Senator Cook asked the Minister representing the Minister for Foreign Affairs, upon notice, on 24 August 1999:

(1) Has the department recently co-sponsored an exhibition with Rio Tinto, dealing with Rio Tinto's relationship with Aboriginal people.

(2) (a) Is it correct that this exhibition is comprised, in part, of a series of panels: and

(b) do each of these panels refer by name to Rio Tinto

(3) (a) Is it correct that the exhibition is comprised, in part, of video presentations; and

(b) do each of these presentations refer by name to Rio Tinto

(4) Has a representative of Rio Tinto spoken at each of the launches of the exhibition; if so:

(a) what was the content of those speeches; and

(b) were they sanctioned by the Government

(5) (a) In which countries has this exhibition been showed;

(b) are there other countries in which the exhibition will be shown in the future; and

(c) in each case, on what dates has it been, or will it be, shown.

(6) Has the Commonwealth Government contributed taxpayer funds to the Rio Tinto exhibition; if so:

(a) how much federal money has been contributed; and

(b) how much money has been contributed by Rio Tinto.

(7) (a) Are further costs expected to be incurred;

(b) how much of these costs will be borne by the Australian Government; and

(c) how much will be borne by Rio Tinto

(8) Under what program were the funds made available to sponsor the exhibition with Rio Tinto.

(9) If the Federal Government has partly funded the exhibition, does this constitute Federal Government support for the content of the exhibition; if not, why not.

(10) Did the Federal Government view the material that is being exhibited by Rio Tinto; if so, who viewed the material and when.

(11) Were any recommendations made to Rio Tinto on the content of the exhibition; if so, what were they.

(12) (a) Who was the Minister responsible for approving the funding of the sponsorship; and

(b) did that Minister, or the Minister's office, view the exhibition before funding was approved.

Senator Hill (Environment and Heritage) —The Minister for Foreign Affairs has provided the following answer to the honourable senator's question:

(1) Yes. The concept of the exhibition arose out of the National Reconciliation Convention in 1997, at which the Rio Tinto subsidiary Hamersley Iron was declared national winner in the business category of the Reconciliation Awards. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade invited Rio Tinto and other award winners to participate in a project which would demonstrate the benefits of cooperation and partnership between Aboriginal communities and industry. Rio Tinto was the only company which agreed to participate.

(2) (a) Yes. There are 8 modules comprising 16 panels (1 module for each project consisting of 2-3 photographs on each panel) with brief descriptive text.

(b) Yes. Each panel refers to a series of cooperative projects between Aboriginal communities in Western Australia, the Northern Territory and Queensland and Rio Tinto aimed at developing employment and training, environmental rehabilitation, cultural heritage protection, business enterprises, cultural awareness, education, health and sports.

(3) (a) Yes. There are 8 video monitors: 1 on each module. Each video comprises a 2-3 minute presentation about each of the cooperative projects.

(b) Yes. Each video contains a brief presentation on each project by Aboriginal community representatives, business and project participants, explaining in their own words how each partnership or collaboration was developed and why, and the benefits gained.

(4) (a) Yes. Attached is a copy of the speech delivered at the launch of the exhibition in Canberra on 9 November 1999 by Barry Cusack, Managing Director of Rio Tinto Australia. All subsequent speeches by Rio Tinto representatives delivered similar messages.

(b) No. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade received an advance copy of the speech by the Managing Director of Rio Tinto Australia at the launch of the exhibition in Canberra. Speeches by Rio Tinto representatives at openings at other venues were similar in content.

(5) (a) Australia, Philippines, South Korea, Japan and Switzerland.

(b) Yes. The exhibition will be shown in The Netherlands from 18-29 October 1999. Venues in Belgium, Germany and the United Kingdom are being considered.

(c) 9 November 1998 Canberra (official launch)

16-27 November 1998 Manila

25 January-5 February 1999 Perth

11-18 February 1999 Brisbane

2-18 March 1999 Seoul

13-21 May 1999 Melbourne

17 June-6 July 1999 Tokyo

19-30 July 1999 Geneva

18-29 October 1999 The Hague

(6) Yes. The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade has contributed funds to the development of this joint initiative with Rio Tinto.

(a) $295,000

(b) Rio Tinto is not prepared to release this information.

(7) (a) Yes.

(b) $75,000

(c) Rio Tinto is not prepared to release this information.

(8) The Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Program of the Images of Australia Branch of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade.

(9) Yes.

(10) Yes. Officers of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, including the Executive Officer of the Department's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Program, were closely consulted during the development of the exhibition. The Exhibition was also viewed by the Minister for Foreign Affairs and the Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs on 9 November 1998 at the official launch in Canberra and by the then Minister for Trade in Manila on 16 November 1998. The Minister for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Affairs also attended the exhibition in Geneva in July 1999.

(11) Yes. Recommendations included: that the overall theme of the exhibition incorporate the `voice' of Aboriginal Australia; that content, including video presentations, photographs and text be cleared by the Aboriginal communities involved, and; that a working group including Aboriginal representatives, monitor and advise on all stages and content of the exhibition's development. These recommendations were implemented. As a result, the exhibition has been strongly supported by prominent members of the aboriginal community including Patrick Dodson who wrote the introduction, Lowitja O'Donoghue who attended the launch in Canberra and ATSIC Chairman, Gatjil Djerrkura who attended the exhibition in Geneva in July 1999.

(12) (a) The Minister for Foreign Affairs, Mr Downer.

(b) No. The exhibition was developed after funding was approved.