Australian sports minister, Senator Kate Lundy, must be a glutton for punishment. She’s already had to pay a forfeit over her bet with UK sports minister Hugh Robertson about the results at the London Olympics. Now she’s signed up for further wagers with him over the forthcoming Ashes and the Lions’ tour.

Australian Sports Minister Kate Lundy and UK Sports Minister Hugh Robertson MP make a sporting wager

It was all done in good humoured fashion, at the Australian Institute of Sport in Canberra, which the minister was visiting as part of a week in Australia. Wherever he went, he received incredibly warm comments on the success of London 2012. In return, he was able to express gratitude for the many Australian contributions in London.

He visited Sydney’s Olympic Park, from the 2000 games, now a growing commercial and residential hub, to discuss Olympic legacy. He also met British and Australian firms who are capitalising on their London track record to win business on forthcoming major sports events, including Rio 2016.

One consequence of London’s glorious summer in the spotlight last year is a big increase in the number of people overseas who are considering a holiday in Britain. It looks particularly attractive to Australians whose strong dollar makes UK prices a steal.

Mr Robertson also has responsibility for tourism, and he was accompanied by the Chairman of Visit Britain, our national tourist agency. They saw good opportunities to further increase the number of Australian tourists coming to the UK. Australia is already our fourth largest market by spend, with nearly 1 million tourists spending over a billion pounds last year.

We also compete with Australia for tourists from Asia, including the rapidly growing Chinese market, and Mr Robertson was able to compare notes with Australian Tourism Minister Gary Gray.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard and Defence Minister Stephen Smith launched Australia’s new Defence White Paper in an RAAF hangar in Canberra. They were flanked by Australia’s senior military chiefs and defence officials, against the backdrop of some impressive looking hardware and a military band. The hangar was open to the elements, so we could all enjoy one of those crisp autumn days which Canberra does so well.

Prime Minister Julia Gillard launches Defence White Paper

The Defence WP is the final part of a series comprising the National Security Strategy, published in January, and the Asian Century WP released last October. It updates Australian policy since the last Defence WP in 2009, taking account of a number of changed circumstances: an economic, strategic and military shift to the Indo-Pacific region; the drawdown of Australian forces in Afghanistan, Timor-Leste and Solomon Islands; the US re-balance towards Asia Pacific; and the budgetary consequences of the Global Financial Crisis. It sets out strategic frameworks and also Australia’s plans on major aircraft, ship and submarine procurements.

This will be viewed with much interest in Britain. As the White Paper says “Australia and the United Kingdom enjoy a deep defence relationship… it is more important than ever for us to work together to address common challenges… reflected in the signing earlier this year of the Australia-UK Defence and Security Cooperation Treaty.”

The silence of 35,000 people gathered in pre-dawn darkness is a genuinely spine-tingling experience. Every year more and more Australians seem to want to turn out for what is both an annual commemoration of Australia’s war sacrifices and a proud expression of national identity.

Wreaths laid in remembrance at the War Memorial in Canberra.

Before the service, Corporal Ben Roberts-Smith, one of Australia’s four living Victoria Cross holders, read out letters from Australian soldiers serving in Afghanistan. I was reminded of when my Mum showed me letters my Grandfather had sent home from the Somme to my Grandmother. He was not an educated man, but they were moving in their very simplicity.

I have been thinking about the First World War recently, because my daughter is currently studying the poems of Edward Thomas at school.

His poems document the struggle of a pacifist, bookish man to decide whether he should follow his friends in signing up to fight in a war he wasn’t sure he really believed in. It is the long walks in his beloved countryside, that ultimately convince him that his country is worth fighting for:

“She is all we know and live by, and we trust

She is good and must endure, loving her so”

He did go, and paid the price.

As Britain’s High Commissioner I am invited to lay a wreath of poppies at the National War Memorial on various occasions during the year. It always feels an enormous privilege to be doing so. I’m often doing it alongside political leaders and military commanders. I sense that we all feel humbled by the experience.

