In February 2013 the Australian Institute of International Affairs (AIIA) held a one-day Forum to examine the achievements of Australia’s foreign ministers between 1960 and 1972. The Forum brought together some of Australia’s most eminent academics and experts in international relations, former senior diplomats and government officials to explore the major issues that confronted foreign ministers during this period. M i The Forum and this publication follow on from R. G. n i Casey: Minister for External Affairs 1951-1960, the first s t book in the AIIA’s Australian Ministers for Foreign Affairs e r series. Whereas the 1950s were a period of relative s stability, with only one foreign minister, there were seven f o during the next decade, including Prime Minister R. G. r Menzies. F o r This volume examines the rise of China and Japan, the e withdrawal of colonial powers from Asia, the conflict in ig Vietnam and Australia’s relations with the United States. n It offers lessons from the past for the issues facing us A f today. f a i r s 1 Ministers 9 6 0 for Foreign Affairs - 7 2 1960-72 Copyright © The Australian Institute of ISBN 978-0-909992-98-9 International Affairs 2014 Australian Institute of International Affairs 32 Thesiger Court, Deakin ACT 2600, Australia Edited by Phone: 02 6282 2133 Facsimile: 02 6285 2334 9 780909 992989 Melissa Conley Tyler, John Robbins and Adrian March Website: www.aiia.asn.au; Email: [email protected] Ministers for Foreign Affairs 1960-1972 Edited by Melissa Conley Tyler, John Robbins and Adrian March 1 Copyright © The Australian Institute of International Affairs 2014 ISBN: 978-0-909992-98-9 This publication may be distributed on the condition that it is attributed to the Australian Institute of International Affairs. Use for educational purposes is not allowed without the prior written consent of the Australian Institute of International Affairs. Any views or opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily shared by the Australian Institute of International Affairs or any of its members or affiliates. Cover Image: Menzies-McEwen Cabinet in the Cabinet Room in 1963. Seated left to right: Paul Hasluck, Senator William Spooner, John McEwen, Robert Menzies, Harold Holt, Athol Townley, Charles Adermann, and William McMahon. Standing left to right: Alick Downer, Reginald Swartz, Senator John Gorton, Hugh Roberton, John Cramer, Allen Fairhall, Senator Norman Henty, Senator Harrie Wade, Garfield Barwick, Hubert Oppermann, David Fairbairn and Senator Shane Paltridge. (NAA: A1200, L45498). Australian Institute of International Affairs 32 Thesiger Court, Deakin ACT 2600, Australia Phone: 02 6282 2133 Facsimile: 02 6285 2334 Website: www.aiia.asn.au; Email: [email protected] 2 Contents Foreword ................................................................................. 5 Julie Bishop, Minister for Foreign Affairs Editors’ Note ........................................................................... 7 Melissa Conley Tyler, John Robbins CSC and Adrian March Welcome Remarks ................................................................ 11 Zara Kimpton OAM Opening Remarks.................................................................. 17 Garry Woodard FAIIA The Making of Australian Foreign Policy 1960-1972: An Overview ............................................................................... 23 Emeritus Professor Geoffrey Bolton AO FASSA Confrontation and Vietnam ................................................... 69 Professor Peter Edwards AM FAIIA Barwick, Hasluck and the Management of Foreign Policy towards Northeast Asia: the Limits of Australian ‘Realism’ ............................................................................................ 109 James Cotton FAIIA Australia’s Foreign Ministers Freeth, McMahon, Bury and Bowen and China and Japan, 1969–1972 ........................... 151 Dr David Lee Memories of Serving Australian Interests Abroad.............. 181 Andrew Farran, Principal Private Secretary to Gordon Freeth, former diplomat, former senior lecturer at Monash University and former President, AIIA VIC 3 Robert Furlonger CB, former Director-General, Office of National Assessments Pierre Hutton, former Head of Mission to Burma, Nigeria, Lebanon, Iraq, Syria, Jordan, Egypt, The Sudan and Switzerland, Delegate to UN General Assembly 1956 to 1958, Representative on UN Development Program Council 1966; Representative on World Food Council 1980 and Representative on UN Human Rights Commission 1982-1983 James Ingram AO FAIIA, former senior diplomat, Director-General of the Australian Development Assistance Bureau and Executive Director, UN World Food Program . Moderator: Geoffrey Miller AO FAIIA, former senior Australian diplomat, former National Vice- President, AIIA and former President AIIA NSW Closing Remarks ................................................................. 215 Professor Robert O’Neill AO FAIIA Concluding Comments ........................................................ 221 Melissa Conley Tyler List of Ministers 1960–1972 ............................................... 225 Contributors’ Biographies ................................................... 227 Forum Program ................................................................... 233 List of Forum Attendees ..................................................... 237 Index ................................................................................... 