EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE, FISHERIES & FORESTRY
AUSTRALIAN MEAT AND LIVE‑STOCK INDUSTRY
(HIGH QUALITY BEEF EXPORT TO THE EUROPEAN UNION) AMENDMENT ORDER 2010 (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 amendment order is made under section 17 of the Australian Meat and Live‑stock Industry Act 1997.
2. Background to amendment order
2.1 Each financial year commencing 1 July, the European Union (EU) allows Australia to ship a quantity of high quality beef (HQB) to the EU under a country-specific quota.
2.2 DAFF issues an order each year for the exports of high quality beef in the coming year, being, for the purpose of this order, from 1 July 2010 to
30 June 2011. The order issued for the 2010-11 quota year is the Australian Meat and Live-stock Industry (High Quality Beef Export to the European Union) Order 2010 (‘the order’).
2.3 According to the order, exporters had to apply for the allocation of quota by
30 April 2010. Applications for standard quota allocations have not been received yet as exporters generally receive a notice notifying them that applications are open. These notices contain the cost of the quota fee. However, due to ongoing discussion with industry on a proposed new quota fee rate, it was not possible to issue these notices, as a decision on the amount of the fee had not been made.
Because discussions on the proposed quota fee rate are ongoing, it has been decided that any new fee will not apply to the export of high quality beef to the European Union during the 2010-11 quota year and that allocations should proceed under the existing order.
Because the 30 April 2010 deadline has now passed, it is impossible to issue quota under the existing order. The application date for standard quota allocations needs to be extended to 30 June 2010 so that standard quota allocations can be made as soon as possible enabling exporters can make the necessary commercial arrangements.
3. Summary of amendment order
3.1 This amendment alters the date by which exporters can apply to be allocated quota from 30 April 2010, to 30 June 2010. This allows sufficient time for the allocation of quota to take place before the commencement of the 2010-11 quota year on 1 July 2010.
4. Consultation
4.1 The administrative arrangements for meat export quotas generally, including EU HQB arrangements, have been developed in consultation with industry.
5. Explanation of sections under the Order
5.1 Schedule 1 Amendment
Section 8 Subsection 2
This section provides the date by which exporters must apply to be allocated quota. This provision changes the date from ’30 April 2010’ to ’30 June 2010.’