Welcome to DFATs Our Ambassador series today we are talking to Louise Hand our High Commissioner here in Ottawa
thank-you for your time today Louise
thank-you Tom my pleasure
Australia and Canada have had diplomatic
relations for
over 70 years how would you describe the relationship now
well I think the outstanding thing about the relationship
between Canada and Australia is that it is
deeply functional
we share an enormous amount
cultural and political
and historical DNA
and i'm constantly surprised at the
encouraging nature of the similarities
and the stimulating nature of the differences
if i had to
pull up a defining feature i'd think i'd say it was trust
we do a lot of things
with Canada that go to a fundermental and profound trust
and i i guess i can give you a couple of examples
one one would be the long term ongoing
military cooperation
we have ongoing defence ties very broad very
well understood
on the intelligence front
we with Canada and others share a
very longstanding and trusted
intelligence relationship and we work with them on all the modern
intelligence issues including counter-terrorism and people smuggling and cyber issues so
its a relatinship that
starts from this trust
adapts to the new issues as they come over the horizion
we also
trust Canada
on something that really goes to the heart of um of Australian values
that is on consular services
when Australians are in trouble in a foreign country really you really want them looked after you really want someone to help them if they are ill or dying or
subject to some horrible crime
or just simply lost their passport
and we look after Canada in
twenty two countries where it does'nt have
diplomatic where it has no representation
and they look after us and our Australians that are in trouble in twenty other countries
and we do everything we can to work with Canada
on on our shared values
which is for a world that is safe
prosperous free of poverty and conflict
could you describe for us some of the key features of the relationship
um well the relationship is conducted on so many levels
and there is such a you know strong flow of advice information
productivity all the way down it really starts with our
prime ministers
prime minister Gillard prime and minister Harper who meet regulary throughout the year
in the context of the G20 and APEC
and then we have our foreign ministers who work together
extensively
despite some differences in policy
on the united nations the commonwealth
and in all kinds of other subsidiary bodies
that relate to our shared aspirations for the world
i think you'd find that Canada and Australia really have very similar
aspirations in regard to the security of people
bringing countries out of poverty
um helping with their development in the most constructive and ethical way and we often find that our foreign ministers are having those
kinds of conversations um
another aspect of
our relationship with Canada
relates to the public sector
both Canada and Australia have very similar values
about what a public sector should provide
what its standards should be how the government should run
how it should be answerable to its citizens and we have a dialouge between our
secretarys our departmental secretarys come to Canada and the Canadian counterparts meet them
they have a retreat and we found this year
that the quality of the dialouge was um was quiete
wonderful we have
shared interests and shared challenges we both have very significant resources sectors we have
a similar demographic in terms of a ageing
population and also populations that are have people from many different countries and speak many different languages both of us have
indigenous people who have their own um acclaims for where they want to live um and we have um
productivity
we have productivity challenges that come from
years of success and um you know
what we do next
so our secretaries were able to have the kind of
conversation i dont think they can have with anyone else and ah
so that is now threaded again
right into the relationship
how would you describe the bilateral trade relationship
the bilateral trade relationship is an interesting one ah
because
both of our trading characteristics
are completly defined
by the geopolitical realities and where and who we are
ah Canada lives next door to the US
this has massively moulded the style and kind of trade Canada does
um the US ambassador says um
somewhat smuggly I think
that Canada and US have
the largest
bilateral trading relationship in the history of the world
we on the other hand
have built a trade profile that reflects our own geo political reality
which is our part of the world
that said um Australia and Canada have a number of things in common
you know we have taken on big resource challenges
and um and very highly educated work forces
so in some things we are competitors but
there is I think quite a modern dimension of investment
where Australia and Canada
do extreamly well and are likely to do
more in future
I give an example of superanuation funds
Australia has an enormous amount of superanuation money invested here in Canada you know its a trusted market and Canada
equally has an enormous amount of superanuation money invested in Australia
groups like the
ontario teachers
own large chunks of NSW
much to my amusement
when I first heard it
um and this is something that will be a very important market going forward
it's not insignificant itt runs to tens of billions of dollars
we also work with Canada
in third countries these kinds of
complex and long term investment senarios so um the trade
reflects the realities but I think its got a
it's got a very interesting modern dimension
that would be worth following
Australia and Canada have always had very strong people-to-people links
through education tourism and working holiday makers schemes
can you tell us a little bit more about this
people-to-people llinks between Australia and Canada have got to be one of the easiest sellers ever for head of mission
a recent survey published here in Canada
ranked countries
according to how warmly
Canadians felt about them
and you will be pleased to know Australia is at the top of the list
so I dont have to do much persuading around here
the other thing is that we have thousands and thousands of Australians in Canada
um and i was told recently by the Canadian minister for trade Ed Fast
that in Whistler and Bannf
during the ski season you can not get a
hot chocolate or a
ski pass without it being delivered to you in an Australian accent
so theres you know its its
entirely free range and organic
these people to people links but even so we do have in place
some great structures to support it
theres over two hundred agreements between Australian and Canadian universities formal agreements
there's rooom for us to get a better harmonisation of university qualifications between the two countires
um the ah
again I do like to think of captain Cook at having set the pace on this he spent time
in Canada went to Australia and presumably came back again
so I thinks its a
for Australia like Canada
its ah its ah
a wonderful cultural characteristic that we spend time in each others countries
so their very warm
there is plenty of room to make them better and um I find the Canadians are entirely open
to our overtures
You have had a number of postings in ah both Europe and Aisa before coming to Canada
how would you compare your experiences thus far
well ah on a personal level one of the wonderful things about this profession
is that you're constantly doing something
that you have never done before and that is different in all kinds
in all kinds of fundamental ways
for an Australian professional
foreign and trade policy person
time in asia as I've done in Jakarta and Cambodia
is um an absolute investment in Australias future Australian diplomats understand this very well multi lateral work of course which i've done in arms control and disarmament and climate change
is also wonderfully constructive
for an Australian because you do have this genuine practical opportunities to excerpt middle power diplomacy in a global setting
and Australians are good we are good at this you know we've got
languages we've got intelectual balise we've got people who do wonderful briefing for us back home
we can pull together ideas across regional groups and we can get outcomes so thats another I think great thing to have some
experience in
I had not worked in North America before and to be in Canada at the time its suddenly
taken a whole new interest in our part of the world
is is just great timing you know its um
so I'm in a place thats close to
close to the US close to Latin America
I've got a view of the Caribbean from here and ah
Canada is a very interesting prisim um through which to see all of that
but also to experience Canadas thinking
at the time its doing all these
I think fundermental policy issues
thats terrific
thank-you very much for talking to us today Louise