10 May 2011

353  MR DANBY: To ask the Minister for Foreign Affairs—

(1) Is he able to confirm that on 23 February 2011 Senegal cut diplomatic ties with Iran; if so, can he indicate whether this was based on Senegal’s concerns about an arms shipment from Iran that landed in the Apapa port of Lagos, Nigeria, in July 2010.

(2) Can he confirm that (a) this shipment of arms was in violation of United Nations sanctions under Security Council Resolution 1929 or any other resolution(s), and (b) the ship transporting these arms was owned by CMA CGM.

(3) Can he confirm whether CMA CGM owned the ship Victoria, seized by Israel off Gaza on the 24 February 2011, and whether Victoria was on this occasion containing arms in violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1929, or any other resolution(s).

(4) Do ships operated by CMA CGM visit or transit in Australia; if so, (a) on what dates since 1 January 2007, and (b) were their cargoes inspected by Australian authorities; if so, were they found to be in breach of any United Nations Security Council resolutions.

354  MR FLETCHER: To ask the Assistant Treasurer—In respect of investigations by the Australian Securities Investments Commission (ASIC) into (a) Trio Capital Ltd and its associated managed investment schemes, (b) Storm Financial Ltd, and (c) the Westpoint Group of companies, (i) when did investigations commence, (ii) what prompted the investigations, and (iii) what series of actions were taken by ASIC to prevent each entity from continuing to operate, or continuing to offer financial products.

355  MR FLETCHER: To ask the Assistant Treasurer—In respect of investigations by the Australian Securities Investments Commission (ASIC) into (a) Trio Capital Ltd and its associated managed investment schemes, (b) Storm Financial Ltd, and (c) the Westpoint Group of companies, (i) approximately what total sum of money was lost by investors in each fund/scheme, (ii) what series of actions were taken by ASIC against parties, including third parties, for loss recovery purposes, including compensating investors, (iii) what criteria were used by ASIC in taking such actions, particularly in determining whether the public interest was served, (iv) how were the facts of each case assessed against the criteria, (v) what weight was given to situations where investors had been placed into very risky investments, versus those where money was lost through fraud, and (vi) what was the outcome of the series of actions taken by ASIC.

356  MR FLETCHER: To ask the Assistant Treasurer—In respect of the investigations by the Australian Securities Investments Commission into Trio Capital Ltd and its associated managed investment schemes, what actions are being, or have been, taken to pursue international enforcement, for example, via intergovernmental treaties, liaison with the regulatory agencies, extradition arrangements, etc.

358  MR FLETCHER: To ask the Minister representing the Minister for Finance and Deregulation—In respect of the department’s Reform of Government Scorecard (November 2007 to May 2010):

(1)  What savings have been achieved under the new contractual arrangements referred to on page 2, for the provision of domestic and international air services and Travel Management Services to the Government since 1 July 2010.

(2) What sales have occurred since February 2009 under the new Commonwealth Property Disposals Policy referred to on page 3.

(3) What savings have been achieved under the new guidelines for property management referred to on page 4.

(4) What progress has been made on the (a) ICT workforce plan and government career structure, and (b) whole-of-government ICT sustainability plan, both referred to on page 5.

(5) What savings were made in the 2010 calendar year on advertising expenditure, following on from the earlier savings referred to on page 5.

(6) What savings we re made in 2009-10 on expenditure for consultants, following on from the earlier savings referred to on page 6.

(7) What is the status of the installation of TelePresence technology being installed in 29 sites across Australia, referred to on page 7.

(8) Did the Standard Business Reporting system referred to on page 10 become operational on 1 July 2010; if not, when did or will it become operational, and what is the reason for the delay.

(9) What progress has been made in relation to the Regulation Stocktake, both in implementing the achievements outlined on pages 11-12, and in progressing further initiatives.

(10) What progress has been made on the mandatory publication of individual grants on departmental websites referred to on page 13.

(11) What progress has been made on the commitment to identify and document specific projects to make use of social network and ‘crowd sourcing’ tools and techniques to enhance agency policy making, implementation and continuous improvement, referred to on page 14.

(12) What are the balances of funds remaining in the Building Australia Fund , the Education Investment Fund and the Health and Hospitals Fund referred to on page 15, as at 31 December 2010.

(13) What is the progress of legislation to form a single trustee body, the Commonwealth Superannuation Corporation from 1 July 2010 referred to on page 16.

(14) What is the progress of service delivery reform and improvements by the Department of Human Service in the areas outlined on page 19.

(15) What is the status of coordinated procurement contracts in each of the areas outlined on page 21: (a) courier services; (b) office removals and staff relocations; (c) travel services; (d) security guarding services; (e) transactional banking services, and (f) subscription services.