Helen Polley (Tasmania, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On behalf of the Joint Standing Committee on Trade and Investment Growth, I present the report of the committee on the inquiry into the Australian government's approach to negotiating trade and investment agreements. I move:

That the Senate take note of the report.

I want to make some comments if I can. I rise, as I said, to table the interim report for the Joint Standing Committee on Trade and Investment Growth inquiry into the Australian government's approach to negotiating trade and investment agreements. My good friend, the member for Adelaide, Mr Steve Georganas, was the chair of this committee, and I am delighted to be able to table that report. He did the same thing in the other place.

Australia is a trading nation with a strong record of participation in the global rules based trading system. Australia has an extensive framework of bilateral and regional trade and investment agreements. Australia's agreements reduce barriers to international trade and investment, creating well-paid and secure jobs and improving our economic standards in Australia's standard of living as well as our overall economic resilience as a country and as a global trading partner. Australia's approach to negotiating trade and investment agreements, led by the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, has served us well over many decades. This inquiry is examining how Australia can strengthen its approach to build on our success and ensure the greatest benefits for all Australians.

Throughout the inquiry to date, the committee has heard about the immense benefits of Australia's participation in international trade as well as the need to consider how the benefits are shared across the community and the potential effect of these agreements on a wide range of stakeholders. While Australia's approach to negotiating trade agreements has served us well, as agreements become more complex, it's important to ensure that the level of transparency, accountability and oversight in the process is appropriate to the potential impacts of agreements on stakeholders, the public, policy and lawmaking. The committee has been particularly drawn to evidence outlining how more transparent consultation and engagement processes to better understand the impact of agreements on stakeholders and to utilise their insight and expertise can assist us to avoid unintended consequences and improve negotiation outcomes.

The five recommendations made in this interim report focus on strengthening Australia's approach to negotiating trade and investment agreements by improving transparency, accountability and oversight. These measures will contribute to better trade negotiation outcomes for Australia and ensure that agreements are of the greatest benefit to the community. These include establishing a tripartisan trade advisory committee across business, trade unions and civil society to achieve a better balance between transparency and confidentiality in negotiations to enable in-depth and informed feedback to government; codifying the practice of publishing information outlining negotiation aims and objectives for all future trade and investment agreement negotiations; considering adopting a practice in the negotiation of agreements to provide transparency and information to stakeholders and the public equivalent to the information provided by other parties; ensuring relevant parliamentary committees have oversight of the development of trade and investment agreements through regular briefings on the status and progress of agreements; and undertaking periodic independent reviews of agreements to ensure that they're operating as intended and achieving the expected benefit.

In closing, I thank the business community, unions, industry bodies, government agencies, community groups and academics who provided written submissions and appeared at public hearings for this inquiry. I also thank the committee secretary for their work and my fellow committee members for their participation and valuable contribution during these inquiries. Again, I want to place on record my thanks to Steve Georganas for his leadership as the chair of this important parliamentary joint committee. The committee will continue to explore the extensive evidence received during the inquiry to date and provide its final report in due course.

I commend the interim report to the chamber. I seek leave to continue my remarks later.

Leave granted; debate adjourned.