Ms Julie Bishop (Curtin, Liberal Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

by leave—On 6 March at the United Nations Headquarters in New York, I signed a maritime boundary treaty with Timor-Leste, on behalf of the Australian government.

The treaty is an historic achievement for Australia and Timor-Leste. We have settled a long-running dispute, established permanent maritime boundaries, and laid the foundation for a new chapter in our relationship with one of our closest neighbours.

The treaty is also a landmark for international law and the rules based order. It was the result of the first ever compulsory conciliation under the 1982 United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea, known as UNCLOS.

It is an example of the value and importance of international law in resolving disputes and disagreements between states through peaceful negotiation. As we said in Australia's Foreign policy white paper released last year, Australia believes the international rules-based order is fundamental to our collective security and prosperity.

I signed the treaty alongside Timor-Leste's Minister in the Office of the Prime Minister for Delimitation of Borders, His Excellency Mr Hermenegildo, or Agio, Pereira. The United Nations Secretary General, His Excellency Mr Antonio Guterres, and the Chair of the United Nations Conciliation Commission, His Excellency Mr Peter Taksoe-Jensen, witnessed the treaty signing.

The Secretary-General's presence reflected the treaty's significance, both for our countries and for international law. Mr Guterres congratulated Australia and Timor-Leste for their constructive engagement in a ground-breaking conciliation.

Both countries demonstrated goodwill and preparedness to compromise during negotiations. The parties, and the independent conciliation commission, recognise the outcome is fair, balanced and consistent with international law.

The government has always ensured that the interests of Australia, Timor-Leste, and commercial partners are protected with respect to arrangements before the conciliation began and after it commenced.

I had the pleasure of hosting senior members of the Timor-Leste government and negotiating team, members of the commission, and representatives from the Greater Sunrise Joint Venture companies at a reception held on 31 January in Sydney.

In my public and private remarks to these stakeholders, I reassured them of our sincerity and desire to conclude a boundary agreement and a framework to develop Greater Sunrise in a manner which promotes the interests of all parties.

The treaty provides for both countries to jointly develop the Greater Sunrise gas fields and share in the benefits. This recognises both Australia and Timor-Leste have legitimate sovereign rights as coastal states under UNCLOS.

The conciliation commission worked extensively with the parties to broker a way forward on Greater Sunrise. We recognise that developing this resource will deliver significant benefits to Timor-Leste in particular. We look forward to collaborating with Timor-Leste as it works with the joint venture companies to find a commercially viable pathway to develop Greater Sunrise.

Australia consulted closely with companies that have offshore petroleum investments in the Timor Sea in the lead-up to signing the treaty. The treaty's transitional arrangements will ensure certainty and security for stakeholders. The government will continue to consult with these companies to give effect to transitional arrangements and as we develop implementing legislation for the treaty.

The conciliation that led to our treaty under UNCLOS's dispute resolution procedures was the first of its kind. As two democratic nations and close neighbours, our joint success through the conciliation sets a positive example for the region and the international community.

The independent conciliation commission played a vital role in supporting the negotiation of the treaty. Timor-Leste and Australia each selected two conciliation commissioners and the commissioners selected the chair. As eminent diplomats, legal scholars and jurists, the commissioners played an objective, forthright and rigorously independent role.

The Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague supported the conciliation commission, reinforcing its important role of the international legal framework to help states resolve disputes. The commission also drew on its own independent technical advice regarding the development options for Greater Sunrise.

Australia will continue to be a staunch supporter of international law, including UNCLOS and its dispute settlement processes.

Australia has an enduring interest in a stable and prosperous Timor-Leste, and the treaty opens a new chapter in our relations. As good friends and close neighbours, we support Timor-Leste's aspiration to achieve its economic potential. We have historical and geographical ties, and deep people-to-people links, which we will continue to nurture. We will continue our support for Timor-Leste's economic and human development.

While the treaty will benefit both countries, we recognise in particular its significance for Timor-Leste. The government will work to bring this treaty into force, including by preparing implementing legislation and working with Timor-Leste and the joint venture companies on transitional arrangements. The government aims to introduce the bill later this year, following review of the treaty by parliament and its committees.

I hereby table the maritime boundary treaty with Timor-Leste. I also table a copy of my ministerial statement.

I now turn to the tabling of two historic trade deals: the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership, or TPP-11; and the Peru-Australia Free Trade Agreement, along with the accompanying national interest analyses for consideration by the parliament.

The TPP-11 is a very significant trade agreement which includes Australia, Brunei Darussalam, Canada, Chile, Japan, Malaysia, Mexico, Peru, New Zealand, Singapore and Vietnam. Remarkably, the market access commitments made under the original deal which included the United States have been honoured by all TPP-11 members, and will apply among TPP-11 members.

With elimination of 98 per cent of tariffs in the TPP-11 bloc, the agreement will provide preferential access for more than A$5.5 billion of Australia's dutiable agricultural exports to TPP-11 countries. This includes expanding opportunities for industries such as beef, dairy, sugar, rice, grains, seafood, horticulture and wine. The deal will also afford new levels of market access for iron and steel products, ships, pharmaceuticals, machinery, paper and auto parts, to name but a few.

Secondly, the Peru-Australia Free Trade Agreement, or PAFTA, complements the TPP-11. As one of the fastest-growing countries in Latin America, and with a GDP similar to the size of Vietnam, Peru represents a largely untapped market for our exporters.

Under PAFTA, Peru will eliminate tariffs on 93.5 per cent of Australian goods on entry into force of the agreement and on 99.4 per cent of Australian goods within five years.

The tabling of these two agreements today is evidence that the Turnbull government is delivering on its ambitious trade and economic agenda to secure the prosperity of all Australians.

Tanya Plibersek (Sydney, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition) Share this | Link to 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.