UK High Commission, Canberra, 26 July 1962
608. Confidential
Common Market
Striking difference in tone and content between these speeches1 may at first sight seem to reflect only the known and natural difference of approach to Common Market problems of the Liberal and Country Party elements in Government Coalition though these have not hitherto been so frankly revealed in public.
2. It is however difficult to believe that Mr Bury a Junior Minister would on Wednesday take so divergent a line from that taken by Mr McEwen the Deputy Prime Minister on Tuesday unless he had at least tacit approval of more Senior Liberal Cabinet Ministers for what he said. Usually reliable journalistic sources here tell us that Mr Bury had in fact tacit approval of Mr Menzies.
3. This hypothesis is supported by fact of known increasing personal tension between Mr Menzies and Mr McEwen which has consolidated Liberal opinion in Cabinet behind Mr Menzies and against Mr McEwen.
4. Journalistic sources referred to in paragraph 2 also say that Liberal Party have now done their arithmetic and have concluded that loss to Australian exports should Britain join EEC would be far less than had earlier been thought. Fruit and dairy industries would be hardest hit and these would be subsidised if necessary as hinted in television interview by Mr Menzies on 24th June […]
1 That is, Bury’s and McEwen’s.
[UKNA: DO 159/60]