The Australian Parliament’s international program focuses on parliamentary engagement, cooperation and strengthening, with an emphasis on parliamentary relations with countries in the Asia–Pacific region.

As foreshadowed in last year’s annual report, in 2014–15 the department implemented the Presiding Officers’ response to the report of the review of the international program which they commissioned in 2013. The resulting changed administrative structure is now in place.

The International and Community Relations Office, a joint office administered by the department, was disbanded. The department’s community outreach function was separated completely from the international program function, and became part of a new office of the department focusing on access to information, the Parliamentary Business and Information Systems Office. Support for the international program is provided by two separate offices under two different directors. The International and Parliamentary Relations Office (IPRO) manages the incoming and outgoing delegation programs, membership of inter-parliamentary organisations, and the international interests and travel of members and senators. The Parliamentary Skills Centre (PSC) is responsible for all parliamentary strengthening and capacity-building programs of the Australian Parliament.

Activities and projects in 2014–15 were coordinated primarily through IPRO and the PSC, with input from all four parliamentary departments. IPRO, established in July 2014, and the PSC, established in August 2014, are joint offices administered by this department, and IPRO also receives part funding from the Department of the Senate.

In 2014–15, the budget allocation for the component was $2.493 million and expenditure was $2.233 million. Progress against the deliverable and key performance indicators for the component is summarised in Appendix 1. Staff levels, by location, are shown in Appendix 2.

A delegation from ASEAN countries with members of the Inverloch Surf Lifesaving Club, November 2014.

Performance summary

A comprehensive program of incoming and outgoing visits during the year strengthened bilateral links with several national parliaments. The Australian Parliament continued to support the capacity-building of parliaments in the region, and played an active role in parliamentary associations to which it belongs. Departmental staff adjusted effectively to the new administrative support arrangements for the international program, and a new Inter- Parliamentary Relations Advisory Group was formed.

Parliamentary engagement

During 2014–15, the department coordinated 20 official visits overseas, including bilateral visits to seven countries; attendance at seven assemblies, conferences, workshops and seminars; and 11 other visits, including Presiding Officer visits and the annual committee visits to New Zealand, the Asia–Pacific region and the People’s Republic of China (see Committee services, International Visits and Appendix 8). There were 10 official visits to Australia by parliamentary delegations from other countries as guests of the Australian Parliament (see Appendix 9) and 33 other visits, including a range of capacity-building activities (see Appendixes 10 and 11).

A significant regional focus was maintained in the visits programs. Eleven of the 20 overseas visits were to countries in Asia or Oceania, and four of the 10 official visits to Australia were from parliaments in our immediate region. One notable such visit was the first official parliamentary delegation from Fiji in 12 years, led by the Speaker of the Parliament of Fiji, Dr Jiko Luveni. The delegation’s visit in March 2015 represented a valuable opportunity to renew ties with the Parliament of Fiji, following elections in that country and the re-establishment of its parliament.

To enhance links with parliaments of Latin America, the Presiding Officers approved the introduction of a multi-country Latin American delegation visit to Australia for 2014–15. The visit took place in August and September 2014 and included regional Australia in addition to the capital cities; the delegation inspected businesses in the Hunter Valley and conducted a roundtable dialogue there with members of the Australian Parliament’s Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade. Invitations have been issued to 10 parliaments for the second visit, scheduled to take place in September 2015.

For the 2014 outgoing delegations program, a new initiative—the parliamentary field visit—was trialled. The destination for a field visit is chosen based on a policy issue, rather than geography, to allow a group of parliamentarians with a particular interest in an issue to broaden their knowledge and understanding and report back to the parliament.

In considering potential topics for the visit to propose to the Presiding Officers, the party whips agreed that a field visit should focus on an issue that requires broad bipartisan support in the parliament to deliver an outcome for the community.

The first field visit was undertaken by the Hon Philip Ruddock MP and Mr Chris Hayes MP, who visited Jordan, Turkey and Lebanon in November 2014 to examine population movements, including asylum seekers. The delegates noted the value of the visit in giving them an insight into an important humanitarian issue with significant implications for Australia. On their return, they presented their views and findings at a forum for members, senators and parliamentary staff.

Following the success of the first field visit, a further two—to examine energy security and community inclusion—were approved for 2015. It is anticipated that two field visits will be a standard inclusion in the outgoing delegations program in non-election years.

The work of incoming and outgoing parliamentary delegations continued to be promoted through the Parliament of Australia website, including publication of short articles and video interviews with delegation leaders.

Outgoing and incoming delegations gave positive feedback on the quality of the programs, both at debrief meetings and through correspondence. For example, Professor Dr Norbert Lammers, President of the German Bundestag, who led a parliamentary delegation to Australia in October 2014, thanked the Presiding Officers for the arrangements made for the delegation, praising the ‘most informative’ program and its ‘fantastic preparation and thoughtful stewardship’, and indicating that the delegation looked forward to continuing the contact established during the visit.

The Hon Philip Ruddock MP (centre, seated) and Mr Chris Hayes MP (standing, at right) visiting a class at Nizip refugee camp in Turkey on a parliamentary field visit, November 2014.

