Andrew Bragg (NSW, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak about the Timor Sea Maritime Boundaries Treaty Consequential Amendments Bill 2019 and related bills. The coalition has a fantastic record when it comes to trade and foreign policy. In fact, I would argue that the last six years of coalition government, which have seen us complete very significant trade and investment agreements, is a golden age in trade and foreign policy in Australia.

When we came to government in 2013, Labor had been unable to resolve trade agreements with Japan and with China. We were able to deliver those two agreements, as well as one with Korea, and subsequently with Indonesia, Hong Kong and the list goes on. At the same time, we've been able to work with our foreign counterparts and deliver the Trans-Pacific Partnership. This occurred after many people, including the Labor leader at the time, said that we ought to give up on trying to conclude the Trans-Pacific Partnership, because the President of the United States had walked away from it. We've been able to land a good strong grouping of bilateral agreements in our own region as well as multilateral or, as they say in trade talk, plurilateral agreements, like the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

One of the outstanding issues has been how we resolve petroleum arrangements with East Timor. This agreement effectively gives us a roadmap for dealing with Timor-Leste, I should say.

Our record here on Timor-Leste, as a nation and with a bipartisan political approach, has been very strong. People would recall that the Governor-General, when he was a general in the Army, led the INTERFET troops into Timor-Leste in 1999, when Indonesia and Timor-Leste had had some disagreements. We now see an independent Timor-Leste, and this milestone is a very important one. The former foreign minister, Julie Bishop, was able to agree with Timor-Leste in March 2018 on a way forward for these important resources for East Timor.

Effectively, what these bills do is establish permanent boundaries between Australia and Timor-Leste, and these are important for providing legal certainty. Anyone who has ever spent a day working in private enterprise knows that you need to have legal certainty if you want to have any private investment. Private investment is the only way you actually create jobs, because it's private businesses that invest in people's ideas, if you like, and then that results in jobs. Legal certainty is very important. That's why—as a nation like Australia, which has relied upon foreign investment since the First Fleet—we obviously regard that as a very important outworking.

What this provides is tax and regulatory certainty for Australia, for Timor-Leste and for the private sector companies. I understand that those companies have been consulted with very heavily by the minister and his department in the development of this treaty. My understanding is that everyone is broadly happy, which is quite remarkable in these fields of foreign relations, trade and taxation. That's certainly a very good sign. These bills have been considered by parliamentary committees, which have given the green light that they should proceed. I understand there is also bipartisan support for these measures, which is always good in the area of foreign affairs and trade. We always look to see bipartisanship, because we want to present a stable appearance of Australia to the outside world. We only hope that our opponents do better in the future in landing trade agreements.

Obviously, as a nation that is very exposed to the outside world, Australia relies upon a strong region for our prosperity and for our stability and security. It has often been said that a strong Timor-Leste is an integral part of a strong Australia and a strong Pacific. We would certainly regard landing this agreement as a very important ingredient in having some certainty within Timor-Leste, in terms of their economy and in terms of their social stability, that this has now been resolved after some years of consternation.

More broadly, we have sought to step up our efforts in the Pacific and in our region, because we know that it's critical to have strong states, strong partners and strong allies. We want to see all of our friends in the Pacific regarding Australia as a friend. In the case of Timor-Leste, we have certainly proven ourselves as a good friend both militarily over the long run but also now in terms of having resolved this very important issue for Timor-Leste, which has been a longstanding point of consternation in that nation. The government of Timor-Leste is the other important party here, alongside the Australian government and also the private sector. The representative of Timor-Leste has said that it's a good treaty and that it is 'equitable and forward-looking'. That's pretty good, I would have thought, as an endorsement from Timor-Leste.

As I said before, the government and the minister have been able to agree on a good framework here. This would be considered an important milestone for Timor-Leste and Australian relations. It does, as I said before assure the private sector that there is certainty. I think that bodes well, not only for existing investments but also for future investments. This bill should lay a framework that people feel they can invest in. In the long run it is really only the existence of private investment that will provide job creation and prosperity, not only here but in Timor-Leste.

Beyond just the bilateral groupings here—Australia and Timor-Leste—the United Nations has also indicated that this is a good framework. In fact, this historic treaty was signed at the United Nations, in the presence of the United Nations Secretary-General and the chair of their conciliation commission. You certainly couldn't ask for better than that as far as a treaty goes. Many have said that international law is not always effective. But certainly when both affected parties say that this is a good deal, and the private sector companies are also saying it is a good and a fair deal, and on top of that you get the trifecta of having the United Nations Secretary-General, no less, saying that this is a good thing, I think that's a pretty strong trifecta. So, if anyone was worried about the processes, hopefully they would be assured that all three groups were happy.

We have a growing economic relationship with Timor-Leste. In 2018, two-way merchandise trade between Australia and Timor-Leste was worth around $21 million, and our exports were around $20 million. Primarily we were exporting vehicles, and we have been importing mainly coffee from Timor-Leste. I assume that most of that goes down to Melbourne, where I'm told they have quite good coffee! As I said, this is certainly a good deal, and I think all the groups are very satisfied. So, I certainly commend this bill to the Senate.