EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES & FORESTRY
AUSTRALIAN MEAT AND LIVE‑STOCK INDUSTRY
(HIGH QUALITY BEEF EXPORT TO THE EUROPEAN UNION) AMENDMENT ORDER 2006 (No. 1)
1. Statutory basis
1.1 Under the Australian Meat and Live‑stock (Quotas) Act 1990 and the Australian Meat and Live‑stock Industry Act 1997, the Secretary of the Australian Government Department of Agriculture, Fisheries and Forestry (DAFF) may, where restrictions are imposed on exports of Australian meat, establish a scheme to allocate quotas among the holders of export licences.
1.2 This order is made under section 17 of the Australian Meat and Live‑stock Industry Act 1997.
2. Background to order
2.1 The European Union (EU) each financial year, commencing 1 July, allows Australia to ship a quantity of high quality beef (HQB) to the EU under a country-specific quota.
2.2 In March of 2006, the European Commission (EC) published amended regulations regarding import of HQB, resulting in minor changes to export limitations.
2.2 This Amendment Order alters the current order (Australian Meat and Live-stock Industry (High Quality Beef Export to the European Union) Order 2005) to accommodate these changes.
2.3 This Amendment Order has been exempted from the normal requirement of a Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) by the Office of Regulation Review (ORR).
3. Summary of order
3.1 This order provides for the alterations to the current regulations put in place by the EC.
4. Consultation
4.1 Industry has been notified of the alterations issued by the EC.
5. Explanation of sections under the Order
Section 1 – Name of order. This section provides for how the Order is to be cited.
Section 2 – Commencement. This section provides that the Order commences on the day after registration on the Federal Register of Legislative Instruments.
Section 3 – Amendment of Australian Meat and Live-stock Industry (High Quality Beef Export to the European Union) Order 2005. This section provides for the alterations put in place in the amended regulation published by the EC (Commission Regulation No. 408/2006). Specifically, the amount of Tariff Rate Quota (TRQ) permitted to Australia has increased by 75 tonnes for the 2005/2006 quota year, now totalling 7,075 tonnes; and the specifications for HQB have been changed.