Change is the operative word for Australians this year as a new government heralds a new era back home and endeavours to set its political agenda on the regional and international stage.
In Hong Kong, change is also in the air as Australian Consul General Murray Cobban celebrates his last Australia Day here and prepares to return to Canberra on March14, after a three-year stay he regards as a highlight in an impressive diplomatic career.
'It's been very exciting. I have been very lucky to be here at a period of time when you have had the return to growth that we have had, and that makes life easier and also more interesting,' said the consul general whose diplomatic career has included the Commonwealth Secretariat, the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, and postings in Rome, Jakarta, Bangkok and Honolulu. 'But also I think it's just the changing picture of Hong Kong during that time. I've been here for two chief executive elections, and some changes in how Hong Kong has been positioning itself with the mainland, and there was also the WTO ministerial meeting.'
Mr Cobban has been impressed by the high level of involvement Australians have in the Hong Kong community, working in fields ranging from charity and local companies to the government and multinationals. 'I think we're repositioning ourselves in a diplomatic and cultural capacity, and in aviation, security and so on. Australian universities are also putting quite a lot of resources into Hong Kong and China and in a trilateral way, particularly in the past 18 months where a major effort has been made into academic research co-operation.'
With a new Labor government in Canberra, policies will change, but Mr Cobban sees the rich relationship Australia has developed with Hong Kong and the mainland as only improving.
'I can't prejudge what the new prime minister [Kevin Rudd] will do, but there's no doubt we will continue on a high level of engagement with China,' he said. 'Environmental issues will obviously be big.'