Australian government moves to curb unrealistic requests to embassies

Australia's government is taking steps to curb Australian travellers' unrealistic expectations of what help they can get from their embassies - which have included a loan to pay a prostitute in Thailand or assistance to evict a polecat from above a ceiling in the United States.

Foreign Minister Julie Bishop yesterday announced new measures to underscore consular services as a last resort and to promote "a stronger culture of self-reliance and personal responsibility in the travelling public".

These measures include a new policy of providing minimal consular services to Australians who willfully, repeatedly or negligently get themselves into trouble. People who visit embassies and consulates will be given the new guidelines. Charging Australians for the consular help that they receive was also something the government was considering, she said.

"Our consular staff are not there to pay for the repairs to your jet ski; they're not there to pay your hotel bill; they're not there to lend you a laptop or to provide you with office space in the embassy for you to do your work," Bishop said, listing actual requests that Australian embassies have refused.

At the embassy in Bangkok - Australia's busiest overall - an Australian walked in with a prostitute and was refused a loan to pay for services already provided, said Anita Downey, a senior consular official at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Such requests were common at that embassy, she said.

Other embassy locations that frequently get outlandish requests included Los Angeles, Bali, Manila and Dubai, she said.