James Stevens (Sturt, Liberal Party) Share this | Hansard source

I rise to speak on the second reading of the Crimes Legislation Amendment (Combatting Foreign Bribery) Bill 2023, which obviously sits within a broader framework of integrity measures that we in this parliament and in previous parliaments have, I think, a good track record of progressing.

I'd start by saying that I think we can all respect and understand that these sorts of topics require legislation to be fairly regularly refreshed and updated. Much like we've passed some other important integrity measures through the parliament in recent times—which continue to take us forward and ensure that we have a very robust framework in place in our society—thus it is the case that, with the amendment here, we are making sure that we have the most robust framework in place to make sure that Australians and/or Australian businesses are not engaging in the bribery of foreign officials. It's been a great development over recent decades that Australian companies are so deeply integrated and engaged in the global economy. I'm sure everyone in this place very much understands that it is the strong export performance of our businesses that underpins the standard of living that we have in this country and that we're all very grateful for.

There are so many businesses to be proud of that are doing great things overseas. I'm very proud to have worked for a great Australian exporting company, Michell, the wool company, established in South Australia in 1870. It's still a family business, with the sixth generation of the family in the business and the fifth generation at the helm. I spent eight years working at that business.

It was certainly the first experience that I'd had in dealing in foreign trade and international commerce, and it was extremely eye-opening. As much as you think you understand running a business and the commercial environment in your own country, once you get exposed to transactions across borders, it absolutely transforms your understanding of and your appreciation for, frankly, the structure and order and quality of the way in which the Australian economy operates. Being in the textile industry, of course, there were some particularly interesting markets that I had the privilege and pleasure to be exposed to and to work in, as I rose through the ranks of the company and then into leadership roles in some significant markets.

At that company, and in talking with compatriots engaged in selling good Aussie produce to the rest of the world, I learned a lot and heard a lot about the challenges and risks of doing business in other countries. Certainly, I'm sure there are temptations for businesses and individuals to engage in practices that sometimes are presented to them as being just, as that famous expression goes, 'part of doing business' in a particular part of the world. But we should have standards that we set for our businesses and our citizens that we expect them to be held to, not only in our own country but wherever they are and whatever they're doing around the world.

The essence of this amendment is to strengthen the legislative situation around penalties et cetera for the bribing of foreign public officials. Regrettably, those temptations are there, pretty consistently, around a lot of countries. I saw, at times, interesting behaviours and practices from some market participants and some competitors, frankly—particularly around tax avoidance and things like dubious invoices, or multiple invoices, depending on whether it was the invoice for the purposes of calculating a customs tariff, or the amount that would be declared in a particular market for the purposes of the tax that that company might pay in that market, or the actual transaction that would invariably be made into a numbered Swiss bank account or what have you. There are certainly some wild practices that occur in international trade and global commerce. But we shouldn't laugh them off or think, 'Oh, well, that's all part of doing business,' because it shouldn't be.

The important thing, when we're debating this bill, is to be aware of the fact that there isn't much strengthening framework amongst other countries. Certainly the United States have been a leader in this area; I think they were one of the first countries, or possibly the first jurisdiction, to legislate an offence in this area. We are, of course, a signatory to an important framework that sees other countries that we would expect to be in the company of, when it comes to legislation in these areas, like the United Kingdom, having similar legislative frameworks being put into place.

But I think it is also important to note in the debate, and certainly my understanding is that, whilst the offences exist, there have been very limited prosecutions or particularly successful prosecutions. Although I would hope that that was because there's almost no offending going on, regrettably it is probably more likely the case that the offending is not being captured as much as the purpose of the legislation envisaged—hence, we are here debating this bill right now. So we need to be strengthening the provisions in that act and putting stronger powers in place for the investigating agencies to make sure that we're holding Australian companies and Australian citizens to the highest standards when it comes to the way in which they do business and the conduct that they engage in when they're seeking to, through legal means, be as competitive and as successful as they possibly can be internationally.

I want to conclude by paying tribute again to the successful Australian businesses that make us so proud through the way in which they succeed around the world. There are some great ones, particularly from my home state of South Australia. I mentioned a company that I worked for, Michelle, but I'm also particularly proud to have the great Penfolds winery located in the heart of my electorate. The original Magill Estate winery is probably in the absolute middle of my electorate, and I wish part of being the local member meant better treatment from them when it comes to free produce sampling at Grange release time, but it turns out that isn't something they do for the local federal member, understandably. But I am very proud of businesses like Penfolds and Michelle.

There are so many businesses that are succeeding on the international stage and, as I say, exporting goods and services and growing our economy. We know that the vast majority—almost the entirety—of them are doing the right thing. Some of them, like Penfolds, are actually victims of practices such as the counterfeiting of their brand and their wine, which occurs unfortunately all too frequently around the world, but that's, I suppose, a backhanded compliment and indication of the esteem that that brand is held in. We want them to be successful, but we also want them not to compromise their ethics and their integrity. We should have a framework in place that ensures that we set a standard for our businesses and individuals in those businesses that doesn't tolerate practices like the bribery of foreign public officials. On that basis, I commend the bill to the House.

See this speech in context