Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Minister for Education and Training) Share this | Hansard source

I emphasise that commercial contracts must be underpinned by government-to-government level arrangements and that there be a treaty or a MOU in those circumstances. It is an IEA requirement for bilateral requirements to be put in place to ensure that there can be no impediment to the release of ticketed stock.

Senator Xenophon, in terms of the types of risk profiles or scenarios that you ask about and extrapolate the possibilities of, I can advise that the government is in discussion with 11 potential host countries. Obviously, a multiplicity of arrangements or contracts being in place would provide for a variety of ways to mitigate the types of scenarios that you've suggested were they ever to eventuate.

The bill does also allow for the Australian government to purchase tickets to be held onshore by Australian entities. Whilst the ticket market is not yet established in Australia, if there were a financial incentive for Australian entities to do so and to invest more or earlier in storage through ticketing, there is a belief that entities may begin to hold surplus stock domestically as well.