The Malta Independent on Sunday
Lunch with the Australian High Commissioner, H.E. Julienne Hince
Ihave been employed by Standard Publications since November 1994 – a Saturday – a colleague, who joined Standard Publications on the same day, reminded me a few months ago. In those 23 years I have been fortunate to meet and interview so many people from all walks of life, including many ambassadors and members of the diplomatic corps.
It is always sad to see them leave and in a few cases one forges a closer relationship than with others, relationships which start and finish in Malta, life being what it is. ***
The latest to leave our shores was the Australian High Commissioner, Ms Jane Lambert. Most diplomats announce their departure and more often than not you hear no more from them.
But I did get some news and greetings from the genial Ms Lambert when her replacement, Ms Julienne Hince, who presented her credentials to the President in January, invited me to lunch at the Water Polo Club in Ta’Xbiex, one fine afternoon last week.
As we sat down next to a heater, Her Excellency told me that Jane’s departure for Australia, it seems, was fraught as it took her, and her beloved two dogs and a cat some five days to arrive back home, via Istanbul, as there she encountered several problems including stormy weather. ***
Julienne Hince is no cardboard figure but an occupant of the same physical and intellectual universe, as the rest of us. That she is a good sort was evident within the first half an hour of our meeting. There’s the sympathetic smile but I sense behind it a combination of grit and gentleness.
I always hesitate to ask someone I had only just met about their spouse since I feel this is defended territory. However, Ms Hince was soon telling me about her husband. She spoke briefly (but affectionately) of him, Mike Sweet, a Welshman she met when she was serving in Bangladesh. He is obviously her rock. “He is a writer, film-maker and journalist but not an investigative one,” she was quick to point out, almost with relief. *** Her Excellency is a career officer with the Australian Gov- ernment’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and has held several posts of responsibility. DFAT manages small offices in Australian cities to complement the economic and trade work of the main government offices in Canberra.
She has also served twice in the Ministry’s State offices in her home town Melbourne and in the far Northern capital of Darwin “which is closer to Jakarta than to Sydney”.
She was Deputy Director of the DFAT Victorian State Office and Director of the DFAT Northern Territory Office from 2002 to 2006. Other postings overseas have been in Germany and Athens, she told me. German is one of the languages she speaks fluently. She was most recently Director of South America for DFAT with responsibility for bilateral relations with ten countries. She also managed the Secretariat of the Council on Australia LatinAmerican Relations, a key advisory body and instrument for the Australian Government’s engagement with Latin America from 2010-2014. She was Deputy Director of the Department’s Victoria State Office.
Ms Hince has also served as chargé d’affaires in Berlin, Warsaw and even Mauritius (for a short while) where she lived in Curepipe, the town we lived in for some twelve years.
Prior to joining DFAT, Ms Hince worked in the private sector in France and New Caledonia. She is also fluent in French and has a working knowledge of Greek and Spanish. She holds a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Melbourne and a Graduate Diploma in Foreign Affairs and Trade from the Australian National University.
Julienne Hince has four children: two sons working and a daughter studying in Melbourne and a 13-year-old son who goes to school in Malta.
Her father, who turned 90 last year, studied medicine for a few years but decided that this was not for him and opened an antiquarian bookshop which he still runs, instead.
His other love is music and indeed, he was also a music critic for many years. He passed on this love of music to Julienne as once her mother decided to stop going to concerts with him, Julienne went along instead.
There is no monotony about the Australian High Commissioner. She is the least brittle of women, the least contrived of personalities. Her manner is unpretentious, yet I sensed that her confidence is absolute. And I am certain that what you see is what you get, as they say in Washington.
We decided on a main course of fish sotto sale. The result is always moist fish and unsalted as the rock salt never comes in contact with the flesh of the fish.
The waitresses cleaned both fish near our table with expertise: we had chosen bream and seabass. Roast peppers accompanied the delicious fish and a glass of white wine completed the meal. I sensed that Her Excellency is quite a connoisseur and particular about the wine she drinks.
It was a most pleasant meal and just enough for lunch. Three course lunches fell out of fashion years ago. It is almost impossible to do any work after a heavy lunch. All you want is a siesta!
We spoke about juggling work and family. Almost all working mothers suffer from an element of guilt: when at home you think you should be at work and vice versa. In all these years of ‘women’s emancipation’ this has not changed. Are the children missing out because they don’t have their mother’s constant attention? There is some consolation in the fact that children whose mothers do not work are not necessarily more successful than those with a working mother.But what is the use of ‘What if….?’ Both the High Commissioner and myself had decided to be working mothers and there is no going back now.
There wasn’t time for coffee as we both had to go back to work or to some appointment or another.
Ms Hince told me that she is looking forward to visiting Tunisia since she is accredited Ambassador to Tunisia as well. I remember Jane Lambert going there.
I have little doubt that the new Australian High Commissioner is going to leave her mark on our tiny island. After all Australia and Malta have a long friendship and it is said that there are more Maltese in Australia than in Malta.I wish her a fruitful and enjoyable stay. And some luck too. One always needs it. mbenoit@independent.com.mt