New Year’s Message from Simone Desmarchelier Australian Consul General in Milan

Dear Easy Milano readers

Buon anno! Happy New Year! Thank you to Easy Milano for offering the Australian Consulate General the opportunity to pass on our best wishes for a happy, safe and healthy 2015.

Having just returned from a hot and sunny Australian Christmas to the crisp winter days of Milan I am drawn to the many distinctions between our 2 countries. The change in weather and the size of our respective countries being the most obvious. There are also the more subtle differences, the nuances of everyday life which I notice more and more each time I return. I often think what Italy can learn from Australia and Australia from Italy…

With New Year’s resolutions in mind here are a few of my NY resolutions for Australia and for Milan…

From Australia, for Milan:

1. Green and clean spaces for children.Australia has fabulous parks and open spaces filled with ‘jungle gyms’ and ‘monkey bars’ and many free games and rides for children. Parks are grassed and well maintained and it is easy for parents to take their little ones out to play.
2. Easy banking, easy postal– we are a well organized country which aims to keep bureaucracy and queuing to a minimum – most of our daily tasks can be handled by phone or online and quickly.
3. ‘No parking’ means no parking– it might be due to the high fines or our Anglo-Saxon sense of abiding by the rules but you rarely, if ever, see someone parked in a no standing zone or a clearway. Double parking? Never!

From Milan, for Australia:

1. Fabulous coffee, excellent bars– fast, inexpensive and just the right temperature so you can drink it as soon as it is served – there is nothing like an Italian coffee and the Milanese bars are some of the best in the world. The sophistication of drinking from a china cup rather than a paper take-away cup!
2. Dressing for the occasion– it is a real pleasure to watch the Milanese go to work or out to dinner – they make a concerted effort to be elegant and appropriate for each occasion.
3. Walking or riding a bike– Milanese make the most of good weather – be it cold or hot – to walk or ride to work or do the shopping on foot. I see many parents cycling their children to school or balancing the shopping on the way home– fabulous exercise and good for the planet!

I trust that 2015 will bring you peace and good health and that our 2 countries can continue to learn from each other and grow ever closer

Best wishes from all of us at the Australian Consulate General and Australian Trade Commission.

Simone Desmarchelier
Australian Consul General to Milan
Australian Senior Trade Commissioner to Italy