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Annual Report 2007–08You are currently viewing: Annual Report Output Group 1.4 — Interparliamentary relations
DescriptionOutput Group 1.4 provides advice and support for the conduct of the Parliament’s regional and other international affairs. The functions and services of the output group are delivered primarily by the Parliamentary Relations Office (PRO), which is jointly funded by the departments of the House of Representatives and the Senate, and administered by the Department of the House of Representatives. Output Group 1.4 recorded an expenditure of $2.2 million for 2007–08, against a budget allocation of $1.8 million. A summary of the financial resources for the output group is set out in Table 1; staff levels, by location, are shown in Appendix 10. PerformanceThe November 2007 election period affected the conduct of the Parliament’s international program, with fewer incoming and outgoing delegations as a result. During this time, the opportunity was taken to carry out various projects including the updating of visit protocols and procedural documents, refreshing of the interparliamentary relations page on the Parliament of Australia website, archiving of files and information from previous parliaments, and coordination of Commonwealth Parliamentary Association activities. Delegations and visitsThe program of visits to and from Australia by parliamentary delegations during 2007–08 helped to promote relations with other parliaments and contributed to the strengthening of bilateral relations. During 2007–08, the department coordinated eleven overseas visits, which included bilateral visits to four countries; attendance at seven conferences, workshops and seminars; and two other visits (see Appendix 7). There were also nine official visits to Australia by parliamentary delegations from other countries as guests of the Australian Parliament, along with eighteen other visits (see Appendixes 5 and 6). The focus of the incoming visits program remained on strengthening relations with parliaments of the Asia–Pacific region. Delegations from Indonesia, New Zealand and Vietnam undertook official visits to Australia. Visits to the Australian Parliament were also undertaken by parliamentarians from countries in Africa, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. An Australian parliamentary delegation customarily undertakes a visit to institutions in Europe once every two years. The visits are part of a regular exchange with the European Parliament and, in previous years, have also included a bilateral visit to a European country. In 2008, however, the delegation visited a greater number of European Union and international institutions and did not undertake a bilateral visit. This change of focus was welcomed by delegation members in their feedback on the 2008 visit, and the approach taken was recommended for future delegations to institutions in Europe. A parliamentary partnership agreement was signed in Canberra between the Department of the House of Representatives and the National Assembly of the Socialist Republic of Vietnam. The agreement establishes a framework for exchanges between the two parliaments and helps to strengthen relations between Australia and Vietnam. Based on that agreement, a mentoring program for Vietnamese parliamentarians was developed in conjunction with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). This involved a study visit to Australia by a group of Vietnamese parliamentarians in June 2008, with a focus on constituent relations. Administrative support for incoming and outgoing delegations met the required performance standards. In their evaluations, delegation members for the most part rated the support services and program arrangements for outgoing visits as being ‘good’ to ‘excellent’. For the first time, a seminar was held for the diplomatic community in Canberra on the workings of the Australian Parliament. That seminar was attended by more than sixty members of the diplomatic community; participants rated the seminar content as valuable and recommended that such a seminar take place on an annual basis.
Members of the diplomatic community at the seminar on the Parliament, presented by staff of the department and the Department of the Senate in April 2008. Support for other parliamentsA variety of training and equipment was provided to other parliaments during the year to help increase understanding of and to strengthen parliamentary processes and practices. The Inter-Parliamentary Study Program was conducted in March 2008, with fourteen parliamentary officials from Africa, Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East and the Pacific. The annual two-week program provides the opportunity for participants to explore in detail parliamentary procedures and practices. Evaluations from the participants showed a high level of satisfaction with the program, with participants commending the program for its content and administration. Training, equipment and project support were provided for Pacific Island parliaments through the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association (CPA) Australian Region Education Trust Fund, which is a joint initiative of Australia’s federal, state and territory parliaments. The fund is administered by the PRO, which provides the secretariat for the Australian Region of the CPA. The support included training in Australia for Pacific Island parliamentary officials as well as project work conducted by Australian parliamentary officials in the Pacific region. Among the projects supported were development of a parliamentary library in Tuvalu, development of a website for the Cook Islands Parliament, the supply and installation of a modern telephone system for the Kiribati Parliament, development and production of a handbook for parliamentarians in Niue, and establishment of a financial system for the Solomon Islands Parliament. Feedback from Pacific Island parliaments indicated that the fund and the support provided through it are highly valued, help to enhance parliamentary capacity and help to strengthen relations between Australia and Pacific Island countries. The goodwill generated by the trust fund was reflected in comments such as those by Isaac Solomona, Editor of Debates at the Cook Islands Parliament, on the development of a website for the parliament: ‘This is a major step forward for us. We are grateful to all the good people in Australia for their wonderful assistance’. In February 2008, the department’s media manager from the Liaison and Projects Office conducted a two-day workshop for media in Timor-Leste, focusing on reporting of the national budget. The workshop was coordinated by the UNDP and was a follow-up to two earlier workshops that had been conducted on parliament and the media. Feedback from the UNDP indicated that the workshop was as successful as the previous workshops had been in developing the skills of journalists. In April 2008, the Clerk and the Director of the PRO conducted a strategic planning workshop in Dubai for the Afghanistan Parliament. The workshop, also coordinated by the UNDP, involved the secretaries-general and senior staff of the two houses of the Afghanistan Parliament. Proposals for further joint activities with the UNDP to strengthen the Afghanistan legislature, including a mentoring program for Afghanistan parliamentarians, were canvassed at the workshop and are under consideration. In its feedback on the workshop, the UNDP remarked that the workshop was ‘a milestone in the creation of a professional development strategy for the parliament staff’. The Clerk and another senior staff member made a series of presentations as part of a workshop on parliamentary administration that was held in Abuja in July 2007. The workshop was organised by the Policy Analysis and Research Project of the National Assembly of Nigeria for Assembly staff.
