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Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee Budget Estimates 2015, 3-4 June 2015

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Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee Budget Estimates 2015, 3-4 June 2015 Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee Budget Estimates 2015, 3-4 June 2015 QUESTIONS ON NOTICE/IN WRITING Question No 1 Program: DFAT Topic: Protocol - DFAT Ministerial travel guidelines Question on Notice Page: 8 Senator Wong Question Senator WONG: Can I request a copy of that be tabled? You will obviously want to take that on notice. Mr Varghese: We can take that on notice. Answer The DFAT Overseas Visits Guidelines are an internal working document. The full text of the document cannot be released due to security-related considerations. Page 1 of 1 Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee Budget Estimates 2015, 3-4 June 2015 QUESTIONS ON NOTICE/IN WRITING Question No 2 Program: DFAT Topic: Protocol - DFAT Ministerial travel guidelines Question on Notice Page: 8 Senator Wong Question Senator WONG: In addition to [Ambassador Brady], were there any DFAT officials or staff present for that arrival? Mr Varghese: I would have to take that on notice. Answer: Yes, DFAT staff included the Deputy Head of Mission Paris, First Secretary Paris, Locally Engaged Staff Protocol Manager Paris, and Locally Engaged Staff Head of Mission Assistant/Office Manager Paris. Question Senator WONG: I would like a copy of the CERHOS guidelines which are available to your heads of mission. I want to know what document your heads of mission have. Mr Varghese: Can I take that on notice? They are not our guidelines, and therefore— Senator WONG: No, but they are documents that your staff have. Mr Varghese: No. The normal practice, as I am sure you would appreciate, is that the originator and the owner of the guidelines would need to be consulted about making the document available. I will take that on notice. Senator WONG: Did you understand that to be a reference to the Prime Ministerial visit guidelines that we were discussing earlier? Or is there some other document? Mr Varghese: I took it to be a reference to the CERHOS guidelines. Senator WONG: Thank you—the ones that we were discussing earlier. Mr Varghese: Correct. Senator WONG: And you are taking on notice to provide your version of them, Page 1 of 3 Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee Budget Estimates 2015, 3-4 June 2015 QUESTIONS ON NOTICE/IN WRITING as held by your people. Mr Varghese: That is correct. Answer: Questions relating to the guide for planning for overseas visits by the Prime Minister should be directed to the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet. Question Senator WONG: Perhaps you could take on notice the date of the conversations with the Foreign Minister. Mr Varghese: I will take that on notice, Senator. Answer: No note was made of this conversation, but in Mr Varghese’s recollection, it took place on 27 April. Question Senator WONG: Mr Varghese—just to make it clear—you are declining to answer to this Senate committee whether or not resignation was canvassed as between Ambassador Brady and yourself. Senator Brandis: Senator Wong, Mr Varghese is not declining to do anything other than canvass in a public arena a conversation which was understood by both parties to be a confidential conversation. Because this is a matter of interest to you, I have said that we will take this matter on notice so that we can consider the basis on which you assert the questions are legitimate questions with due reflection. Senator Brandis: Senator Wong, you have explained the basis upon which you assert that these questions are legitimate questions. Mr Varghese and I have explained why it is inappropriate for them to be answered. What we will do in order to give appropriate consideration to the basis on which you assert they ought to be answered is take them on notice and consider them. Senator WONG: Are you aware that the Ambassador canvassed his resignation? Senator Brandis: I have no knowledge of the matter. Senator WONG: I am asking you the question again, Mr Varghese. Senator Brandis: The question has been taken on notice. Answer: Ambassador Brady did not offer his resignation to Mr Varghese. Page 2 of 3 Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee Budget Estimates 2015, 3-4 June 2015 QUESTIONS ON NOTICE/IN WRITING Question Senator WONG: You are taking on notice the question as to whether the Foreign Minister was advised. Senator Brandis: Senator, out of courtesy to the committee, given that we have taken the premise which you assert to be a fact as a question on notice, it would follow that we would take a subsequent question based on that unverified premise also on notice. Answer: Refer to the previous answer on page 2 of 3. Question Senator WONG: Have you seen, or do