British High Commission, Canberra, 9 February 1971
Confidential
At a dinner party last week I had a rather disjointed conversation with Gough Whitlam, in which some points of interest emerged.
2. Whitlam said that there was now no opposition in the ALP to our joining the Common Market. When we tried before, in 1962, there had been a strong objection on the part of the Left, based on the misconceived argument that our entry into the EEC would divide Europe, and was part of an anti-Russian crusade. This, said Whitlam, had been his first experience of Cairns2 and the extent of fanaticism of which he was capable. The situation had however changed since, and nobody in the ALP would now speak up against our entry.
3. What they would attack us on however was supplying arms to South Africa once our decision to do so was announced.3 The Commonwealth, said, Whitlam, may not mean anything to the British Conservative Government, but it means a lot to Australia in the Indian Ocean context. Supplying arms to South Africa on the pretext of an exaggerated view of the Russian threat would have a deplorable effect on our relationship with the Commonwealth countries in the Indian Ocean. When our decision was taken, Whitlam said, he would attack us strongly and also Gorton and his Government. I gave him the stock answers—but without making the slightest impression.
4. Turning to constitutional matters, Whitlam said that he was opposed to Australians being appointed to the Privy Council; this was quite distinct from an honour from The Queen, since appointments to the Privy Council were made on the recommendation of the United Kingdom Prime Minister. Such an arrangement, Whitlam thought, was derogatory to Australia’s independent status; and so was the continued practice of appeals going from the Courts in Australian States to the Privy Council. Whitlam said that we could help by terminating this practice. I said that the States attached importance to it, and I could not imagine the British Government terminating it against the wishes of the States; nor could I, frankly, see an Australian Commonwealth Government bulldozing the States into changing their attitude and asking us that the system should be discontinued. Whitlam agreed with this, and said that of course the States were still British colonies flying the Union Jack. His own solution for both the anomalies to which he had referred would be to appoint Judges of the Supreme Courts in the States to the Privy Council, so that, sitting in Australia, they could then hear appeals to the Privy Council; he would however appoint no other Australians to the Privy Council.
5. This is of some interest as an illustration of Whitlam’s particular branch of Australian nationalism, and also of his centralising attitude vis-a-vis the States. If he wins the general election next year, the States will find Gorton’s centralism, which disturbs them so much at the moment, to be a very mild form of whips in comparison with the scorpions which they can expect from a Whitlam Government.
1 Sir Stanley Tomlinson, Deputy Under-Secretary of State, Foreign and Commonwealth Office, London.
2 James Ford Cairns, policeman (served in Victoria Police Force, 1935–44), academic (Senior Lecturer in Economic History at the University of Melbourne, 1951–55), and politician (Member of the House of Representatives, 1955-77; Deputy Prime Minister and Federal Treasurer, 1974–75). On 8 May 1970 Cairns led 100,000 people through the streets of Melbourne in a peaceful protest against the Vietnam War. Tens of thousands of people marched in other cities around Australia.
3 Supplying arms for maritime defence to South Africa was a contentious issue in British politics, and one which threatened to split the Commonwealth. It caused a major rift in the Labour Cabinet at the end of 1967, and resurfaced after the Conservative victory at the UK general election in June 1970. Under Labour, Wilson overruled George Brown and Denis Healey, both of whom favoured selling the weapons. The Conservatives under Edward Heath seemed determined to go ahead. They faced opposition within the Commonwealth led by Julius Nyerere of Tanzania and Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia. The matter dominated discussion at the Singapore Conference of Commonwealth Prime Ministers in January 1971. For references, see ESAC , Part I, pp. cix–cxi.
[UKNA: FCO 24/1047]