Kelvin Thomson (Wills, Australian Labor Party) Share this | Link to this | Hansard source

On behalf of the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties, I present the committee’s report, incorporating a dissenting report and supplementary remarks, entitled Report 95: Treaties tabled on 4 June, 17 June, 25 June and 26 August 2008.

Ordered that the report be made a parliamentary paper.

by leave—The report reviews 12 treaty actions, including:

• the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities;
• the Australia-Chile Free Trade Agreement;
• the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women;
• an agreement with the EU on transferring air carriers’ passenger name record data to the Australian Customs Service;
• agreements on Defence cooperation with France and the United Arab Emirates; and
• six other treaty actions which are more technical in nature.

In each case the committee has supported the proposed agreements and recommended that binding treaty action be taken. However, we have made additional recommendations on the Australia-Chile Free Trade Agreement; the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; and the agreement on Defence cooperation with the United Arab Emirates. The additional recommendations are made because the treaties committee in this parliament is not simply acting as a rubber stamp, but rather seeking to ensure that Australia’s treaty-making protects, and where possible advances, human rights, labour rights and the protection of the environment.

The Australia-Chile Free Trade Agreement will remove most barriers to Australia’s exports of goods to Chile, and provide economic integration for markets through commitments in a range of areas, including trade in services, investment, government procurement, intellectual property, electronic commerce and competition policy. Horticulture Australia has expressed concern about the potential impact of the free trade agreement on their industries, including the risk of added pressure from Chile for Australia to weaken our biosecurity measures or to expedite Chilean requests for biosecurity assessments. The trade union movement has expressed concern that short-term labour movements from Chile under Australia’s 457 visa conditions, which have attracted controversy and are currently under review, could be locked in by the free trade agreement.

To address these concerns we have recommended that the department undertake and publish a review of the operation of the agreement, no later than two years after its commencement, to assess the ongoing relevance of the concerns expressed. Furthermore, we have recommended that the government, before commencing negotiations for any future trade agreement, should table in parliament a document setting out its priorities and objectives. The document should include independent assessments of the costs and benefits. Such assessments should consider the economic, regional, social, cultural, regulatory and environmental impacts which are expected to arise. I believe that such an arrangement would improve transparency in trade agreement negotiations and address a number of concerns which were expressed by witnesses to this inquiry, who feel that we get presented with a fait accompli when it comes to trade agreements.

The committee heard evidence that, while the Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement contains chapters that refer to ILO and UN standards on labour rights and the environment, this agreement does not, and that environmental and labour standards in the Australia-United States Free Trade Agreement were inserted at the insistence of the United States. During a hearing I asked DFAT’s Trade Development Assistant Secretary whether we had an objection to ILO conventions such as the abolition of child labour being included in free trade agreements, and she said, ‘It is not our preferred position that they be included.’ I think the government can expect that the question of relevant ILO conventions in future free trade agreements will be the subject of detailed scrutiny.

Earlier this year the committee recommended that binding treaty action be taken on the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. We undertook to produce a more detailed report outlining the scope of our inquiry into the convention and our conclusions. This report contains the committee’s additional findings in relation to the convention. It is our view that the convention will help protect the rights of all people with disabilities and promote respect for their inherent dignity. The convention reflects protections already existing under Australia’s domestic laws and has received widespread support. However, taking into account the concerns of witnesses, the committee has made some additional recommendations.

The committee recommends that the government consider expanding the role of the Human Rights and Equal Opportunity Commissioner to enable the commissioner to provide parliament with an annual report on compliance with the convention. We also recommend that a review be carried out of the relevant provisions of the Migration Act and the administration of migration policy to ensure that there is no discrimination against persons with disabilities in breach of the convention.

The Treaty on Defence Cooperation between Australia and the United Arab Emirates is designed to promote cooperation in a range of fields, including military training and education, joint military exercises, defence materiel and equipment, security and defence policy and protection from weapons of mass destruction. The committee supports this agreement. However, the UAE imposes the death penalty for certain serious criminal offences and, in evidence to us, it was noted that Australian service personnel could potentially be subject to the death penalty if convicted of such offences during their posting. The committee has recommended that in any further arrangements which are to be made for the exchange of defence personnel the government seek to ensure that Australian personnel are protected from corporal or capital punishment under UAE law.

A majority of the committee is pleased to support Australia’s accession to the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women. As a party to the optional protocol, Australia will recognise the competence of the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women to consider complaints about alleged violations of Australia’s obligations under the convention. It is important to stress that a complaint could only be made to the committee once all domestic legal avenues are exhausted, and such recommendations that the committee might make will not be binding on Australia.

Liberal and National Party members do not support this optional protocol and have issued a dissenting report. This reflects poorly on their commitment to ensuring women are not discriminated against. It is another example of their ongoing snobbery concerning the United Nations, which manifested itself most seriously in recent years in their blunders over Iraq and over the United Nations Kyoto protocol on climate change. This ongoing snobbery is unfortunate. Back in 1945, Australia played a key role in setting up the United Nations, and it remains the only truly global organisation, playing a critical role in meeting global challenges.

This report reviews 12 proposed treaty actions in total. It has been a substantial undertaking, and I thank my colleagues on the committee and the treaties secretariat for their diligence. I thank the numerous agencies and individuals who gave evidence. I commend the report to the House and I move:

That the House take note of the report.

Debate adjourned.