ACCESS is the youth network of The Australian Institute of International Affairs, Australia's pre-eminent non-government institution dealing with all aspects of Australia's foreign relations and international affairs.

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 ACCESS NSW has new man in charge 

Not to steal too much from the Obama's "time for a change" angle, but it is indeed time for a change at ACCESS NSW. Since March 2005 I have headed up a brilliant team of organising committee members as chairman of the NSW branch of ACCESS. It has been a real honor for me having the opportunity to bring something to Sydney (and in turn to Melbourne and Canberra) that I still feel is immensely important. All people should have access to an understanding of international affairs, especially the younger generations. I like to think that, at least in some small part, ACCESS has done that and continues to do that for its members.

My move in stepping down from this role in ACCESS is something that was always going to happen eventually, but it is still hard letting go of my baby as it were. However, with my full time job, a family with a 2 year old old and my attempts at trying to deal with the pressures of providing for my family in the evermore expensive city of Sydney, I have not lived up to my part of the bargain by bringing you regular ACCESS meetings. To me, this is not acceptable, and as such, it is time for someone with time, vigor and new energy, to take the reins.

Many of you would know Michael Hislop from his part as a foundation member of the ACCESS committee, and his many other associations with groups around Sydney. In the last couple of years, even though he has been overseas, he has always made the effort to stay in touch and keep up to date with the direction ACCESS is going. Now that he is back in Sydney, he has put his hand up to move ACCESS forward to the direction we had long aspired to go. So as to provide him some flexibility in this direction, I will not go into great detail, but know that skill development has a big role to play in ACCESS's future.

And with this changing of the guard comes fresh opportunities for others interested in getting involved. ACCESS is certainly not a one man operation, and the involvement of committee members is essential to the smooth running of events. For those of you who are interested in getting involved I would suggest that you write an email to This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it outlining why you would like to be involved and what you bring to the table in terms of experience.

Finally, I want to thank each and everyone of you for taking up the challenge and getting involved in ACCESS and international affairs. These last few years have had their challenges, but overall it has been a wonderful honor to get involved and have such a positive response. I will continue to help where I can from the sidelines, and as always will continue developing my personal connection with the international relations sphere.

Best regards,

James