The Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade will appear at Australia’s Parliament House for Senate estimates, answering questions on its programs and policies to bring greater transparency on how it operates. The department’s last appearance was in March, with questions drawing attention to official COVID-19 numbers from Papua New Guinea being lower than the reality.
While DFAT staff are expected to provide as much detail as possible to questions as they are asked, they can take questions “on notice” and provide written responses after getting further information. Currently, 24 requests for information from the March period remain unanswered — and overdue for a response.
Australia’s response to the Myanmar crisis has been criticized as being “slow,” with suggestions that Foreign Affairs Minister Marise Payne has provided no clear action in response. In March, Australia’s response focused on questioning at estimates with a number of critical questions remaining unanswered.