Consul-General in Noumea
Today I announce the appointment of Mr Paul Wilson as Australia's next Consul-General in Noumea, with accreditation to New Caledonia, French Polynesia and Wallis and Futuna. Mr Wilson will also serve as Australia's representative to the Noumea-based Secretariat of the Pacific Community.
This year marks the 75th anniversary of Australia's diplomatic presence in Noumea, one of our oldest overseas posts. Built on shared interests and strong people-to-people links, Australia's longstanding relationship with New Caledonia and France in the Pacific continues to evolve as New Caledonia determines its political and institutional future.
Australian trade and investment in New Caledonia is active, particularly in the mining and tourism sectors.
Throughout the French Pacific, Australia values its close work with authorities in a range of fields, including regional disaster relief, defence and security, and trade and investment. Australia's dynamic and targeted scholarships program for the French Pacific is consolidating people-to-people and institutional links with Australia.
Mr Wilson is a career officer with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and most recently served as Director of the Media Liaison Section. Overseas, Mr Wilson has served as Australia's Deputy Permanent Representative to the United Nations Conference on Disarmament in Geneva; as First Secretary at the Australian Embassy in Paris; and as a member of the Peace Monitoring Group in Bougainville.
Mr Wilson holds a Bachelor of Arts in Latin and a Bachelor of Mathematics in Pure Mathematics from the University of Newcastle. As a Canadian Commonwealth Scholar, he completed a Master of Arts in Greek and Roman Studies from the University of Victoria, Canada. Mr Wilson speaks French.
Mr Wilson will take up his appointment in July 2015. I thank the previous Consul-General, Ms Heidi Bootle, for her work in advancing Australia's interests in Noumea.