Output 4.6 - Ceremonial and Hospitality

Page Index

• Qualitative assessment
  • Methodology
  • Feedback
• Key results
  • Prime Minister’s overseas visits
  • Visits to Australia
  • Other responsibilities

The chief role of the Ceremonial and Hospitality Branch (CERHOS) is to manage the ‘State occasions and official visits’ administered item. The following narrative covers both departmental and administered items outcomes.

Qualitative assessment

Methodology

All visits and events that the branch is responsible for are followed up with either verbal or written requests for feedback from the Prime Minister and his office or from a relevant minister’s office. Regular feedback is also received in the form of comments from the Prime Minister, the Prime Minister’s Office, the Secretary and the departmental Executive.

In addition feedback is received in comments and letters of appreciation from visitors and their diplomatic representatives, as well as in visit assessment cables submitted by Australia’s overseas posts.

Feedback

The feedback received from visiting guests of government, the Prime Minister’s Office and other sources during 2002-03 was positive. Correspondence reflecting favourably on the planning and management of visits and other work undertaken by the branch was received from a number of sources, including the Delegation of the European Commission, the Embassy of the People’s Republic of China, the Royal Belgian Embassy and the Embassy of Japan.

Key results

The year 2002-03 was another busy one for the branch, which continued to perform well under pressure.

Prime Minister’s overseas visits

CERHOS planned and coordinated overseas travel by the Prime Minister to:

• Europe, where he visited the European Union, Germany, Italy and France (30 June-13 July 2002)
• Papua New Guinea (13-14 August 2002), followed by the Pacific Islands Forum in Fiji (14-17 August 2002)
• Nigeria and the United Kingdom for a Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting follow-up meeting with Presidents Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria and Thabo Mbeki of South Africa (21-27 September 2002)
• Mexico, for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation leaders’ meeting in Los Cabos, followed by a visit to Mexico City (24-30 October 2002)
• the United States, the United Kingdom and Indonesia (8-16 February 2003)
• New Zealand (8-10 March 2003)
• the United States, the United Kingdom and Qatar (1-10 May 2003).

Visits to Australia

There were a number of high-level visits during the year, including that of the Chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People’s Congress of China (August 2002), and official working visits by the Prime Minister of Malta (August 2002), the Prime Minister of Fiji (October 2002), the Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea (December 2002) and the Commonwealth Secretary-General (April 2003).

In addition, officers of the branch were responsible for the preparations for and successful carriage of visits by members of foreign royalty, as follows: His Royal Highness Prince Philippe, Crown Prince of Belgium, and Her Royal Highness Princess Mathilde (18-23 November 2002); His Imperial Highness Prince Naruhito, Crown Prince of Japan, and Her Imperial Highness Princess Masako, Crown Princess of Japan (16-19 December 2002); and His Royal Highness Prince Haji Al-Muhtadee Billah, Crown Prince of Brunei Darussalam (13-18 March 2003).

There were also 15 ministerial guest of government visits, including those by the European Commissioners for Trade and External Relations, the Defence Ministers from Japan, Turkey and Britain and the Foreign Ministers from Afghanistan, the Philippines and Poland. The success of the visits provided positive support for Australia’s bilateral relationships with the countries involved. There were fewer high-level incoming visits in the first half of 2003, in the main due to concerns about the safety of air travel.

Other responsibilities

The branch organised two major memorial services:

• a national remembrance service, held at St Christopher’s Cathedral in Canberra on 11 September 2002, marking the anniversary of the terrorist attacks which occurred on 11 September 2001 in the United States
• a national memorial service, held in the Great Hall of Parliament House on 24 October 2002, honouring the victims of the terrorist attacks which occurred in Bali on 12 October 2002.

The branch coordinated 87 airport facilitations for heads of state, heads of government and royalty transiting Australia. Airport facilitation involves the branch’s advising airport authorities and relevant agencies of flight details and arranging for either a part-time visit officer or Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade officers to meet and coordinate arrangements for customs, immigration, quarantine and transport procedures on arrival and departure.

Other notable tasks successfully performed by officers of the branch included formulating the logistic and hospitality arrangements for:

• the Council of Australian Governments meeting held at Parliament House, Canberra on 6 December 2002
• the Prime Minister’s reception, held at The Lodge on 9 December 2002, for the Australian and English teams contesting the Prime Minister’s Cup
• the Prime Minister’s annual cricket match, held at Manuka Oval, Canberra on 10 December 2002
• the Australia Day reception held at The Lodge on 26 January 2003
• the cricket match between the Prime Minister’s XI and the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Commission Chairman’s XI which took place at Adelaide Oval on 21 March 2003.

After an open tender process, a three-year contract for the provision of official gifts by Jaymac Promotional Advertising Proprietary Limited, in association with Beaver Galleries, commenced operating on 1 November 2002.