The Assistant Treasurer, Senator Rod Kemp, representing Australia, attended the Annual Ministerial Council Meeting (MCM) of the OECD and the Annual Meeting of the Asian Development Bank on 28-29 April and 29 April and 1 May respectively. Senator Kemp later attended the opening of the IMF Singapore Regional Training Institute on 4 May 1998.
The OECD MCM discussed a range of issues including the impact of, and policy lessons to be drawn from, the Asian financial crisis; implementation of the OECD Jobs Strategy; the report Open Markets Matter: The Benefits of Trade and Investment Liberalisation and the OECD report on Harmful Tax Competition.
Senator Kemp welcomed the outcomes of the MCM. In particular he said it was clear that Australia rates highly among OECD members in pursuing policies to achieve sustained economic growth and reductions in unemployment.
The future of the negotiations of the Multilateral Agreement on Investment (MAI) was a particular focus of the OECD meeting. Ministers agreed that seeking to develop an international set of rules on international investment, providing clarity and predicability, is consistent with the growing recognition of the vital role that strong global investment plays in generating economic growth, jobs and higher living standards.
Senator Kemp emphasised, however, that Australia would only sign the MAI if it was demonstrably in Australias national interest. In particular, Australia would lodge all exceptions necessary to protect its current policies, including foreign investment policies.
Senator Kemp outlined to the MCM that there had been significant public debate on the MAI in Australia. He indicated that the Government welcomes this debate and had released publicly both the draft MAI and Australias preliminary exceptions. He also noted that the Government had referred the MAI to Australias Parliamentary Treaties Committee for report.
Senator Kemp said that the Ministerial Meeting had agreed that significant issues had to be resolved before an MAI could be finalised and that resolution of these issues would take time. He noted that the Ministerial meeting had agreed on a further period of assessment and consultation to assist the negotiations.
Details of the Communique of the Ministerial Meeting are available through the OECDs website: http://www.oecd.org
The Asian Development Bank meeting focussed on the regional crisis and the future role of the Bank. Senator Kemp reaffirmed Australias strong commitment to the work of the Bank and encouraged it to push on with internal reform.
He thanked the Bank for its speedy and important contribution to packages to support countries most affected by the crisis. In this context he also encouraged the Bank to build on its efforts in the Pacific Island region, particularly for Papua New Guinea.
The full text of Senator Kemps address to the ADB is available on this site at http://www.treasury.gov.au
CANBERRA
6 MAY 1998
Contact:
Penny Farnsworth
(02) 6277 7360