Rex Patrick (SA, Centre Alliance) Share this | Hansard source

I want to go back to the matter that has been raised. I want to clarify for the chamber that the matter I was referring to is actually a matter being raised under the Australia-US Free Trade Agreement. They are exercising a right to not be treated any differently to another nation that may well have an ISDS right. So that's the controversy. I just wanted to clear that up. But I do want to ask a question. No doubt as you diligently went through the negotiations—and I understand that you say that the position of the government was to support ISDS—when you got to those provisions you would have worked through those provisions. At that point in time, was the negotiating team aware of what New Zealand was doing in respect of the side letters that they were having written up?