246 lines
6.7 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
246 lines
6.7 KiB
Plaintext
Executable File
news
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worldnews
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australiaandthepacific
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australia
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8026312
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-----
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# British consulate downsizes diplomatic residence for flats
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## The British consulate in Australia is to sell off several of its properties
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worth millions of pounds as part of cost cutting measures which have seen 19
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ambassadorial residences around the world sold in the past year.
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![British consulate downsizes ambassadorial residence for flats ][1]
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The average house price in Vaucluse is A$3.5m (2.1m)
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Bonnie Malkin in Sydney 9:30PM BST 26 Sep 2010
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[Comments][2]
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The plush residences of the Consul General in Sydney and Melbourne and the
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residence of the deputy consul general in Melbourne will be put on the market
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next year.
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Instead they will now be expected to live in more modest city apartments as
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part of the plans to provide "more for less", according to a spokesman for the
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Foreign and Commonwealth Office in [**Australia**][3]**.**
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The Sydney Consul General's residence is located in one of the city's most
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expensive harbourside suburbs, Vaucluse, where the average house price is
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A$3.5m (£2.1m).
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As well as housing Richard Morris, the Consul General, and his family, the
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property is regularly used for official functions.
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Boasting a swimming pool, two-car garage and views of Sydney Harbour, it is
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expected to fetch several million dollars. The grand, sandstone building has
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been owned by the Foreign Office for more than 30 years.
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Craig Pontey, managing director of Ray White Prestige estate agents, said that
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the residence was in Sydney's "dress circle" and that nearby homes had
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recently sold for around A$7m. Prices of up to A$30m for outstanding
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properties in the area have been recorded.
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Likewise, the sprawling Consul General residence in Melbourne is situated in
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the eastern suburb of Toorak, the most exclusive address in the city. Houses
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in the leafy neighbourhood have an average price of A$2.2m.
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"As part of this review we are planning to sell the officially owned Consul
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General residences in Melbourne and Sydney and the Deputy Consul General's
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residence in Melbourne to help with saving money and providing more efficient
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buildings that are exactly fit for purpose," the Foreign Office representative
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in Australia told _The Daily Telegraph_.
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The sales come after Mr Cameron indicated in July that he had palatial
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residences in his sights when it came to sweeping Foreign Office cuts.
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At a Foreign Office meeting he told more than 200 ambassadors, high
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commissioners and senior officials that they could only justify their lavish
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residences if they worked to promote British business abroad.
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"If you want to keep Britain's great ambassadorial residences, then I want you
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to show me that every day you are using them relentlessly to open new trade
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links and to generate new business for Britain," he said.
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Several embassies around the world have already trimmed their budgets by
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selling off grand, older-style properties.
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The Foreign Office, which has been ordered to find cuts of 25 per cent to its
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budget, said that in the last 12 months it had sold 19 properties and still
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owned 2,168 over 170 countries.
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"We regularly acquire and dispose of property across our global estate as part
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of effective asset management and in order to achieve value for money for the
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taxpayer," a spokesman said.
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"The Foreign Office is committed to doing its part to contribute to government
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wide savings and efficiencies, as well as to maintaining a network that
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promotes British interests globally."
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* Share: [Share][4] [ ][6] [ ][7]
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http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/australiaandthepacific/australia/802
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6312/British-consulate-downsizes-diplomatic-residence-for-flats.html
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Telegraph
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## [Australia][3]
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* ### [News »][9]
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* ### [World News »][10]
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* ### [Australia and the Pacific »][11]
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* ### [UK News »][12]
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### [97% Human][22]
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[What are these?][5]
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Share:
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* [ ][7]
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* [Tweet][8]
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* Advertisement
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![][23]
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telegraphuk
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Please enable JavaScript to view the [comments powered by Disqus.][24] [blog
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