Additional comments—Australian Greens
Greens support passage of the Illegal Timber Prohibition Bill 2011
support broader consultation with importer countries in order to ensure that
countries are given adequate time to respond to the new laws and to provide
input that will make those laws and regulations more effective (recommendation
1). However, we are not convinced that recommending just two countries be
permitted representation on a working group (recommendation 2) is the best way
to accomplish this. If countries in addition to Malaysia and Papua New Guinea
decide they want to participate in the development of regulations, an already
large working group will become unworkable. The Greens recommend that a more
considered approach to consultation and input on the regulations from importing
countries is developed.
context of this inquiry the Greens recommend that the legal advice received by
the Department regarding our WTO obligations be tabled.
the persistent complaints from a variety of submitters to this and previous
inquiries has been the lack of clarity and certainty in the current bill. In
particular, the lack of clarity regarding the definition of illegal timber and
the lack of clarity regarding due diligence requirements remains
unresolved. While the Greens are now confident that in the near future
there will be clarity regarding what will constitute regulated timber, we
remain convinced that a precise (although not necessarily exclusive) definition
of illegal timber should be in the primary legislation. While many of the due
diligence requirements will necessarily be left to the regulations, a clearer
statement of the structure of the due diligence requirements, the basic
information that must be ascertained and the oversight, monitoring and
enforcement provisions that will attach to due diligence could be significantly
strengthened in the primary legislation.
note and incorporate by reference our comments to the February 2012 Rural and
Regional Affairs and Transport Committee report relating to these two issues.
the Committee notes the Government’s intent to have regulations tabled within 6
months of Royal Assent. The Committee does not explicitly support this
intent. The Greens support an additional recommendation that the Regulations be
tabled within 6 months of Royal Assent.
Scott Ludlam Senator Sarah Hanson-Young