Urgent Debates Declined — Free-trade Agreement—New Zealand - Taiwan

Honourable members, I have received a letter from Dr Kennedy Graham seeking to debate under Standing Order 386 the signing of a free-trade agreement with Taiwan. This is a particular case of recent occurrence involving ministerial responsibility. The Government is required to present such international agreements to the House, along with a national interest analysis. These stand referred to the Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Committee for examination. This is the manner in which the House considers such agreements in the first instance. In this case, the member’s own authentication indicates that legislation is also required to give the agreement effect sometime during next year.

There would need to be something exceptional about such a free-trade agreement to warrant the business of the House being set aside for an urgent debate. There is nothing in the member’s application that convinces me that I would be justified in allowing a debate today. The application is therefore declined.