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CONTENTS
Productivity Commission (Repeals, Transitional and
Consequential Amendments) Bill 1996
Date Introduced: 4 December 1996
House: House of Representatives
Portfolio: Treasury
Commencement: On Royal Assent
The purpose of the Productivity Commission (Repeals,
Transitional and Consequential Amendments) Bill 1996 (the Bill) is
to provide for the repeal of certain legislation, and consequential
and transitional arrangements following the establishment of the
Productivity Commission.
On 4 December 1996, this Bill and the Productivity Commission
Bill 1996 were introduced into the House of Representatives.
Background information about the Productivity Commission and the
main provisions of the Productivity Commission Bill 1996 are
contained in the companion Bills Digest (No.97 of 1996/97).
Relevantly, the Productivity Commission is being formed through
the merger of the Industry Commission, the Bureau of Industry
Economics and the Economic Planning Advisory Commission (EPAC). The
Productivity Commission is designed to be the 'Government's
principal advisory body on all aspects of microeconomic reform.'(1)
The Productivity Commission Act 1996 commences immediately
after the commencement of the Productivity Commission (Repeals,
Transitional and Consequential Amendments) Act 1996.
Schedule 1 - Repeal of Acts
Clause 1 of Schedule 1 repeals the Economic
Advisory Commission Act 1983. Clause 2 of Schedule
1 repeals the Industry Commission Act 1989. These
Acts provide the statutory basis for EPAC and Industry
Commission.
Schedule 2 - Transitional provisions and consequential
amendments
Part 1 - Transitional provisions relating to the
Economic Planning Advisory Commission Act 1983 and the Industry
Commission Act 1989.
Clause 2 of Schedule 2 provides that inquiries,
reports and inquiry hearings that were commenced by the Industry
Commission but not completed can be continued by the Productivity
Commission.
Clause 3 provides that staff of EPAC and the
Industry Commission become staff of the Productivity
Commission.
Clause 4 provides that references in contracts
or agreements to EPAC or the Industry Commission are taken to be
references to the Productivity Commission.
Clause 5 provides that monies appropriated for
EPAC or the Industry Commission are to be regarded as
appropriations for the Productivity Commission - with the exception
of monies appropriated before the commencement of the
Productivity Commission (Repeals, Transitional and
Consequential Amendments) Act 1996.
Clause 6 provides that the Productivity
Commission's first annual report will include a report on the
operations of EPAC and the Industry Commission.
Clause 7 gives those who have appeared as
witnesses before Industry Commission hearings the same protection
they would have had if they had appeared at a Productivity
Commission hearing.
Clause 8 means that documents or information
treated as confidential by the Industry Commission must be treated
in the same way by the Productivity Commission.
Clause 9 provides that regulations covering
transitional matters resulting from the repeal of the EPAC Act and
the Industry Commission Act can be made.
Part 2 - Consequential amendments of other Acts
Clauses 10, 11 and 12 relate to the
Biological Control Act 1984. Clause 10
repeals section 11 of the Biological Control Act 1984.
Section 11 refers to the operation of the Industries Assistance
Commission Act 1973. The Industries Assistance Commission
Act 1973 was repealed in 1990.(2)
Clause 11 substitutes new paragraph
19(1)(f) for existing paragraph 19(1)(f) of the
Biological Control Act 1984. References to the
Industries Assistance Commission Act 1973 in paragraph
19(1)(f) are replaced by references to the Productivity Commission.
Clause 12 replaces a reference to the
Industries Assistance Commission Act 1983 in paragraph
56(1)(e) of the Biological Control Act 1984 with a
reference to the Productivity Commission. Under the Biological
Control Act 1984, if there is any evidence that persons or the
environment would be adversely affected by the release of an
organism or the control of the target organism, and there has not
been an adequate inquiry into these effects, then the Biological
Control Authority can arrange for an inquiry to be conducted.(3) In
the past, the Industry Commission has been one of the organisations
that can be asked to conduct an inquiry. As a consequence of the
repeal of the Industry Commission Act 1989 and the passage
of this amendment, the Productivity Commission will be able to
undertake inquiries at the request of the Biological Control
Authority.
Clause 13 repeals subsection 5(8) of the
Bounty (Computers) Act 1984. Subsection 5(8) referred to
the Industry Commission Act 1989. Clause
14 repeals a similar provision in the Bounty (Machine
Tools and Robots) Act 1985.
Clause 15 replaces a reference to the Industry
Commission in paragraph 16(2)(a) of the Development Allowance
Authority Act 1992 with a reference to the Productivity
Commission. In deciding whether an industry benefits from a
substantial level of industry assistance, the Development Allowance
Authority determines the rate of industry assistance using the
method used by the Industry Commission. With the passage of the
Bill, the method will be that used by the Productivity
Commission.
The repealed provisions in Part 2 are described as 'redundant'
in the Bill's Explanatory Memorandum.(4)
- Second Reading Speech, Productivity Commission Bill 1996,
p.1.
- The repeal was effected in 1990 by the Industry Commission
Act 1989.
- See Attachment 'Operation of the Biological Control Act 1984',
'Public assurance needed before rabbit calicivirus release,' Press
Release (Minister for Primary Industries and Energy), DPIE 96/15,
11 April 1996.
- Explanatory Memorandum, Productivity Commission (Repeals,
Transitional and Consequential Amendments) Bill 1996, p.2.
Jennifer Norberry
7 February 1997
Bills Digest Service
Information and Research Services
This Digest does not have any official legal status. Other
sources should be consulted to determine whether the Bill has been
enacted and, if so, whether the subsequent Act reflects further
amendments.
IRS staff are available to discuss the paper's contents
with Senators and Members and their staff but not with members of
the public.
ISSN 1323-9031
Commonwealth of Australia 1996
Except to the extent of the uses permitted under the
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of the Australian Parliament in the course of their official
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Published by the Department of the Parliamentary Library,
1997.
This page was prepared by the Parliamentary Library,
Commonwealth of Australia
Last updated: 24 March 1997
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