4th June 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
A busy week in Canberra with two separate visits by Members of the House of Commons. The Rt Hon Stephen O’Brien MP, the PM’s Special Representative for the Sahel, was in Australia in his capacity as envoy for the Roll Back Malaria campaign. He is a passionate advocate for the cause and believes there is […]
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28th May 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop invited me to address the Coalition “Party Room” last night. Around a quarter of the party’s parliamentary members attended. I talked about three things. – What’s going on in the UK – the recent European election results, the forthcoming Scottish referendum, and the return to sustainable economic growth – UK thinking […]
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28th April 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
The Tsar Liberator faces the National Assembly. Newly cleaned, with touches of gold, the statue of the Tsar leading his troops in liberation of Bulgaria is impressive. But his watchful stance and position opposite parliament, the symbol of Bulgarian democracy, brings with it some ambiguity, brought into sharper focus by the situation in Ukraine. The […]
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9th April 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
A joint blog with the Irish Ambassador to Australia, HE Noel White When the President of Ireland, Michael D. Higgins, this week pays the first State Visit to Britain by an Irish Head of State, it will be an historic and joyous occasion, mirroring that by Her Majesty the Queen, to Ireland, in 2011. The […]
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13th February 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Foreign Minister Julie Bishop attended a reception I hosted last night to welcome new Members of Parliament to Canberra, at the start of the Parliamentary year following the long Christmas/Summer break. With huge British investments here (we’re the second largest foreign investor), 1.1 million Brits living in Australia, 600,000 visiting each year and a million […]
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23rd September 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
It was a great week to take the pulse of Canberra, as Tony Abbot’s new Administration moved into office. Britain’s Deputy National Security Adviser, Hugh Powell, called on members of the PM’s staff and met senior officials across the spectrum of foreign and security policy last week. They told him they looked forward to working […]
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9th September 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Within minutes of Tony Abbott winning the election on Saturday night, British PM David Cameron called him to offer warm congratulations. He talked about the very strong ties between Britain and Australia. PM Abbott, born in London to Australian parents who were living there temporarily, and a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford, agreed on the importance […]
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1st September 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Australia goes to the polls on 7 September. The key battleground is the sprawling suburbs of West Sydney, which contain 10% of Australia’s population and a number of marginal seats. I spent Saturday there to get a feel for the campaign on the ground. You quickly pick up the electoral buzz from the campaign posters […]
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2nd July 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Last week Shadow Foreign Secretary, the Rt Hon Douglas Alexander MP, visited Australia as a guest of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The Australian government arranged the programme for him, but we gave him an in-depth briefing at the High Commission, and I hosted a dinner to discuss foreign policy with MPs, officials […]
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28th June 2013
USA
I’m about to leave Chicago after three fascinating and rewarding years as Consul General promoting the UK across 13 states of the US Midwest – an area bigger than western Europe and with an economy the size of Germany’s. People in Chicago often ask what a Consul General does. So here are five lasting impressions […]
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