5th May 2013
Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Defence Minister Stephen Smith launched Australia’s new Defence White Paper in an RAAF hangar in Canberra. They were flanked by Australia’s senior military chiefs and defence officials, against the backdrop of some impressive looking hardware and a military band. The hangar was open to the elements, so we could all […]
26th April 2013
The silence of 35,000 people gathered in pre-dawn darkness is a genuinely spine-tingling experience. Every year more and more Australians seem to want to turn out for what is both an annual commemoration of Australia’s war sacrifices and a proud expression of national identity. Before the service, Corporal Ben Roberts-Smith, one of Australia’s four living […]
Read more on 35,000 silent mourners at ANZAC Day commemoration | Reply
24th April 2013
This was the interesting title I was asked to talk about by the NSW Community Relations Commission. In Parramatta, unofficial capital of Sydney’s sprawling Western Suburbs, home to some 10% of Australia’s population and the heartland of the “new Australians”, I met young leaders from a range of different communities: Iraqi, Afghanistani, Indian, Coptic Christians […]
15th April 2013
Standing in his moleskins in a grove of gum trees in rural Victoria, British Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Owen Paterson looked every inch the countryman. Me, in my dark suit, not so much. He was here with scientific and policy officials to look at several aspects of Australian agriculture. The […]
11th April 2013
There are few things more important than education. Our Chevening scholarships benefit the individuals who come to the UK to study, the communities from which they come, and the societies to which they return, often to play future leadership roles. So it was a great pleasure to be sending four more young indigenous Australians off […]
Read more on Four more indigenous scholars head to Cambridge and Oxford | Reply (1)
10th April 2013
By a strange coincidence, I found myself down a coal mine on the day Margaret Thatcher died. The 1984-5 miners’ strike had been one of the many significant events of her premiership. There has been massive coverage of her death in the Australian media and comments from across the political spectrum paying tribute to Lady […]
2nd April 2013
In the Northern Hemisphere the backdrop to the great Christian festival of Easter is Spring and renewal. In Australia it’s Autumn. Seasons matter: it feels different. But Autumn can be beautiful here, and it’s also a time of festivals. Sydney’s Royal Easter Show, is a massive event with nearly a million people visiting the showground […]
28th March 2013
Because of its fantastic tourist attractions, from the Great Barrier Reef to the Gold Coast, many of the 640,000 Brits who come to Australia each year visit Queensland. The vast majority of visits are completely trouble-free, but the sheer volume means that our Consular team in Brisbane are kept busy. Some people get ill, or […]
Read more on The Brits in Brissie – consular assistance | Reply
25th March 2013
“Thursday” is a new play based on Gill Hicks, the Adelaide-born lady who lost both legs in the London tube bombings, and who has been such an inspiration with her bravery and dignity. It was with mixed feelings that I went along to the Canberra theatre to see this fascinating collaboration between the English Touring […]
Read more on Anglo/Australian play about the 7/7 London bombings | Reply
19th March 2013
I’m definitely not a “petrolhead”, but I am fascinated by all the razzmatazz that goes on around Melbourne’s iconic Grand Prix, bringing together the celebs, the politicians and the business suits. But the aspect which interests me most of all, is the extraordinary research-intensive industry that lies behind the world of F1, much of it […]
Read more on High tech British industry behind the F1 pizzazz | Reply