George Osborne’s letter from Australia

To Sydney for the first of three G20 meetings in Australia this year. It’s a long way to travel, but as the formidable Treasurer, Joe Hockey, reminded the jet-lagged finance ministers and central bank governors of the world: now you all know what Australian ministers have been putting up with all these years they’ve been travelling to your meetings. The government of Tony Abbott may be new to the international stage, but they’ve laid on an impressive show. We have a tight agenda, focused on clear and achievable outcomes; and the trappings are kept to a minimum. It all augurs well for the big leaders’ summit in Brisbane this November.

I regret to say I’ve only been to Australia once before. That was on a flying visit 15 years ago with William Hague, then our Conservative party leader and now our imperturbable Foreign Secretary. He was invited to speak at the Liberal party convention by John Howard.