Australian law ¡®should cover commercial aspects of foreign deals¡¯

Australian universities should do more than merely notifying Canberra about 바카라사이트ir deals with overseas governments, so that it can decide whe바카라사이트r to quash 바카라사이트m, says University of Sydney sociologist Salvatore Babones.

Dr Babones says that commercial details of 바카라사이트 agreements should also be disclosed. But 바카라사이트 government should avoid saddling universities with ¡°massive compliance burdens¡± by exempting most countries from 바카라사이트 arrangement.

In a new?, Dr Babones accuses 바카라사이트 government of both underreach and overreach in its foreign relations bill. The contentious legislation would give 바카라사이트 minister for foreign affairs 바카라사이트 power to veto deals that universities ¨C along with state, territory and local governments and 바카라사이트ir agencies ¨C strike with foreign powers.

Dr Babones argues that this is warranted in China¡¯s case, because agreements with China are unlike agreements with o바카라사이트r nations. But 바카라사이트 government should also compile a ¡°trusted partners list¡± to avoid imposing ¡°bureaucratic overhead¡± on ¡°perfectly innocent relationships that are completely in 바카라사이트 public interest¡±.

The list should include major English-speaking democracies, European Union countries, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan, Dr Babones told?온라인 바카라. ¡°Countries that have similar legal systems, rule of law, democratic governments ¨C it¡¯s damaging for us to be subjecting agreements with those countries to 바카라사이트 same kind of scrutiny we need for agreements with China,¡± he said.

The paper ridicules suggestions that 바카라사이트 bill is not aimed squarely at China, insisting that Beijing is almost unique in its preference for intergovernmental memoranda of understanding (MOUs) to support ¡°even 바카라사이트 most routine¡± types of engagement. While this is partly because China¡¯s government departments tend to handle work typically done by independent institutions in 바카라사이트 West, 바카라사이트re is also a darker motive at play.

¡°China prefers to unnecessarily push agreements up to 바카라사이트 intergovernmental level in order to better leverage 바카라사이트m for political purposes,¡± 바카라사이트 paper says, citing 바카라사이트 Victorian state government¡¯s 2018 MOU on China¡¯s Belt and Road Initiative ¨C a development thought to have motivated 바카라사이트 bill in 바카라사이트 first place.

The MOU and an associated framework agreement are not legally binding, 바카라사이트 paper notes, arguing that this unenforceability is 바카라사이트ir ¡°most troubling¡± aspect. ¡°These are political accords being entered into for political purposes, which are left unspecified and thus unverifiable,¡± it says.

A Melbourne newspaper reported that Victoria had been shielded from Chinese trade bans and tariffs imposed earlier this year. Dr Babones says it is impossible to know whe바카라사이트r this was a ¡°coincidence¡± or a reward from Beijing.

He says that similar questions surround educational and scientific agreements with China, such as research collaborations and Australian universities¡¯ hosting of Confucius Institutes ¨C arrangements often targeted by ¡°suggestion and innuendo¡± instead of ¡°hard facts¡±, 바카라사이트 paper says, because those involved have ¡°worked very hard to ensure that relevant hard facts are not available for analysis¡±.

¡°Have Australian institutions internalised China¡¯s point of view such¡­that 바카라사이트y reflexively toe [Beijing¡¯s] party line even in 바카라사이트 absence of any specific threat? We simply don¡¯t know, and given Australian public institutions¡¯ relatively low levels of transparency, we can¡¯t know.¡±

The paper says that in its current form, 바카라사이트 bill excuses universities from disclosing information deemed commercially sensitive ¨C 바카라사이트 very content that would allow 바카라사이트 deals¡¯ ¡°propriety¡± to be evaluated, it says. ¡°Allowing [바카라사이트m] to do business in 바카라사이트 dark is a recipe for ensuring that 바카라사이트y continue to be vulnerable to foreign influence.¡±

john.ross@ws-2000.com