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The Parliament of the Commonwealth of Australia Joint Standing Committee on Treaties Report 129 Treaties tabled on 19 and 26 June 2012 Agreement between the Government of Australia and the Government of the Republic of Singapore concerning the Location of a Republic of Singapore Air Force Helicopter Squadron at the Australian Army Aviation Centre Oakey done at Singapore on 1 June 2012 Agreement between the Government of Australia and the Government of the Kingdom of Bahrain on the Exchange of Information with Respect to Taxes done at Manama on 15 December 2012 Agreement between the Government of Australia and the Government of the Principality of Andorra on the Exchange of Information with Respect to Taxes done at New York on 24 September 2011 Agreement Establishing the International Fund for Agricultural Development (Rome, 13 June 1976) September 2012 Canberra © Commonwealth of Australia 2012 ISBN 978-0-642-79796-4 (Printed version) ISBN 978-0-642-79797-1 (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 Resolution of Appointment vii List of recommendations viii 1 Introduction 1 Purpose of the report 1 Conduct of the Committee's review 2 2 Agreement between the Government of Australia and the Government of the Republic of Singapore concerning the Location of a Republic of Singapore Air Force Helicopter Squadron at the Australian Army Aviation Centre Oakey done at Singapore on 1 June 2012 5 Introduction 5 National interest summary 6 Reasons for Australia to take the proposed treaty action 7 Obligations 9 Implementation 12 Costs 13 Indirect financial benefits of the deployment 13 Conclusion 14 3 Two Tax Information Exchange Agreements 17 Introduction 17 Overview and national interest summary 17 iv Reasons for Australia to take the proposed treaty action 18 Obligations 21 Implementation 23 Costs 23 Conclusion 24 4 Agreement Establishing the International Fund for Agricultural Development (Rome, 13 June 1976) 25 Introduction 25 The Fund 25 Australia and the Fund 27 Reasons for Australia to take the proposed treaty action 29 Obligations 30 Implementation 30 Costs 31 Conclusion 32 Appendix A Witnesses 35 Membership of the Committee Chair Mr Kelvin Thomson MP Deputy Chair Senator Simon Birmingham Members Mr Jamie Briggs MP Senator David Fawcett Mr Laurie Ferguson MP Senator Scott Ludlam Mr John Forrest MP Senator the Hon Lisa Singh Ms Sharon Grierson MP Senator Dean Smith Mr Harry Jenkins MP Senator Matthew Thistlethwaite Ms Kirsten Livermore MP Senator the Hon Lin Thorp (from 21/6/12) Ms Melissa Parke MP Senator Anne Urquhart (until 21/6/12) The Hon Dr Sharman Stone MP vi Committee Secretariat Secretary Russell Chafer ( from 9/7/12) James Catchpole ( until 9/7/12) Inquiry Secretary Kevin Bodel Dr Andrew Gaczol Administrative OfficersHeidi Luschtinetz Dorota Cooley Resolution of Appointment 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, or (ii) a Minister; and 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 recommendations 2 Agreement between the Government of Australia and the Government of the Republic of Singapore concerning the Location of a Republic of Singapore Air Force Helicopter Squadron at the Australian Army Aviation Centre Oakey done at Singapore on 1 June 2012 Recommendation 1 The Committee supports the Agreement between the Government of Australia and the Government of the Republic of Singapore concerning the Location of a Republic of Singapore Air Force Helicopter Squadron at the Australian Army Aviation Centre Oakey done at Singapore on 1 June 2012 and recommends that binding treaty action be taken. 3 Two Tax Information Exchange Agreements Recommendation 2 The Committee supports the Agreement between the Government of Australia and the Government of the Kingdom of Bahrain on the Exchange of Information with Respect to Taxes done at Manama on 15 December 2011 and recommends that binding treaty action be taken. Recommendation 3 The Committee supports the Agreement between the Government of Australia and the Government of the Principality of Andorra on the Exchange of Information with Respect to Taxes done at New York on 24 September 2011 and recommends that binding treaty action be taken. ix 4 Agreement Establishing the International Fund for Agricultural Development (Rome, 13 June 1976) Recommendation 4 The Committee supports the Agreement Establishing the International Fund for Agricultural Development (Rome, 13 June 1976) and recommends that binding treaty action be taken. 