Stuart Robert (Fadden, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On behalf of the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties, I present the following reports: Report 176: Air Force Training—Singapore; Deployment of Personnel—Solomon Islands; Space Tracking—USA, and Report 177: Extradition Jordan; Mutual Legal Assistance—Jordan, incorporating dissenting reports.

Reports made a parliamentary paper in accordance with standing order 39(e).

by leave—Today I rise to make a brief statement concerning the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties' Reports 176 and 177. Report 176 contains the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties' review of three treaty actions: an agreement to continue support for the Singapore Air Force Flying Training Institute to continue to use the RAAF Base at Pearce in Western Australia; an agreement with the Solomon Islands to support the deployment of Australian personnel to the Islands in the event of need; and an agreement with the United States regarding continued support for America's space program.

The agreement with Singapore replaces an existing Memorandum of Understanding and will provide a legal framework to support the continuing operation of Singapore's Flying Training Institute in Australia. The institute has been a central element of Australia's defence relationship with Singapore for almost a quarter of a century. This agreement will allow Singapore to continue flight training at the RAAF Base Pearce into the future.

We note that the significant Royal Singapore Air Force presence at RAAF Base Pearce provides economic benefits to businesses in the area and that the community are supportive of the arrangements. We have a significant history of bilateral relations with Singapore and concluded the Comprehensive Strategic Partnership with them in 2015. Indeed, the foreign minister—the trade minister at the time, Andrew Robb—and I were the ones who concluded the comprehensive strategic partnership with them in 2015.

This agreement further demonstrates our commitment to that partnership and the ongoing wider bilateral relationship, which is a relationship of profound importance to our nation, our national security, and especially to my Liberal-Nationals colleagues in the north of our great country.

The agreement between Australia and the Solomon Islands enables the Australian Federal Police and the Australian Defence Force to deploy rapidly and effectively in the event of any emergency. Of course, this could happen only at the request of the Solomon Islands government.

For 14 years, from 2003, Australia led the RAMSI mission to help stabilise the country after a period of unrest. RAMSI concluded on 30 June 2017, and this nation can be extraordinarily proud of what our Australian Defence Force personnel did, ably assisted by the AFP—and I believe one firey was engaged in that theatre—over those 13 years. It was an extraordinary effort, with the bulk of the heavy lifting being done by the Australian Army Reserve. That speaks volumes of our Reserve capability and our ability to surge in times of crisis and in times of requiring support and troop commitment on multiple fronts.

Whilst RAMSI was extraordinarily successful, the Solomon Islands still faces many development challenges. This agreement will allow Australia to provide ongoing support, helping to build long-term stability and enduring growth. The region has a long way to go. Back in 1988 I was privileged to be on the second contingent in rotation to Bougainville during that horrible civil war that saw something like 20,000 Bougainvilleans slaughtered at the hands of, literally, their neighbour. That is on the border of the Solomons in what is called the New Solomon Province. As they move towards decisions on where their future will go, it simply speaks of the challenges that this region and this area has. And can I say, Australia acquitted itself magnificently over more than a decade in Bougainville at the time—another successful mission in an area that we should be extraordinarily proud of.

We note the importance of stability in the region to Australia's security. We heard about the concerns of Solomon Islanders regarding the conclusion of the RAMSI mission and the withdrawal of its personnel, particularly Australian Defence Force and police personnel. We were assured that the negotiation of this new agreement has gone some way to allaying those fears, and we've been told that it has the wide support of Solomon Islanders. I have seen nothing to show that that support is not wide and deep, and recent visits from Australian senior personnel have reinforced that view.