Parliamentary cooperation

The Australian Parliament maintained its commitment to regional and international parliamentary cooperation. In 2014–15, delegations attended the ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly, two Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) assemblies, the Asia Pacific Parliamentary Forum and the Australian and Pacific Presiding Officers and Clerks Conference (for more details, see Appendix 8).

In June 2015, IPRO organised a visit to the parliament from the Secretary-General of the IPU, Mr Martin Chungong. Mr Chungong met with the Presiding Officers, Australia’s delegation to the IPU General Assembly, other members, parliamentary staff and government officials. A focus of the visit was discussion of opportunities for the parliament and the IPU to work together to strengthen parliamentary democracy in the Pacific region.

A seminar was conducted at Parliament House for 100 members of the diplomatic community in Canberra on the processes and work of the parliament and the operation of its international program.

Parliamentary strengthening

As noted above, the PSC was established in August 2014 to carry out the parliamentary strengthening activities that had been part of the work of the former International and Community Relations Office. The PSC has a small staff, and through the generous support of members, senators and colleagues from throughout the parliamentary service it enables the parliament to engage in substantial collaboration in capacity-building with Pacific and other parliaments.

The PSC continued to coordinate activities under the Pacific Parliamentary Partnerships program and the work of the Pacific Women’s Parliamentary Partnerships Project (funded under the Australian Government’s Pacific Women Shaping Pacific Development Initiative). The major focus of the Pacific Parliamentary Partnerships program during the year was on capacity-building to support the re-establishment of the Fiji Parliament (in collaboration with the Victorian Parliament and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)) and the ongoing development of the Papua New Guinea Parliament (in collaboration with the Queensland Parliament). These two strengthening initiatives have been made possible by funding from the Centre for Democratic Institutions at the Australian National University and the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

During the year, the Pacific Women’s Parliamentary Partnerships Project’s major activities comprised member exchanges for women members of Pacific parliaments with Australian parliaments, the annual Pacific Women’s Parliamentary Partnerships Forum (which was held in Suva and considered the issue of family violence), the retreat for Pacific clerks (which focused on gender equality in parliaments), and scholarships for three Pacific parliamentary staff (from Papua New Guinea, Tonga and Kiribati) who undertook research attachments at the Parliamentary Library for a month.

The PSC continued to provide support for capacity-building programs and responded to requests for assistance from other parliaments and international organisations, including through collaborative work with colleagues in the Department of the Senate and the Department of Parliamentary Services. A highlight of professional development activities at the international level was the regular Inter-Parliamentary Study Program, which was coordinated by the PSC and took place in March 2015. Senior staff participated from national parliaments in Brazil, China, Federated States of Micronesia, Germany, Kiribati, Mongolia, Myanmar, Thailand and Zimbabwe.

Contributions were also made by a range of departmental staff, through the PSC, to study programs for members and staff of a number of parliaments, including Bahrain, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nigeria, Pakistan and Papua New Guinea.

Improving performance

The department implemented the Presiding Officers’ response to the review of the international program from July 2014. The major aspects of the response were the restructure of the administrative support functions for the international program and the establishment of an advisory group. The restructure of the administrative support functions is discussed above. The other key implementation from the response was the establishment, in July 2014, of the Inter-Parliamentary Relations Advisory Group, consisting of two parliamentarians (appointed by the Presiding Officers in consultation with the whips), the heads of the parliamentary departments and the Parliamentary Librarian. The role of the advisory group is to provide advice to the Presiding Officers and to develop a strategic plan for the international program. The department provided support to the advisory group in 2014–15, encouraging greater transparency in the conduct of the international program. An important part of this process was the development of a strategic plan for the international program, which is expected to be formally implemented in 2015–16.

Outlook

The year ahead will include a full program of delegation visits. In the first half of 2015–16, 20 outgoing delegations (including committee visits, parliamentary field visits and attendance at assemblies) and five official incoming parliamentary delegations are scheduled. Delegation visits over the second half of the year, especially outgoing delegations, are expected to decrease as the Forty-fourth Parliament draws to a close.

Parliamentary strengthening programs administered through the PSC will remain a priority area for the international program, and initiatives and activities established under the Pacific Parliamentary Partnerships program and the Pacific Women’s Parliamentary Partnerships Project will continue to be supported. As the Australian Parliament relies on funding from government or other sources, such as the UNDP and the IPU, to support much of its parliamentary capacity-building work with other parliaments, the extent to which the PSC is able to secure such funds will greatly influence the level of the parliament’s contributions. The PSC will continue to respond to invitations to the parliament to collaborate on parliamentary strengthening, giving due consideration to the limited resources available for such work, and will continue to apply for funds when grant and other funding offers are available.

It is anticipated that the strategic plan for the international program, developed by the Inter- Parliamentary Relations Advisory Group, will be formalised during 2015–16. The advisory group will continue to be supported in its work by staff of the department.

Over the second half of the year, preparations will begin for the Forty-fifth Parliament, including periodic project work and preparation of forward work programs.