Let’s Dance: A History of LGBTIQ Staff in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

Bryce Wakefield — Wed, 22 Nov 2023 01:59:43 +0000

Rhonda Piggott’s book, also available as a free download, outlines the untold story decade by decade of the contributions of and challenges faced by LGBTIQ staff in Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. As she notes, the Australian foreign service had never banned homosexuals from serving. LGBTIQ staff had a different story to tell from colleagues, for example, in the United Kingdom, though there were similarities. Much has been written about the gay rights movement and the history of sexuality in its many forms. Little has been written, though, about how the resulting social changes and attitudinal shifts migrated to conservative organisations such as the Australian foreign service.

“Some may ask why bother writing a history of LGBTIQ people in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). I would reply that it is as good a story as any of an organisation succeeding or failing to make the best use of its people’s talents and to treat them fairly. It is a story that has high points and low, with dashes of courage, caution and cowardice.” –Bruce Miller AO

An Enduring Contribution? Australia’s Term on the United Nations Security Council (2013-2014)

aiia2021 — Mon, 04 Mar 2024 08:03:49 +0000

The Australian Institute of International Affairs is pleased to present the second instalment of the Diplomatic History Series.

As Australia took up its role as an elected member of the United Nations Security Council for 2013-2014, the challenges ahead were all too apparent. Dynamics between the five permanent members were particularly tense. Options for elected members to make a serious contribution appeared more limited than ever. The Council was unable to find consensus on how to address the most pressing threats to international peace and security.

As political coordinator for Australia’s Security Council delegation across the Council’s 2013-2014 term, Michael Bliss had a unique insight into the workings of the Council, into Australia’s contributions, and into the relationships and diplomacy that underpinned the outcomes achieved. This monograph, published six years after Australia’s fifth Council term concluded, seeks to contextualise Australia’s work during its term, and to track how those contributions have endured and resonated in subsequent years.

As a senior officer of Australia’s Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade, a specialist in multilateral affairs, an experienced diplomat and international lawyer, and an unrelenting optimist, Bliss is well placed to tell this recent story of Australian diplomacy. In doing so, he makes a compelling case that it is in Australia’s interests to seek to again “serve with distinction” as an elected member on the Security Council, in 2029-2030.

Based on Australia’s experience in 2013-2014, Gary Quinlan AO, former Australian Ambassador and Permanent Representative of Australia to the United Nations (2009-2014) in his afterword asks the question of whether the Council has a future? Australia is a declared candidate for election for the 2029-2030 term but what kind of Council might we face and what are the dynamics that will affect our role?

A PDF version is also available for free download.

An Enduring Contribution? Australia’s Term on the United Nations Security Council (2013-2014)

Diplomatic History Archives - Australian Institute of International Affairs

Let’s Dance: A History of LGBTIQ Staff in the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade

An Enduring Contribution? Australia’s Term on the United Nations Security Council (2013-2014)