British High Commission, Canberra, 6 March 1968
Confidential
Joe Garner wrote to me on February 281 about the channel of communication for the announcement of the appointments of Australian State Governors. I was interested to have Joe’s account of the anomalous situation which exists.
2. I had the opportunity for an informal word about future procedure with the Governor-General when he came to have a drink with us on March 4. He was inclined to feel that in future the best channel for any communication to the Australian Prime Minister on this subject should be through his own office. I do not think that the State Government would be appropriate, nor, for the reasons given in my letter of February 7,2 do I think it right that we here should continue to act as a channel.
3. I would suggest therefore that in future a change should be made in this respect and that communications to the Australian Prime Minister should be through the Governor-General. If you agree, perhaps the point could be put to the Governor-General straight away—without referring to my conversation with him, which was private and without commitment.
4. So far as concerns Jo Garner’s penultimate paragraph about the practice of the Secretary of State telegraphing direct to the Governor General, I would not disagree with the recommendation to ‘let sleeping anomalies lie’.
1 See Document 427.
2 See Document 426.
[UKNA: FCO 49/134]