The “diggers”, ordinary soldiers who’ve gone off to fight for Australia in many conflicts since the tragic Gallipoli landings of 1915, are an enduring image of Australian grit. One of the ways that people try to associate themselves with the digger is by playing the Australian soldiers’ traditional game of “two-up”, tossing three coins and betting on whether more heads or tails will appear.

It’s an ANZAC day tradition – in fact it’s only legal to play it in pubs on this day each year. At a local pub I was invited to be “spinner”, tossing three old pennies (from the days before Australia moved to dollars and cents in 1966). In front of a baying, but good-natured crowd of more than a hundred punters, I placed the coins on the “kip”, a small piece of flat wood, and gingerly tossed them into the air.

So many Australian traditions come together on ANZAC day, it’s a wonderful opportunity to be part of it.

This was the interesting title I was asked to talk about by the NSW Community Relations Commission. In Parramatta, unofficial capital of Sydney’s sprawling Western Suburbs, home to some 10% of Australia’s population and the heartland of the “new Australians”, I met young leaders from a range of different communities: Iraqi, Afghanistani, Indian, Coptic Christians from Egypt, Chinese, Malay, Jewish, Polish.

In my speech I talked about four things: Australian uniqueness; the strength of modern Anglo-influences; Australia in the world; and immigration and multiculturalism. I noted that you could equally well ask “how Anglo is Britain” nowadays. One in four Australians may have been born outside the country. But so have one in eight Brits. We are both diverse, cosmopolitan societies.

HE Paul Madden speaking at the NSW Community Relations Commission

The physical Anglo legacy is obvious, from place-names to statues of Queen Victoria, all juxtaposed with Australia’s extraordinary landscapes. But there is a huge cultural familiarity too. In the 2011 census, a large majority of Australians described their ancestral background as from the British Isles.

Apart from the historic settlement, over a million Brits came to Australia between 1945-70, the famous “ten pound poms”. And they continue to come, with 25,000 settling permanently last year. But in 2012 they were only the third largest group of arrivals, after Chinese and Indians (who topped the list for the first time with 29,000).

The vibrant multicultural nature of modern Australia is evident every time you walk along the streets of major cities. Among the reasons they come is the attractiveness of some of the values codified in its constitution and laws, around democracy, rule of law and personal freedoms. They may have started out as “Anglo” values, but have now become much more universal.

Nowadays Australia has very important economic and political ties with its Asian neighbours, both bilaterally and through emerging institutions like the East Asia Summit, just as Britain is a leading member of the European Union. Indeed it is a highly connected global nation. But not surprisingly, many Australians, whatever their family history, appear to find an ease and familiarity in working together with Anglo countries like the UK, US, Canada and NZ.

It was fascinating talking to the lively group of young people. We covered many topics including: Asylum seekers; the balance between multiculturalism and integration; languages; terrorism; community policing; the influence of ethnic groupings on foreign policy; and national identity. It was good to hear them speaking so positively about what it means to be Australian in 2013.

Standing in his moleskins in a grove of gum trees in rural Victoria, British Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Owen Paterson looked every inch the countryman. Me, in my dark suit, not so much.

HE Paul Madden with British Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Owen Paterson

He was here with scientific and policy officials to look at several aspects of Australian agriculture. The gum trees were part of a “Biodiversity offset” project where developers had been required to conserve a pristine reserve, in compensation for a development project which destroyed nature in another part of the state. It’s an interesting concept which may hold lessons for Britain, where the government is seeking to reduce the bureaucratic constraints planning regulations impose on the economy, whilst fully maintaining environmental protection.Mr Paterson also looked at Australia’s vaunted animal and plant quarantine procedures at ports and airports. In a globalised world, biosecurity is ever more important, to present damaging diseases and pests from moving rapidly from country to country. He visited farms and agricultural science laboratories. There is much scope for greater UK/Australia collaboration in these fields.

He also received a fascinating briefing on Australian water management, including the Murray Darling Basin Plan. This is a massive scheme, and covers a catchment twice the size of France which irrigates half of Australian agriculture. It has not been without controversy, between individual users and between the different states through which it flows. But the key has been monetising irrigation rights, so that they can be traded to enable the market to allocate water to the most productive uses.

