House of Representatives Committees

| Parliamentary Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade

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Australia’s Overseas Representation—Punching below our weight?

October 2012

View the report as a single document - (PDF 1.9MB)

View the report as separate downloadable parts:


Preliminary pages	(PDF 350KB)

Chapter 1 Introduction	(PDF 205KB)
Background to the inquiry The Committee’s interest Australia’s diplomatic footprint Conduct of the inquiry

Chapter 2 Australia’s diplomatic footprint	(PDF 546KB)
Introduction Australia’s current footprint Criteria for the location of diplomatic posts Committee comment Distribution of diplomatic posts Criticisms of Australia’s footprint Consequences of an inadequate diplomatic footprint Benefits of a deeper engagement Committee comment Funding an expanded footprint Closing diplomatic posts and reallocating resources Taking funds from other portfolios and programs User-pays Committee comment Specific proposals for expanding the footprint Africa Latin America Europe Middle East Deepening the diplomatic footprint Committee comment Priority areas for overseas diplomacy Committee comment

Chapter 3 Activities at overseas posts	(PDF 429KB)
Introduction Framework for managing overseas posts Committee comment Activities of overseas posts Representation and liaison Trade and investment promotion Managing assistance programs Managing entry into Australia Assisting Australians overseas Ability of overseas posts to undertake their tasks Level of staffing and budget Numbers of A-based staff overseas Language proficiency of staff Back-to-back posting of staff Effect on separation rates and morale Locally engaged staff Conclusion

Chapter 4 E-diplomacy	(PDF 477KB)
Introduction Defining ‘e-diplomacy’ A new technological environment for diplomacy Australia’s current e-diplomacy regime Online public diplomacy Knowledge management Internal communication and global connectivity Consular service delivery Overseas voting in Australian elections Disaster response Future directions in e-diplomacy The cost of e-diplomacy E-diplomacy versus on-the-ground representation Committee Comment

Appendix A – List of Submissions	(PDF 54KB)

Appendix B – List of Exhibits	(PDF 50KB)

Appendix C – Witnesses appearing at public hearings	(PDF 130KB)