Summary heading

 

Previous accession system transfers

  This series replaces AA1984/398

Summary heading

A12745 – Inquiry into Torres Strait Treaty, single number series

Function and purpose

This series contains papers of the Sub-committee on Territorial Boundaries of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence.

This sub-committee was established on 4 May 1976, with the terms of reference to “consider, investigate and report to the main Committee on the boundaries between Australia and Papua New Guinea, Indonesia and Portuguese (East) Timor, and first priority be given to the boundary with Papua New Guinea and that a report on this aspect be presented within six months.”(NAA: A12882, 2) At this time, negotiations were underway between the Federal Government and the Government of Papua New Guinea to define the sovereignty and boundaries between the two countries in the Torres Strait, which resulted in the Torres Strait Treaty signed in December 1978.

The sub-committee report on the territorial boundary with Papua New Guinea was tabled in Parliament in December 1976. However, the sub-committee continued to receive submissions on the issue, and in March 1977 it was requested by the main committee to continue “to monitor current developments on the issue of territorial borders between Australia and Papua New Guinea” (NAA: A12745, 6), and if necessary prepare a supplementary report. The sub-committee submitted a second report, tabled in Parliament on 31 May 1979, containing recommendations on the implementation of the Torres Strait Treaty and the management of ongoing issues associated with the Treaty.

This series contains documents that relate to Australia’s border with Papua New Guinea and negotiations over the Torres Strait, accumulated and created by the sub-committee after the completion of the first report in 1976. The papers include submissions made to the committee, reports, briefing notes, and records of meetings and of a visit to the Torres Strait area by the sub-committee members. The papers also include drafts and a final version of the sub-committee’s 1979 report. A small number of papers relate to other subjects investigated by the sub-committee, including the Law of the Sea and Australia’s interests in Antarctica.

Related legislation

The Torres Strait Treaty (Miscellaneous Amendments) Act 1984

Using the series

This series is useful to researchers examining relations between Australia and Papua New Guinea during negotiations of their shared border, particularly Australian interests and concerns.

Language of material

 

Physical characteristics

All records in the series are paper files. They are contained in manilla covers printed ‘Department of Senate’, and stamped ‘Joint Committee on Foreign Affairs, Defence and Trade’.

System of arrangement and control

These files are arranged in a single number system.

Relationships with other records

In addition to this series, papers of the Sub-committee on Territorial Boundaries of the Joint Parliamentary Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence relating to the boundary of Australia and Papua New Guinea were also recorded in series A12882. The papers in that series are from the period May to December 1976, concluding with the submission of the sub-committee’s first report.

Finding aids

All items from this series in the custody of the National Archives have been entered on Record Search.

Access conditions

 

Series history

Records in this series were transferred to the National Archives of Australia in March 2004 by CA 692, Department of the House of Representatives.

Provenance

 

Immediate source of acquisition

 

Custodial history

 

Quantity in agency custody

 

Disposal history

 

Publication note

 

Additional information

 

End notes

 

Sources

National Communications Branch, 25 August 2009, ‘Fact Sheet 72 – DIAC’s role in the Torres Strait’, Department of Immigration and Citizenship, Canberra. Viewed 17 September 2009, www.immi.gov.au/media/fact-sheets/72torres.htm

Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, ‘Torres Strait Treaty and You’, Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Canberra. Viewed 17 September 2009, www.dfat.gov.au/geo/torres_strait/index.html