Hot seat: Peter Linford

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As Australia's Senior Trade Commissioner in the UAE for the past five years, Peter Linford's job has been to help companies from down under secure a slice of the economic action in the Middle East. But in his other role as the Consulate General, he has also been involved in helping his fellow countrymen and women when they are in trouble. On the eve of his next assignment in Bangkok, Jeremy Lawrence chatted to him about his time in the UAE.

Could you have predicted the UAE's staggering growth five years ago?

Absolutely not. I wish I had done because I could have become very rich instead of working for the Australian government [laughs]. When I first came here I thought to myself, ‘This place has got a bit of growth in it - I should come here and see what happens.' But I never imagined how much that would be.

What do you put this down to?

It's a combination of a few things. First and foremost let's give credit where credit's due and mention the vision of this country's past and present rulers. These guys have made some really gutsy decisions that have rocketed growth. But if we hadn't seen the shift in global energy needs and the oil prices that have followed, it wouldn't have been as achievable. There's been some serendipity and some luck, but nonetheless you've still got to have the courage to ride that luck.

Has Dubai managed to change people's perceptions of the region?

That's been a big thing. If you watch CNN or Al Jazeera then you might think it is all bombs and terrorist attacks in the Middle East. The reality is that over the past couple of years you've had more chance of being blown up in somewhere like London than you have in Dubai. But this city has managed to market itself very cleverly. Let's look at Emirates. In 1996 they had four flights a week to Australia, they now have 49 flights and by 2010 they'll have 84. So people now recognise Dubai as being safe, even if they don't think the rest of the Middle East is. Then when they get here they might bump into someone from Saudi Arabia, for example, and they'll chat, talk about their families and their companies and the next thing you know they're going to Riyadh to do business. So Dubai has done a spectacular job of becoming a gateway for the whole region.

How come the UAE is so good at steering clear of regional conflicts?

I think they take a pragmatic approach to finding solutions. There's a level of flexibility and common sense that takes egos out of the equation when they discuss problems. There's also a level of tolerance here that results in a greater level of goodwill, which in turn helps to make problem solving easier.

What sort of thorny issues have you encountered?

They're more like frustrations rather than problems. The first thing I say to Australian companies and individuals is that this is not Australia. If you come here and you expect the laws and culture to be exactly the same as they are at home, and you won't accept otherwise, then you shouldn't be here. And the same applies in reverse; if we had people coming from other parts of the world to Australia and they wanted to impose their beliefs on us, then we'd resist that as well.

What sort of issues have you faced as the Consulate General?

For the majority of cases where I find Australians in legal difficulties, it's usually their fault, whether intentional or otherwise. Occasionally they are in a situation where we don't think the circumstances are as they should be. In that case we will make a representation for them through the courts. I always get a hearing and if I raise something that needs attention, I always get attention. I don't always get the outcome I want, but I do believe there is good faith there to try and solve those issues.

What are the most common problems you see?

We get Australians in jail for business and legal reasons - whether it's bounced cheques, credit cards, that sort of thing. Then there are drink driving cases and traffic accidents. At the moment it's pretty good. We only have three or four Australians in jail. I go down to the jails sometimes and I'll tell you one thing, I'd rather be in jail here than in Australia or England. The holding cells aren't the nicest places but the other jails have great facilities. I've visited them in Australia, and they're full of people that are really not nice.

What will you miss about living here?

I'm certainly going to miss the people. It's pretty unique to live in a country where 90 per cent of the people are expats who retain their individuality but still get along. I've enjoyed reading Time Out over the last five years - you can put that in print too. It's been very useful for learning about the fun stuff, and important things, happening around town. I'll also miss witnessing the growth here. Driving around this week, I've been looking at Burj Dubai and the metro and thinking that I'd like to see them when they're completed. And I'd certainly like to see the construction outside my house finished.

So what won't you miss?

I won't miss the traffic. But then again, my next posting is Bangkok so it won't be any better there. I'm finding that as much as I'll miss the culture here, it's not as friendly as it used to be. People don't have the time to say hello as much as they used to and the aggressiveness on the roads seems to have spilled over to other areas. It's a bigger city with faster money to be made and tighter margins for most people.

What souvenirs will you be taking from Dubai? Any mosque alarm clocks in the suitcases?

[Laughs] I've been doing this job for nearly 20 years so when I move I try to take as little as possible. We do have some ornaments and plenty of pictures from our time here. But most of the souvenirs - including the alarm clocks and dishdashas - went back to family and friends a long time ago!

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