1st Dec 2020, 1:17 PM – Senate Australia's Foreign Relations (State and Territory Arrangements) Bill 2020 and another - Second Reading - Note and address gaps

The majority voted against an amendment to the usual second reading motion, which is "that the bills be reads for a second time" (parliamentary jargon for agreeing with the main idea of the bills). This means the amendment failed.

Amendment text

At the end of the motion, add: ", but the Senate:

(a) notes:

(i) the absence of an oversight mechanism for decisions made under the Bill;

(ii) the desirability, subject to appropriate arrangements to protect national security, of requiring the Minister to provide reasons for decisions, and a process for review of a minister's decision; and

(iii) the lack of clarity in the definition of 'arrangements' in the Bill;

(iv) the Minister should make an annual report to the Parliament outlining engagement with entities covered by the Bill, if enacted, to articulate and explain Australia's foreign policy and how entities should engage with foreign entities in Australia's national interest; and

(b) calls on the Government to:

(i) address the regulatory gap of private universities;

(ii) provide clarity on the treatment of the Port of Darwin in the Bill before the Bill proceeds;

(iii) make clear how this regime will interact with the existing legislation and guidelines that work to safeguard Australia's sovereignty, including Foreign Investment Review Board processes, University Foreign Interference Taskforce Guidelines and the Foreign Influence Transparency Scheme, and provide confidence that the Bill does not present a sovereign risk that will undermine investment and cost Australian jobs;

(v) engage in genuine consultation with Australian entities covered by the Bill on the design of the regime; and

What do these bills do?

According to the bill homepage, the Australia’s Foreign Relations (State and Territory Arrangements) Bill 2020 was:

Introduced with the Australia’s Foreign Relations (State and Territory Arrangements) (Consequential Amendments) Bill 2020, the bill establishes a legislative scheme for Commonwealth engagement with arrangements between State or Territory governments and foreign governments, and their associated entities.