28th September 2012
Australian painter Ralph Heimans has just produced a wonderful new portrait of Her Majesty, depicting the Queen standing in the spot in Westminster Abbey where she was crowned. I was delighted to attend the launch of this spectacular painting at the National Portrait Gallery in Canberra, by Her Majesty’s representative in Australia, Governor General HE […]
19th September 2012
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 […]
30th July 2012
Waiting to do a radio interview, I heard an ABC reporter in the slot before me say, “When you’re here in London with all the history and all the international connections, it really feels like it’s the centre of the world.” And, at least for the next few weeks, so it is. July 27 began […]
27th June 2012
Over the last few weeks I’ve attended Olympic send-off ceremonies in all the major states, culminating with the national event – the Prime Minister’s Olympic Dinner– in Melbourne on 23 June. They have been a fantastic showcase for the UK, as well as a demonstration of the Olympic enthusiasm in this sports mad country. The […]
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21st June 2012
A group of senior MPs are currently visiting, to explore Australian thinking on Defence: Jim Murphy (Labour, Shadow Defence Secretary), Claire Perry (Conservative, PPS to the Defence Secretary) and Sir Bob Russell (Lib Dem, Member of the Defence Select committee). In Canberra they met the Australian Defence Minister and Opposition spokesman, as well as a range […]
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30th May 2012
Prime Minister Julia Gillard joined us in congratulating three young indigenous scholars who are going off to study at Oxford and Cambridge. I took them over to Parliament for tea with the PM, after hosting an uplifting scholarship ceremony at my Residence. The British Government is a key partner in the Charlie Perkins indigenous scholarships, […]
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24th May 2012
On 23 May 1912, exactly 100 years ago, the Australian government announced the winners of the competition to design the country’s new capital. I hosted a public lecture by the renowned architectural historian Alasdair McGregor, as the culmination of a series of Canberra Centenary lectures celebrating the 100th anniversary. Alasdair spoke about the controversies surrounding the choice […]
2nd April 2012
Ever tried to play a Carillon? The Canberra Times said my chopsticks startled passers-by. But it’s hard to play a keyboard of pegs, which you have to hit with the heel of your hand to sound the mighty bells from a foundry in Loughborough. I was at the National Carillon on an island in Canberra’s […]
14th November 2011
Last week I accompanied Sir Gus O’Donnell, Head of the British Civil Service for some calls in Canberra on his way back from CHOGM. He met Australia’s “200 Group”, a collection of the country’s top 200 federal civil servants, and gave a fascinating talk drawing on his experience of delivering change, and improved performance across […]
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27th June 2011
I represented Britain at the Trooping of the Colours on 11 June. In Australia, the Queen’s Birthday weekend is a public holiday. It was a crisp sunny day but cold, and the backdrop of Lake Burley Griffin, around which Canberra is sited, looked spectacular. Australia’s Royal Military College, Duntroon, is celebrating its centenary this year, […]