Canberra, 7 October 1971
Confidential
Confidential
Australian Representation in London
You will recall I discussed with you yesterday the possibility of your writing a letter to Sir Alexander Downer. As you know, I am leaving for an overseas visit on Saturday and so I thought that I should write to you about this before my departure.
[…]
The United Kingdom is, as you know, involved in a number of issues of importance to Australia which are essentially of a foreign policy nature. However, I do not consider we are receiving reporting on some of these matters of the depth and thoughtfulness which we need to make with confidence soundly-based policy recommendations to the Government.
I have in mind such issues as the political implications of Britain’s entry into the EEC which pre-suppose an intention to enter into a new and progressively closer political and defence relationship with Europe, the real nature of the British approach to the Commonwealth and its future, and British defence policy and its future role in the Five Power Defence Arrangements. Moreover, there has to my mind been little adequate reporting or assessment of any real depth on the British internal political situation or of the situation in Northern Ireland in recent years.
I can, of course, urge the Foreign Affairs branch to do more than it has been doing in drawing off useful information from the FCO, but, as you know, I face the problem that this Branch at present plays no part in policy consultations with the British on such matters as EEC, OECD, DAC, or, indeed, on matters of Commonwealth concern including liaison with the Commonwealth Secretariat.
Apart from gaps in the reporting we receive from London, Pritchett1 has expressed some concern about the generally unfavourable public impression of Australia which he considers persists in British information media. For a number of reasons Australia’s repute and standing in the United Kingdom appears to him to be less favourable now than it has for many years. Strangely enough, it seems that Australia receives worse publicity in Britain on immigration policy and faces more allegations of racial discrimination than it does in Asian or African countries. An unfortunate aspect of this situation is, moreover, that comment in the Asian and African press is often derived from British media and British attitudes towards us play some part in shaping opinions towards us elsewhere, whether we like it or not. There would seem to be a need for some co-ordinated and imaginative attempt to improve our image in the United Kingdom. This situation could become worse, rather than better, as the British are likely to take an increasing interest in Australian racial attitudes because of their own large non-European population.
Our relations with the United Kingdom are continuing to evolve towards a more usual bilateral relationship rather than the all-pervading almost father and son relationship which existed before the war. We can no longer regard our special relationship as self-sustaining and I believe that in a number of important respects our relations with Britain now need careful re-examination and cultivation. The time has probably come when we need to deal with the United Kingdom in much the same way as we deal with other countries of real importance to us like the United States and Japan.
In short, I have the impression that our mission in London is not as active as it might be, either in reporting on broad political and policy issues of real importance to us or in seeking to improve the unfavourable impression of Australia which apparently exists in England.
I am asking our Policy Planning Group to look into the present and future nature of our bilateral relations with the United Kingdom in an objective manner and without too much regard to our traditional and intimate association. I shall let you have a copy of what the Group comes up with in due course.2 Meanwhile, however, I wonder whether you would consider writing to the High Commissioner about the situation which I have described.
In case you agree to do so, I am enclosing a draft letter along the lines of what I think might usefully be put to Sir Alexander Downer.3
1 W.B. (Bill) Pritchett, Deputy High Commissioner and Head of the Foreign Affairs Branch of Australia House, London.
2 Document 438. See also Document 435.
3 The draft letter to Downer is on file but was never sent (see NAA: A1209, 1971/9449 part 1). According to Bunting, ‘the idea of writing to Sir Alec has now been overtaken by the opportunity that my [forthcoming] visit to London will give to discuss and make a personal assessment of this and other problems about Australia House organisation’ (NAA: A1209, 1971/9449 part 1, letter, Bunting to Keith Shann, Acting Secretary, Department of Foreign Affairs, 20 October 1971). Any discussions held between Bunting and Downer in London are unrecorded, and there is no evidence that any of these concerns were ever put directly to Downer.
[NAA: Al209, 1971/9449 PART 1]