Letter to the Editor | Consulate Woes – Follow up

Dear Editor,

The Australian Consul-General to Hong Kong and Macau has written a letter to the editor in response to my article about the Consulate that appeared in Macau Daily Times on April 25. I would like to comment on the Consul’s response as follows.

The Consulate does visit Macau to provide some limited services once a month. To me this seems a very limited visitation schedule and the services offered are also very limited. For example, in response to my recent query they cannot give any advice on my American wife getting residency in Australia – in Macau or even if I visit the consulate in Hong Kong. It seems that all they can do is get paid to issue passports, but provide no assistance to the many Australians living in the region who want assistance in getting their spouses and families Australian residency.

On this topic, it seems rather exorbitant to me for the Australian government to charge over AUD7,000 just to process residency applications. No doubt it is just another way for the government to limit Asian immigration – and I, for one, am sick to death of apologizing for Australia’s insulting position on such matters. For instance, most Asian countries give Australians visa free access without any reciprocation, and I do not understand why they tolerate this situation.

The Consul also states that it supports trade and investment between Hong Kong, Macau and Australia. Again, this has not been my experience. In the past I have contacted AusTrade a few times to investigate trade and business opportunities. In every case I got zero assistance and help. They seemed purely focused on exporting commodities from Australia and they seemed to know significantly less about the regional markets than I did.

I stand by my position. They seem to only exist to be paid to issue passports and notarize selected documents. In my long experience, they provide very little assistance to Australians and their families living in the region.

Sincerely,

Dr Richard Whitfield