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2017
THE PARLIAMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
Competition and Consumer Amendment (Exploitation of Indigenous Culture) Bill 2017
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
and
STATEMENT OF COMPATIBILITY WITH HUMAN RIGHTS
Circulated by the authority of
Bob Katter MP
Competition and Consumer Amendment (Exploitation of Indigenous Culture) Bill 2017
OUTLINE
The Competition and Consumer Amendment (Exploitation of Indigenous Culture) Bill 2017 (the
Bill) will make a range of amendments to the Competition and Consumer Act 2010 (Competition
Act).
The purpose of the Bill is to prevent non-First Australians and foreigners from benefitting from the
sale of Indigenous art, souvenir items and other cultural affirmations and thereby depriving
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders of the rightful benefits of their culture.
Concern is that an influx of mass-produced Indigenous-style artwork, souvenirs and other cultural
affirmations are being imported from overseas and undermining:
1. the ability of Indigenous artists to gain economic benefit from their work; and
2. Indigenous culture.
FINANCIAL IMPACT
The Bill will require the establishment of a new committee, to be paid out of normal budget
supply.
STATEMENT ON COMPATIBILITY WITH HUMAN RIGHTS
The Statement of Compatibility with Human Rights appears at the end of this Explanatory
Memorandum.
NOTES ON CLAUSES
Clause 1 - Short title
This clause provides that the short title of the Act be the Competition and Consumer Amendment
(Exploitation of Indigenous Culture) Act 2017.
Clause 2 - Commencement
This clause provides for the Act to commence on the day after it receives Royal Assent.
Clause 3 -- Schedule
This clause is a formal enabling provision for the Schedules to the Bill. It provides that legislation
that is specified in a Schedule to the Act is amended or repealed as set out in the applicable items
in the Schedule concerned, and that any other item in a Schedule to this Act has effect according
to its terms.
Schedule 1 -- Amendments
Competition and Consumer Act 2010
Item 1 -- Subsection 2(1) of Schedule 2:
This item inserts a definition for indigenous artist, indigenous community and indigenous cultural
expression.
An indigenous artist is defined as an artist who
Identifies as an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander; and
Is recognised as an Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander by the community with which the
artist identifies.
An indigenous community has the meaning specified in section 14A.
An indigenous cultural expression is an expression of indigenous culture that:
has archaeological, anthropological, contemporary, historical, scientific, social or spiritual
significance to an indigenous community; or
has its origins in an indigenous community; or
is made by an indigenous artist; or
is derived from, or has a likeness or resemblance to, one or more indigenous cultural
expressions above.
Item 2 - Subsection 14A:
The item defines indigenous community as meaning a community or people that identifies as
Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander. This includes:
a community that identifies itself as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islander through a
connection with a particular region of Australia; and
a group of people within a wider community of the kind mentioned above, that identify
themselves as a group through shared goals or activities, such as shared involvement in the
arts; and
the community of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders of Australia, taken as a whole.
Item 3 - Section 50A:
This item prohibits a person from supplying or offering to supply to a consumer anything that
contains an indigenous cultural expression. There is an exception to this prohibition where the
thing is supplied by, or in accordance with an arrangement with, each indigenous community or
indigenous artist with whom the expression is connected. In addition the thing must also be made
in Australia.
The Minister must appoint a committee that is representative of Indigenous communities to
monitor compliance with the Act and report to the Minister on amendments that can be made to
the Act to better protect the rights of indigenous communities and artists.
Item 4 - Section 168A
This item makes it an offence for a person to supply, or offer to supply, a thing that is an
indigenous cultural expression unless the thing is supplied by, or under an arrangement with, an
indigenous community or artist.
Item 5 - Application
This item clarifies that the amendments made by Schedule 1 of the Bill apply on or after the
commencement of Schedule 1.
STATEMENT OF COMPATIBILITY WITH HUMAN RIGHTS
Prepared in accordance with Part 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act 2011
Competition and Consumer Amendment (Exploitation of Indigenous Culture) Bill 2017
This Bill is compatible with the human rights and freedoms recognised or declared in the
international instruments listed in section 3 of the Human Rights (Parliamentary Scrutiny) Act
2011.
Overview of the Bill
The purpose of the Bill is to prevent non-First Australians and foreigners from benefitting from the
sale of Indigenous art, souvenir items and other cultural affirmations and thereby depriving
Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders of the rightful benefits of their culture.
The Bill achieves this through protecting Indigenous cultural expressions from appropriation by
persons who do not identify as Aboriginal or Torres Strait Islanders.
Human rights implications
This Bill does not unacceptably limit any of the applicable rights or freedoms.
Conclusion
This Bill is compatible with human rights as it does not raise any human rights issues.
Hon Bob Katter MP