The Australian governments is pressured to withdraw its plans for a biosecurity levy concerning all incoming vessels. The opposition Agriculture spokesman called the Government of deliberately delaying the biosecurity protections for agriculture.
Mainly, the levy was planned to raise A$325m ($220m) in its first three years of operation. Yet, the bill has been twice delayed due to negative criticism from trading partners, as Japan, who commented on the levy as a kind of import tariff.
In the meantime, Mr Fitzgibbon stated that the levy should have been a priority for the Government, as the country’s biodiversity system may be at risk of failing without additional sources.
Following industry pushback against the original levy model, the Government commissioned an Industry Steering Committee to advise on a better model. But while the Steering Committee delivered its report to the Minister in May of this year, the Minister had still not responded to its recommendations, Mr Fitzgibbon said.
In light of the levy, recently the cruise industry expressed its opposition to it, as CLIA Australasia commented that this tariff would hit both passengers and the industry.
