Penny Wong (SA, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs) Share this | Hansard source

I'm not going to comment on an individual, and, I'm sorry; I don't actually know what detail you're referring to. But I would make this point: the ISDS clause that I referenced in the Hong Kong agreement was used by tobacco companies to try and take legal action against an Australian government for plain packaging. I think that demonstrates, amongst other things, the concerns that many in the Australian community have about those sorts of provisions in these trade agreements—that they obviate or constrain a country's sovereignty. We in government have said that we won't be doing trade agreements with those clauses in them, and we will be going through a process of trying to improve or remove those agreements which have those clauses.