Wyatt Roy (Longman, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

On behalf of the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties I present the committee's report entitled Report 148: Treaties tabled on 10 February 2015, and I ask leave of the House to make a short statement in connection with the report.

Leave granted.

Just briefly, before I come to the report, can I use this opportunity to place on record that the committee's thoughts are very much with the deputy chair, the member for Wills, who is recovering from a pretty serious health issue. We have no doubt that he will be back stronger than ever, hopefully pretty soon.

Today I present the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties Report 148. The report contains the committee's views on two proposed treaties: the Agreement Between Australia and the Republic of India on Social Security, and amendments to the International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships.

The Agreement Between Australia and the Republic of India on Social Security is another bilateral social security agreement. These agreements aim to close gaps in social security coverage for people migrating between two countries. The agreement ensures that the responsibility for providing benefits is shared. This will make it easier for people moving between Australia and India to live or work to claim benefits, including the age pension and superannuation. Such agreements are becoming increasingly important, as growing numbers of people live and work across national boundaries. In today's mobile world, it is essential that benefits are portable and that both employers and employees are not disadvantaged. While it is important to make sure that employees receive their full entitlements, employers should not be required to pay compulsory payments in both countries simultaneously.

The International Convention for the Prevention of Pollution from Ships is the key international treaty addressing the problem of marine pollution from ships. A number of amendments have been made to the treaty to reduce the risk of marine pollution, reduce risk to the environment and reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The amendments include making it mandatory for countries that are party to the treaty to be subject to audits to make sure they are complying with the International Maritime Organisation standards. They also require stability instruments to be fitted to all oil tankers from January 2016. This will reduce the risk of maritime incidents, such as capsizing, and the consequent potential risk of serious pollution and damage to wildlife. Other amendments will streamline the measurement of nitrogen oxide emissions, contributing to the reduction of air pollutants.

The committee supports the ratification of these two treaties. On behalf of the committee I commend the report to the House.

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