17th Sep 2018, 12:37 PM – Representatives Customs Amendment (Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership Implementation) Bill 2018 and another - Second Reading - Change approach to trade agreem...

The same number of MPs voted for and against a motion to change the usual second reading motion, which is "that the bills be read a second time" (or, in other words, "that the MPs agree with the main idea of the bill").

This means that the usual second reading motion will remain unchanged, since in cases like this when a majority isn't formed, the Speaker votes to keep things unchanged - which in this case, means voting "no".

Motion text

That all words after "That" be omitted with a view to substituting the following words:

"whilst not declining to give the bill a second reading, the House notes that:

(1) the Coalition Government has waived labour market testing for contractual service suppliers for six new countries in the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership as well as including investor state dispute settlement mechanisms which Labor does not support; and

(2) Labor believes the way Australia negotiates trade agreements needs to change, and a Labor Government will:

(a) seek to remove ISDS provisions from existing free trade agreements and legislate so that a future Australian government cannot sign an agreement with such provisions;

(b) seek to reinstate labour market testing for contractual service suppliers in existing free trade agreements and legislate so that a future Australian government cannot waive labour market testing in new agreements;

(c) legislate that all new free trade agreements would be subject to an independent national interest assessment before it is signed to examine the economic, strategic and social impact of any new trade agreement;

(d) legislate to create an Accredited Trade Advisors program where industry, union and civil society groups would provide real time feedback on draft trade agreements during negotiations; and

(e) strengthen the role of the Parliament in trade negotiations by increasing the participation of the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties (JSCoT) by providing:

(i) the Government's Statement of Objectives for Negotiation to JSCoT for consideration and feedback; and

(ii) JSCoT with a briefing at the end of each round of negotiations".