Dana Wortley (SA, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On behalf of the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties, I present two reports of the committee, report No. 79, Treaties tabled on 10 May, and 5 and 6 September 2006, and report No. 80, Treaties tabled on 28 March and 5 September 2006. I move:

That the Senate take note of the reports.

I seek leave to incorporate a tabling statement in Hansard and to make comments on report No. 80.

Leave granted.

The statement read as follows—

Reports 79 and 80 contain the findings and binding treaty action recommendations of the Committee’s review of 12 treaty actions tabled in Parliament on 28 March, 10 May and 5 and 6 September 2006. The Committee found all the treaties reviewed to be in Australia’s national interest. I will comment on all the treaties reviewed.

The Mutual Assistance Treaty with China and the Mutual Assistance Treaty with Malaysia provide a formal process enabling Australia and Malaysia and Australia and China to assist each other in investigations, prosecutions and proceedings related to criminal matters. As both Malaysia and China retain the death penalty for a range of offences, the obligation to provide mutual assistance is limited by a number of internationally accepted grounds for refusal. These grounds are well recognised and are already reflected in Australia’s domestic laws. The Extradition Treaty with Malaysia provides for the surrender of an accused or convicted person between Australia and Malaysia to face criminal charges or serve a sentence and will provide a modern and effective extradition relationship between Australia and Malaysia.

The Conventions with France and Norway for the Avoidance of Double Taxation are expected to meet Australia’s most favoured nation obligations with both countries, reduce barriers to trade and investment caused by overlapping taxing jurisdictions and help prevent tax evasion.

Amendments to the Agreements with China and Japan for the Protection of Migratory Birds and Birds in Danger of Extinction and their Environment update the scientific nomenclature and add the Roseate Tern to both Agreements. Australia supported the addition of the Roseate Tern following a bird banding and colour flagging study which demonstrated that the Roseate Tern regularly and predictably migrates between the Swain Reef, Queensland and Chinese Taipei and the Swain Reef and Okinawa, Japan.

The Air Services Agreements with India and China both provide a framework for the operation of scheduled air services by designated airlines between Australia and India and Australia and China. Both Agreements improve access for Australian airlines to the international Chinese aviation market and the international Indian aviation market and include reciprocal provisions on safety, security, customs regulations and commercial matters.

Protocol V on Explosive Remnants of War to the 1980 Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons reduces the humanitarian risk posed by explosive remnants of war by obliging Contracting States to mark and clear, remove or destroy explosive remnants of war.

The Amendments to the Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement Annexes incorporate further changes to ensure compliance with changes to the Harmonized Commodity Description and Coding System that will come into effect on 1 January 2007.

The Australia-New Zealand Closer Economic Relations Trade Agreement changed the method that the two countries used to determine whether goods imported from the other country meet rules of origin requirements to be free of import duty. Late in the inquiry, the committee received evidence that an Australian based detergent manufacturer, Albright and Wilson Australia, may be negatively affected by the agreement, which would likely lead to the loss of 65 jobs at its Yarraville factory and possibly even more jobs indirectly.

As a result, opposition members have included a dissenting report. In the dissenting report, opposition members of the committee support comments included in paragraph 2.69, which states:

The Committee believes there should be ongoing negotiation between Australia and New Zealand in order for tariff line 3402.20 to be exempted from the new ROO as was done, for example, for men’s suits.

Opposition members of the committee dissented from recommendation 2 and made a new recommendation. In doing so, members note that, on balance, they recognise that the agreement will increase trade between Australia and New Zealand in a mutually beneficial way and serve to strengthen existing economic ties between the countries. However, the opposition members of the committee remain extremely concerned about the impact on jobs as a result of the change to the rules of origin in respect of the category of goods manufactured by Albright and Wilson Australia. Therefore they make a new recommendation 2:

The Committee supports the Exchange of Letters constituting an Agreement between the Government of Australia and the Government of New Zealand to amend Article 3 of the Australia New Zealand Closer Economic Relations Trade Agreement (ANZCERTA) of 28 March 1983 and recommends that:

(a) binding treaty action be taken; and

(b) negotiations between Australia and New Zealand commence immediately to secure agreement on retention of the RVC method of calculating ROO under the current ANZCERTA for tariff line 3402.20 before the Amending Agreement comes into force.

If this recommendation were accepted, it would mean that the government would then have the opportunity to negotiate before the implementation of the agreement on 1 January. So, in commending the report to the chamber, I also commend the recommendations in the dissenting report.

Question agreed to.