governor shakes hands with the queen in stately room while his wife looks on and smiles
The Governor and Ms Annus are received by Queen Elizabeth II during an audience at Buckingham Palace, London Photo: Yui Mok/Press Association

Governor and Ms Annus visit UK and Europe on first official visit

The Governor and Ms Susie Annus completed their first official visit to the United Kingdom and Germany, Monday, 25th March to Tuesday, 2nd April 2019.

The trip provided an opportunity to meet with Her Majesty The Queen as well as industry, government and university representatives to explore opportunities for greater potential collaboration between Western Australia and the UK and Europe.

The Honourable Kim Beazley AC is committed to advocating for Western Australia’s strategic interests and capabilities during his term as Governor. Read more about the Governor’s Statement of Priorities

Organised in collaboration with the Government of Western Australia’s European Office in London, the Agent General for Western Australia Commodore Mike Deeks CSC RAN (Rtd) accompanied the Governor and Ms Annus during the visit. As the representative of the Government of Western Australia throughout Europe, Commodore Deeks is responsible for raising awareness of the State and promoting trade and investment.

London
In London, the Governor and Ms Annus attended a private audience with Australia’s Head of State Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace.

In each Governor’s term, an official visit to the UK is organised so the Governor can make a customary call upon Her Majesty The Queen, whom the Governor represents as Head of State in Western Australia. Audiences are usually a private affair between the visitor and the Queen, and allow Her Majesty to maintain close ties with officials from Commonwealth nations, and across the world.

The Governor and Ms Annus also undertook the following duties in London:

  • Attended a dinner hosted by His Excellency the Honourable George Brandis QC, High Commissioner for Australia (external link)
    • Guests included Ms Menna Rawlings CMG, Director General of Economic and Global Issues at the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office.
  • Met with Mr Fabio Pannuti, Advisor, Kinect Hub (external link)
    • Kinect Hub are involved in broad corporate business such as lithium mining projects.
  • Attended the Founding Pianos recital at Australia House (external link)
    • Edith Cowan University is the custodian of the First Fleet piano, which, after 230 years, has returned to England for restoration. Once restored it will feature in a Centre for Keyboard Performance and Research, to be managed by WAAPA.
  • Visited Airbus (external link) for a tour of the Zephyr Experience Centre.
    • Airbus Defence and Space announced the opening of the world’s first High Altitude Pseudo-Satellite flight base serving as the launch site for the Zephyr Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) in Wyndham, Western Australia. Zephyr is the world’s leading, solar electric, stratospheric UAV.

 

  • Attended an  Investiture Ceremony at Buckingham Palace.
    • Government House WA’s Official Secretary and CEO Mrs Carol Buckley received the insignia of her award as a Lieutenant of the Royal Victorian Order (LVO), as announced in the 2019 New Year Honours.

 

  • Met with the Rt Hon Douglas Alexander.
    • Mr Alexander is a Senior Fellow at Harvard Kennedy School, a Visiting Professor at Kings College, London, Trustee of the Royal United Services Institute, and a member of the European Council on Foreign Relations.
  • The Governor delivered a keynote address at the ‘Contemporary Thinking in Australian Defence Policy’ event at Menzies Institute, Kings College London (external link)
  • Attended a meeting with Dr Tim Bradshaw (external link), Chief Executive, The Russell Group
    • The ‘Russell Group’ is a collection of 24 UK based research-intensive universities. These Universities (under the Russell Group auspices) are committed to maintaining leading-edge research, an outstanding teaching and learning experience and unrivalled links with local and national business and the public sector.
  • Attended a meeting with Sir Roger Carr (external link), BAE Systems
    • BAE Systems is a global defence, aerospace and security company providing products and services across air, land and naval forces, as well as advanced electronics, security, information technology and support services. Among many projects, in February 2019, the Commonwealth Government awarded BAE Systems Australia a two-year contract extension, worth $245 million to continue to sustain the Royal Air Force (RAAF) Hawk MK127 Lead-In Fighter Fleet.
  • Met with the Rt Hon Patricia Scotland QC (external link), Commonwealth Secretary-General
    • Baroness Scotland is the Commonwealth Secretary General and is the second most senior woman in the Commonwealth after Her Majesty The Queen. The Secretary General is, as such, closely involved in maintaining and building relationships within the context of the present 53 countries of the Commonwealth. Australia features high on the list of countries for whom there are cogent trade prospects in intra-commonwealth trade.
  • Attended a dinner hosted by the Rt Hon the Lord Mayor and The Lady Mayoress of City of London (external link); Alderman Peter Estlin and Mrs Lindy Estlin.
    • Guests included First Sea Lord Sir Philip Jones, KCB ADC and Lady Jones (Elizabeth); Ms Diana Brightmore-Armour, Chief Executive Officer, UK for The Australia and New Zealand Banking Group Limited (ANZ), based in London and Mr Arthur Rakowski, Senior Managing Director, Macquarie Infrastructure.

Germany

The Governor and Ms Annus undertook the following duties:

  • Site visit to Lurssen (external link)
    • Lürssen is an independent family owned German shipbuilder with more than 140 years’ experience in shipbuilding. On 31 January 2018, the Commonwealth Government signed a contract with Lürssen for the construction of Australia’s 12 Arafura Class Offshore Patrol Vessels.
  • Visit to Atlas Elektronic (external link)
    • Atlas Elektronik is a maritime high technology enterprise with German roots and a global foot print. In Australia, Atlas Elektronik is represented by Sonartech Atlas, which specialises in the design, development and support of sonar (acoustic) processors and associated systems for naval applications.
  • Received a briefing from Australia’s Ambassador to Germany H.E. Ms Lynette Wood (external link)
    • The Australian Foreign Minister announced on 26 August 2016 the appointment of Ms Lynette Wood as Australia’s next Ambassador to Germany. Germany is Australia’s eleventh largest trading partner and fifth largest destination for foreign investment.
  • Met with Aerius Marine Gmbh
    • AERIUS Marine GmbH was founded in 1858 and is a market leader for design, 3D system modelling, component supply, component selection, delivery and commissioning of complex marine HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning) systems. Following establishment of subsidiaries in the UK and France in 2016, Aerius has accelerated international expansion by establishing Aerius Marine Australia Pty Ltd in Port Adelaide, South Australia.
  • Visited Noske-Kaeser Maritime Solutions
    • NOSKE-KAESER has been established for more than 140 years and has a worldwide reputation for delivering system solutions and components for naval vessels and submarines, passenger and merchant ships, mega yachts as well as offshore platforms. At Henderson in Western Australia NOSKE-KAESER Marine Australia Pty Ltd has been established since the early 2000’s and employs 10 personnel (plus sub-contractors).
  • Met with Dr Annette Tabbara, Hamburg State Secretary for EU and International Affairs Hamburg State Parliament.
    • Hamburg is home to a thriving aerospace industry, is Europe’s third-largest port, and has longstanding trade and business connections with Asia. Hamburg already has strong cooperation with Australia in city planning, future cities, science and innovation, medical research, defence, and with tertiary institutions.

 

Germany photo gallery

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London photo gallery

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