Macau Matters | Consulate Woes

Richard Whitfield

I do not know if it is nature or nurture, but many men seem to need regular “alone time” or the company of other men. My paternal grandfather spent many hours alone working in his home vegetable patch with periodic sojourns to the chicken coops at the end of the garden to drink warm beer – grandma was firmly against alcohol and refused to permit it in the house, but seemed to turn a blind eye to the brown bottles hidden in the chicken feed. Visiting the local golf club to play each week seems to satisfy my father and brother, and I like spending Friday evenings chatting at Norman’s Pub at Hac Sa Beach.

For the longer term, though, I like working with my hands and want a wood working shop so I can make furniture, for fun and to annoy my wife (who does not seem to want an apartment filled with stuff I have made). Unfortunately, this is not really possible for me in Macau because adequate workshop space at a reasonable price is simply not available, and there are no Bunnings/Home Depot stores full of wood and tools to buy and use.

To resolve this long term problem, I have partnered with two old like-minded university friends to buy a 220m2 factory in Braeside in Melbourne. We are in the process of closing the deal but the lawyers tell me I must get my identity verified for the transfer of title. In Australia this is simply done by taking some personal identification documents to the local post office and completing a form. It is not so easily done elsewhere.

On instructions from our Australian conveyancing lawyers I spent six hours recently visiting the Australian Consulate in Hong Kong only to be told that they had no idea what Land Title Identity Verification is and could not help me. I spent an inordinate amount of money for them to create certified true copies of my passport and Macau ID card, and fingers crossed, this will hopefully satisfy the Australian Land Registry as to my identity.

Generally, I find the Australian Consulate to be a total waste of space. When I first moved to Hong Kong I diligently registered with them, and when I asked what kind of assistance I could expect, I was informed that in the event of an invasion they would attempt to tell me it was happening. After 26 years in the region, I have yet to be invited to any Australian consular functions or activities.

On several occasions the Australian government has wanted me to do things and in every case the Consulate has been clueless. When I visit them to deal with whatever matter the Australian government wants me to handle, they invariably respond by saying “we know nothing on this matter and cannot advise you on how to proceed”. They never offer any suggestions, and just look at me blankly and ask what I would like to do. In my experience, Australian consular officials are a lot of well paid bureaucrats that perform no useful function except to go to parties to talk to similarly useless officials from other countries.

By contrast, my wife is a US Warden in Macau so at least the US Consulate regularly invites me to their parties, and have taken me visit two of their aircraft carriers, which was a lot of fun. She also seems to do much more to help US citizens who have problems, whereas Australian officials seem to leave citizens to fend for themselves. As an Australian taxpayer in good standing I really do not understand why we bother having any Consulates. Closing them down would save a lot of money.