CHAPTER 1
Introduction
1.1
On 25 June
2009, the Senate referred the provisions of the Personal Property Securities
Bill 2009 to the Senate Legal and Constitutional Affairs Legislation Committee
for inquiry and report due by 7 August 2009.
1.2
The committee
presented a short interim report to the Senate out of session on 7 August,
indicating that it intended to present its final report on 17 August. On
13 August the Senate granted a further extension of the reporting date to
20 August 2009.
1.3
The Bill was introduced in the House of Representatives on 24 June 2009
by the Attorney-General, the Hon. Robert McClelland MP. The government states
that:
... The bill will replace the existing complex, inconsistent
and ad hoc web of common law and legislation, involving over 70 Commonwealth,
state and territory acts. It will implement a single national law, creating a
uniform and functional approach to personal property securities.
Personal property is any form of property other than land. It
includes goods such as cars, machinery, even crops and livestock, financial
property such as currency and letters of credit and intangibles such as
intellectual property rights.
The bill will apply to all transactions which create an
interest in personal property that secures a loan or other obligation.[1]
Conduct of the inquiry
1.4
The committee advertised the inquiry in The Australian newspaper
on 1 July 2009. Details of the inquiry, the Bill and associated
documents were placed on the committee’s website. The committee also wrote to a
range of organisations and individuals inviting submissions by 31 July
2009.
1.5
The committee received 26 submissions which are listed at Appendix 1. Submissions
were placed on the committee's website for ease of access by the public.
1.6
The committee held public hearings in Sydney on 6 and 7 August
2009. A list of witnesses who appeared at the hearing is at Appendix 2, and
copies of the Hansard transcript are available through the internet at https://www.aph.gov.au/hansard.
Scope of the report
1.7
The structure of the report is as follows:
- Chapter 2 outlines the history of the development of the Bill;
- Chapter 3 identifies the changes between the exposure draft bill
reported on by this committee in March 2009 and this 2009 Bill;
- Chapter 4 discusses general issues relevant to the Bill; and
- Chapter 5 considers unresolved technical issues relating to the
Bill.
Acknowledgement
1.8
The committee thanks those organisations and individuals who made
submissions and gave evidence at the public hearings.
Note on references
1.9
References in this report are to individual submissions as received by
the committee, not to a bound volume.
1.10
Due to delays in the production of the Hansard Transcript, this report
was prepared without extensive reference to evidence received at the public
hearing.
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