Inquiry into Horse Disease Response Levy Bill 2008

Inquiry into Horse Disease Response Levy Bill 2008

The Senate has referred to its Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Committee for inquiry the provisions of the Horse Disease Response Levy Bill and related bills. This legislation is intended to ensure that the horse industry funds its obligations under the provisions of the Emergency Animal Disease Response Agreement, the EADRA. It will impose a once-off statutory levy on the registration of horses to meet the industry's commitment to share funding of responses to emergency disease outbreaks that affect horses.

There are no terms of reference for this inquiry but the committee welcomes comment on any aspect of the bill you believe to be relevant. The closing date for submissions is 22 September 2008. The committee will report on 3 October 2008.

Information about the Bills

The Committee prefers to receive submissions electronically as an attached document - email: rrat.sen@aph.gov.au

Submissions become Committee documents and are made public only after a decision by the Committee. Once submissions are authorised for publication by the committee, they are posted on the committee's website and become public documents. Please ensure that any submissions or attachments you wish to remain confidential are clearly marked as such and contact the secretariat if you require further advice.

Persons making submissions must not release them without the approval of the Committee. Submissions are covered by parliamentary privilege but the unauthorised release of them is not.

Following consideration of submissions, the Committee is proposing to hold a public hearing on Wednesday, 24 September 2008. The Committee will consider all submissions and may invite individuals and organisations to give evidence at the public hearings.

Inquiries from hearing and speech impaired people should be directed to the Parliament House TTY number (02) 6277 7799. Adobe also provides tools for the blind and visually impaired to access PDF documents. These tools are available at: http://access.adobe.com/. If you require any special arrangements in order to enable you to participate in a committee inquiry, please contact the committee secretary.

For further information, contact:

Committee Secretary
Senate Standing Committees on Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport
PO Box 6100
Parliament House
Canberra ACT 2600
Australia

Phone: +61 2 6277 3511
Fax: +61 2 6277 5811
Email: rrat.sen@aph.gov.au