Australian External Policy under Labor: Content, Process and the National Debate

Abstract

PREFACE This book is an analysis of Australian under the first Labor Party government elected to federal office in nearly a quarter of a century. The choice of the term external policy is deliberate, in that the study deals with defence and international economic dimensions as well as with more conventionally construed policy. The object is to link outputs with process. In addition to emphasizing what policies were evolved, the book is concerned with such themes as the assumptions and perceptions underlying policy movements, the weight of historical and party traditions, the contributions of key Elites, the various sources of advice and pressures that sought to influence policies, the environment in which dialogue between the government and its critics was conducted, and party political and electoral implications. The principal research was carried out in 1974-75, during the author's appointment as a Senior Fulbright-Hays Scholar and Visiting Professor at the University of Sydney and the Flinders University of South Australia, and during a lateral visit to New Zealand. The materials consulted included official documents, newspaper and secondary sources, party and interest group publications, and survey and electoral data. The book's preparation has been greatly assisted by factual and interpretative comment supplied by scores of individuals, a number of whom were interviewed more than once. The respondents were predominantly Australians, but included a number of New Zealanders and Americans who were interviewed at various times in Australia, New Zealand and in the United States. Among the Australians interviewed were parliamentarians of various parties, including former and present ministers and backbenchers. Also interviewed were official and diplomatic personnel, ministerial advisers, party organization figures, interest group spokesmen, journalists and academics. The author is deeply indebted to these many individuals. Conversations with them were, however, conducted on the understanding of non-attribution of their remarks. It is therefore the author's responsibility to introduce such internal evidence without disclosing sources, while offering reasoned judgements as to their relative value. This involves criteria such as the credibility and the position of interviewees, and the cumulative weight of crosschecked information and opinion. A considerable debt is acknowledged to various Australian and New Zealand universities, and to Australian Institute of International Affairs and New Zealand Institute of International Affairs branches, where seminar and lecture appearances elicited helpful criticisms of the ideas presented there. A similar acknowledgement applies to members of the Australian foreign class taught at Flinders University. Funding for the research project was provided from several sources, notably the Australian-American Educational Foundation. Other sources included the New Zealand-United States Educational Foundation, the University of Sydney, Flinders University and the Department of Political Science and the Central Fund for Research of The Pennsylvania State University. The author wishes to express his appreciation to a number of individuals and bodies who facilitated the project. Professors Henry Mayer of Sydney and David Corbett of Flinders, and their colleagues, provided sponsorship for the Australian visit and were generous hosts. Considerable gratitude is owed to Messrs H.F. Willcock, B. Farrer and G.C. Weinman of the Australian-American Educational Foundation. Exceptional source material assistance was provided by Mr Ian Hamilton and his associates at the Australian Information Service, Canberra, and by information officers at the Australian Embassy, Washington. Much valuable material was obtained from certain specialized collections and bibliographic services. Among these were the federal secretariats of the Labor, Liberal and (National) Country Parties, as well as the ALP and Liberal state branches in New South Wales. Included were the offices of the Prime Minister and of the Foreign Minister, the Departments of Foreign Affairs and of Defence, and the legislative research service of the Parliamentary Library. Considerable assistance was provided through the facilities of the Department of Political Science, the Department of International Relations, and the Strategic and Defence Studies Centre, at the Institute of Advanced Studies, Australian National University………