Dave Sharma (Wentworth, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On behalf of the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties I present the following reports: Matters relating to two treaties with Hong Kong and IMF-NAB; IMF-BBA; IMF-PRGT relating to three separate treaties with the International Monetary Fund.

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

by leave—Today I am pleased to make some very brief remarks in relation to the two reports presented today. Report 190 considers matters relating to actions being taken by the Australian government, which will effectively suspend the extradition treaty with Hong Kong and the mutual legal assistance treaty with Hong Kong.

The committee was recently made aware of the actions proposed by the Australian government, and agreed to a request from the Attorney-General to consider these matters urgently. The evidence gathered by the committee established that a strong public foundation existed for the actions of the Australian government.

The committee heard that the imposition by China of its national security law in Hong Kong had fundamentally altered Hong Kong's status and raised serious concerns about the independence of the judiciary in Hong Kong, the continued application of the rule of law in Hong Kong and other fundamental principles of justice. The committee heard that this constituted a fundamental change of circumstances.

As a result, the committee unanimously endorsed the actions of the Australian government to protect the integrity of our international law enforcement arrangements and uphold the rights of our citizens by suspending these two treaties. The committee will continue to take a close interest in political developments in Hong Kong.

Regarding report 191, this considers three separate arrangements relating to Australia's commitments and involvement with the International Monetary Fund. The committee has recommended that Australia agree to the IMF reform proposals to better combat the global economic impact of COVID-19.

Report 191, released today, supports three treaties that will give the IMF access to the funds it needs to support countries dealing with the severe economic downturn that has accompanied the pandemic. Two of the treaties involve the direct transfer of a portion of Australia's commitments from the third line of defence supporting IMF lending, called bilateral loan agreements, to the IMF's second line of defence, called new arrangements to borrow. The third treaty is a commitment by Australia to the IMF's Poverty Reduction and Growth Trust. The trust is already involved in supporting the COVID-19 response in lower income countries by providing the funds needed to purchase essential medical equipment. None of the three treaties involves additional financial commitments by Australia.

COVID-19 has had a massive global economic impact, and this is being felt in Australia. For Australia's sake, we need to be doing all we can to support global economic recovery, and these reforms to the IMF will help do just that.

I'd like to acknowledge the work of the deputy chair and other members of the committee in allowing prompt consideration of these important and urgent treaty actions, and their cooperation in producing these reports in a timely manner. I commend the reports to the House.

Peter Khalil (Wills, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

[by video link] by leave—I echo the statements made by the chair of the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties, the member for Wentworth, on report 190 Matters relating to two treaties with Hong Kong. As the member for Wentworth noted, there was agreement on the report. The opposition, and myself as deputy chair, supported the government's decision to suspend the two treaties with Hong Kong, namely the Agreement for the Surrender of Accused and Convicted Persons between the Government of Australia and the Government of Hong Kong, the extradition treaty, and also the Agreement between the Government of Australia and the Government of Hong Kong concerning Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters—the MLA treaty.

It is critical that, when situations change that cause us to re-examine our treaty arrangements and their integrity, the JSCOT, the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties, is able to seek views widely and to consider the impacts before any suspensions come into effect, and I thank the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Attorney-General and the government for affording the committee the opportunity to make this examination and this inquiry possible. And thank you to all of those who made submissions and those who attended the public hearings at very short notice as well.

The substance of this is very important because, following the passage of the national security laws that eroded Hong Kong's independent legal status, there were calls for the urgent review of Australia's extradition treaty with Hong Kong. I believe the inquiry was necessary, given the need to ensure the funding and integrity of Australia's international law enforcement cooperation and our extradition frameworks for this inquiry to proceed, and for us to table this report. I thank the JSCOT chair, the member for Wentworth, and all the members of the JSCOT secretariat for their hard work and assistance.

Dave Sharma (Wentworth, Liberal Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I move:

That the House take note of reports Nos. 190 and 191.

Steve Georganas (Adelaide, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

The debate is adjourned and the resumption of the debate will be made an order of the day for the next sitting.