you have any knowledge of, any report, file note or other document in relation to the incident of the Prime Minister's arrival on 25 April in Paris? Senator Brandis: […] if you want to […] ask whether there were any file notes in relation to the Prime Minister's arrival in Paris then we will take that on notice. Answer: There are no DFAT file notes in relation to the Prime Minister’s arrival in Paris. Question CHAIR: Could I ask when Mr Brady was appointed to the position of Australian Ambassador to France? Mr Varghese: I would have to take that on notice. Answer: Mr Brady’s appointment as Australia’s Ambassador in Paris was announced by Foreign Minister Bishop on 31 March 2014 and Mr Brady commenced at post on 29 September 2014. Page 3 of 3 Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee Budget Estimates 2015, 3-4 June 2015 QUESTIONS ON NOTICE/IN WRITING Question No 3 Program: DFAT Topic: Burma Question on Notice Page: 24 Senator Ludlam Question Senator LUDLAM: I do not know whether it would make more sense to have this taken on notice: I am keen to get an idea of how much less overall we are spending on Burma than last financial year and the one before. Would you dispute my contention that it has actually been quite a steep net loss? Mr McDonald: Yes. At the moment, in terms of our funding for 2014-15, it would be similar in terms of the bilateral program to last year. We can get those figures for you but I think you will find that, between 2013-14 and 2014-15, when you add the humanitarian in, it will either be similar or slightly increased. Senator LUDLAM: Would you be able to clarify for us—I do not know that it is worth going through the spreadsheet, back and forth, now—what the base funding is and when the emergency funding or the humanitarian funding arrives; whether it is being drawn from other parts of the country where, presumably, there were already identified areas of need; or whether it came from a separate appropriation, just how much of the breakdown. Answer The total estimated flow of Australia’s overseas development assistance (ODA) to Burma was $90 million in 2014-15. The actual flow of ODA to Burma was $91.8 million in 2013-14 and $75.5 million in 2012-13. Funding for humanitarian assistance to Burma is not drawn from funds allocated to other development assistance programs in Burma but forms a dedicated part of the Burma bilateral aid budget each year. This is supplemented as required with central funding from the Department’s humanitarian aid budget. Page 1 of 2 Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee Budget Estimates 2015, 3-4 June 2015 QUESTIONS ON NOTICE/IN WRITING Since June 2012, Australia has provided almost $48 million in humanitarian assistance to people affected by conflict and natural disasters in Burma. In 2014-15, Australia provided $19 million in humanitarian assistance for Burma, including: − $5m for displaced people in Rakhine State − $1m for displaced people in Kachin State − $4m for emergency food assistance to vulnerable populations across the country − $8 million for refugees from Burma in Thailand − $1 million to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs emergency fund to address short-term humanitarian needs of people. In 2013-14, Australia provided $14 million in humanitarian assistance for Burma, including: − $1.7m for displaced people in Rakhine State − $1.3m for displaced people in Kachin State − $5m for emergency food assistance to vulnerable populations across the country − $4 million for refugees from Burma in Thailand − $2 million to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs emergency fund to address short-term humanitarian needs of people. In 2012-13 Australia provided $14.84 million in humanitarian assistance for Burma, including: − $8.99 million for displaced people in Rakhine State − $1.35 million for displaced people in Kachin State − $3.5 million for refugees from Burma in Thailand − $1 million to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs emergency fund to address short-term humanitarian needs of people. Page 2 of 2 Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade Legislation Committee Budget Estimates 2015, 3-4 June 2015 QUESTIONS ON NOTICE/IN WRITING Question No 4 Program: DFAT Topic: ODA - Avoidable blindness Question on Notice Page: 25 Senator Singh Question Senator SINGH: Can you advise the total overseas development assistance allocated within the 2015-16 international development budget for programs targeting avoidable blindness, eye health and disability support for people with unavoidable blindness and vision impairment? […] Senator SINGH: So you do not have any kind of figures on the amount in the 2015-16 budget that targets avoidable blindness? You do not have that figure? […] Senator SINGH: I think you have taken that on notice, haven't you, and the quantum of those three programs.
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