Cablegram 163 CANBERRA, 27 July 1945
TOP SECRET IMMEDIATE PERSONAL
Potsdam Conference. Your telegram 83A. [1]
Our telegram No. 205 to Dominions Office of to-day’s date [2] contains a short analysis leading to the conclusion that there is grave danger of our being gradually excluded from all the really important discussions preliminary to and involving the making of the peace settlements in Europe and the armistice settlement with Japan. I hope that you will be able to handle the problem urgently and successfully with the new Prime Minister and the new Foreign Secretary [3] who will better appreciate the great importance of the matter to Australia. I have only been back here for a few days. It seems that there is a probability of a very substantial departure from the letter and the spirit of the undertakings given to us at London and elsewhere and that something should be done to prevent further prejudice to the position. Please see also telegram No. 203 to Dominions Office [4] regarding question of peace settlement with Italy.
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1 Document 133.
2 Document 141.
3 A general election had been held on 5 July, but to allow time for the votes of servicemen to be included, the Labour victory was not announced until 26 July.
4 Dispatched 27 July. On file AA : A1066, H45/1013/1/9.
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[AA : A1066, H45/1016/5]