Senator Andrew Bragg delivered his keynote address at the Blockchain Week event in Sydney on 21 March 2022.
Senator Bragg said:
To get on with the reforms, at the end of January, I convened a series of roundtables to nail down the finer details. Fifty eight individuals came to the table: experts, industry leaders, peak body representatives, lawyers, academics, entrepreneurs, and representatives from the Treasury and the Board of Tax. We examined recommendations for markets licensing, custody, DAOs, debanking, tax and tokens.
Senator Bragg took the opportunity to highlight the need for a targeted piece of legislation - the Digital Services Act - which would codify the series of recommendations that were raised in the roundtable discussions earlier this year, saying said:
I am calling for these reforms to be consolidated into a comprehensive legislative package - a Digital Services Act. To do this would make Australia one of the only jurisdictions ... signaling that we fully appreciate the promise and potential of blockchain technology.
The Senator advocated that the Digital Services Act should be guided by four principles:
1. Technology neutrality
2. Broad, flexible principles, not a prescribed code.
3. Regulation by a Minister, not bureaucratic agencies.
4. Within Government, cooperation and appropriate powers, resourcing and personnel.
The aim, said Senator Bragg is:
This will show Australia is open for business and things are clear and clean.
Blockchain Week is an annual event that runs in the month of March that brings together technology experts, academics, executives & government leaders who contributed significantly to the blockchain and digital assets landscape in Australia.