David Bushby (Tasmania, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

On behalf of the Chair of the Treaties Committee, Senator Fawcett, I present the 129th report of the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties tabled on 19 and 26 June 2012 and I seek leave to have the tabling speech incorporated in Hansard.

Leave granted.

The speech read as follows—

Mr President, today I present the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties' Report 129, which contains the Committee's views on a series of treaties which were tabled on 19 and 26 June 2012.

Mr President, one of the treaties covered in this report is the Agreement between the Government of Australia and the Government of the Republic of Singapore concerning the Location of a Republic of Singapore Air Force Helicopter Squadron at the Australian Army Aviation Centre Oakey done at Singapore on 1 June 2012.

The Agreement's purpose is to allow for continued deployment of a Republic of Singapore Air Force (RSAF) helicopter squadron at the Army Aviation Centre, Oakey (AAC), Queensland which has been ongoing since 1997. Given the lack of its own domestic training areas, Singapore greatly values its access to the AAC, and this Agreement is a major element of our contribution to the bilateral defence relationship. Access is vital to the RSAF as it enables them to develop and maintain their military capability.

Australia benefits from this arrangement as strengthening the RSAF's capability makes Singapore a more effective coalition partner and contributor to regional security.

The Australian Department of Defence has described the Singaporeans as 'model tenants' and the Department has stated that the Singaporean deployment has, for the past fifteen years, brought financial benefits to the local community. The Singaporean personnel live with their families as members of the community and contribute positively as they buy things from local businesses as well as use their services.

Apart from the indirect economic benefits, this Agreement also directly benefits Australian enterprises through access to commercial arrangements with the RSAF.

For example, the existing agreement stipulates that a minimum of two-thirds of the workforce that provides maintenance to the Singaporean helicopter fleet are to be Australians. Singapore exceeds that obligation, with approximately 90 per cent of the workforce being Australians. A commercial support estimate is conducted each year on how much maintenance support will be required. For the last two years the estimated obligation for the Singaporeans to include as Australian content has been between $11 million and $15 million and they have more than satisfied that obligation as well.

The Committee supports this Agreement and the continued positive relationship between both defence forces.

The Treaties Committee has also approved another two Tax Information Exchange Agreements — known as TIEAs — with Bahrain and Andorra.

The Committee has now reviewed a number of these TIEAs and experience has found them to be effective. The Australian Taxation Office—the ATO—has provided some tangible examples to the Committee. For example, Australia has TIEAs with the British Virgin Islands, Bermuda, the Isle of Man and Jersey. As of August 2012, fifty-three exchange of information requests were issued, of which thirty-eight have been finalised. As a result, six amended assessments to the value of $52 million were issued. ATO auditors also identified a further $127 million as potential omitted income via requests made under these TIEAs.

Furthermore, the TIEAs act as a deterrent to those individuals who would otherwise seek to minimise their taxation commitments through transfers to low-taxation jurisdictions.

Many individuals who previously used secrecy jurisdictions to avoid their tax obligations are abandoning them. For example, the ATO explained that from 2005 to 2011 there was a decrease in the entities transacting with Vanuatu from around 2,600 to about 300. Furthermore, since 2007¬08 there has been a $12 billion reduction in fund flows to thirteen high-risk secrecy jurisdictions and fund flows returning to Australia from the same secrecy jurisdictions have increased by seven per cent, or around $5 billion in the 2010-11 financial year compared to 2007-08.

It is in Australia's interest to develop its network of TIEAs with low-tax jurisdictions as it will make it harder for taxpayers to avoid or evade Australian tax.

Finally Mr President, the Committee supports the Agreement Establishing the International Fund for Agricultural Development. Ratifying this Agreement would see Australia's re-admission to that Fund.

Although most governments and many NGOs attempt to tackle global poverty and hunger, the number of people experiencing hunger seems to rise rather than fall. When the Millennium Development Goals were established around the turn of the century, there was a sense of optimism that we were going to halve the number of people who experience hunger. However, despite many efforts and all the available technology and expertise, the world appears to be making little progress.

The Fund's objective is to make available resources on concessional terms for agricultural development in developing Member States. The Fund finances projects and programmes specifically designed to introduce, expand or improve food production systems.

Australia was previously a member of the Fund, but withdrew in 2004 due to a number of factors, including questions over the Fund's efficiency and effectiveness. In 2011, AusAID conducted a comprehensive review and found that the Fund is now considered by donors and developing countries to be an increasingly effective, results-focused, value-for-money development partner. Australia will make an initial contribution of up to $120 million over four years upon re-joining the Fund and will seek a position on the Executive Board so as to have some influence in how the Fund allocates its resources.

The Committee concludes that all the treaties covered in Report 129 should be supported with binding action.

Mr President, on behalf of the Committee, I commend the report to the Senate.