Page 2656 - Week 10 - Thursday, 15 October 1992
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mutual recognition, no jurisdiction will suddenly be flooded with products that are inherently dangerous, unsafe or unhealthy; nor will there be an influx of inadequately qualified practitioners. Indeed, mutual recognition could result in an elevation of standards in some instances.
The legal arrangements for introducing mutual recognition give due recognition to the creation of the ACT as a separate body politic, and are the result of representations put by the ACT to the Committee on Regulatory Reform. For the States, the mechanism for implementation of the legislation will be a referral of powers by the States to the Commonwealth to pass the Mutual Recognition Act. For the ACT and the Northern Territory it involves passing legislation to request the Commonwealth to pass the Act, as a referral of powers by the Territories is not required under the terms of the Constitution. Once enacted by the Commonwealth, the Mutual Recognition Act will override any State or Territory Acts or regulations that are inconsistent with the mutual recognition principles.
Let me stress that the additional powers of the Commonwealth will be extremely limited. States and Territories are not granting extensive new powers to regulate goods and occupations. The Commonwealth will be empowered to pass a single piece of legislation. Amendments to this legislation will require unanimous agreement among all participating jurisdictions, including the Commonwealth. There will be no new powers for the Commonwealth unilaterally to establish new standards or controls. Under the terms of intergovernmental agreement on mutual recognition, Commonwealth Ministers, like their State and Territory counterparts on ministerial councils, will be subject to the same controls and limits. A majority vote of Ministers in support of a new standard will bind all the parties.
The mutual recognition scheme is to last initially for five years and be subject to review before this time, after which any State or Territory may terminate its involvement. The legislation will not encroach on the ability of the ACT or the States to impose standards for locally produced or imported goods, nor for local people wishing to enter an occupation. Mutual recognition will not affect the ability of jurisdictions to regulate the operation of businesses or the conduct of persons registered in an occupation. Nor is it intended to affect the registration of bodies corporate. Its focus is on the regulation of goods at the point of sale, and on entry by registered persons into equivalent occupations in another State or Territory. Laws that regulate the manner in which goods are sold, such as laws restricting the sale of certain goods to minors, or the manner in which sellers conduct their businesses, are explicitly exempted from mutual recognition. For occupations, the legislation is expressed to apply to individuals and occupations carried on by them.
Mutual recognition is intended to encourage the development of uniform standards where these are considered necessary for reasons of protecting health and safety, or preventing or minimising environmental pollution. Provision is made for States and Territories to enact or declare certain goods or laws relating to goods to be exempt from mutual recognition on these grounds on a temporary basis - that is, up to 12 months. During that time the intergovernmental agreement provides for the relevant ministerial council to consider the issue and make a determination on whether to develop and apply a uniform standard in the area under examination. Wherever possible, ministerial councils are to apply those standards commonly accepted in international trade.
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