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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2nd May 2014
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With the search for Malaysian Airlines MH370 moving to a new phase this week, the two British ships involved – Hydrographical vessel HMS Echo, and submarine HMS Tireless – have been withdrawn from the search and are both in port in Western Australia. I invited Defence Minister, Senator David Johnston, to come on board to […]
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1st May 2014
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
“The authors of the Magna Carta clearly recognised the interdependence between personal freedom and economic freedom” said Foreign Minister Julie Bishop as she began her speech at the annual Magna Carta Lecture, which the British High Commission hosts. Before a packed audience at the Victoria State Parliament, she set out her new development paradigm, for […]
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26th April 2014
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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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17th April 2014
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I formally opened the new Visa Applications Centre (VAC) in Sydney today. It’s actually been operating since 17 March 2014, along with new VACs in Melbourne, Brisbane, Perth and Canberra. The change is part of a global project by UK Visas and Immigration (UKVI) to outsource these arrangements. A million Australians visit the UK each […]
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10th April 2014
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Anyone who has ever boarded an aeroplane must have felt a sense of personal engagement as the sad story of Malaysian Airlines MH370 has unfolded. Our hearts go out to the families of the passengers from many nations, and particularly China which had over 150 citizens on board. In the last couple of weeks the […]
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9th April 2014
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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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1st April 2014
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The new Australian High Commissioner in London will be moving back into his teenage home when he takes up his position in May. Alexander Downer, whose appointment was announced yesterday, lived at the splendid official residence, Stoke Lodge near Hyde Park, when his father was High Commissioner in London from 1964-72. He went to school […]
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28th March 2014
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I was in Parliament this morning for the swearing-in of the new Governor General Sir Peter Cosgrove, the much-decorated soldier and former Chief of the Defence Force. It was a solemn and symbolic occasion, but the speeches afterwards were warm and full of good humour. Sir Peter quoted Wellington, the famous British general turned statesman. […]
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20th March 2014
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One of the issues that sometimes crosses my desk is the return of indigenous remains from western museums. So I went along to London’s Natural History Museum to call on Director Michael Dixon and his experts to find out more. More than half NHM’s human collection consists of British remains. They enable scientific research which […]
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