22nd July 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Imagine a school where all the classrooms are constructed of sustainable bamboo, the kids help to grow their own food and the whole curriculum has a sustainable theme. The toilets are biodegradable. That’s the Green School in Bali Indonesia, brainchild of celebrity jeweller and eco-pioneer John Hardy. Last week we took a brief holiday from […]
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10th July 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
There has been much talk of the resources investment boom passing its peak. But in Perth things still feel pretty good. I called on Premier Colin Barnett, re-elected in a handsome victory since my last visit, and some of his ministers. I attended the Australian Gas Technology Conference and Expo and met a number of […]
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8th July 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
There are not many weekends nowadays when I’m up until 2.00am two nights in a row. Well actually none. But this weekend was the exception, with the Lions/Wallabies end of tour party at Sydney’s Opera House and Andy Murray’s Wimbledon final. The Wallabies victory in Melbourne, levelling the series at 1:1, had set things up […]
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4th July 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
London’s Royal Academy will host the largest exhibition of Australian art ever to leave this country from 21 September to 8 December. It includes many of Australia’s finest historic and current works from the leading public institutions. I attended the media launch at the National Gallery in Canberra last week, and gave an interview to […]
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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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26th June 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Last week our Trade and Investment teams from across Australia and New Zealand gathered in Sydney for their annual conference. It’s a big part of what we do: they comprise around 1/3 of my Australia staff. All but three are locally hired. Last year the trade team assisted over 1200 companies, introduced 387 companies to […]
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24th June 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
“Li-ons, Li-ons!” The chant reverberated around the cauldron of Brisbane’s Suncorp stadium, drowning out the PA system playing Men At Work’s “Down Under”. After three weeks of touring, the first test finally arrived last Saturday. The nice thing about the camaraderie of rugby is that the reds and golds were scattered evenly through the 52,000 […]
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20th June 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Hard hat, heavy boots, pre-dawn start. That’s what a visit to an Australian resources site entails. I’m getting used to it. Australia is a gas superpower, on its way to overtaking Qatar as the world’s largest LNG exporter by the end of the decade. British companies are big players in developing the industry, offshore in […]
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12th June 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Honorary Consuls from Australia, New Zealand and Samoa gathered in Brisbane for their annual conference and briefing on latest developments in our consular policy. I gave them an update on the current state of bilateral relations. These are local residents in cities where we do not have a consular office, who volunteer to help support […]
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3rd June 2013
This post was published when the author was in a previous role
Thus concluded an editorial in Saturday’s Geelong Advertiser (the “Addie”). It referred to the opening of a new stand at Geelong Cats’ Simonds Stadium in Kardinia Park together with four spectacular lighting towers which will enable night matches to be played for the first time. It was a big deal for club and city, attended […]
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