Andrew Southcott (Boothby, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On behalf of the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties, I present the committee’s report entitled Report 75: Treaties tabled on 11 October 2005 (2), 28 February and 28 March 2006 (2).

Ordered that the report be made a parliamentary paper.

Report 75 contains the findings and recommendations of the committee’s review of seven treaty actions tabled in parliament on 11 October 2005 and on 28 February and 28 March 2006. I will comment on all the treaties reviewed.

The Convention on the Marking of Plastic Explosives for the Purpose of Detection was drafted in response to the 1988 bombing of Pan Am flight 103 over Lockerbie, Scotland, which claimed 270 lives, and is intended to inhibit the improper and unlawful use of plastic explosives. This convention would oblige Australia to mark plastic explosives with the detection chemical DMNB, and also prohibit and prevent the manufacture and the movement into and out of its territory of unmarked plastic explosives. Upon the convention’s entry into force, Australia would be required to take necessary measures to destroy, as soon as possible, unmarked plastic explosives already manufactured.

The committee is supportive of research in the area of marking, tagging and detecting plastic explosives but remains concerned that this technology is not yet scientifically exact. However, the committee believes this convention will provide additional impetus for technological development and international technology sharing in marking and detecting plastic explosives. Further, acceding to this treaty will signify Australia’s continued commitment to combating the threat of global terrorism and serve to strengthen Australia’s reputation as an authority on counter-terrorism initiatives in the Asia-Pacific region. Accession to this convention will see Australia a party to all 13 of the United Nations conventions and protocols on terrorism.

The Exchange of Notes constituting a Treaty between the Government of Australia and the Government of the Republic of Singapore to amend the Singapore-Australia Free Trade Agreement improves access for Australian law firms in relation to joint law ventures and formal law alliances. It removes Singapore’s numerical quota on wholesale bank licences and includes Australian state and territory government reservations in a number of areas such as professional services.

The Protocol of 2003 to the International Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for Compensation for Oil Pollution Damage establishes a third tier of compensation for oil tanker spill victims where the maximum amount of compensation available under the previous two-tiered system is insufficient. By comparison, the International Convention on Civil Liability for Bunker Oil Pollution Damage establishes a liability and compensation regime for oil spill pollution from non-oil-tanker ships.

The Agreement establishing the Pacific Islands Forum will replace its predecessor agreement to give the forum international status. In addition, the forum’s secretariat will be restructured to focus on governance, security, economic growth and sustainable development in the Pacific region.

The Amendments to annexes VIII and IX of the Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal will clarify which wastes are and are not covered by the convention. Specifically, it refers to waste metal cables and, depending on their coating, indicates whether they are a hazardous material under the Basel convention. Unfortunately, these amendments entered into force on 8 October 2005 and the amendments and national interest analysis were not tabled until 28 March 2006. The Minister for the Environment and Heritage has informed the committee that there are now procedures in place to ensure such treaty actions are referred to the committee for inquiry.

The proposed Agreement between the Government of Australia and the Government of New Zealand in relation to Mutual Recognition of Securities Offerings will allow securities and managed investment interests to be offered in both Australia and New Zealand with the same offer documents. This removes one regulatory barrier for business and will lead to greater coordination of business law between Australia and New Zealand. On behalf of all members of the committee, I would like to thank the committee secretariat for their help in coordinating the public hearings, submissions and drafting of this report. I commend this report to the House.

Dick Adams (Lyons, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The report of the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties titled Report 75: Treaties tabled on 11 October 2005 (2), 28 February and 28 March 2006 (2) contains the review of seven treaty actions. The Convention on the Marking of Plastic Explosives for the Purpose of Detection would require the marking of all plastic explosives to make them more easily identifiable and detectable, with the purpose of restricting their unlawful use. The committee received evidence that the process of detecting marked plastic explosives is not precise and that over time the detection agent, DMNB, added to plastic explosives at the manufacturing stage may become less detectable. This would mean that, in the case of marked plastic explosives, the plastic explosives could therefore remain viable longer than the detection agent.

The committee initially held reservations about how DMNB would be detected at ports of entry and was informed that there is specific detection equipment in place to detect plastic explosive but that, once plastic explosives were detected, in line with international practice the explosives would be sent to a laboratory for testing in order to determine whether DMNB was present. Research is currently underway in this area. The Australian Customs Service is investigating a machine that can detect DMNB at first point of entry. The Defence Science and Technology Organisation is researching the marking of plastic explosives with a view to improving technology in this area. The committee heard that this research will be ongoing once DMNB is incorporated into the manufacture of plastic explosives. Given the events of last week, that becomes a pretty significant point in the history of our world.

The Exchange of Notes constituting a Treaty between the Government of Australia and the Government of the Republic of Singapore to amend the Singapore-Australia Free Trade Agreement makes three amendments to the Singapore-Australia Free Trade Agreement, with the effect of enhancing trade between Australia and Singapore.

The Protocol of 2003 to the International Convention on the Establishment of an International Fund for Compensation for Oil Pollution Damage creates a supplementary fund to provide additional compensation for victims of oil tanker oil spills. Additionally, the International Convention on Civil Liability for Bunker Oil Pollution Damage creates a liability and compensation framework for pollution from bunker oil spills. Bunker oil includes any hydrocarbon, mineral oil and lubricating oil used or intended to be used for the operation or propulsion of a ship.

As the Pacific region’s foremost political and economic policy organisation, the Agreement Establishing the Pacific Islands Forum provides important developments on the previous agreement and gives the organisation an international legal standing.

The amendments to the Basel convention clarify which wastes are included under the convention. Annex VIII wastes are considered hazardous and, with the amendments, now include waste cables coated or insulated with plastics containing or contaminated with coal tar, PCB, lead, cadmium and other organohalogen compounds.

Annex IX wastes are not to be considered hazardous and include waste metal cables coated or insulated with plastics not included in list A1190 under annex VIII, excluding those destined for annex IVA operations or any other disposal operations involving, at any stage, uncontrolled thermal processes, such as open burning.

The Agreement between the Government of Australia and the Government of New Zealand in relation to Mutual Recognition of Securities Offerings provides a scheme to offer securities, including shares and debentures and managed investment interests in both Australia and New Zealand, in the same manner and with the same offer documents. The agreement will remove regulatory barriers for business and allow for increased investment with New Zealand resulting in an increased choice for investors from both countries.

Phillip Barresi (Deakin, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

Does the member for Boothby wish to move a motion in connection with the report to enable it to be debated on a future occasion?

Ian Causley (Page, Deputy-Speaker) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the House take note of the report.

In accordance with standing order 39(c), the debate is adjourned. The resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for a later hour this day.