"Ai Group welcomes the news that the proposed Biosecurity Levy will not proceed. The levy would have put additional costs on all imports based on volume. This would have been particularly costly and an unnecessary burden for high-volume low-value goods often used in manufacturing," Innes Willox, Chief Executive of the national employer association Ai Group said today.
"The integrity of Australia's biodiversity is both a national asset and a collective responsibility and the proposed implementation of an import levy that was not risk-based put at risk Australia's reputation as a strong advocate for a rules-based trading system.
"The global disruption to supply chains caused by COVID-19 has put significant pressure on Australian industry and we appreciate the Government has listened to industry representations, including from Ai Group, that there was limited capacity to accommodate this additional cost at this time," Mr Willox said.
Media enquiries: Tony Melville – 0419 190 347
