Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Amendment (Strategic Assets) Bill 2020 [2020] AUSStaCSBSD 51 (2 April 2020)

• Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Amendment (Strategic Assets) Bill 2020
• Significant matters in delegated legislation 7

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Foreign Acquisitions and Takeovers Amendment (Strategic Assets) Bill 2020

Purpose	This bill seeks to amend several acts in order to keep assets of strategic economic or strategic defensive significance under the ownership and control of Australia
Sponsor	Hon Bob Katter MP
Introduced	House of Representatives on 24 February 2020

Significant matters in delegated legislation ^[7]

1.21 The bill seeks to ban the acquisition by a foreign person or entity of a 10 percent or greater interest in Australian land, water or other assets determined to be of strategic economic or strategic defensive significance to Australia. Proposed subsection 2A(3) provides that the regulations must provide for the establishment of a Foreign Ownership Assessment Board (FOAB) to determine whether an asset is of strategic importance to Australia for the purposes of proposed subsection 2A(1). The regulations must also provide for the FOAB to constitute a Board chosen by a majority of the Senate and that any determination of the FOAB will be reviewable by an appeals tribunal.

1.22 The committee's view is that significant matters, such as the establishment and operation of a FOAB, should be included in the primary legislation unless a sound justification for the use of delegated legislation is provided. In this instance, the explanatory memorandum provides no explanation as to why this matter is left to delegated legislation. The committee notes that a legislative instrument, made by the executive, is not subject to the full range of parliamentary scrutiny inherent in bringing the proposed changes in the form of an amending bill.

1.23 The committee draws its scrutiny concerns to the attention of Senators and leaves to the Senate as a whole the appropriateness of allowing delegated legislation to provide for the establishment and operation of a Foreign Ownership Assessment Board.

1.1

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[7] Schedule 1, item 1A, proposed paragraph 3. The committee draws senators’ attention to this provision pursuant to Senate Standing Order 24(1)(a)(iv).