20th March 2014
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 […]
12th March 2014
That’s how Foreign Minister Julie Bishop described this week’s Australia UK Ministerial (AUKMIN) meeting in London, between Foreign and Defence Ministers from the two countries. William Hague responded by describing a “unique relationship that makes Australia one of our most important partners.” Ms Bishop opened the London Stock Exchange on Monday morning, then together with […]
10th March 2014
I have just spent a busy three days in the UK’s North West and East Midlands, meeting some 40 companies to promote the opportunities in the Australian market. I gave group presentations in Warrington and Leicester and made a number of visits to individual companies who are beginning to tackle the Australian market. The range […]
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25th February 2014
Australia’s presidency of G20 this year means we’ll have lots of senior visitors. Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne and Governor of the Bank of England Mark Carney were in Sydney this weekend for the G20 Finance Ministers Meeting. It brought together ministers and central bankers responsible for 85% of the world’s economy. Mr Osborne […]
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13th February 2014
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 […]
6th February 2014
I begin every day by checking the BBC News website – before I’ve even got out of bed – to see what has been happening overnight. Later I catch the BBC World Service, which local broadcaster ABC carries on FM radio at certain times of day. And if you switch on the TV here there’s […]
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31st January 2014
Last night the Defence Minister and a range of other senior defence figures came to dinner at my residence, Westminster House. They joined us to bid farewell to my Defence Adviser, Brigadier Will Taylor, at the end of his tour in Canberra. They enjoyed supping from my range of British ales, including Spitfire and Bombadier. […]
30th January 2014
Unsurprisingly, most Australians don’t know much about the Falkland Islands, so visiting Legislative Assembly member Mike Summers faced lots of questions during his trip to Melbourne this week. At 51 degrees south, it’s further south than Australia, and is often perceived as being almost polar. But maps can be deceptive. In the northern hemisphere the […]
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22nd January 2014
This year marks the start of a whole series of commemorations to mark the 100th anniversary of the First World War. There are active current debates in both Australia and Britain around the way school curricula deal with history. But one thing is clear, we are both committed to remembering the sacrifice of the millions of […]
21st January 2014
Last night I had dinner with a group of British wheelchair athletes, in Australia for a series of races this week at Canberra stadium, culminating in the “GIO Oz Day 10k” around Sydney’s historic Rocks district on Australia Day. They were a hugely impressive bunch and it was fun talking to them about their experiences […]