London, 26 April 1950
85. PRIORITY CONFIDENTIAL
Consultative Committee Meeting
Subject to your own views we would propose that the U.S.A. should be kept informed of the course of the meeting at Sydney on the same general lines as was done at the Colombo Conference, i.e. by suitable communications made by you as the host Government to the United States Ambassador at Canberra.
2. We have received through the embassy in Washington an informal enquiry whether any objection would be seen to the United States State Department sending someone to Sydney on an entirely informal basis to keep in touch with the progress of the meeting and, if asked, to give information on any American aspects.
3. Our own feeling already expressed to you is that the Sydney meeting is a family affair and that it would be inappropriate for a United States representative to attend any meetings on however informal a basis. On the other hand if the United States State Department wish to make an officer available at Sydney from the Embassy at Canberra, we would not object, and, in fact, think some good purpose might be served. We have accordingly replied to our Embassy in Washington in this sense, and have asked that if any formal approach is to be made on this matter it should be addressed to you.1
[NAA: A3320, 3/4/2/1 part 1]
1 In a cablegram of 3 May, the United Kingdom Government informed the Australian Government that the US State Department had decided not to pursue the idea of sending a special representative to Sydney.