EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
STATUTORY RULES 1989 NO. 388
Issued by the Authority of the Minister of State for Primary Industries and Energy
CUSTOMS ACT 1901
CUSTOMS (PROHIBITED EXPORTS) REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT)
Section 112 of the Customs Act 1901 provides that the Governor-General may, by regulation, prohibit the exportation of goods from Australia, unless specified conditions or restrictions are complied with. The regulations may provide that the exportation of the goods is prohibited unless a licence, permission, consent or approval to export the goods has been granted as prescribed by the regulations.
Regulation 11 of the Customs (Prohibited Exports) Regulations (the Regulations) prohibits the exportation from Australia of goods specified in the Ninth Schedule of the Regulations unless an approval in writing to the exportation of the goods issued by the Minister of State for Primary Industries and Energy or by an authorized person is produced to the Collector of Customs.
The proposed regulation will amend the Regulations by omitting from subregulations 11(1) and 11(2) “Ninth Schedule” and substituting “Schedule 9”, and will repeal the Ninth Schedule of the Regulations and substitute Schedule 9.
Schedule 9 revises the Ninth Schedule to incorporate changes flowing principally from Australia’s international nuclear non-proliferation commitments, including as a participating nation in COCOM (Co-ordinating Committee).
Australia became a member of COCOM in early 1989. Our participation requires that our system of export controls gives coverage to goods listed in the COCOM International Atomic Energy List. The exercise of export controls on such goods is of strategic importance in limiting the proliferation of nuclear technology having military application.
As a means of implementing its commitments under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons, Australia exercises export controls on equipment and materials included in the so-called Zangger Trigger List. Nations adhering to these controls have concluded a clarification exercise relating to the enrichment or separation of isotopes of uranium by gaseous diffusion. Revisions incorporated in Schedule 9 reflect the results of the clarification exercise.
Schedule 9 contains revisions which will assist the free flow of Australia’s export trade in certain technical equipment, consistent with our non-proliferation and COCOM commitments.
The description of fissionable materials in Item 10 of Schedule 9 has been tightened, and now excludes coverage of subgram quantities of plutonium-238 as contained in radioactive sources. Plutonium-238 is not a fissionable isotope of plutonium, and in small quantities is not of proliferation concern. Radioactive sources containing plutonium-238 are regularly exported by an Australian company as part of programmable mineral analysis equipment.
The provisions of Schedule 9 also include revisions to bring up-to-date the use of scientific terms and units, and to improve the clarity of descriptions.