There has been much fanfare over the potential of a new trade deal between the UK and Australia.
Rightly, there are some criticisms of such a deal and, rightly, people are wondering about the merits of trading with a nation on the opposite side of the planet, rather than our nearest neighbours. However, there is a shared language and shared history between the UK and Australia, with Australians thinking of us as their quirky, pebbly-beached, shivering cousins, which means that such a relationship should be viable and should be encouraged for the benefit of all nations involved.
I lived in Australia for six years, qualified as a solicitor in the jurisdiction and practised law in Sydney for three years in one of the top law firms (also spending time in-house working at an insurer and an insurance broker). I set up my first business in Australia in 2007 and that company still provides services to the Australian Government, most of the major law firms, insurers, banks, medical companies and numerous other ASX-listed entities.
Since the announcement of the deal, a few clients have approached me to ask about opportunities for Cornish businesses to trade with Australia. I think there are many opportunities for Cornish businesses (fun fact: you can buy genuine Cornish pasties in South Australia). However, it is easy to think of Australia as a sunny version of the UK and that trading will be easy. It is not. Australia is a young country – a completely different, modern, hard-working, forward-thinking jurisdiction and any misconceptions I had about skipping work at 5pm to play footy in the park were dashed the second I interviewed for my first legal job in Australia.
So if you’re starting to explore opportunities for working, trading or providing services to Australia, get in touch with probably the only Cornwall-based solicitor (non-practising) qualified in England and Wales, New South Wales and before the High Court of Australia.