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 83: Treaties tabled on 20 June (2), 17 October, 28 November (2) 2006 and CO sequestration in sub-seabed formations.

Ordered that the report be made a parliamentary paper.

by leave—Report 83 contains the committee’s findings on four treaty actions. The committee found all the treaties reviewed to be in Australia’s national interest and, where a recommendation was required, recommended that binding treaty action be taken. I will comment on all the treaties reviewed in report 83.

The agreement with Mexico on the promotion and reciprocal protection of investments, and protocol, will benefit investors by offering most favoured nation status with regard to Australian investments. It will also provide guarantees for investors, including on issues such as nationalisation, and establish mechanisms for resolving investment disputes.

The committee delayed reporting on this treaty until issues raised by the Queensland government were addressed by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The Queensland government had concerns regarding the expropriation and compensation provisions of the agreement. DFAT explained that these are necessary to provide protection for Australian investors overseas, that they are common for our other investment agreements and that taxation or revoking permits was unlikely to constitute expropriation at international law. These issues were resolved in February this year. This is an example of the treaties committee holding up a report until all concerns have been satisfactorily answered. The committee takes its responsibility for consultation seriously and, where it can, will address issues raised during its consultation before tabling its recommendation and report.

The amendments to the Schedule to the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling continue the moratorium on commercial whaling. The committee understands the importance of whale conservation and strongly supports the treaty amendments which give effect to the ban on commercial whaling. However, the committee is concerned by recent events which jeopardise the effectiveness of that moratorium. Iceland’s decision to resume commercial whaling contravenes the convention and Japan’s continued whaling under the scientific research provision of the treaty undermines the object and purpose of the convention. The committee was informed that Japan took 853 minke whales and 20 fin whales as part of its whaling program in the Southern Ocean in 2005.

The committee tabled its recommendation relating to the agreement with Cambodia concerning the transfer of sentenced persons in December last year, approximately three months earlier than was required. Report 82 was a short report which consisted mainly of the recommendation that binding treaty action be taken in relation to the agreement. It was important to the committee that any Australian who would apply for prisoner exchange under the agreement would be able to do so as soon as possible. The committee is aware that one Australian serving a prison sentence in Cambodia was arrested in 2005, when he was 16 years old. Cambodia is not part of any multilateral convention relating to the transfer of prisoners and has not completed a bilateral transfer of prisoners agreement with any other country. As you can see, Mr Deputy Speaker, Australia’s treaty with Cambodia is a significant achievement and one which will allow Australian prisoners currently serving sentences in Cambodia to serve their sentences in Australia.

The amendment to annex 1 to the London protocol will allow Australia and other countries to capture and store carbon dioxide in sub-seabed geological formations. The London protocol protects the marine environment from pollution related to sea dumping. The amendment to the London protocol was required to ensure that carbon dioxide could be captured and stored consistent with Australia’s international obligations under the protocol. Chevron are currently proposing to strip carbon dioxide from the natural gas it recovers and eject it into the Dupuy formation 2,000 metres below Barrow Island. Sub-seabed geosequestration of carbon dioxide is one of a number of practical measures which can reduce atmospheric carbon emissions and reduce the subsequent climate change. I commend the report to the House.

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