Dear Editor,
I write in response to the “Macau Matters; Consulate Woes” opinion piece that appeared in the Macau Daily Times on 25 April.
Contrary to the author’s perception, the Australian Consulate-General is working hard to serve Australia’s interests in Hong Kong and Macau.
One of our roles is to provide a full range of consular services. For example, our Consulate is the Australian Government’s second-largest passport-issuing post (behind only London), with around 10,000 passports issued each year. To save Australians in Macau having to travel to the Consulate in Hong Kong, we conduct passport interviews there once a month.
We provide consular assistance to Australians in need as well as a range of other consular services and advice. We perform close to 8,000 notarial acts for Australians and others each year (our website lists the types of documents we can and cannot legally witness). In addition, we are the second largest polling booth for Australians voting overseas in elections.
Our Home Affairs team issues visas for thousands of visitors, students, business and family migrants each year as well as approving Australian citizenship for our newest Australians. We have law enforcement, immigration, customs and other responsibilities that extend across Hong Kong and Macau but also more broadly in the region.
Australian Consulate officials regularly visit Macau and work to strengthen bilateral cooperation on a range of strategic and economic issues. For example, Austrade advises Australian businesses in Hong Kong and Macau and promotes two way trade and investment. We engage with the Australian business community and we greatly appreciate the advice and insights we receive from Australians in Hong Kong and Macau to help inform our work and priorities.
We note that the day the author’s comments were published, an Australian consular official was participating in an Anzac Day dawn service in Macau.
Yours faithfully,
Michaela Browning
Australian Consul-General to Hong Kong and Macau
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