George Brandis (Queensland, Liberal Party, Shadow Attorney-General) Share this | Hansard source

(Quorum formed) The coalition supports the Criminal Code Amendment (Cluster Munitions Prohibition) Bill 2010 as another positive step in encouraging the action initiated by the Howard government. Australia was one of the original signatories to the Convention on the Prohibition of the Use, Stockpiling, Production and Transfer of Anti-Personnel Mines and on Their Destruction. In 1998, the Australian parliament gave effect to the mine ban convention which required the Australian Defence Force to destroy Australia's stockpile of antipersonnel landmines, and the Howard government took this step several years before the necessary deadline. The Howard government also supported these initiatives with funding of $100 million over 10 years. This was backed up in 2005 with a further $75 million over five years.

The coalition believes that the Criminal Code Amendment (Cluster Munitions Prohibition) Bill 2010 is another positive step in continuing the action initiated by the Howard government. We welcome the fact that the Australian government was among the initial signatories to the convention on cluster munitions in Oslo in 2008. On 18 November 2009, the member for Curtin, the Hon. Julie Bishop, stated the coalition's support for the prompt ratification of the convention. The convention, she said:

… will expand international efforts to reduce the harmful impacts of explosives on civilians. It will also help promote the development of those countries worst affected, many of which are in our region. … It is a sad reality that the region in which Australia finds itself has fallen victim to the scourge of landmines and unexploded ordnance. Areas that could be used for agricultural or commercial activity, for example, continue to lie unused.

The coalition is pleased to note that the current bill addresses the concerns raised by the Department of Defence and the recommendations of the Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade in its inquiry into the prohibition of cluster munitions. That inquiry took place in 2006.

It is crucial to our long-term national security interests and to the safety of Australian Defence Force personnel that we maintain the right to retain or acquire a limited number of munitions for the development of and training in cluster munition detection, clearance or destruction techniques, or the development of cluster munition countermeasures. Importantly, the bill also protects Australia's right to engage in joint military operations with non-state parties.

The coalition supported this bill in the House of Representatives. We do not plan to seek amendments in the Senate. The Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee recommended that the bill be passed. The government's submission to the inquiry stated that the bill was consistent with the earlier recommendations of the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties.

I note that the Greens propose amendments to the bill in the belief that the bill does not reflect the spirit of the convention. In 2006, the Greens and Democrats co-sponsored the Cluster Munitions (Prohibition) Bill 2006 to prevent ADF members from deploying cluster munitions. It was referred to the Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade, which recommended that the bill not be passed—that is, the Greens-Democrat bill. In its submission to the committee concerning that bill, the Department of Defence noted, 'If enacted, the Greens bill will put Australia at a serious military disadvantage in future conflicts which would be detrimental to our national interest.'

It is the coalition's view that the bill now before the Senate addresses these concerns and that the purpose of the present bill would be substantially thwarted were the Greens amendments to be passed. For these reasons, the coalition support the bill and will oppose the proposed amendments.