Today I announce the appointment of Ms Alison Carrington as Australia's next Consul-General to New Caledonia.
Australia shares a longstanding relationship with New Caledonia, based on historical ties, strong community links, and an important trading partnership. Around 1,700 Australian companies do business with New Caledonia, with our services and merchandise exports valued at over $600 million in 2017.
Australia welcomes New Caledonia's strengthening engagement in the region as a full member of the Pacific Island Forum and looks forward to working more closely to advance our common interests in the Pacific. Ms Carrington will serve as Australia's Representative to the New Caledonia-based Pacific Community (SPC). Australia is a founding member and leading donor of this organisation, which supports resilience and sustainable development in the Pacific.
Ms Carrington will also have accreditation to French Polynesia, and Wallis and Futuna. Australia is expanding our engagement with French Polynesia, also now a full member of the Pacific Islands Forum, through the planned establishment of a Consulate-General in Papeete.
Australia also enjoys strong cooperation with French authorities in the Pacific, spanning regional disaster relief, transnational crime and sustainable development, and reflecting the 2018 Leaders' Vision Statement on the Australia-France Relationship.
Ms Carrington is a career officer with the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT) and was most recently the Director of DFAT's Queensland State Office. Ms Carrington holds a Bachelor of Laws (Hons) and a Bachelor of Arts from the University of Queensland.
I thank outgoing Consul-General Paul Wilson for his contributions to advancing Australia's interests in New Caledonia, French Polynesia and Wallis and Futuna since 2015.
