DETAILS of trade and copyright in the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP) will be examined by the Joint Standing Committee on Treaties at a hearing in Canberra on Monday.

Committee Chair, Stuart Robert MP, says the Committee will hear about a range of issues, reflecting the broad scope of the TPP.

“The TPP should create a level playing field for trade and investment across the Asia Pacific, including major Australian trading partners like the United States, Japan and Singapore,” Mr Robert says.

“The diversity of witnesses appearing on Monday speaks to the TPP’s range of potential benefits.  The Committee will hear from experts in Intellectual Property, copyright, and the information technology industry. 

“In addition, the Committee will talk to the peak bodies of the mining industry, trade unions, food and grocery producers, the Chambers of Commerce and Industry, grain growers, and legal professionals.

“This will be the Committee’s penultimate hearing into the TPP, with a final hearing involving Government witnesses to be held on 7 November.”

During the hearing, the Committee will also be taking evidence from trade unions on the Paris Agreement.

Mr Robert says people interested in the Committee’s inquiries can visit the Treaties Committee’s website for further information.

Public Hearing: Monday 17 October 2016, Committee Room 1R1, Parliament House, Canberra

8:15am: Australian Council of Trade Unions, Electrical Trades Union, Australian Manufacturing Workers Union

9:00am: Associate Professor Kimberlee Weatherall

9:30am: Copyright Advisory Group, COAG Education Council

10:00am: Minerals Council of Australia

10:30am: Australian Chamber of Commerce and Industry

11:00am: Australian Council of Trade Unions

11:30am: Food and Grocery Council

12:00pm: Law Council of Australia

12:30pm: GrainGrowers

The hearing will be broadcast live at aph.gov.au/live.

Further information about the inquiry can be accessed via the Committee’s website. 

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THE Joint Committee of Public Accounts and Audit has launched new inquiries into Commonwealth procurement, performance and risk management as part of its examination of Auditor-General reports.

These new inquiries form the first tranche of the Committee’s work in the 45th Parliament.

The JCPAA is a central committee of the Parliament and has the power to initiate its own inquiries on the Commonwealth public sector. The Committee examines all reports of the Auditor-General tabled in the Parliament and can inquire into any items, matters or circumstances connected with these reports. A large number of Auditor-General reports have been tabled since the Committee last met in May 2016, prior to the dissolution of the 44th Parliament.

The newly elected Committee Chair, Senator Dean Smith, said that the JCPAA examines whether public money is used in an efficient, effective, economical and ethical manner.

“As Parliament’s joint public administration committee, the JCPAA has an important role in holding Commonwealth agencies to account, and our inquiries further strengthen the performance and accountability of agencies entrusted with billions of dollars of taxpayers’ money,” Senator Smith said.

“The Committee is focusing on common audit themes identified by the Auditor-General. By taking a thematic approach to these inquiries, the Committee seeks to encourage improvements and shared learning in key areas of public administration.”

“Reports presented by the Auditor-General are valuable because they identify issues requiring improvement and detail examples of sound public administration.”

The Committee has commenced the following inquiries based on audit reports, focused on:

• Commonwealth procurement—procurement under the OneSKY Australia Program; delivery of health services in onshore immigration detention; and procurement of garrison support and welfare services in offshore processing centres in Nauru and Papua New Guinea
• Commonwealth performance framework—implementation of appropriate performance information by departments to strengthen accountability, including in the Higher Education Loan Program
• Commonwealth risk management—risk assessment processes to ensure effective monitoring and reporting of the Disability Support Pension
• Public sector governance—the cost effectiveness of efforts to streamline regulation

The Committee invites submissions to the inquiries, addressing the terms of reference. Submissions are requested by Monday, 7 November 2016. Public hearings will be held from late November 2016. Further information about the inquiries can be accessed via the Committee’s website.

The Committee’s inquiries are based on the following Auditor-General reports:

Commonwealth procurement:

• No. 1 (2016-17) Procurement of the International Centre for Complex Project Management to Assist on the OneSKY Australia Program
• No. 13 (2016-17) Delivery of Health Services in Onshore Immigration Detention
• No. 16 (2016-17) Offshore Processing Centres in Nauru and Papua New Guinea: Procurement of Garrison Support and Welfare Services

Commonwealth performance framework

• No. 6 (2016-17) Corporate Planning in the Australian Public Sector
• No. 31 (2015-16) Administration of Higher Education Loan Program Debt and Repayments

Commonwealth risk management

• No. 18 (2015-16) Qualifying for the Disability Support Pension

Public sector governance

• No.29 (2015-16) Implementing the Deregulation Agenda: Cutting Red Tape

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LONDON --Smartmatic is officially presenting this week the first secure online voting solution where the voter's identity is verified with a 'selfie'.

The greatest challenge for online voting has always been to make sure that whoever is voting is really the person that is eligible to vote, and also to guarantee that every person can vote only once. This has been finally solved by providing a secure digital identity to voters where their facial image is taken as part of the registration process and then checked with a selfie prior to casting their vote online.

The presentation will take place during the E-VOTE-ID 2016 conference in Bregenz, Austria, on October 18-21. This event, gathers election experts from around the world, to share research, experience and best practice in the realm of electronic voting and identity management.

“We are proud to be presenting this ‘class-leading’ solution that seamlessly integrates online authentication and voting, thereby empowering election authorities to successfully address the challenges of remote voting and voter eligibility assurance. With our solution, you can vote online securely with a selfie,” said Antonio Mugica, Smartmatic’s CEO.

Smartmatic’s online voting system, TIVI, leverages facial biometrics to allow voters to authenticate themselves using their smartphone, tablet, PC or laptop. Integrating biometric authentication with online voting eliminates the risk of voter impersonation and guarantees that only eligible voters have access to the system and can successfully cast their vote.

TIVI is the only online voting solution in the world that allows universal digital verifiability to prove the integrity of the vote, from the point of casting up to the counting central facility. Utilising advanced cryptographic techniques and a Blockchain based ballot box, it guarantees voter privacy, vote security and vote integrity.

More information can be found at tivi.io.

About Smartmatic

Founded in the US in 2000, Smartmatic is the leading provider of voting technologies and solutions worldwide. Today, out of the eight countries pioneering election automation Smartmatic provides technology and services to six of them: Belgium, Brazil, Estonia, the Philippines, US and Venezuela.

The company has managed elections across five continents, processing over 3.7 billion votes. Smartmatic is headquartered in London, UK.

For more information, visit www.smartmatic.com.

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