7th May 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
80 Ambassadors making the acquaintance of kangaroos, koalas and wombats. Foreign Minister Julie Bishop certainly knows how to show the diplomatic corps a good time. The get to know you session with a collection of iconic Australian marsupials was a fitting end to a fascinating trip to her home state of Western Australia. We had […]
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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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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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13th July 2012
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Anglo Australian giant Rio Tinto earns $21bn a year from mining in Western Australia. They took me to visit their vast iron-ore mining operation in the remote Pilbara region, some 1000 km north of Perth. As I lined up at the airport with hundreds of miners in their hi-vis jackets, at 4.30 am, I reflected […]
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15th May 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Back in Canberra after 28 hours of flights, and straight into a programme with visiting members of the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee (FAC). Senior backbenchers were in Canberra as part of the Committee’s enquiry into the Commonwealth. Other FAC members were travelling to different parts of the world. We arranged a busy programme […]
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26th February 2012
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I was in Perth last week for the major Australasia Oil and Gas show. We had some 60 British companies there, the largest group we had ever sent to this important show, and the largest international group represented there. That’s not surprising when you consider the scale of the opportunities in this sector in Australia, […]
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4th November 2011
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I’m back in Canberra after a very hectic week in Perth. We had a busy programme around the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM). It was good to see so many UK ministers in Australia. Early in the week I was accompanying Lord Green the Trade Minister. He attended the Commonwealth Business Forum which attracted […]
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21st October 2011
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There is much excitement here about the visit by HM The Queen. She comes of course as Queen of Australia, so it’s the Australian government who have made all the arrangements for her programme. I have just come from a reception at the Parliament in Canberra where Her Majesty met Australians from many walks […]
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27th July 2011
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
A busy few days, with a trip to Perth to recce for the Commonwealth Heads of Government (CHOGM) meeting which will take place in October. Hosting a meeting for 54 heads of government and HM The Queen is quite a tall order, but we were impressed with the professionalism of Australian plans. It is shaping […]
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28th March 2011
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Last week I was away from Canberra travelling all week. That’s par for the course when you’re based in a continent-sized country. We hosted a large reception in Sydney to mark the milestone of “500 Days To Go” before the London 2012 Olympics. This attracted a lot of interest in a city which hosted one […]
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