In addition to farmers, politicians and officials, Mr Paterson also had a chance to meet business representatives and discuss international agricultural trade. Not surprisingly, Australian exports to Britain in this sector, £457m (of which £308m is wine), are twice UK exports to Australia, though these are not insignificant at £228m (of which £80m is scotch whisky). The composition of those trade flow ensures that we can certainly raise a glass to each other.

There are few things more important than education. Our Chevening scholarships benefit the individuals who come to the UK to study, the communities from which they come, and the societies to which they return, often to play future leadership roles.

HE Paul Madden with 2013 Charlie Perkins scholars and Senator Don Farrell

So it was a great pleasure to be sending four more young indigenous Australians off to Cambridge and Oxford, through our cooperation with the Charlie Perkins programme. We were delighted to be joined by British and Australian ministers for the ceremony. Owen Paterson (UK Secretary of State for DEFRA), who happened to be visiting Australia, wished the students good luck at his alma mater, Cambridge. Don Farrell (Australian minister for science and innovation) talked of the impact his own overseas study at Harvard had had on his life.

But it was the scholars’ day and, as they spoke, the personal qualities which had led to their scholarship awards were evident. They talked about hard work, supportive families, academic mentors and fierce ambition. As I looked out into the audience there were more than a few moist eyes among the proud parents, families and friends.

It is a frequent custom at public events in Australia to invite a local Aboriginal elder to open proceedings with a “welcome to country” on behalf of Australia’s First People. Elder Warren Daley must have done this many times before, but you could see that he took a particular pride to be participating in an event where young people from the indigenous community, where higher education participation rates are low, were heading off to two of the world’s best universities.

So, good luck to Vincent Backhaus (a descendent of the Kalkadoon people, with offers from Cambridge and Oxford), Rex Betar (Bunjalung, Oxford), Sarah Lynn Rees (Plangermaireener, Cambridge) and Leila Smith (Wiradjuri, Cambridge). Have a rewarding and fun time in Britain.

By a strange coincidence, I found myself down a coal mine on the day Margaret Thatcher died. The 1984-5 miners’ strike had been one of the many significant events of her premiership. There has been massive coverage of her death in the Australian media and comments from across the political spectrum paying tribute to Lady Thatcher’s profound role in shaping the UK’s economy and its place in the world. Opposition Leader Tony Abbott came into our Consulate General in Melbourne to sign the Condolence book, and members of the public are visiting our offices around Australia to do the same.

HE Paul Madden with Baroness Blackstone

Australia is a coal “superpower”, the world’s fourth largest producer. 70% of its production is exported, mainly to Japan and other Asian markets. I was accompanying British peer Baroness Blackstone on a visit to West Cliff mine in the Illawarra region just south of Sydney. Our host was the Anglo-Australian resources giant BHP Billiton. Dual-listed, it is the largest company on the Australian Stock Exchange by market cap and one of the largest on the London exchange. It employs nearly 50,000 people worldwide and turned over more than US$70bn last year. It has operations all around Australia across a range of commodities.

It is a challenging industry to operate in, requiring massive, high tech investment to extract resources in often difficult or remote locations, over long time periods, and subject to volatile commodity prices and demanding environmental and climate change regulations.

Dark, dusty and sweaty, 500 metres below ground, watching the huge long wall “shearer” machine carve through a flaking coal seam like a butcher slicing ham, I felt that the relationship between humans and the earth was brought into sharp relief.

In the Northern Hemisphere the backdrop to the great Christian festival of Easter is Spring and renewal. In Australia it’s Autumn. Seasons matter: it feels different.

But Autumn can be beautiful here, and it’s also a time of festivals. Sydney’s Royal Easter Show, is a massive event with nearly a million people visiting the showground at Olympic Park over a two week period. It has been organised by the NSW Royal Agricultural Society since 1823, back in the early days of British settlement.

Like the Devon County show I used to attend as a kid, it has the usual livestock and farm produce displays, but on a huge scale. It is a reminder of the important role agriculture still plays in Australian life, together with associated sectors making up around 12% of GDP. Each night there is a spectacular arena show.

