asked the Minister for Broadband, Communications and the Digital Economy, upon notice, on 17 August 2011:

Has the Minister or any of his ministerial staff received a briefing, written or verbal, from his department, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and/or consultants regarding the expansion of the Australia Network into the Middle East and North Africa and its impact on the Network's penetration rates in Asia and/or the Pacific; if so, when and what was the nature of this advice.

The answer to the honourable senator's question is as follows:

I was involved in the Cabinet discussions on the additional criterion added to the Request for Tender. Consideration is a matter of Cabinet confidentiality.