Appendix 5:
Inquiries by parliamentary committees

During the reporting period the department provided submissions and/or gave evidence to the following parliamentary committees:

Joint Standing Committee on Treaties

  • Agreement between Australia and the European Union Establishing a Framework for the Participation of Australia in European Crisis Management Operations, hearing 10 August 2015.
  • Free Trade Agreement between the Government of Australia and the Government of The People’s Republic of China, hearings 17 August and 7 September 2015.
  • Articles of Agreement for the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank, hearing 14 September 2015.
  • Australia’s denunciation of the Convention relating to International Exhibitions, and Protocol of Signature, hearing 14 September 2015.
  • Treaty between Australia and the Federative Republic of Brazil on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters, hearing 12 October 2015.
  • Agreement between the Government of Australia and the Government of the Republic of India Concerning Transfer of Sentenced Persons, hearing 9 November 2015.
  • Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement, hearing 22 February 2016.
  • Treaty on Extradition between Australia and The People’s Republic of China, hearing 2 May 2016.

Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade

  • Human rights issues confronting women and girls in the Indian Ocean—Asia Pacific Region (supplementary submissions 13 and 27 July 2015).
  • A world without the death penalty: Australia’s Advocacy for the Abolition of the Death Penalty, hearing 9 December 2015.
  • The role of development partnerships in agriculture and agribusiness in promoting prosperity, reducing poverty and enhancing stability in the Indo–Pacific region, hearing 22 February 2016.
  • (Australia’s trade and investment relationships with countries of the Middle East. [The committee tabled its report 4 May 2016. The department provided a submission and gave evidence in May and November 2014 respectively.])

Senate Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade References Committee

  • Inquiry into Australia’s relationship with Mexico, hearing 29 October 2015.
  • The delivery and effectiveness of Australia’s bilateral aid program in Papua New Guinea, hearing 27 November 2015.
  • Partial suspension of sanctions against Iran, hearing 27 April 2016.

Joint Select Committee on Trade and Investment Growth

  • Inquiry into Business Utilisation of Australia’s Free Trade Agreements, hearing 21 July 2015.

Joint Select Committee on Northern Australia

  • Inquiry into Opportunities for Expanding Aquaculture in Northern Australia, hearing 15 September 2015.

Joint Standing Committee on Migration

  • Inquiry into the Seasonal Worker Programme, hearing 13 November 2015.

Senate Economics References Committee

  • Third party certification of food, hearing 21 August 2015.
  • Inquiry into foreign bribery (input into a 15 September 2015 cross-agency submission coordinated by Attorney-General’s Department).

Parliamentary Standing Committee on Public Works

  • Fit-out of the Australian Embassy in Doha, Qatar, hearing 3 March 2016.

House of Representatives Standing Committee on Social Policy and Legal Affairs

  • Inquiry into the regulatory and legislative aspects of international and domestic surrogacy arrangements, hearing 3 March 2016.
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