Feather - I
Title: Retiring after serving as Australian High Commissioner in India
Age: 67
Career: Started his career in 1965 as a barrister in London. In 1968, he joined the Department of External Affairs and went on to serve as the Australian Ambassador in seven countries including the US during 1995-97
Education: Studied at Cambridge University where he received Masters of Arts and Bachelor of Laws degrees
Interests: Asian Art, trekking, travel.
Are you disappointed that you are leaving at a time when the diplomatic relations between the two countries are at a low?
Not really. This is the 7th time that I have been the head of mission. And on a number of occasions I have served in countries where our relations have had their ups and downs but the bedrock has been very good, including Vietnam and the early days of Indonesia 10 years ago. Against the volatility of those relationships at those times, I don’t regard this as a serious downturn. I am not relaxed on it. But it is something that we will come through.
I think the relationship in the last 4 or 5 years — I don’t put this down to my stint here —has actually improved quite significantly and the basis of this is essentially economic. Education is now an issue and I will get to that in a minute. But I feel actually well satisfied. It’s the sort of relationship which you do not mark it with sudden downs and sudden rapid upward shifts in direction.
Is the attacks on Indians the biggest challenge you have faced in your tenure here in India?
It’s the most difficult political issue with which I have had to deal here. The long term challenges have been really in building, for example, relationship in resources, which is crucial. For example, we have a real dialogue now between governments on what we can do to facilitate two way investments in resources trade including oil and gas. That’s very major. But in terms of a political crisis of sorts which attracts huge political attention, this is the most significant that I have had to deal with here in India. It because it’s an issue it’s an issue that not everybody might have a profound knowledge about but it is an issue which anybody can understand. Hence, it is not like the Americans and their nuclear deal which the number of people, who really understood what it was about, on either side was pretty small. This is the sort of issue that everybody who watches TV can grasp. And you must never forget the dictum: all politics is local. I think somebody in my situation if they forget that and think that these things can be dealt with in a rarified way, they are very much mistaken. You have got to explain to the people what you think is going on and you have got to weather the storm. And then gradually get back to normal on this issue.
What is the nature of the violent attacks on the Indians in Australia? If the attacks are racial, even in part, then what could be the reasons?
It is not just a mob of mad racists running around in Melbourne. There have been a number of robberies of Indian students and assaults on Indian students in particular parts of Melbourne especially in the recent months. And this was something that we wish had not happened. But I think it was brought about largely by large number Indian students coming to one particular location, that’s Melbourne, without much money. They felt compelled, because they did not have much money, to live in the poor areas in Melbourne. They work late in the night at jobs and they are vulnerable to attack. Now certainly theft played a very significant role in it, hooliganism has played a very significant role in it and there may have been people who, somewhere in their thought processes, there was a racist factor as well. But I quite seriously think it’s principally a criminal issue with in certain cases racist overtones. But it’s certainly not racism sweeping Melbourne.
Our image has taken a hit and we have got to work on it. And we propose to. The police have already deployed much greater resources in the affected areas in Melbourne.
If the attacks are essentially criminal in nature then how come there are so many in a short time span of one month?
I think that was just unfortunate statistics. And I don t know the answer to that. There may have been a couple that were acting by example as they call. You see news of an attack and then another group says why we don’t do that…I don’t know.
So would it not be correct to say that there are some unresolved issues with managing these multi cultured population in Australia. I mean, what we have seen in the last month or so, is it the tip of the iceberg?
No, I think there are always going to be issues in any big country of immigration.
Considering that the local police in Victoria have accepted that the attacks were racially motivated, do you agree that the Australian establishment reacted a little late?
Whether or not the police could have moved in more quickly, you know, it is fine for me to be sitting
Source:
http://www.business.in.com/interview/exit-interview/quot;indians-make-very-good-
