Australia’s trade with the SAR continues to grow, says Consul

The Australian Consulate General in Hong Kong and Macau held a reception yesterday at the Military Club of Macau, celebrating the relationship between Australia and the SAR.

Michaela Browning, Consul-General of Australia for Hong Kong and Macau, said that there had been a continuous increase in the trade volume between the two regions, in relation to both goods and services.

With over 2,500 Australians currently residing in Macau, the official believes that her home country has significantly contributed to the infrastructure development of the region, particularly of casinos and hotels.

“I think Australians are interested in what’s happening in Macau and we think we can be good partners in the areas of infrastructure, education, healthcare and the sorts of things that Macau needs to do to continue to grow and prosper,” Browning told the press.

“We’re keen on finding areas where we can actually grow this relationship that would be mutually beneficial,” the official added.

Meanwhile, Browning said that they had seen a 57% rise in the goods trade and a 20% rise in the services trade between the two regions.

As the Australian Chamber of Commerce of Macau commenced earlier this year, Browning noted that the “chamber is an expression of what has been occurring over the recent years and we expect it to continue.”

Furthermore, while Hong Kong reports say that some residents are migrating to countries such as Canada due to the controversial extradition bill, the official said that the consulate had not noticed a change in the number of Australian passports and citizenship renewals.

Meanwhile, yesterday in Brisbane, tensions over Hong Kong’s future emerged at an Australian university, with footage showing a fraught confrontation between supporters of China’s government and protesters opposed to the Asian financial hub’s proposed extradition bill.

The rival groups faced off at a University of Queensland campus in Brisbane, with one side singing pro-China songs and the other chanting “free Hong Kong.” Footage posted on Twitter showed protesters hurling verbal abuse as police tried to calm the situation, while punches were thrown between two people.

Queensland Police provided support to the university at the scene, a spokesperson said at about 4:15 p.m. Brisbane time. No arrests had been made. The university said in a statement that it had requested police support due to “safety concerns resulting from a student-initiated protest on campus.”

“One of the roles of universities is to enable open, respectful and lawful free speech, including debate about ideas we may not all support or agree with,” it said. LV/Agencies