Activities of Secretary-General in Australia, 7-9 September

United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, accompanied by Madam Ban Soon‑taek, arrived in Sydney on the evening of 7 September after a flight from Auckland.

The Secretary-General and Mrs. Ban first paid a courtesy call on Marie Bashir, Governor of New South Wales, and Nicholas Shehadie.  They then attended a reception at Government House, at which the Secretary-General made brief remarks.  (See Press Release SG/SM/13779)

The next morning, the Secretary-General met with Stephen Smith, the Minister of Defence of Australia, and with Julie Bishop, Deputy Leader of the Opposition.

The Secretary-General gave an interview to the Australian Broadcasting Corporation before delivering a speech at the University of Sydney.  The address was entitled “Australia and the Twenty-First Century United Nations: Priorities for a Changing World.  He also answered questions from students.  (See Press Release SG/SM/13780)

The Secretary-General, accompanied by Madam Ban, flew that afternoon from Sydney to Canberra, where they first took part in a tree-planting ceremony at the National Arboretum Canberra with schoolchildren and Katy Gallagher, Chief Minister of the Australian Capital Territory.

Next, the Secretary-General and Madam Ban travelled to the Australian Federal Police’s International Deployment Group Facility, where police officers from Australia and Pacific Island countries are trained before being deployed to United Nations and other peacekeeping operations.  The visit included a trip to the centre’s mock Pacific Island village training venue, where they saw an election monitoring and crowd control exercise.  Back at the centre, the Secretary-General was briefed on the work of the International Deployment Group Facility and he thanked Australia for its commitment to peacekeeping.

That evening, the Secretary-General and Mrs. Ban paid a courtesy call on Quentin Bryce, the Governor-General of Australia, and Michael Bryce.  They then attended a dinner at Government House, at which the Secretary-General made brief remarks.  (See Press Release SG/SM/13781)

The next morning, the Secretary-General hosted a round table for some media based in Canberra and then met with United Nations staff.

The Secretary-General, accompanied by Madam Ban, departed Canberra for New York, via Sydney and Los Angeles, later that morning, arriving at JFK Airport the same evening, Friday, 9 September.