The British high commissioner to Australia would not be led to speculate about the details of the AUKUS deal.
As mentioned by journalists during Vicki Treadell’s address at the National Press Club, the submarine announcement is rumoured to take place next week.
Before beginning the Q&A section, the experienced diplomat flagged it was a “futile attempt” to get more information out of her about AUKUS.
“I cannot today speak to the specifics,” Treadell told the crowd.
“What I can say is [that] this historic AUKUS agreement reflects the unique trust between the UK, the United States and Australia. That reflects our shared values and our joint commitment to peace and security in the Indo-Pacific.”
Treadell said she had told opposition leader Peter Dutton that she disagreed with his view that American-made submarines should be preferred.
“He’s commenting on an outcome that he doesn’t yet know,” the high commissioner added.
When asked for more elaboration, she continued to state everyone was entitled to speculation.
“I was simply pointing out that I did not think such expressions were helpful on what is a genuine trilateral partnership started under his government,” Treadell said.
Speaking on International Women’s Day, the speech given by Treadell was titled “Modern Britain: Our journey beyond colonialism”.
The high commissioner said she agreed with what foreign affairs minister Penny Wong had said during her January speech on colonialism.
Treadell added that the “nuance had been lost” in the media coverage of Wong’s speech.
“Just as brevity is the enemy of complexity, the story of modern Britain is distilled by distance,” the high commissioner said.
“A postcard of a painting that never was.
“To understand modern Britain is to understand that we must project with pride our modern multicultural reality.”
Having been born in Malaysia to Chinese and Dutch Burgher parents, the diplomat said she did not have “a drop of English, Welsh, Scottish, or Northern Irish blood coursing through [her] veins”.
Treadell spoke of the microaggressions she experienced when she joined the UK foreign office in 1979.
“I had the common experience of many migrants at the time. The inevitable: ‘Yes, but where are you really from?’,” Treadell said.
“My first boss, on greeting me, was bemused.
“He said: ‘I don’t understand how you hope to be a member of Her Majesty’s diplomatic service’.
“I told him: ‘I am a legacy of empire and you are reaping what you sow’.”
On King Charles III no longer being on the Australian $5 note, the high commissioner said it was reflective of a “grown-up” relationship between Australia and the British monarchy.
“Why should Britain tell Australia what it wants to do with its own currency when you are a realm in your own right?
“It’s none of our business.”
A couple of questions directed at Treadell were on the UK’s asylum-seeker policy.
The recently announced policy by UK prime minister Rishi Sunak sports the slogan “stop the boats”, echoing Australia’s own approach to asylum seekers.
“As a good public servant, I send back factual information to my government,” Treadell said.
She continued to state the UK government was concerned about asylum seekers crossing the Channel in dangerous conditions.
“There are proper channels for genuine asylum seekers to find a route to Britain,” the high commissioner added.
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