The agreement between Australia and the United States for space vehicle tracking and communications facilities consolidates an existing arrangement that's been in effect since 1960. We've all seen the movie The Dish; we've seen the game of cricket played atop. But we note not just the great Australian actors—who can forget the lemon!—but, more importantly, the significance that Australian facilities and Australian personnel have contributed to the US and global space mission. Therefore Australia's vital support for this space program is well recognised, not just in the House but also in business, in industry and indeed in the great arts in Australia. We need to continue to support these arrangements. Facilities including Canberra's Deep Space Communication Complex at Tidbinbilla have provided support for missions, including the rover Curiosity's exploration of the surface of Mars, the Cassini mission to Saturn and the Hubble Space Telescope. These are extraordinary ventures into space that have expanded mankind's knowledge of what lies beyond.

The agreement allows for the ongoing collaboration to continue for another 25 years. This is a longstanding agreement. It is with one of our oldest friends, the United States of America, and I'm particularly proud that our committee secured that in such a short amount of time.

The committee recommends that binding action be taken for all these three agreements.

Finally, the report also contains the committee's review of five minor treaty actions. Those are somewhat perfunctory and of course are well supported by the committee.

The second report being tabled today, report 177, contains the committee's review of the proposed extradition and mutual legal assistance treaties with Jordan.

The committee has a history of supporting extradition and mutual legal assistance treaties, and has recommended that the two treaties being considered here be ratified. Indeed, for those in the House, you'd be aware that we have an Extradition Act that oversees all of the treaties that are being considered when it comes to extradition. That act provides substantial powers for the responsible minister to reject requests for extradition on a raft and range of reasons. The extradition treaty we're talking about here with Jordan brings to a total number of some 40 extradition treaties that have been built around this act.

The committee has made two further recommendations and a suggestion to address matters raised during the inquiry. The reason we've made these is we believe we can strengthen how we report on and how we respond to extradition requests. I've ensured that what we're recommending is entirely consistent with what the committee has recommended not just in my two-year tenure as the chair but also going back to what other committees from both sides, chaired by both sides over numerous governments, have also sought to recommend.

We have sought to build on the 2010 decision by the then Labor government, which provided a degree of reporting which was to appear every year in the Attorney-General's annual report on exactly how many Australians may well be incarcerated overseas. We believe there is an opportunity to build on that work that was put in place in 2010.

Firstly, the committee recommends that Australia and Jordan negotiate a less-than-treaty-level agreement setting out how the extradition treaty will apply if Australia seeks the return of Australian foreign fighters transiting through Jordan from Iraq and Syria. This is a recommendation we've put forward, notwithstanding that, as stated today, we are recommending that the treaty be ratified. We're recommending a further less-than-treaty-level agreement setting out how the treaty will apply if Australia seeks the return of Australian foreign fighters that are transiting through Jordan from Iraq and Syria.

We believe the less-than-treaty-level agreement will prevent complications arising from the extraterritorial nature of foreign fighter offences. The issue of extraterritorial fighters and how fighters who are captured in one country while fighting in another, we think, is vexed, and there is a recommendation here to make the issue firmly established in law.

Secondly, the committee recommends an expansion of monitoring arrangements for Australian residents who have been extradited. That expansion is to build on the 2010 institute, where reports were added for the Attorney-General in their annual report every year. We believe there's an opportunity to build on that and provide more information.

The committee feels that monitoring extradited Australian residents contributes to public trust in the extradition process by minimising any possibility that extradited Australian residents would be subject to any cruel or inhuman treatment.

Finally, the committee suggests that, in relation to extradition decisions for persons who may be tried by Jordan's State Security Court, the Attorney-General's Department advise the relevant minister that this court may not be fully independent. Having put forward these extra recommendations, can I say that the committee is pleased with the steps that Jordan is taking in dealing with its judicial system. We're exceptionally pleased with the very strong relationship Australia has with Jordan and we're very pleased to be taking this next step with Jordan in terms of extradition. The committee believes that the recommendations we have put forward are important and necessary. We commend them to the government.

On behalf of the committee, I commend the reports to the House. I'm thankful and grateful for the support we were given by multiple government departments, and the committee is very pleased to be able to support the recommendations and the treaties.