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
It’s after midnight on a Friday and I’m waiting at Istanbul’s Atatürk Airport to meet FCO Europe Minister David Lidington off a late flight from London. The airport is packed with people as passengers pour into a city which for over 2,000 years has been a crossroads between Europe and Asia. One of the first […]
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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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15th September 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Happy Democracy Day! Since 2007, 15 September is International Day of Democracy. Democracy has been around for over 2,500 years. From its origins in ancient Greece, it has become a political ideal and goal for most countries in the World. In recent years it has been the the political system of choice for many post-conflict […]
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12th June 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Speaking at the opening of the 35th Antarctic Treaty Consultative Meeting (ACTM) in Hobart, Tasmania, former PM Bob Hawke was passionate as he described his role in helping secure the 1989 Madrid Protocol on Environmental Protection. The meeting brings together 49 signatory nations, of which 28 are “consultative parties” which, like Britain, carry out research […]
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24th May 2012
Beirut, Lebanon
Monday marked 100 days until the London Paralympics. We had prepared a programme of events promoting the milestone, raising the profile of London and the UK, and encouraging greater focus on disability rights in Lebanon. But the disturbances of the weekend meant that we took a decision to focus on those instead. In a country […]
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16th May 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
The images are powerful. A woman prisoner displays bruises which she says were caused by mistreatment by prison guards. Allegations by ex-prime minister Yuliya Tymoshenko that she was physically mistreated by prison guards, followed by counter-claims by prison authorities that this never happened, have caused controversy in the rest of Europe. In an intense cycle […]
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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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14th May 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Victor Ponta’s new government got off on the right foot last week by making clear that its economic policy will continue to be framed within the programme agreed between Romania and the EU, World Bank, and IMF. The IMF programme sets out what Romania needs to do, both in terms of fiscal consolidation and structural […]
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25th April 2012
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Up at 4.30am. And it’s my birthday. But I would not want to miss the privilege of attending ANZAC Day, Australia’s national day of commemoration for those who have sacrificed their lives serving Australia, in many conflicts over the years since the Gallipoli landings began 97 year ago today. The Australian War Memorial is one […]
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