2001
THE PARLIAMENT OF THE COMMONWEALTH OF AUSTRALIA
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

AIRCRAFT NOISE LEVY COLLECTION AMENDMENT BILL 2001
EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM
(Circulated by authority of the Treasurer,
the Hon Peter Costello, MP)

ISBN:  0642 466246

Table of Contents

Outline……………………………………………………………………………1
Financial Impact Statement……………………………………...……………….2
Notes on Individual Clauses…………………………………………………...…2
Schedule 1 - Amendment of the Aircraft Noise Levy Collection Act 1995……..2

1	
AIRCRAFT NOISE LEVY COLLECTION AMENDMENT BILL 
2001
Outline
1.	The purpose of this Bill is to deem Sydney (Kingsford-Smith) Airport to have been declared a leviable airport, for the purposes of the Aircraft Noise Levy Collection Bill 1995 (the Collection Act), from 1 July 1996 to the end of 21 February 2001.  
2.	The primary aim of the Collection Act and the Aircraft Noise Levy Act 1995 is to put in place arrangements for the imposition and collection of an aircraft noise levy at certain airports.  
3.	The legislation seeks to recover from aircraft operators the costs incurred in providing noise amelioration programmes in the vicinity of airports.  A noise amelioration programme has been operating at Sydney airport since 1995 and in the 2000-01 Budget, the Commonwealth Government announced a programme at Adelaide airport.
4.	Under the legislation the levy is to apply to landings of jet aircraft at declared airports.  In order for an airport to be declared, Section 7 of the Collection Act provides that the Minister may, by notice in the Gazette, declare an airport to be a 'leviable airport' (for the period set out in the declaration).
5.	On 18 September 1995, the then Minister for Transport declared Sydney (Kingsford-Smith) airport to be a leviable airport for the period 1 October 1995 to 30 June 1996.  No further notice declaring Sydney (Kingsford-Smith) Airport to be a leviable airport has been published since that date.  Notwithstanding the absence of a declaration, the levy has been collected in accordance with the intent of the legislation.
6.	Given the absence of any operative declaration at Sydney (Kingsford-Smith) Airport, corrective action is required.
7.	The Bill would amend the Collection Act to validate levy collections for the period beginning on 1 July 1996 and ending at the end of 21 February 2001.  To validate prospective collections, the Assistant Treasurer, on 15 February 2001, declared Sydney (Kingsford-Smith) Airport as leviable for the period 22 February 2001 to 30 June 2006.  That declaration was notified in the Gazette dated 21 February 2001.

2	

Financial Impact Statement
	There is no financial impact to the Commonwealth as a result of these measures.
3	

Notes on Individual Clauses
Clause 1 - Short title
	This clause provides the short title by which the Act would be cited.
Clause 2 - Commencement
	This clause provides that the Act would come into effect when it receives the Royal Assent.
Clause 3 - Schedules
	This clause makes it clear that the Act specified in the Schedule would be amended as set out in the Schedule, and that the Schedule may also contain other provisions.
4	

Schedule 1 - Amendment of the Act
Item 1 - At the end of section 7
1.	Subsection (7) would deem Sydney (Kingsford-Smith) Airport to have been declared a leviable airport from 1 July 1996 to the end of 21 February 2001 and for that declaration to have been notified in the Government Gazette before 1 July 1996.  The remainder of the statutory scheme for collection of the levy would therefore be deemed to have validly operated for the relevant period.
2.	Subsection (8) would provide that subsection 7(4) of the Collection Act does not apply to this amendment.  Subsection (4) requires that, when exercising the power to declare an airport to be a leviable airport, the Minister ensures that the “adjusted levy liability” (defined in subsection (5)) does not exceed the “Commonwealth expenditure” (defined in subsection (6)) on a noise amelioration program for the airport up to that time and that the ratio of the adjusted levy liability to Commonwealth expenditure is the same for each airport.  Subsection (4) is not applicable in the present circumstances where the Minister is not actually making the declaration.