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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20th September 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Woomera – a test range the size of England – was a famous Cold War site, where the Anglo-Australia Joint Project was established in 1946. The name comes from the Aboriginal word for “spear thrower”. At its heyday some 7,000 people lived in a specially constructed town in the middle of the desert, 500 km […]
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13th September 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
The “light blue” uniforms were on full display at the High Commission’s annual Battle of Britain Day commemoration this week. Two Royal Australian Air Force Air Marshals were present – Vice Chief of the Defence Force Mark Binskin and Chief of Air Force Geoff Brown – together with a range of serving military personnel and […]
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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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6th September 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
I announced this year’s participants in the British Council’s Accelerator programme in Melbourne yesterday. The initiative takes up-and-coming indigenous cultural leaders from Australia to the UK, to work with mentors and peers. Previous years’ winners have talked eloquently about the personal development which they gained from participating. We were serenaded at the event by the […]
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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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28th August 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Indigenous Australians have been on this continent for around 40,000 years. So it was a great privilege to spend 5 days in the Aboriginal community of Hopevale, in Cape York in the far north of Queensland. My principal impression was the warmth of the people I met. Each evening a different family invited me to […]
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12th August 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
That was the principal message of Permanent Secretary at the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills, Martin Donnelly, when he visited Australia last week. He said that the UK’s GDP growth was expected to reach around 1% this year and perhaps 2% next year. Australian economists and business people he met shared this positive assessment. […]
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30th July 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
“Should’ve gone to Specsavers”. Millions of Australians have. Last week they were voted Australian Retailer of the Year and Retail Employer of the Year. A remarkable success story for a company which has grown to nearly 300 stores in just five years since coming to Australia. I visited their Asia Pacific HQ in Melbourne to […]
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26th July 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Getting to watch Man U and Liverpool matches in the same week would be a treat even in England. Here in Australia it was a joy. And a GREAT chance to use sport to promote Britain a year on from the London Olympics. Football, or soccer as they call it here, is the weakest of […]
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