High Commissioner: Australia Day 2025 Remarks
Auckland, Eden Park
13 February 2025
E ngā mana, e ngā reo, e ngā karangataha maha
Tēnā koutou katoa
Distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen.
Thank you all for joining us this evening.
I want to thank Consul-General Brad Williams, Fiona Hart and the rest of the Austrade team in Auckland for hosting this event and gathering us together.
Coming so early in the year, our Australia Day event is a good opportunity to reflect on the year that has been and to look forward to the year to come.
But today is a particularly poignant occasion for me. This evening marks my last Australia Day event in New Zealand.
They say you should always leave on a high. Well, 2024 was a very good year for the Trans-Tasman relationship.
We kept up the strong pace of government engagement in both directions. Over half the New Zealand Cabinet – some 15 New Zealand Ministers – visited Australia last year for formal business – some multiple times. Our two Prime Ministers held their annual Leaders Meeting in Canberra in August. And we saw not one, but two ANZMIN meetings – a '2+2’ meeting of Australia and New Zealand Foreign and Defence Ministers, as well as a ‘2+2’ meeting of our Finance and Climate Ministers, and formal Trade and Tourism Minister meetings.
What all this activity signifies is the depth, diversity and maturity of our relationship. We’re working together on everything from the big picture issues like defence and security to finding cutting-edge solutions to protect our citizens against online scams.
The relationship between two countries is not confined to government. It is also built on the links we make between people and business.
For instance, we have seen tourism go from strength to strength: in 2024 we saw tourism nearing pre-Covid levels, with 1.4million Australian residents travelling to New Zealand.
The Pathway to Citizenship offered by the government last year saw 42,643 Kiwis take up Australian citizenship.
And this reconnection between our people on both sides of the Tasman has driven New Zealand exports and imports to and from Australia, which are at a historical high.
But two events in particular hold a special significance for me and highlight the special bond between Australians and New Zealanders.
The first was a ceremony in Auckland to return remains of Australian indigenous ancestors to their traditional owners.
The second was attending the fifth anniversary of the Whakaari White Island volcanic eruption.
Both events were incredibly moving and memorable. Both served to remind me that we as Australians have no better friends when we are in need than our Kiwi brothers and sisters.
In both cases I saw our Māori hosts bring to life the meaning of manaakitanga. And I shall remain forever grateful to have had the privilege of being present at those occasions.
Looking ahead, 2025 is set to be an exciting year for the Australian High Commission and the Australia-New Zealand relationship.
We are proud to once again be supporting the Auckland Arts Festival which this year is bringing over Australian Jodee Mundy with her show Personal, based on her experience as a child to deaf parents. This is sure to be a captivating show, so I heartily encourage you all to check it out.
This year promises to be as busy and active as the last, and I will be watching with interest from a distance to see how it all unfolds.
A final reflection: after six postings and many decades as a diplomat, I find it is getting harder, not easier, to move on after spending three or four years of my life in a place.
Inevitably, you become attached to the country you have called your home for the past few years. Over the past three years in New Zealand, I have been fortunate to meet so many people who I have grown to respect and admire, and who I also feel privileged to call my friends. Many of you are in this room today.
To you all, I want to say a sincere thank you. Thanks for your support for the trans-Tasman relationship and for the work of the Consulate-General here in Auckland. And at a personal level, thank you for your friendship.
I wish you and all your families the very best for all that lies ahead in the coming year.
To conclude, I would like to propose a toast:
To His Majesty King Charles the Third and to the Government and people of New Zealand.
No reira
Tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou, tēnā koutou katoa.
