Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Hansard source

The opposition warmly welcomes the tabling of the Treaty Between Australia and the Democratic Republic of Timor-Leste Establishing Their Maritime Boundaries in the Timor Sea. This treaty establishes a maritime boundary in the Timor Sea that settles more than 40 years of uncertainty over our shared maritime border.

The resolution of this dispute with Timor-Leste vindicates the strong position taken by Labor two years ago, when I urged a speedy resolution to this matter. As I said to the National Press Club in February 2016:

If we want to insist that other nations play by the rules, we also need to adhere to them.

Australia has a good record of acting in defence of this system, but not a flawless one.

Timor-Leste suffered decades of war and starvation before gaining independence. Australia played a key role in securing that independence …

It was a proud moment for many Australians, and I should mention now the role of the member for Solomon in that proud time for Australia. I also said in February 2016:

The maritime boundary dispute has poisoned relations with our newest neighbour.

This must change.

For their sake, and for ours.

The dispute put a strain on our bilateral relationship with Timor-Leste that was as unnecessary as it was prolonged. Labor also acknowledges that this treaty is a landmark with respect to both compulsory conciliation under the 1982 United Nations Law of the Sea Convention and the effectiveness of the rules based system under which the international community operates. Labor has long been committed to multilateralism and a rules based international system. We are strongly of the view that all nations benefit from acting in accordance with international norms.

Labor congratulates the independent conciliation commission on its work in bringing this matter to a successful conclusion. It's a reassuring development that the work of the conciliation commission was supported by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague. With our strong emphasis on constructive internationalism, Labor has long sought to draw upon the technical, scientific and legal skills of experts to provide objectivity to the resolution of such disputes.

Now, of course, we need to proceed with the business of developing the Greater Sunrise gas field to the benefit of both Timor-Leste and Australia. The maritime boundary treaty is a necessary first step because it settles any uncertainty concerning the rights of both Timor-Leste and Australia as coastal states. The task now is for the joint venture companies to chart a commercially viable course to the development of Greater Sunrise and the exploitation of gas reserves in a way that is economically and environmentally efficient. Labor's pleased that the treaty's transitional arrangements will provide certainty and security to the stakeholders. It is important that the joint venture partners continue their consultations with the government as legislation to implement this treaty is prepared

Turning now to the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. As the opposition leader has previously said, if this agreement is good for jobs and good for Australia, then we'll support it. But, of course, this is a different agreement to the one signed in New Zealand in 2016. It has a new name: the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. It no longer has the TPP's largest signatory, the United States. It now captures just 13.5 per cent of the world's GDP and 15.3 per cent of world trade. The previous agreement, including the United States, captured 40 per cent of the world's GDP. The new agreement also suspends a number of articles of the original Trans-Pacific Partnership agreement, in particular some of the more contentious clauses negotiated by the United States, such as those covering biologics and copyright. It also includes a number of new side letters. I note, for example, that New Zealand was able to secure side letters with Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, Peru and Vietnam, which mean that compulsory ISDS will not apply between New Zealand and these countries.

The agreement will be considered by the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties, which will invite written submissions, hold public hearings and consult with stakeholder groups. It will make a report to the parliament as to whether this agreement is in Australia's best interests. We on this side of the chamber look forward to participating in that work. We note the increase in market access for Australian farmers—for example, beef, cheese, rice and sugar into Japan, and rice and beef into Mexico. I hope that the elimination of 98 per cent of tariffs in the CPTPP region will lead to more Australian exports and more Australian jobs.

There are things in this agreement that Labor would not have agreed to. We would not have agreed to waive labour market testing for six countries, which would allow companies to bring in workers from overseas before checking if there is an Australian who can do the job. Labor doesn't believe that's fair and will seek to fix this in government. Labor also does not support the inclusion of ISDS provisions and would not seek to include them if we were in government. We would have also submitted the entire agreement to independent modelling, so that the public, the parliament and the committee would have been properly able to understand what impact this agreement will have. The government hasn't done this, despite its being recommended by the Australian chamber of commerce, the government's own Harper review and the Productivity Commission, as well as Liberal Party members of the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties. If we want to build public confidence in trade, we can't rely on rhetoric. We actually have to provide evidence that agreements like this one will benefit Australian workers by creating jobs and benefit Australian consumers by lowering the cost of goods.

We're also concerned that there's been no independent analysis undertaken of the Peru-Australia Free Trade Agreement. Labor would do that; we will do it. We urge the government to do it for this and for other future trade deals. Peru is currently Australia's 53rd-largest trading partner. I went to Peru at the beginning of 2017, and I very much enjoyed my trip there. I think there's great capacity for closer relations between our nations.

Labor supports high-quality trade deals that benefit Australian workers, farmers and businesses. Australia is a trading nation, and we hope that this agreement will lead to more Australian jobs and to more Australian exports.

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