7th February 2013
Chevening, UK
The following is a guest post by Cal Viney. Cal is the 2012/13 Chevening Scholar from Australia. He is currently pursuing an LL.M. in Public Law (focused specifically on Constitutional Law and Theory) at the London School of Economics and Political Science. Cal is an Australian Lawyer. Welcome to Heathrow. Rain. Welcome to the London […]
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29th January 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
A thrilling Australia Day weekend in Melbourne at the Australian Open tennis finals. We watched Andy Murray beat Federer in an epic semi-final. Then on Sunday we held our breath while he put up a magnificent battle against Djokovic in the final. In terms of skill the two players were evenly matched and, since his […]
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22nd January 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Foreign Secretary William Hague, Defence Secretary Philip Hammond and a team of senior officials and military were in Perth for the annual Australia-UK Ministerial meeting, AUKMIN, last week. They had wide-ranging discussions, including Asia, Indian Ocean and Defence reform, as well as talking about the UN Security Council, which Australia has just joined for the […]
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9th January 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Once again we spent New Year’s Eve watching the spectacular fireworks in Sydney Harbour, from the 16th floor office of our Sydney Consulate General. The city was packed with revellers. I was very impressed with how easy it was to get back afterwards, as public transport was running late into the night and free of […]
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10th December 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Mike Rann, former Premier of South Australia, has just arrived in London as Australia’s new High Commissioner. For ambassadors, your counterpart in your home country is an important partner and ally. Luckily I had got to know Mike during my regular visits to Adelaide, and before he set off for the UK I hosted a […]
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14th November 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
TRH The Prince of Wales and the Duchess of Cornwall paid a Jubilee visit to Australia last week. He had visited many times before and is very fond of the country. For the Duchess it was her very first visit. They had a full programme travelling all over Australia, taking in the outback in Queensland, […]
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10th November 2012
Beirut, Lebanon
Following Remembrance services in Saida and Tripoli on Thursday, we have just left the third, in the beautifully kept Commonwealth War Graves Cemetery in Beirut. The torrential rain cleared, and we honoured those who fell, driving Vichy from Lebanon in 1941. We share these poignant moments with former allies and former foes. The allied contingent […]
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22nd October 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Australia has just been elected to join the UN Security Council for two years from January. This is excellent news. William Hague called Foreign Minister Bob Carr to congratulate him. We look forward to having such a strong partner on the UNSC. This will keep my political team in Canberra busier than ever, coordinating on the […]
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16th October 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
SME exporters in Leeds, big corporates in Canary Wharf, Australian inward investors in Manchester. I’ve spent a busy few days supporting the UK economy, which is the top priority for our overseas network. At an export seminar in Leeds hosted by the big international law firm DLA Piper, I spoke about the many export opportunities […]
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19th September 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Canberra is “a game of two halves” as the football (soccer) commentators put it. For about 20 weeks a year, the parliamentarians descend on it from all across this vast continent, in a whirl of activity. The rest of time it is somewhat quieter. With Parliament sitting last week, I was up there twice speaking […]
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