It was an absolute honour to welcome The Australian High Commissioner Right Honourable George Brandis QC to Brecon and Radnorshire this week. His Excellency is the Australian Government’s representative in the UK and so it was a huge privilege that he should choose to come to our corner of Mid Wales.
During the visit, the High Commissioner toured the Barracks in Brecon and met with Brigadier Andrew Dawes, Head of the Army in Wales. He received a comprehensive briefing from the Brigadier about Wales’s role in the UK Armed Forces and the support the Army has offered during the Coronavirus pandemic. As events around the world unfold, it was a vital chance to discuss the close defence and security partnership between the UK and Australia.
We also met with local farmers, Vin and Elaine Stephens, and their family at their home farm just outside Talgarth. Here, the High Commissioner discussed a number of issues affecting the UK farming sector, not least the recently agreed trade deal between Australia and Great Britain. As well as a historic partnership between the two countries, the deal is the gateway towards the UK joining the CPTPP (the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for the Trans-Pacific Partnership) – an alliance of emerging economies in the Pacific Rim. The High Commissioner was keen that Welsh farmers should benefit from these new markets and for the UK to regain its place as a leader in global trade. After a delightful Welsh tea and a chat around the kitchen table, the High Commissioner stopped in at the lambing shed to meet two lambs born just an hour before – despite the truly Welsh rain which was coming in sideways!
All of us in Brecon and Radnorshire are, as Fay is sure, are incredibly proud of our strong links to Australia. In many ways, they are our closest friends (our bitterest rivals in sport….) but a dear part of our family. The High Commissioner thoroughly enjoyed his visit to Brecon and Radnorshire and so Fay is delighted that we have such a clear ally for us on the other side of the world.