Taking legal action against illegal logging

The Gillard Government's coalition partner in government - The Greens - played a significant role in pressuring the government to temporarily ban the live cattle trade and there is concern about the level of Greens involvement in the Illegal Logging Bill.

These concerns were heightened by the Government's attempt to legislate a framework and then spend two years developing regulations that will ultimately decide how the laws are imposed.

According to the Government the Bill provides for: “A prohibition on illegally logged and timber and wood products (with an additional prohibition on the processing of illegally processed raw logs); and “a requirement for industry to carry out due diligence to mitigate the risk of importing illegal logged timber in Australia”.

That is all well and good, however there are major questions about the compatibility of this legislation with World Trade Organisation rules.

There are also serious concerns about the appalling lack of consultation with trading partners that mirrors the same lack of consultation during the live cattle export ban.

A number of nations have raised serious concerns about the legislation as it is currently drafted, Canada and Indonesia in particular.

When this legislation went before the Senate Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Legislation Committee, the Indonesian Government submission to that inquiry raised some serious issues.

The Indonesian Minister for Trade has said that the Indonesian Government: “regrets that our cooperation has not been sought to date on the best means to address the aims set out”. He has also said that legal advice indicates: “the measures proposed in the Bill are inconsistent with the multilateral obligations of Australia under the World Trade Organisation.”

In submissions to the Senate inquiry the Canadian and New Zealand Governments also strongly criticised the legislation.

Further, well known authority on WTO matters and former Ambassador to the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, Alan Oxley, made a submission to the Senate inquiry in which he notes that the Bill may contravene WTO rules and the ASEAN-Australia-New Zealand Free Trade Agreement. 

Additionally, the Australian timber industry has expressed concern about the red tape burden of this legislation.

One of the most concerning aspects of this process has been that the Minister for Trade Craig Emerson has been missing in action and utterly silent about this Bill.

Mr Emerson is usually the first person out of the blocks when he believes the Coalition or anyone in industry is proposing actions that potentially contravene WTO rules but has been uncharacteristically mute on the WTO implications of this Bill.

It is to be hoped that Mr Emerson directs his Department to make a submission to the inquiry of the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade committee or gives a personal briefing to the committee about the implications of this bill.

While it is important that developed and developing countries take steps to reduce illegal logging, it is also important that this is done within an international framework and in consultation with other nations, or the government risks being accused of tilting at windmills.