(1)   What exchanges have taken place between his department and the Indonesian Government concerning proposed cooperation in the reform of Indonesian Cabinet and policy coordination processes.

(2)   What outcomes have been achieved from and exchanges and cooperation.

(1)   My Department has participated in the following five exchanges to date with the Indonesian public service, funded through the Government Partnership Fund, as part of the Australian-Indonesian Partnership for Reconstruction and Development (AIRPD):

(a)   in September 2005 one official from the Department of the Prime Minister and Cabinet (PM&C) participated in a High Level Public Sector Scoping Mission to Jakarta led by the Australian Public Service Commissioner;

(b)   in December 2005 a PM&C representative attended a workshop in Jakarta on the scope for improving strategic policy making in Indonesia organised by the United Nations Support Facility for Indonesian Recovery (UNSFIR);

(c)   in January 2006 PM&C hosted a scoping mission to Canberra of eight senior officials from the Indonesian State Secretariat (Sekretariat Negara or ‘SetNeg’), the Indonesian Cabinet Secretariat (Sekretariat Kabinet or ‘SetKab’) and the Office of the President of Indonesia who sought to gain a broad overview of Australian Cabinet and policy coordination processes;

(d)   at the end of July extending to early August 2006 PM&C hosted a visit to Canberra and Sydney by officials from Setneg for detailed briefings on relevant aspects of Australian Government systems and processes and to identify specific areas in which future exchanges might be of value; and

(e)   At the end of August extending to early September 2006, PM&C hosted a visit to Canberra and Sydney by officials from Setkab with similar programme and objectives to those set out in paragraph 1(d) above.

(2)   These exchanges were targeted at improving public-service level cooperation between governments and initiating development assistance in areas identified by the Indonesian Government as priorities, such as managing cabinet and budget processes and intra-government coordination. The visits have identified areas in which the Government of Indonesia is likely to be interested in longer term exchanges and PM&C is working with Setneg and Setkab to identify the scope for specific further exchange activities in areas of mutual interest.