We were invited to watch an England/Australia Polo match as part of the show. It’s not a sport I’m very familiar with; it tends to be seen as a bit elitist. But apparently its popularity is growing fast in Australia and there are close links with the English game.

Certainly it was an exciting match, with Australia going 5-0 up in the first “chukka”, and England pulling back to win 11-10 at the end.

We also visited the National Folk Festival in Canberra over the Easter weekend, now in its 47th year, and drawing some 40,000 fans annually. British-born director Sebastian Flynn had assembled a fantastic schedule of performers, drawn from Australia and all over the world, particularly the Celtic strongholds. At the opening night concert, renowned Scottish fiddler Alasdair Fraser played an amazing duet with American cellist Natalie Haas.

Another Easter tradition is weddings. Congratulations to Carly, my EA, who married Matt on Easter Saturday.

Because of its fantastic tourist attractions, from the Great Barrier Reef to the Gold Coast, many of the 640,000 Brits who come to Australia each year visit Queensland.

The vast majority of visits are completely trouble-free, but the sheer volume means that our Consular team in Brisbane are kept busy. Some people get ill, or have accidents, particularly in the sea with Australia’s unexpected rip-currents, and others become crime victims or fall foul of the law.

So a reception to mark our Consulate moving into new premises in downtown Brisbane was a chance to network with a range of local organisations with whom we work in providing consular support, from the police and state government to the surf life savers. Appropriately we held it at the Pig & Whistle, Brissie’s leading British pub.

It was also a chance to do some publicity to promote awareness of travel safety, particularly among the young backpacker community. We were helped by Brit Ben Southall, who has become a media celebrity since winning the “Best job in the world” competition, sponsored by Queensland Tourism, to spend 6 months as Island Caretaker on the Great Barrier Reef.

Ben interviewed me and Sam Woodhead, the 18 year old backpacker who was lost in the outback for three days in February, and survived by drinking his contact lens solution. We are going to put the video out on our own digital platforms and through Ben’s popular blog.

I focused my advice on lost or damaged passports – a common problem among the backpackers. I explained that in cases of genuine need we can provide an Emergency Travel Document, which is not a full passport but will allow a traveller to complete their journey.

But the best approach was for people to keep their passports in a safe place, make sure they are always valid and take other forms of ID when going out to bars and clubs. And, of course, I reminded viewers of the importance of travel insurance.

“Thursday” is a new play based on Gill Hicks, the Adelaide-born lady who lost both legs in the London tube bombings, and who has been such an inspiration with her bravery and dignity. It was with mixed feelings that I went along to the Canberra theatre to see this fascinating collaboration between the English Touring Theatre and Adelaide’s Brink Productions. None of us who were in London on 7 July 2005 will forget that day.

But this is not a play about terrorism per se. Nor does it attempt to tell Gill’s story precisely. Rather, it is a creative piece about human relationships and the response to adversity. It begins with a burst of manic activity as a group of ordinary citizens rush about their routine lives preparing for another “ordinary” day. They love and bicker, and some go off to the office quarrelled. Would people do that if they thought every day could turn out to be such an extraordinary one?

After the explosion there is a long, slow period as the individual aftermath of the tragedy begins to sink in. Then the scene transforms again into frenzied activity in the Emergency Ward at St Thomas’ Hospital, as the lives of victims, harried staff and unsuspecting day patients intersect with each other in a complex series of interactions. We see chaos and confusion but, above all, compassion. Finally the pace slows down again as the characters gradually come to terms with the long term impact on their lives.

It was a powerful, thought-provoking piece. Personally I found the opening scenes too quickfire and confusing to really establish the characters in the audience’s mind before the tragedy struck. And for most of us, a terrible incident like this raises the question “Why”, which the play doesn’t attempt to address, but which many of us in the FCO have to work on.

But it was a handsomely acted piece and, chatting to the half British/half Australian cast afterwards, I was struck by their comments about how smoothly they had worked together in developing and performing the play. Another example of the great cultural familiarity between the two countries.