EXPLANATORY STATEMENT
STATUTORY RULES 1990 NO.113
Issued by Authority of the Minister of State for Primary Industries and Energy
MEAT CHICKEN LEVY ACT 1969
MEAT CHICKEN LEVY REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT)
Section 11 of the Meat Chicken Levy Act 1969 (the Act) provides that the Governor-General may make regulations for the purposes of section 7 of the Act.
The Act imposes a levy, on chickens hatched, which has two components, namely (a) research funding and (b) exotic animal disease preparedness funding. By virtue of the Rural Industry Research Act 1985, levy under paragraph 7(1)(a) of the Act is designated for funding of research.
Paragraph 7(1)(a) of the Act provides that the rate of levy for research purposes shall not exceed 1 cent. The present prescribed rate is 0.15 cent.
Subsection 7(2) of the Act provides that before making regulations for the purposes of paragraph 7(1)(a) the Governor-General shall take into consideration any recommendation made to the Minister by the Chicken Meat Research Council (CMRC) and shall not prescribe an amount greater than that last recommended by the Council.
The CMRC has recommended to the Minister an increase in the operative rate of levy for research purposes from 0.15 cent to 0.19 cent per chicken hatched effective from 1 July 1990.
The recommendation is in accordance with the Government’s objective of encouraging rural industries to increase their contributions for research.
The purpose of the proposed regulations is to increase the rate of levy for research purposes, to 0.19 cent per chicken hatched. The increased rate is to come into effect from 1 July 1990.