26th June 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
With names like Scott, Cameron, Macdonald, Ferguson and McKenzie, the MPs and Senators who organised last night’s Scottish Dinner in Australia’s Parliament House had a gleam in their eyes at the swirl of the bagpipes and the clink of the whisky glass. Some of them have more distant ancestral links to Scotland, like my own. […]
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26th April 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
The visit to Australia by Their Royal Highnesses the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge has been an outstanding success. It has clearly been a very special experience for the young Royal couple themselves and for the tens of thousands of Australians who have turned out to see them, and the millions who have followed the […]
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15th October 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
We opened up our Residence to the public this weekend as part of the “Windows on the World” contribution by the Diplomatic community to Canberra’s 100th anniversary celebrations this year. Westminster House has been the residence of British High Commissioners to Australia since 1953. The fifties wasn’t generally acknowledged as one of the great periods […]
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13th September 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
The “light blue” uniforms were on full display at the High Commission’s annual Battle of Britain Day commemoration this week. Two Royal Australian Air Force Air Marshals were present – Vice Chief of the Defence Force Mark Binskin and Chief of Air Force Geoff Brown – together with a range of serving military personnel and […]
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12th August 2013
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That was the principal message of Permanent Secretary at the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills, Martin Donnelly, when he visited Australia last week. He said that the UK’s GDP growth was expected to reach around 1% this year and perhaps 2% next year. Australian economists and business people he met shared this positive assessment. […]
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4th July 2013
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London’s Royal Academy will host the largest exhibition of Australian art ever to leave this country from 21 September to 8 December. It includes many of Australia’s finest historic and current works from the leading public institutions. I attended the media launch at the National Gallery in Canberra last week, and gave an interview to […]
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5th May 2013
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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 […]
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25th March 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
“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 […]
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27th November 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
James Bond is an iconic British global brand. So we have been keen to associate ourselves with it as part of our Public Diplomacy activities. Over the last week, we have hosted very successful Skyfall screenings and networking events in five Australian cities (Canberra, Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Perth), together with commercial partners including Virgin, […]
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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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