The inquiry, established at the request of Attorney-General Christian Porter, found that there was a strong public foundation for abandoning the treaties. It unanimously voted to protect the integrity of international law enforcement arrangements that underpinned new Hong Kong laws and to uphold the rights of its citizens by suspending the treaties.

Chair of the inquiry Dave Sharma MP said: “The committee heard imposition by China of its National Security Law in Hong Kong fundamentally altered the status and raised serious concerns about the independence of the judiciary in Hong Kong and continued application of the rule of law and other fundamental principles of justice.”

The Law Council of Australia (LCA) president Pauline Wright addressed the committee in September to support suspending the treaties, noting the National Security Law had significantly undermined independence of Hong Kong’s judiciary as well as the region’s autonomy under a “one country, two systems” policy. 

“The Law Council is of the view that suspension of these arrangements is appropriate and indeed consistent with the fundamental rules of law principles and of human rights obligations under international law,” Ms Wright told the joint standing committee.