Andrew Southcott (Boothby, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

On behalf of the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties, I present the committee’s report entitled Report 78—Treaty scrutiny—A ten year review.

Ordered that the report be made a parliamentary paper.

Report 78 contains a report of the seminar held in March this year to mark the 10th anniversary of the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties. The Joint Standing Committee on Treaties was established in 1996 as part of a package of reforms to the treaty-making process. Since then, the committee has tabled recommendations on over 380 treaty actions in 77 reports.

Prior to the establishment of JSCOT, during the 1970s treaties were tabled in parliament but often in a manner which prevented meaningful parliamentary scrutiny or input. Treaties were tabled in bulk approximately every six months and often after they had entered into force. By the 1990s Australia had entered into a period of negotiating a broader range of treaties, some of them quite controversial. There was also a growing awareness that international obligations affected domestic legal regimes and policy responses to a wide range of national issues. In recognition that parliament ought to be able to scrutinise Australia’s international treaty obligations, JSCOT was established in May 1996.

Four other key reforms were introduced at the same time that JSCOT was established. These consisted of: (1) the tabling of treaties in parliament for a minimum of 15 sitting days before the government takes binding treaty action; (2) the tabling of national interest analyses to explain the reasons for the government’s decision to enter into the treaty and to detail the impact the treaty would have on Australia; (3) the establishment of a Treaties Council as an adjunct to the Council of Australian Governments to consider treaties and other international instruments of particular sensitivity to the states and territories; and (4) the establishment of a treaties information database for individuals and interested people to easily and freely obtain information on any treaty. A fifth reform involved a change to the Standing Committee on Treaties, or SCOT as it is otherwise known. SCOT was not established as part of the 1996 reforms but its role and functions were formalised as a result.

The treaties committee has a dual role in providing for the parliamentary scrutiny of treaties and in increasing the transparency of the treaty scrutiny process. As part of its role in providing a more transparent treaty making process, the committee also functions as a check that adequate consultation has taken place. After 10 years of JSCOT it was fitting that a seminar be conducted to assess the 1996 reforms and to look more broadly at the role of the legislature in the treaty making process, both here and overseas.

On 30 and 31 March this year, the committee held a seminar to consider the role and effectiveness of the committee, the treaty making reforms and the role of parliaments in the treaty making process. The seminar commenced with a reception hosted by the Presiding Officers of the Commonwealth parliament, including you, Mr Speaker, and a dinner addressed by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Shadow Minister for Foreign Affairs and Trade and International Security. The following day the seminar heard from a diverse range of people who were involved or interested in the treaty scrutiny process.

Some of the issues which participants considered included the following: has the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties made the treaty making process more democratic, transparent and accountable? How adequate is the consultation between the Commonwealth and the states and territories in relation to treaties and how could it be more effective? How has the failure of the Treaties Council to meet more than once since 1996 had an impact on the treaty making process? The seminar also provided an opportunity to consider recent trends in treaty making, such as the increase in free trade agreements, treaties with regional neighbours and climate change treaties. Finally, the seminar provided the opportunity to consider the committee’s role and Australia’s treaty making processes in an international context.

It is clear from the seminar that the committee is seen as a successful and effective body and was considered by seminar participants to be the strongest performer of the 1996 reforms. The report contains a detailed summary and analysis of the issues discussed at the seminar. I commend the report to the House.

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