Simon Birmingham (SA, Liberal Party, Shadow Parliamentary Secretary for the Murray Darling Basin) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

I present the 124th report of the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties on treaties tabled on 22 November 2011 and 7 February 2012, and move:

That the Senate take note of the report.

It is a pleasure to present this report. It covers a series of treaties tabled on 22 November and 7 February. One of the more important treaties covered is the Agreement between the European Union and Australia on the Processing and Transfer of Passenger Name Record (PNR) Data by Air Carriers to the Australian Customs and Border Protection Service, done at Brussels on 29 September 2011. It is a bit of a mouthful in title, but it is an important agreement and it provides the legal basis and framework required by the European Union under its data protection laws to allow for the transfer of passenger name record data to Australia. This type of data is information relating to passenger records processed in the EU by air carriers, including the travel requirements of passengers, their date of reservation, their date of intended travel, their names, their contact details, their payment information and the like.

Negotiation is necessary to have an agreement with the EU, and such an agreement is a prerequisite for the release by the EU of this type of personal information to other jurisdictions, and reflects the high standard of protection of personal information and privacy rights held by the EU. This agreement, which I note was signed by our ambassador to the European Union, Brendan Nelson, a former distinguished leader of our party and member of the other place. This agreement delivers for the sharing of this information, which is vitally important to strengthen our customs and border protection measures. Analysis of such data plays a critical role in the identification of persons of interest when combating, in particular, transnational crimes. Therefore, the committee strongly welcomes the agreement.

We thank, on behalf of the parliament, the EU for their cooperation in the negotiation of this agreement and for their commitment to ensure that it is able to come into operation with Australia and to provide Australian authorities with this vital information and passenger data that assists in these types of monitoring activities. Without this type of agreement, our customs and border protection in Australia would be at risk of breaching EU law, yet the failure to furnish such information could expose an information gap that could be exploited by people wishing to enter Australia without detection. It is very important that this agreement was achieved and that it is entered into.

The committee knows there is a need to balance the needs of government agencies like Customs and Border Protection with the need for personal privacy, but we are confident that the processes here achieve that, and we note that they have been scrutinised not just by the Australian parliament but also by the European parliament to provide satisfaction that that is the case.

This report also canvasses a few other matters, specifically some amendments to the MARPOL treaty, which relate to the prevention of air pollution from ships. This will be a particularly important measure to ensure that in international shipping there is a reduction in greenhouse gas emissions over the future. There is also a protocol amending the Agreement between the Government of Australia and the. Government of the Republic of India for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Income, one of many important agreements that Australia has with other countries to ensure equitable, effective and fair treatment in our tax system for individuals who operate across multiple jurisdictions in particular. There are also some minor changes to the Rotterdam Convention on the Prior Informed Consent Procedure for Certain Hazardous Chemicals and Pesticides in International Trade.

The committee has concluded that all of these treaties covered in report 124 should be supported with binding action. On behalf of the committee I commend the report to the Senate.

Question agreed to.