asked the Minister representing the Minister for Foreign Affairs, upon notice, on 21 September 2011:

Will a representative from AusAID or the Minister's office be attending the Global Microcredit Summit in Spain in November 2011: (a) if so, who will be attending the summit; and (b) if not, why is there no representative attending and what plans are in place for the Minister or AusAID to engage in the outcomes and learnings from the summit.

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

(a)   AusAID was unable to attend the Global Microcredit Summit due to competing priorities at the time.

(b)   A number of AusAID's microfinance partners participated in the Summit as panel members. These included the Consultative Group on Assisting the Poor; International Finance Corporation; Women's World Banking; United Nations Capital Development Fund; and the International Labour Organisation.