Kim Wilkie (Swan, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Hansard source

The Joint Standing Committee on Treaties’ report 83 contains the review of four treaty actions. The agreement with the United Mexican States on the promotion and reciprocal protection of investments, and protocol, is an important agreement which provides certain treatment for investments and is expected to foster increased export and investment opportunities for Australia. Mexico and Australia regard each other as potential strategic partners in areas such as energy, mining and agriculture, based on Australia’s ability to supply coal and liquefied natural gas and the potential for Australian miners to invest in Mexican projects.

The amendments to the schedule to the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling mean that the ban on commercial whaling is continued for the next year. The committee strongly supports the conservation of whales and welcomes the opportunity to hear regularly from departmental representatives on recent developments in whaling conservation.

The prisoner transfer agreement with Cambodia will allow Australians serving prison sentences in Cambodia to serve the remainder of their sentences in Australia. The committee was informed that there are five Australians in prison in Cambodia, one who was 16 years old when he was arrested in 2005. The committee thought it was important for the agreement to enter into force as quickly as possible so that Australian prisoners in Cambodia could take advantage of its terms. As a result, the committee tabled its recommendation only a number of days after the public hearing was held and three months before the report was due.

Report 83 includes a detailed discussion of the agreement and the committee’s thoughts on this important development. It also demonstrates the committee’s willingness to act quickly where required and highlights the difficulties for the department and also the government when they try to invoke the national interest exemption clause and argue that there is insufficient time for the committee to examine a particular treaty. For example, the government recently invoked the national interest exemption for the Certain Maritime Agreements in the Timor Sea Treaty. In my view, this is totally unnecessary, given the committee’s willingness to act quickly in the national interest.

Geosequestration involves injecting CO directly into underground sedimentary basins which can be either onshore or offshore. Declining or depleted oil and gas fields, saline aquifers and unminable coal seams are potential storage sites. The London protocol is designed to protect the marine environment from pollution relating to sea dumping. The committee was informed that carbon geosequestration was not contemplated when the London protocol was being developed, so carbon geosequestration is currently illegal in the marine environment. The amendment to the London protocol will allow the capture and storage of carbon dioxide in sub-seabed geological formations.

It is important to point out that what we are talking about here is geological formations under the seabed or underground on land. It is not the depositing of CO in very deep water, for example, where it could form a jelly-like substance. That needs to be looked at in the future.

In conclusion, I would like to thank the secretariat for their involvement and work for the committee. They have done a fantastic job yet again. I would also like to thank those people who put in submissions in relation to these matters. I endorse that binding treaty action be taken and commend the report to the House.

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