Carr initially said last week that his Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade had been unaware that the prisoner, who also used the names Ben Allen and Ben Alon, had been in Israeli custody until his family asked for his body to be repatriated.

NPR: Israeli Premier Defends Israel In Prisoner Scandal

Speaking at the Paydirt Africa Down Under conference in Perth, the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade secretary Dennis Richardson said the number of Australian mining firms listed on the stock exchange and operating in Africa had jumped from 54 in 2003 to more than 160 this year.

FORBES: Australia Seeks Paydirt In Africa

Another of Sir Richard's recommendations was that the decision on export licences should not be left to a kind of "wrangling" between the Foreign Office, the Department of Trade and Industry and the Ministry of Defence.

BBC: Act on arms exports, warns Scott