It’s always a pleasure to share a conversation over a meal with Shashi Tharoor - but particularly when he comes bearing books! It was wonderful to be able to welcome Shashi back to Melbourne and to talk cricket, books and international affairs (I promise that I only mentioned Alyssa Healy once).

“Our Asia capability is going backwards in our schools, universities and workplaces,” writes Tim Watts in The Interpreter. https://www.lowyinstitute.org/the-interpreter/complacent-nation-australia-asian-century

Today the House Education Committee launched a new inquiry into Australia’s Asia Capability: lnkd.in/gzadKje9 Australians have long known that our future security and prosperity will be determined in our region, the Indo-Pacific.

Some inconvenient research for the conspiracy theorists: “The voting behaviour of Indian Australians reveals a sophisticated and pragmatic approach to electoral participation.” www.dfat.gov.au/sites/defaul...

Ok ABC Radio National, you know how to get me to bite!📚 Voting opened today in RN’s Top 100 Books of the past 25 years and I couldn’t help voting early. What's your favourite book of this century so far? Vote now: bit.ly/45rGkgE #RadioNational #Top100Books

All the world’s a stage - including Australian Parliament House! A lovely change of pace this morning when Bell Shakespeare gave a pop up performance of scenes from Romeo and Juliet in the Marble Foyer this morning.

Hopefully see you in an hour or so for a live @therestpolitics.bsky.social LEADING special with Aussie PM Anthony Albanese mid election campaign www.youtube.com/live/Z_6BFOt...

The great historian of Australia's relationship with Asia, David Walker, once recounted how in 1966, a newly elected Andrew Peacock burnished his leadership credentials by taking up the cause of Asian engagement - 'a proven topic for earnest statements with visionary appeal' even then.

Australia's economic, strategic and community connections with India have never been stronger or more important. Which makes it all the more extraordinary that Peter Dutton didn't mention India once in his Foreign Policy "vision speech" today.

Since it's that time of the year, a selection of books that I've particularly enjoyed throughout 2024...

Most unlikely debut test innings since Ashton Agar #ausvind

A bit of a thrill to meet the Australian and Indian players in the PM's XI game at Parliament House. I told Virat Kohli that I support Royal Challengers in the IPL because it's the only opportunity I get to legitimately barrack for him.

First #APHBasketball post of the BlueSky!

Choose 20 books that have stayed with you or influenced you. One book per day for 20 days, in no particular order. No explanations, no reviews, just covers. #Books #BookSky 📚📚📚 #BookChallenge 1/20

Everyone is raving about it, so let me join in - the @MelbTheatreCo production of My Brilliant Career is wonderful, wonderful, wonderful. An Australian story, a universal story - it deserves success as great as its ambition. It will fill your heart.

It was a privilege to catch up with author, diplomat, MP & public intellectual, Dr Shashi Tharoor at the Australia India Institute today. I thanked him for teaching Australians the meaning of the word 'epicaracy', during the last Indian test tour of Australia. Hoping to get use of it this summer!

William Dalrymple's books have given me countless hours of entertainment and enlightenment so it was thrill for me to be able to meet him to say thank you. We had a typically wide-ranging chat about the world past and present .. and some Dalrymple ancestors. No spoilers for what's next!

A pleasure to catch up with Rory Stewart on his Australian tour to compare notes on global politics and political life. It's great to see Rory in Australia, but it does beg the question of why there isn't a @restispolitics Australia?