20th Anniversary Seminar

144 Pages·2016·5.09 MB·English

The Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia
th
20 Anniversary Seminar
Report 162

May 2016
Canberra
© Commonwealth of Australia 2016

ISBN 978-1-74366-512-1 (Printed version)
ISBN 978-1-74366-513-8 (HTML version)

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-
NoDerivs 3.0 Australia License.

The details of this licence are available on the Creative Commons
website: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/au/.
Contents

Membership of the Committee ............................................................................................................ v
Terms of reference ............................................................................................................................. vii
List of abbreviations .......................................................................................................................... viii
1 Introduction ......................................................................................................... 1
Purpose of the report ................................................................................................................ 1
Program and participants ......................................................................................................... 1
Background ............................................................................................................................... 2
2 Reflections and assessment .............................................................................. 5
Introduction ............................................................................................................................... 5
Statistics .................................................................................................................................... 6
Joint Standing Committee on Treaties .................................................................................... 8
Concerns ..................................................................................................................................... 9
Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 11
3 Overview of seminar ......................................................................................... 13
Introduction ............................................................................................................................. 13
Trade agreements ................................................................................................................... 13
Memoranda of Understanding ............................................................................................... 16
Treaties and customary international law ............................................................................. 19
Conclusion .............................................................................................................................. 23
Appendix A—Program ............................................................................................. 25
Appendix B—List of Participants ............................................................................ 27
iv

Appendix C—Transcript........................................................................................... 31
Appendix D—Reflections ......................................................................................... 97
Appendix E—Papers ................................................................................................ 99
Statistical data ......................................................................................................................... 100
Professor Andrew Byrnes ....................................................................................................... 107
Mr Bill Campbell, QC ............................................................................................................... 127
Membership of the Committee

Chair The Hon Luke Hartsuyker MP
Deputy Chair The Hon Kelvin Thomson MP
Members Mr Ken O’Dowd MP Senator Chris Back
The Hon Melissa Parke MP Senator David Fawcett
Ms Melissa Price MP Senator the Hon David Johnston
Mr Tim Watts MP Senator Sue Lines
Mr Brett Whiteley MP Senator the Hon Joe Ludwig
Mrs Lucy Wicks MP Senator Glenn Sterle
Mr Matt Williams MP Senator Peter Whish-Wilson
vi

Committee Secretariat

Secretary Lynley Ducker
Inquiry Secretary Dr Narelle McGlusky
Senior Researcher Kevin Bodel
Research Officer Belynda Zolotto
Administrative Officer Cathy Rouland
Terms of reference

The Resolution of Appointment of the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties
allows it to inquire into and report on:
a) matters arising from treaties and related National Interest Analyses and
proposed treaty actions and related Explanatory Statements presented or
deemed to be presented to the Parliament;
b) any question relating to a treaty or other international instrument, whether
or not negotiated to completion, referred to the committee by:
(i) either House of the Parliament;
(ii) a Minister; or
c) such other matters as may be referred to the committee by the Minister for
Foreign Affairs and on such conditions as the Minister may prescribe.
List of abbreviations

ASIC Australian Securities and Investments Commission
ANU Australian National University
DFAT Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
JSCOT Joint Standing Committee on Treaties
MOU Memorandum of Understanding
MP Member of Parliament
NIA National Interest Analysis

1

Introduction
Purpose of the report
1.1 This is a report of the discussions at the seminar conducted by the Joint
Standing Committee on Treaties (JSCOT) In our best interest: treaty scrutiny
in a connected world. The seminar was held in Canberra on 18 March 2016
to mark the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the Committee.
1.2 A transcript of the seminar proceedings is included as an appendix to the
report, as are a list of participants, the program and additional speeches
provided by seminar participants.1
Program and participants
1.3 The seminar was attended by approximately 80 participants from a
diverse range of backgrounds including parliamentarians, academics,
public and parliamentary servants, students, as well as representatives
from business and other interest groups.
1.4 The seminar was preceded by a reception and formal dinner at Parliament
House, Canberra, hosted by the Committee. The Deputy Chair, the Hon
Kelvin Thomson MP, welcomed guests and reflected on his time on the
Committee.
1.5 The Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Hon Julie Bishop MP, addressed the
guests during the reception, emphasising the importance of the work of
the Committee and talking about the significant inquiries during her time

1 References in this report refer to an adapted copy of the Proof Transcript, included in
Appendix C. The Official Transcript is available on the JSCOT website.