If you blinked you would have missed a surprise Treaty. On 22 November, 2021 a highly significant Treaty was signed by Australia that is an important practical step in the AUKUS submarine process. The Australian public were given just 4/5 days to respond with written submissions on the Treaty, ie. by 26 November 2021. See C. and D. below at the end of this article.
A. Fortunately the authors of Wiki summarise the matter well, when they wrote:
"On 22 November 2021, Australia, the US and the UK signed the Exchange of Naval Nuclear Propulsion Information Agreement (ENNPIA) treaty.[74][75] The treaty permits the disclosure of information by the US and the UK to Australia and its use.[75] As the US is restricted by the Atomic Energy Act of 1946 from sharing information without an agreement and the UK is also restricted by the 1958 US–UK Mutual Defence Agreement unless authorised.[76][77] On 29 November 2021, the UK Foreign Secretary presented the treaty to parliament to consider.[78] On 1 December 2021, US President Joe Biden presented the treaty to Congress to consider.[79] On 17 December 2021, the Australian Parliament's Joint Standing Committee on Treaties recommended that the parliament ratify the treaty.[80]"
B. Australia signing this agreement was announced in a Media Release from Australia's Defence Minister, Peter Dutton on 22 November 2021:
"Australia signs exchange of naval nuclear propulsion information sharing agreement
22 November 2021
The signing of the Exchange of
Naval Nuclear Propulsion Information Agreement (the Agreement) with our AUKUS
partners – the United Kingdom and the United States – is another important step
in Australia’s pursuit of conventionally armed, nuclear-powered submarines.
Minister for Defence the Hon Peter Dutton MP said the Agreement will further advance consultations by permitting the United Kingdom and the United States to exchange sensitive and classified naval nuclear propulsion information with a third country for the first time.
“This Agreement will support Australia in completing the 18 months of intensive and comprehensive examination of the requirements underpinning the delivery of nuclear-powered submarines,” Minister Dutton said.
“The United Kingdom and the United States will be able to share naval nuclear propulsion information with Australia, which they cannot with any other country, in the determination of the optimal pathway to acquire nuclear-powered submarines for operation by the Royal Australian Navy.
“With access to the information this Agreement delivers, coupled with the decades of naval nuclear-powered experience our UK and US partners have, Australia will also be positioned to be responsible and reliable stewards of this technology.”
The Agreement will also provide a mechanism for Australian personnel to access invaluable training and education from their UK and US counterparts, necessary for learning how to safely and effectively build, operate and support nuclear-powered submarines.
Importantly, the Agreement is consistent with Australia’s international obligations, including under the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons.
Australia is not seeking nuclear weapons. The submarines will be conventionally armed. The Agreement only allows for the sharing of naval nuclear propulsion information. No nuclear equipment can be transferred under this agreement.
Minister Dutton also highlighted the importance of the Agreement for Australia’s regulatory framework.
“This Agreement will assist Australia to develop the necessary skills and knowledge to create a world-class regulatory and safety regime required for the safe operation of naval nuclear propulsion,” Minister Dutton said.
“I thank our AUKUS partners for their commitment to bringing this pivotal agreement together quickly which assures continued progress for our nuclear-powered submarine ambitions and our collective efforts to ensure the Indo-Pacific remains stable, secure and prosperous, and free from coercion.”
The Agreement was today tabled in the Australian Parliament for consideration by the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties. The Agreement is also subject to the domestic processes of the United States and the United Kingdom."
C. Regarding "The Agreement was today tabled in the Australian Parliament for consideration by the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties."
That Australian Committee on Treaties invited:
"interested persons and organisations to make submissions by 26 November 2021."
Pete Comment: In what a appears to be the very short time permitted (4 or 5 days?) submissions were recieved here .
D. The first submission received (Number 1) is from a former Senator from Western Australia Scott Ludlam, who was also an ex-Treaties Committee Member.
He indicates he is "appalled" at the "five day submission window" concerning "one of the most consequential military and foreign policy announcements of our time"
Given the 5 days to provide a submission Scott Ludlam, in part, describes "a shotgun inquiry to rubber stamp a predetermined outcome".
The rest of Ludlam's submission is well worth reading.
Readers are invited to examine the other submissions here.
Five days is an extraordinarily short time for anyone to read, comprehend and prepare a coherent submission on perhaps the most significant single security agreement Australia has entered into in the last several decades.
ReplyDeleteI don't know whether this is now normal, but it seems likely that this has been rushed through with a tokenistic process designed to stifle study and comment. See the info and link below - NB the get-out clause at the end of this extract.
https://www.aph.gov.au/Parliamentary_Business/Committees/Joint/Treaties/Role_of_the_Committee indicates
The reformed treaty making process requires that all treaty actions proposed by the Government are tabled in Parliament for a period of at least 15 (or in some cases, 20) sitting days before action is taken that will bind Australia at international law to the terms of the treaty.
The phrase 'treaty actions' has a broad meaning. It covers bilateral and multilateral agreements and encompasses a range of actions including entering into new treaties, amendments to existing treaties and withdrawal from treaties.
Category 1 and Category 2 treaties are referred for inquiry and report. The Treaties Committee will generally report on these treaties within 20 and 15 sitting days respectively.
Category 3 treaty actions are identifiably minor treaty actions (mainly minor/technical amendments to existing treaties) which do not impact significantly on the national interest. Category 3 treaty actions will be tabled with a one-page explanatory statement.
The Treaties Committee has the discretion to formally inquire into Category 3 treaty actions or indicate its acceptance of them without a formal inquiry and report.
The one exception to the rule that treaties be tabled before binding treaty action is where the Minister for Foreign Affairs certifies that a treaty is particularly urgent or sensitive, involving significant commercial, strategic or foreign policy interests.
[THE FOLLOWING SEEMS VERY SIGNIFICANT]
"When tabled in Parliament, the text of proposed Category 1 and 2 treaty actions is accompanied by a National Interest Analysis (NIA) which explains why the Government considers it appropriate to enter into the treaty, and other associated documents. An NIA includes information relating to:
- the economic, environmental, social and cultural effects of the proposed treaty;
- the obligations imposed by the treaty;
- how the treaty will be implemented domestically;
- the financial costs associated with implementing and complying with the terms of the treaty; and
- the consultation that has occurred with State and Territory Governments, industry and community groups and other interested parties."