The Joint Standing Committee on Treaties will hold a public hearing into the Peru-Australia Free Trade Agreement (PAFTA).
Committee Chair, Mr Russell Broadbent MP, said that “at the request of the Australian Labor Party, Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment Simon Birmingham has agreed to refer the Peru-Australia Free Trade Agreement to the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties, for a second time.”
“Whilst the Committee’s inquiry report of August 2018 recommended supporting PAFTA and that binding treaty action be taken, the Minister for Trade, Tourism and Investment referred this agreement back to the Committee in the spirt of bipartisanship with which Australian Free Trade Agreements have been agreed over the last three decades” Mr Broadbent said.
Mr Broadbent said that “the Labor Party has specifically requested examination in relation to Investor-State Dispute Settlement provisions.”
The Committee will examine the merits of the agreement.
Public hearing details: 10.00am – 3.00pm, Thursday 8 November 2018, Committee Room G6, 55 St Andrews Place, MELBOURNE
10.00am: Australia Chamber of Commerce and Industry
10.45am: Export Council of Australia
11.30am: Australian Fair Trade and Investment Network
12.15pm: Lunch
12.45pm: National Farmers’ Federation
1.30pm: Australian Council of Trade Unions
2.15pm: Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade
3.00pm: Close
The hearing will be broadcast live at aph.gov.au/live
