House debates Questions in Writing
Foreign Affairs and Trade: Language Fluency (Question No. 332)
Ms Julie Bishop Curtin, Liberal Party, Deputy Leader of the Opposition
asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs, in writing, on 24 March 2011:
(1) How many ambassadors/high commissioners are fluent in the official language of the country in which they are currently posted.
(2) How many departmental officials are considered fluent in (a) Bahasa Indonesia or other Indonesian dialects, (b) Japanese, (c) Mandarin, (d) Hindi, (e) Korean, (f) Arabic, (g) French, and (h) German.
Kevin Rudd Griffith, Australian Labor Party, Minister for Foreign Affairs
The answer to the honourable member's question is as follows:
(1) 31 ambassadors/high commissioners are fluent in the official language of the country to which they are currently posted where English is not the official language.
(2) The following table shows the number of departmental officials fluent in the particular language: