International Wheat Agreement Act 1971

International Wheat Agreement Act 1971

What this law does in plain English:

This is a short, straightforward piece of Commonwealth legislation that does two things:

• Gives Parliament's approval for Australia to formally commit (ratify) to two international treaties agreed at a United Nations conference in Geneva in February 1971:
  • The Wheat Trade Convention, 1971 — an international agreement governing the trade of wheat between countries
  • The Food Aid Convention, 1971 — an international agreement about providing wheat and grain as food aid to countries in need

Together, these two conventions made up what was known as the International Wheat Agreement, 1971.

• Cleans up old legislation by repealing (cancelling) five earlier Acts that had approved previous versions of similar international wheat agreements dating back to 1962, including extensions and the International Grains Arrangement Act 1967. This essentially replaces the old legal framework with the new one.

Who does this affect?

Primarily the Australian Government and its obligations under international trade and food aid law. It does not directly impose obligations or rights on individual Australians — it is about Australia's relationship with other countries in the global wheat market.