A departmental staff member working with the Clerk and the Speaker of the Parliament of Niue to produce a handbook for parliamentarians. Participation in international parliamentary organisationsThe Australian Parliament continued to be an active participant in a number of international parliamentary organisations, including the Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU), the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association and the Asia Pacific Parliamentary Forum (APPF). Australia also retained observer status at the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA). The PRO coordinated the Australian Parliament’s participation in the annual conferences and meetings of these organisations. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade also provided support. Feedback from parliamentarians indicated that participation in these organisations provided opportunities for discussions and exchanges with parliamentarians of other countries in a way that would otherwise not be available to them. Performance standards for the coordination of these activities were met. Opportunities were taken, as they arose, for Australian representatives to contribute in leadership positions within these parliamentary associations. At the Inter-Parliamentary Union, Mrs Kay Hull, MP (Member for Riverina), joined the IPU’s Advisory Group on HIV/AIDS. At the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, the Australian candidate was selected for the position of Director, Administration and Finance, at the CPA headquarters in London. At the Australian regional level for the CPA, the first-ever election was held for the Australian Region representative on the Commonwealth Women Parliamentarians Steering Committee. An Australian Region Steering Committee was also established, with federal, state and territory representatives, and is considering its future program of activities. Commonwealth Serjeants-at-Arms Professional Development ConferenceThe number of parliamentary staff visiting the Parliament for study purposes was boosted this year by delegates attending the Commonwealth Serjeants-at-Arms Professional Development Conference hosted by the House of Representatives. Over the course of a week, from 29 July to 4 August 2007, forty-eight Serjeants-at-Arms and Ushers of the Black Rod, from legislatures in Australia and throughout the Commonwealth, participated in a conference program that enabled them to explore a number of topical issues and also to gain insights into their fellow delegates’ parliamentary environments. Delegates and guest speakers chaired sessions in subject areas including parliamentary security, the role of the Serjeant today, community relations and the media. After the conference, delegates from African and Pacific island nations attended an extension program, sponsored jointly by the House of Representatives and the Commonwealth Parliamentary Association, with additional support provided by the Australian Centre for Democratic Institutions. The focus of the extension program was on institution building and development of the capacities of parliamentary staff. This week’s activities were the focus of a considerable volume of work by staff of the Serjeant-at-Arms’ Office during the first eight months of calendar year 2007. The support provided for the conference, partners’ program and CPA extension programs by these staff was detailed and wide-ranging. Delegates commended the conference generously as a success and warmly praised the support provided by the attendant team who provided much of the day-to-day assistance during proceedings. Improving performancePolicy and procedural documents were reviewed and revised during the election period. Delegation feedback forms continue to be used for all outgoing delegations to obtain evaluations of delegation programs and the support provided to delegations. The forms are useful in ensuring that future visits take account of lessons learned from each delegation. A communication survey was conducted in June 2008 to assess future requirements for the distribution of regional CPA information. The results from that survey will be considered and proposals developed for implementation. The interparliamentary relations page on the Parliament of Australia website is being revamped to provide more meaningful and interesting information on the range of international activities conducted. OutlookThe second half of 2008 will be a busy period for incoming and outgoing delegations, with a number of significant visits scheduled. Opportunities to further engage with parliaments in the Asia–Pacific region will be explored, along with opportunities to further contribute our staff’s skills to parliamentary-strengthening projects.
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Output Group 1.4
