For the past six years,1 this review of Australian maritime law has described the position of Australia’s Hamburg Rules “trigger”, which was first cocked by the Carriage of Goods by Sea Act 1991 (Cth). The Act provided that the Hamburg Rules would come into force automatically by a certain date2 unless the Commonwealth Parliament took action to prevent them from doing so. The trigger was finally uncocked on 15 September 1997, when the Carriage of Goods by Sea Amendment Act 1997 (Cth) was passed. Although the Hamburg Rules will not now come into force in Australia, they have not been removed from the Act, and there remains a slim possibility that they may yet become part of Australian law. The amended Act now contains a complicated and decidedly unusual procedure for commencement of the Hamburg Rules. The Minister3 must conduct a review of the position at least every five years, considering the extent to which the Hamburg Rules have been adopted in other countries, particularly Australia’s major trading partners, and consulting with “representatives of shippers, shipowners, carriers, cargo owners, marine insurers and maritime law associations”.4 Having conducted the review, the Minister must table a written report in both houses of the Commonwealth Parliament, setting out his or her decision. If the decision is that the Hamburg Rules should be adopted, they will then come into force no later than 12 months after the tabling of the report.