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Legislative Assembly for the ACT: 2001 Week 8 Hansard (9 August) . . Page.. 2692 ..

MR SMYTH (continuing):

By removing the trade barriers to international trade in services, GATS will give the ACT more opportunities to export services. Last year alone, services exported from the ACT totalled approximately $688 million, compared with merchandise exports of around $28 million. GATS will benefit the ACT through increased service exports, with resulting increases in employment and investment in service industries.

As for concerns about the possible effects of GATS on matters of sovereignty, both the Minister for Trade, Mr Mark Vaile, and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade have stated that the agreement does not apply to services supplied in the exercise of government authority. Parties have the flexibility to determine what sectors they want to be covered by the agreement and what restrictions on foreign supplies they want to retain. Whilst I recognise that not all commentators share this view, on the balance of evidence there is an insufficient basis not to accept this view.

I understand that Australia has made only very minor commitments to liberalised trade in the fields of health care and education. I am advised that those commitments will not impact on the provision of public services in these and other important areas of public service provision. There is therefore no threat from this agreement to the sovereignty of Australia, or of the ACT, in providing services to the public.

I would like the Assembly to note that parts (2) and (3) of the resolution passed by the Assembly require the government to undertake an independent evaluation and a full community consultation process. The process of planning, conducting, assessing and reporting on the possible impact of GATS on the ACT, of consulting fully with the public, of receiving comprehensive briefings from the Commonwealth, of obtaining detailed legal opinion on matters of international law, and of arriving at a position based on an independent assessment and public consultation is simply not feasible in the seven-week timeframe set by the Assembly.

Furthermore, it would not be possible to complete this process before the start of the caretaker period on 14 September 2001. Such a complex examination of international law, including a reasonable opportunity for informed public comment, plus the development of an ACT government position, would take at least three or four months to complete. A shorter exercise would not serve any useful purpose. Therefore, the government has agreed that the development of an ACT position, including public consultation, will be an issue to be raised with the incoming government after the October election.

With regard to the final part of the Assembly's resolution, I can advise that I have written to the Commonwealth Minister for Trade, Mr Vaile, relaying the Assembly's request that the federal government conduct a broad inquiry into the impact of GATS and the World Trade Organisation.

The process of trade liberalisation has been in train since the end of World War II and has been enormously beneficial in lifting national standards of living around the world. The more recent extension of this liberalisation process to include service industries has the potential to bring further economic benefits to the world economy, including to Australia. As a service-oriented regional economy, the ACT stands to benefit greatly from this process of further liberalisation.

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