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

by leave—Report 89 of the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties deals with three treaties: a social security agreement with Japan, an agreement with the Philippines on the status of visiting forces and an agreement between Australia and the Hellenic Republic on social security. I will comment briefly on each.

Australia already has social security agreements in place with 18 other countries. These are important agreements. As the chair of the committee has just stated, all are based on the principle of shared responsibility, which requires parties to provide adequate social security coverage for residents of both countries. The two social security agreements reviewed by the committee in this report also incorporate this principle.

The social security agreement between Australia and Japan will improve access to the age pension for people who have moved between Australia and Japan during their working life. The Department of Families, Community Services and Indigenous Affairs estimates that approximately 1,050 people residing in Australia and Japan will benefit when the agreement comes into force, in the first full year, by being able to claim payments from Australia and Japan to which they currently do not have access. Under the agreement, Australia will treat residents of Japan as Australian residents for the purposes of claiming and qualifying for an Australian pension. Periods of coverage in Japan will count as periods of residence in Australia.

The social security agreement with the Hellenic Republic will improve income support for people who have lived in Australia and Greece, allowing age pensioners who live in either country to claim a pension from either Australia or Greece. As honourable members will be aware, the Greek presence in Australia is large. In March 2007, the Australian government was paying the age pension to almost 57,000 Greek-born pensioners. As at 26 June 2007, there were more than 5,700 Australian residents of Greece, not necessarily Greek-born, receiving the Australian age pension. It is estimated that approximately 50,000 people residing in Australia and Greece will benefit under this agreement by being able to claim payments from Australia and Greece to which they currently do not have access.

For the first time, many former Australian residents already living permanently in Greece without the Australian age pension will be able to claim the age pension upon commencement of the agreement. The agreement will provide access to Australian and Greek retirement benefits and greater portability of these benefits between the two countries. Portability of benefits allows for the payment of a benefit from one country to another. Enhanced access to benefits is an underlying principle of bilateral social security agreements where the responsibility for providing benefits is shared. Under the agreement, residents of Australia and Greece will be able to move between Australia and Greece with the knowledge that their right to benefits is recognised in both countries.

Double coverage provisions are also included in the agreement to ensure that Australian and Greek employers do not need to make compulsory superannuation contributions into both countries’ systems when an employee is seconded to work in the other country temporarily. Under current arrangements, the employer would be required to make contributions under both Australian and Greek legislation. The agreement will provide that, generally, where compulsory contributions are required, the employer and the employee need to contribute only to the relevant superannuation scheme in their home country. At the same time, the agreement will mean many Greek-Australians living in Australia will be able to claim a Greek pension.

The committee also considered an agreement with the Philippines concerning the status of visiting forces. Under this agreement, Australian Defence Force personnel in the Philippines and armed forces of the Philippines personnel in Australia will be afforded the same rights. The agreement sets the legal framework, rights, responsibilities and procedures between the visiting forces and the host government on several matters, including what occurs in the event that a criminal act is committed by a member of the visiting force, the circumstances in which a uniform is worn, taxation and customs relief, environmental protection requirements, immigration procedures and liability issues. The agreement will not authorise either country to deploy troops or conduct operations in the other’s territory but will establish the status of such forces when Australia and the Philippines arrange to send and receive forces to the other country.

The committee has found all three of the treaties tabled on 7 August 2007 to be in Australia’s national interest and recommends that binding treaty action be taken. However, the committee tabled its recommendation in relation to the social security agreement with Greece in Report 88 to allow implementation to proceed as quickly as possible.

I also take this opportunity to thank James Rees and his staff in the secretariat for the magnificent work they have done for the committee over the last three years and prior to that time as well. They really have done an outstanding job in getting these treaties processed and brought before the parliament. I also thank other members of the committee, in particular the chair, Andrew Southcott, the member for Boothby. We have had a great working relationship and I look forward to that continuing in the future. Other members of the committee have also put in a magnificent effort in taking evidence and helping assist in the preparation of reports. I commend the report to the House.

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