FEDERAL-STATE RELATIONS COMMITTEE
Report on
The Federal-State Relations Committee recommends that Victoria seek improvements in the consultative framework on treaty matters in the Australian federation. In keeping with this, Victoria should further develop its current procedures for consulting with the Commonwealth on treaty matters; should consider developing new procedures where current procedures are inadequate; and should encourage other States and the Commonwealth to do likewise.
Paragraph 1.51
The Federal-State Relations Committee recommends that, as soon as practicable, treaties and information relevant to treaties be tabled in the Victorian Parliament, together with a National Interest Analysis, if available. The Committee further recommends that this process be implemented by appropriate legislation.
Paragraph 5.21
The Federal-State Relations Committee recommends that a
Committee of the Victorian Parliament be appointed by legislation, or that an
existing Committee of the Parliament be given the responsibility and resources,
to advise the Parliament on all matters concerning international treaty making
in Australia. The Committee would be a source of information for the Parliament
on treaty matters and their possible impact on Victoria, and would be able to
advise the Parliament on how Victoria can play its role in implementing
Australia's treaty obligations.
In order to play this role, the Committee's functions would be:
To acquire and bring together documentation and information relevant to Australian treaty making, from all sources, as soon as it becomes available.
To table in Parliament, on a regular basis, the schedule of Australia's treaty negotiations.
To scrutinise National Interest Analyses.
To prepare State Interest Analyses for those treaties of particular concern to Victoria. This would require the Committee:
To inquire into and to consider the implications for Victoria of treaties and other international instruments that are under discussion and/or being negotiated in multi-lateral or bilateral fora.
To report upon proposed treaties likely to impact upon Victoria, and to recommend ways in which the proposed treaty might enhance the Australian federation and Victoria's role within it.
To report upon treaties tabled in the Victorian Parliament (as per Recommendation 2), including advice as to whether and how they are likely to impact upon Victoria, and in light of this whether or not they should be ratified by Australia, and whether such ratification ought to be subject to any reservations or declarations by Australia.
To monitor the work of other bodies and organisations dealing with treaty matters, including the Department of Foreign Affairs, the Treaties Council, and the Commonwealth Parliamentary Joint Standing Committee on Treaties.
To commission research into the effects of international treaty making on the States, and on the Australian federal system.
To enable the Committee to perform these functions, the Committee recommends that it have:
The power to hold public hearings and to hold hearings in camera.
The power to call for documents and witnesses.
The power to commence an inquiry into a treaty or proposed treaty, or any other treaty action, at any time, regardless of whether it relates to a document that has been tabled in Parliament.
Paragraph 5.32
The Federal-State Relations Committee recommends that tabling arrangements, and a process of scrutiny by Parliamentary Committee, similar to those recommended for Victoria in Recommendations 2 and 3, be instituted in all Australian State Parliaments. The Committee recommends that the Victorian Government pursue this in appropriate fora, including the Leaders' Forum.
Paragraph 5.32
The Federal-State Relations Committee recommends that it be requested that the Commonwealth Joint Standing Committee on Treaties liaise with the Victorian Parliament, via the Committee proposed in Recommendation 3, in addition to the Government agencies it currently consults.
Paragraph 5.34
The Federal-State Relations Committee recommends that the Victorian Government call upon the Commonwealth to extend the length of time prior to ratification for which treaties are tabled in the Commonwealth Parliament. The Committee believes that this time should be extended from the current 15 sitting days of the Commonwealth Parliament to 15 sitting days of every Australian parliament, with the proviso that the period be no longer than six months. The Committee also believes that this would best be implemented not merely through administrative agreement, but through appropriate legislation of the Commonwealth Parliament. The Committee recognises that the current exceptions to this tabling practice in the case of urgent and sensitive treaties would continue to apply.
Paragraph 5.53
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