DFAT Annual Report 2007-2008 : Appendix 5 Inquiries by parliamentary committees

Inquiries by parliamentary committees

During the review period, the department gave evidence to the following parliamentary committees.

Senate Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade

Additional Estimates 2007–2008, hearing held on 21 February 2008
Budget Estimates 2008–2009, hearings held on 2 and 3 June 2008
Inquiry into Australia’s involvement in peacekeeping, hearings on 25 July 2007 and 13 September 2007

Standing Committee on Public Works

Refurbishment of staff apartments, Australian Embassy complex, Tokyo, hearing on 13 September 2007

Joint Committee on Intelligence and Security

Re-listing of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) as a terrorist organisation, hearing on 20 March 2008

Joint Standing Committee on Treaties

Departmental officers appeared before the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties in respect of proposed treaty actions.

The department appeared on 13 August 2007 in respect of:
- Agreement between Australia and Japan on Social Security (Canberra, 27 February 2007)
- Agreement between Australia and the Hellenic Republic [Greece] on Social Security (Canberra, 23 May 2007)
- Agreement between the Government of Australia and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines concerning the Status of Visiting Forces of Each State in the Territory of the Other State (Canberra, 31 May 2007)
The department appeared on 17 September 2007 in respect of:
- Agreement between the Government of Australia and the Government of the Republic of the Philippines concerning the Status of Visiting Forces of Each State in the Territory of the Other State – Second Hearing (Canberra, 31 May 2007)
- Singapore Treaty on the Law of Trademarks (Singapore, 27 March 2006)
- Patent Law Treaty (Geneva, 1 June 2001)
- Withdrawal of Australia’s exemption for the use of mirex under Article 4 of the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants of 22 May 2001
- Agreement between the Government of Australia and the Government of the Kingdom of Tonga relating to Air Services (Neiafu, Tonga, 23 August 2003)
- Constitutional amendments to the Convention Establishing the World Intellectual Property Organization and other WIPO administered treaties (adopted by the WIPO General Assemblies in September 1999 and October 2003):
The department appeared on 15 October 2007 in respect of:
- Treaty on Extradition between Australia and the State of the United Arab Emirates (Hobart, 26 July 2007)
- Treaty between Australia and the State of the United Arab Emirates on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters (Hobart, 26 July 2007)
The department appeared on 8 May 2008 in respect of:
- Treaty on Extradition between Australia and the State of the United Arab Emirates—Second Hearing, Report Re-tabled (Hobart, 26 July 2007)
- Treaty between Australia and the State of the United Arab Emirates on Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters—Second Hearing, Report Re-tabled (Hobart, 26 July 2007)
- Amendments, agreed at The Hague in June 2007, to Appendices I and II of the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) of 3 March 1973
- Film Co-production Agreement between the Government of Australia and the Government of the People’s Republic of China (Beijing, 27 August 2007)
- Agreement between the Government of Australia and the Government of the Republic of Singapore concerning the co-production of films (Sydney, 7 September 2007)
- Fourth Agreement to Extend the 1987 Regional Cooperative Agreement for Research, Development and Training Related to Nuclear Science and Technology, (Vienna, 22 June 2006)
- Convention between Australia and Japan for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with respect to taxes on Income, and Protocol, (Tokyo, 31 January 2008)
The department appeared on 16 June 2008 in respect of:
- Agreement between the Government of Australia and the Government of the Russian Federation on Cooperation in the Use of Nuclear Energy for Peaceful Purposes (Canberra, 7 September 2007)
- Treaty between the Government of Australia and the Government of the United States of America concerning Defense Trade Cooperation
  (Sydney, 5 September 2007)
- International Tropical Timber Agreement (Geneva, 27 January 2006)
- Protocol amending the Agreement between the Government of Australia and the Government of the Republic of South Africa for the Avoidance of Double Taxation and the Prevention of Fiscal Evasion with Respect to Taxes on Income of 1 July 1999 (Pretoria, 31 March 2008)
- United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities
  New York, 13 December 2006

Briefings provided to parliamentary committees

The department provided private briefings to the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade (JSCFADT) on the following issues:

Human rights situation in Colombia on 9 August 2007
Japan on 13 August 2007
Chile FTA on 17 August 2007
Papua New Guinea on 17 September 2007
Outcomes from the APEC Summit on 19 September 2007
Representation to the Holy See on 17 March 2008
The Cairns Group, Doha Round and APEC on 14 April 2008
Human rights situation in Burma on 5 June 2008
Briefing for JSCFADT delegation visit to Indonesia on 16 June 2008
Human rights situation in Tibet on 19 June 2008
Zimbabwe and Darfur on 20 June 2008

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