When I arrived in 1981 as a 12-year-old from Greece, I could not have imagined that three decades later I would return to the country of my birth as Australia’s ambassador.
From migrant childhood to the Australian Public Service
The author opens with a life lived between two countries: a migration to Australia in 1981 and a later career in the Australian Public Service that culminated in representing Australia overseas. Family ties preceded that move—an uncle who migrated in the early 1960s and other relatives who followed—so the author’s experience was both personal and part of a wider pattern of settlement.
The memoir and speech connect the private work of belonging—long hours, parental sacrifice, learning a new language and culture—with public service. The author recalls arriving at the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Canberra some thirteen years after landing as a migrant, and describes the responsibility of representing a country that had given their family the chance to build a life.
Diplomacy during Greece’s 2011 debt crisis
In 2011 the author was appointed Australia’s ambassador to Greece "during the debt crisis, one of the most difficult periods in the country’s recent history." The speech stresses that economic figures, while devastating, could not capture the full human cost or the way Greece was reduced to its economic problems.
Australia’s response, the author says, was to stand by Greece as a friend: sharing practical expertise and deepening business, institutional and people-to-people links. The Greek Australian community featured centrally in that effort, serving as "a living bridge between two countries joined by history, democratic values, wartime bonds and generations of contribution."
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End the scrambleLanguage as an instrument of understanding
The author draws a direct line from multilingual ability to diplomatic effectiveness. Speaking Greek, Farsi, Spanish, Japanese, Mandarin and some Taiwanese "each opened a window into the societies where I served." Even imperfect attempts to speak another person’s language, the author notes, change the tone of a conversation, show respect, build trust and provide insight into how others see the world.
That practical point is tied to a broader strategic claim in the speech: in the Indo‑Pacific region especially, languages, cultural understanding and trusted relationships matter deeply for prosperity, security and international standing.
Multiculturalism framed as a national asset
"Australia’s multicultural achievement is real and precious," the author writes. The speech lays out what that achievement looks like in everyday terms: languages around family tables, businesses people have built, communities and workplaces enriched, and the care and hard work migrants have given the country.
Beyond diversity, multiculturalism is presented as a means of forming a common future. The author argues it strengthens the trust Australia earns abroad, the partnerships it forms and the influence it is able to exercise. Belonging, they write, is not about leaving behind one’s origins but bringing "the best of where we come from into the life we build here."
What this means for the Greek Australian community, policymakers, and diplomats
- Greek Australian community: The speech positions the community as a living bridge—both cultural and practical—between Australia and Greece, central to deepening business, institutional and people-to-people links during crisis and peace alike.
- Policymakers: The author urges competent policy responses to domestic pressures—rising living costs, housing, infrastructure and services—while warning that such pressures "should never become an argument against people who come here to build their lives or a reason for Australia to close itself off from the world."
- Diplomats and public servants: Language, cultural fluency and personal ties are presented as operational tools that enhance trust and influence; the author’s career is offered as a practical example of how lived multicultural experience can strengthen diplomatic engagement.
The speech delivered to the Australian Institute of International Affairs Victoria on 15 September 2026 closes on a clear, personal note: the author’s story—arriving with hope, contributing fully and coming to know Australia as home—is offered as an exemplar of the nation's promise. The central claim is straightforward and consequential: openness and diversity are national strengths worth protecting, because they underpin Australia’s diplomatic reach as well as the social fabric at home.
