports doping tribunals that hear cases of alleged doping offences.

The bill also provides a legislative framework for State and Territory governments to enact complementary legislation that will enable ASDA to undertake drug testing on State level competitors. This measure has the strong support of all State and Territory Ministers for Sport.

In addition, the bill will enable ASDA to provide `safety checking services' for sporting organisations to test for the presence of substances such as alcohol, which can impair judgement and compromise the safety of competitors.

Financial Impact Statement

The Agency's 1998-99 budget will absorb the costs of the establishment and operation of the Medical Advisory Committee. Annual funding required by the Committee in future years will be taken up in the 1999-2000 budget.

I am sure that most Australians will want to ensure that the Australian sporting ethos based on honesty, fair play, excellence, and opportunity for all, is preserved for future generations of Australian sports people. This bill will enable ASDA to adopt world's best practice when delivering drug testing services. It will provide the Australian sporting community with an independent, high quality and accessible anti-doping program, and so enable Australian sport to deter drug use by athletes.

I must also take this opportunity to stress that this bill is only one expression of the Government's commitment to drug free sport. The Government is currently working on pulling together a whole suite of anti-doping measures with a view to developing a comprehensive and coordinated anti-doping strategy.

I commend the bill to the Senate.

AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES AND FORESTRY LEGISLATION AMENDMENT BILL (No. 2) 1998

This bill amends a number of acts within the Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry portfolio.

The government announced on 11 December 1996 that Article 39(3) of the WTO Agreement on Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights required Australia to provide protection for undisclosed test data submitted in respect of the evaluation of a new active constituent for an agricultural or veterinary chemical product. The proposed amendments to the Agricultural and Veterinary Chemicals (Administration) Act 1992 will provide five years protection for such data and thus remove any doubt as to whether or not Australia is fulfilling its obligations under Article 39(3).

The proposed amendments to the Dairy Produce Act 1986 will correct the unforeseen impacts of the operation of the Government's Domestic Market Support scheme during the recent Victorian gas crisis. During the crisis, many milk manufacturing plants in Victoria incurred significant financial losses due to lost production, factory conversion outlays and higher operating costs. In addition, the operation of the Domestic Market Support scheme during this period imposed further hardship on farmers and manufacturers, and created inequities within the Victorian dairy industry.

The proposed amendments will remedy this problem by providing for two special payments. The first payment is a rebate to those manufacturers who, under the Domestic Market Support scheme, were required to pay a levy on milk disposed of at the factory during the gas crisis. This rebate is designed to offset financial losses incurred by manufacturers through the imposition of levy in this situation.

The second payment is a payment to the producers of milk which was disposed of on-farm during the gas crisis. Under the Domestic Market Support scheme, milk has to be delivered to a manufacturer before a farmer becomes eligible for a Domestic Market Support payment. This payment will allow producers, upon application, to receive the same entitlement as if their milk had been delivered to a factory. This payment does not extend to market milk.

The payments will be financed from the Australian Dairy Corporation's Domestic Fund. This Fund finances the Domestic Market Support scheme, using monies collected from dairy industry levies on manufacturing and market milk. Accordingly, there is no financial obligation upon the Commonwealth.

I would note that these amendments constitute the government's response to concerns raised by the Australian Dairy Industry Council, and clearly illustrates the government's preparedness to facilitate a lessening of the impact of the Victorian gas crisis on the Australian dairy industry.

The bill amends the Export Control Act 1982 to ensure that Australia's export control legislation provides appropriate coverage for contemporary administrative arrangements.

Under current export inspection arrangements there is a strong move for exporters to assume more responsibility for the quality of their product under quality systems approved and supervised by AQIS. The amendments to the Export Control Act 1982 seek to facilitate this move by allowing for the appropriate coverage of these systems in delegated legislation, and by strengthening the enforcement powers in the act in line with Commonwealth law administration policy.

The purpose of the amendment to the Imported Food Control act 1992 is to clarify some aspects of the act which have previously been confusing and to enable consistent application of the act across areas which have previously been left open. This is sought as a result of inconsistencies being found by officers working with the act.

As a result of the amendment, AQIS anticipates a more effective and efficient service to industry as it clarifies areas of the act that have previously been in doubt.

All food imported into Australia must firstly comply with the requirements of the Quarantine Act 1908 before being inspected against the requirements of the Imported Food Control Act 1992. Accordingly the proposed amendments to the Imported Food Control Act 1992 will have no effect on Australia's quarantine standards.

The purpose of the proposed amendment to the Plant Breeder's Rights Act 1994 is to make naming of new varieties easier.

Currently, an anomalous restriction exists which precludes any duplication of plant variety names regardless of whether varieties are protected or currently in commerce.

The need not to repeat a name makes the checking of proposed names to ensure novelty, an unnecessarily laborious process for both the applicant and the PBR office.

Therefore it is proposed to allow limited duplication of variety names provided varieties with the same name are from an entirely different "plant class" and are unlikely to be confused in the market place. Duplication of names in closely related cereal crops such as wheat, barley and oats would not be accepted.

A list of plant classes, maintained by the PBR office, will be accessible to prospective PBR applicants free of charge.

This proposed amendment is in conformity with the international standards on the matter and will promote the use of a single name for each variety, regardless of the country in which it is marketed.

Debate (on motion by Senator Quirke) adjourned.

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