Getting to know you

It’s been over a month since I arrived with my family in Australia; and it’s been busy! I’ve been investing time in getting to know the country and have travelled 6,500 miles in the last two weeks, shuttling between Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne, Perth and Brisbane. I’ve met our fantastic ‘UK in Australia’ team spread across our five posts, as well as Governors, Premiers, Ministers, MPs, academics, think-tankers and local business leaders.

As a family, we’ve also been discovering Canberra – a beautiful city which defies its sometimes bad press; and enjoyed cycling, running and visiting the beautiful Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve. And we’re looking forward to the upcoming invasion of English Premier League teams – especially Chelsea, of course, on the back of their tremendous success this season.

There’s also been an election in the UK over this period, with David Cameron back in No 10 Downing Street and a new Conservative government in place. We watched the results come in at an election party at our house, complete with TV screens and election-themed food and drink (including the ‘John Prescott Punch’, for aficionados of British politics). There was plenty to talk about in terms of the outcome, but the key thing for me is that we have certainty and a great deal of continuity in terms of the UK-Australian relationship, and a government who will want to strengthen it further. So it’s full steam ahead.

What have I learned so far about Australia from my travels? First – it’s a stunning country, stuffed full of friendly and likeable people. I like the absence of formality and hierarchy, which translates into a very warm welcome from everyone from Governors to baristas. It feels very natural and ‘at home’ to be here. Second – it’s less homogenous than might be supposed from outside perceptions. Each city is a melting-pot of cultures and nationalities, with the British links still reaching deeply into every corner of the continent. But each city and State also feels very different, with their own sense of identity and interests. Third – it’s connected, to its neighbourhood, to the wider Indo-Pacific region and to the world. There is a strong sense of looking outwards and building relationships beyond borders, and very little feeling of insularity or remoteness.

In short, my first impressions reflect a comment from Clive James in his afterword to the latest edition of ‘Unreliable Memoirs’: “Australia belongs to the world. It is the good place.”

I look forward to getting to know you more in the coming weeks and months.