1 Introduction Purpose of the report 1.1 This report contains the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties' review of treaty actions tabled on 19 June 2012 and 26 June 2012. 1.2 These treaty actions are proposed for ratification and are examined in the order of tabling: Tabled 19 June 2012 Agreement between the Government of Australia and the Government of the Republic of Singapore concerning the Location of a Republic of Singapore Air Force Helicopter Squadron at the Australian Army Aviation Centre Oakey done at Singapore on 1 June 2012 Agreement between the Government of Australia and the Government of the Kingdom of Bahrain on the Exchange of Information with Respect to Taxes done at Manama on 15 December 2012 Agreement between the Government of Australia and the Government of the Principality of Andorra on the Exchange of Information with Respect to Taxes done at New York on 24 September 2011 Tabled 26 June 2012 Agreement Establishing the International Fund for Agricultural Development (Rome, 13 June 1976) 1.3 The Committee's resolution of appointment empowers it to inquire into any treaty to which Australia has become signatory, on the treaty being tabled in Parliament. 2 REPORT 129: TREATIES TABLED ON 19 AND 26 JUNE 2012 1.4 The treaties, and matters arising from them, are evaluated to ensure that ratification is in the national interest, and that unintended or negative effects on Australians will not arise. 1.5 Prior to tabling, major treaty actions are subject to a National Interest Analysis (NIA), prepared by Government. This document considers arguments for and against the treaty, outlines the treaty obligations and any regulatory or financial implications, and reports the results of consultations undertaken with State and Territory Governments, Federal and State and Territory agencies, and with industry or non-government organisations. 1.6 A Regulation Impact Statement (RIS) may accompany the NIA. The RIS provides an account of the regulatory impact of the treaty action where adoption of the treaty will involve a change in the regulatory environment for Australian business. The treaties examined in this report do not require an RIS. 1.7 The Committee takes account of these documents in its examination of the treaty text, in addition to other evidence taken during the inquiry program. 1.8 Copies of each treaty and its associated documentation may be obtained from the Committee Secretariat or accessed through the Committee's website at: http: / / www.aph. gov. au/ Parliamentary_Business/ Committees/ House_of _Representatives_Committees?url=jsct/ under_review.htm Conduct of the Committee's review 1.9 The treaty actions reviewed in this report were advertised on the Committee's website from the date of tabling. Submissions for the treaties tabled on 19 June and 26 June 2012 were requested by Friday, 27 July 2012, with extensions available on request. 1.10 Invitations were made to all State Premiers, Chief Ministers and to the Presiding Officers of each Parliament to lodge submissions. The Committee also invited submissions from individuals and organisations with an interest in the particular treaty under review. 1.11 The Committee examined the witnesses on each treaty at a public hearing held in Canberra on 13 August 2012. INTRODUCTION 3 1.12 Transcripts of evidence from the public hearing may be obtained from the Committee Secretariat or accessed through the Committee's website under the treaty's tabling date, being: 19 June 2012 http://www.aph. gov. au/ Parliamentary Business/ Committees/ House of _Representatives_Committees?url=jsct/19june2012 / hearings.htm 26 June 2012 http: / /www.aph.gov. au / Parliamentary_Business / Committees / House_of _Representatives_Committees?url=jsct/26june2012/ hearings.htm 1.13 A list of witnesses who appeared at the public hearings is at Appendix A. 2 Agreement between the Government of Australia and the Government of the Republic of Singapore concerning the Location of a Republic of Singapore Air Force Helicopter Squadron at the Australian Army Aviation Centre Oakey done at Singapore on 1 June 2012 Introduction 2.1 The proposed treaty action is to replace the Agreement between the Government of Australia and the Government of the Republic of Singapore concerning the Location of a Republic of Singapore Air Force Helicopter Squadron

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