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PRIMARY INDUSTRIES LEVIES AND CHARGES COLLECTION (CHESTNUTS) REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT) 1994 NO. 393

PRIMARY INDUSTRIES LEVIES AND CHARGES COLLECTION (CHESTNUTS) REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT) 1994 NO. 393

EXPLANATORY STATEMENT

STATUTORY RULES 1994 No. 393

Issued by the Authority of the Minister for Primary Industries and Energy

PRIMARY INDUSTRIES LEVIES AND CHARGES COLLECTION ACT 1991

HORTICULTURAL LEVY ACT 1987

HORTICULTURAL EXPORT CHARGE ACT 1987

PRIMARY INDUSTRIES LEVIES AND CHARGES COLLECTION (CHESTNUTS) REGULATIONS (AMENDMENT)

Sections 30, 14 and 14 respectively of the Primary Industries Levies and Charges Collection Act 1991 the Horticultural Levy Act 1987 and the Horticultural Export Change Act 1987 provide that the Governor-General may make regulations for the purposes of the Acts.

The Horticultural Research and Development Corporation (HRDC) co-ordinates research and development for many horticultural industries. Most of these industries contribute funds to this process by way of statutory levies and export charges, whilst some others contribute in an ad hoc manner through voluntary contributions.

Similarly, the Australian Horticultural Corporation (AHC) carries out marketing and promotion activities for many horticultural industries, in the main funded by statutory levies and export charges.

The Primary Industries Levies and Charges Collection (Chestnut) Regulations (Amendment), (the Regulations (Amendment)), alter the funding arrangements for the chestnut industry's participation in the AHC. The Chestnut Growers of Australia (CGA) requested, and the AHC and HRDC recommend, that the chestnut industry's funding formulae for the AHC and HRDC be altered to reflect revised priorities. The spread of the fungus, phomopsis, has necessitated more commitment to research to overcome the problem.

The Regulations will increase funding arrangements for the HRDC but result in a commensurate decrease in funding for the AHC. These revised arrangements are seen as a temporary move and it is expected that when the phomopsis problem is successfully addressed, funding arrangements for the AHC and HRDC will return to the former equal distribution.

These Regulations will change the funding for the AHC, by way of levy and export charge, from five cents per kilogram to two and a half cents per kilogram. Simultaneously, funding for the HRDC, by way of levy and export charge, will change from five cents per kilogram to seven and a half cents per kilogram

The Regulations also include some other minor amendments. These include a change from the use of penalties being expressed in dollar values to being expressed as penalty units, a penalty unit currently being one hundred dollars. This will allow, over time, omnibus changes to penalties expressed in Commonwealth Acts and Regulation to more easily be amended to reflect inflation.

Another minor amendment requests that where companies are the providers of information for the purpose of the Regulations, they must also provide their Australian Company Number (ACN).

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