Cablegram 8, CANBERRA, 6 January 1948
SECRET
LITTLE ASSEMBLY[1] In the present state of international affairs, Little Assembly may be improperly used as a propaganda platform. It is important that the Little Assembly should move slowly at the beginning.
2. You should attend all meetings but not stand for any office. Contentious questions should be referred to special committees of enquiry, but please ask for full instructions on each point. With regard to the veto, a reasonably small committee might be appointed to study the question fully. The main thing is to see that under no circumstances the meetings get out of hand in the way in which they might easily do in the present international position.[2]
_[1] That is, the Interim Committee.
[2] Three days later External Affairs asked Hood to take the opportunity, if it arose, to get Australia elected to the Steering Committee of the Assembly but not to press the matter.
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[AA : A1838, 852/20/3, I]