241 4 Julie Bishop Foreword Julie Bishop, Minister for Foreign Affairs It gives me great pleasure to welcome this account of the contribution to Australian foreign policy of Australia’s Ministers for External Affairs between 1960 and 1972. The publication is the second in a series that examines the role and influence of Australian Foreign Ministers (called Ministers for External Affairs before 1970). This second volume examines the contribution to Australian diplomacy of Sir Garfield Barwick, Paul Hasluck, Gordon Freeth, William McMahon, Leslie Bury, and Nigel Bowen. It has been produced by the Australian Institute of International Affairs (AIIA) with the support of the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade. The publication presents the proceedings of Forum on Ministers for Foreign Affairs, 1960-1972 hosted by the AIIA at Government House, Canberra, on 19 February 2013. In the 1950s, Prime Minister Robert Menzies entrusted the Ministry of External Affairs to two of the most significant men ever to hold the portfolio: Percy Spender and R. G. Casey. Spender was the architect of both the ANZUS Treaty with the United States and New Zealand and the scheme under which bilateral aid would flow to developing countries in South and Southeast Asia dubbed the ‘Colombo Plan’. Casey’s foreign policy legacy, which was examined in the first publication of this series, included Australia’s continuing engagement with the newly independent nations of Asia. Menzies held the portfolio of External Affairs between 1960 and 1961 before assigning it to his Attorney-General, Garfield Barwick. Two of Barwick’s most significant achievements were to help reconcile Australia to Indonesia’s incorporation of Netherlands New Guinea (Irian Jaya) and Indonesia to the establishment of a Malaysian Federation including the British 5 Foreword Borneo territories and Singapore, though the latter would leave the federation in 1965. In the difficult years of Indonesia’s ‘Confrontation’ with Malaysia, Barwick supported a dialogue between the leaders of Indonesia, Malaysia and the Philippines that helped pave the way for the creation of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN). ASEAN came into being on 8 August 1967 during Paul Hasluck’s tenure in the portfolio. As Western Australians, Hasluck and his immediate successor Gordon Freeth brought to the portfolio an appreciation of the importance of Australia’s position in the Indian Ocean and of the role of Australia’s mineral resources, particularly in their home state, would play in Australia’s continuing engagement with Asia. Like the first three Ministers examined in the volume, McMahon, Bury and Bowen were engaged closely in Southeast Asian affairs, particularly the Vietnam War and the Five Power Defence Arrangements between the United Kingdom, Australia, Malaysia, New Zealand and Singapore that followed the British decision to withdraw ‘east of Suez’. All of the Ministers, as the volume shows, grappled with the issue of recognition of the People’s Republic of China, recognition that was eventually accorded in December 1972. I congratulate the Australian Institute of International Affairs and all the authors involved in this publication and commend it to you. The Honourable Julie Bishop MP Minister for Foreign Affairs 6 Melissa Conley Tyler, John Robbins and Adrian March Editors’ Note Melissa Conley Tyler, John Robbins CSC and Adrian March We are pleased to present the second book in the Australian Institute for International Affairs’ (AIIA) Australian Ministers for Foreign Affairs series. Following on from the R. G. Casey Forum and publication, the AIIA hosted a forum at Government House in February 2013 examining the next decade in Australia’s foreign policy. This publication brings together the papers and discussions from this event. The AIIA is deeply committed to preserving a record of Australia’s foreign policy history and we hope that this publication will provide an insight into this fascinating era. As well as the four papers presented at the event by Emeritus Professor Geoffrey Bolton AO FASSA, Professor Peter Edwards AM FAIIA, Professor James Cotton FAIIA and Dr David Lee, this volume includes transcripts of the discussion following each paper by Forum participants. The insights uncovered by these discussions and personal reminiscences are valuable and well worth reproducing. An additional panel discussion of personal reminiscences from the era by Andrew Farran, Robert Furlonger CB, Pierre Hutton and James Ingram AO FAIIA is also included in this volume. In these discussions minor edits were made for clarity, consistency and ease of reading. As such, it should be noted that the discussions reproduced in this book do not in all instances constitute a ‘word-for-word’ transcription of proceedings. They do, however, aim to accurately reflect and preserve the intent of the speaker. 7 Editors’ Note This publication could not have been completed without the generous support of many individuals and organisations. The Forum on Ministers for Foreign Affairs, 1960-1972 was kindly supported by the AIIA’s patron, The Honourable Dame Quentin Bryce AD, CVO. We thank her and the staff at Government House. A number of former and current AIIA leaders were crucial to the success of this event, including National Vice-President Zara Kimpton OAM, former National President Garry Woodard FAIIA and former National Vice-President Geoffrey Miller AO FAIIA. We also warmly thank the AIIA’s Research Chair, Associate Professor Shirley Scott for her tireless work on AIIA research and publications. We warmly thank all speakers and participants for sharing their expertise. We thank the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade’s Historical Publications and Information Section, in particular Dr David Lee for supporting the production of this historical record and Dr Moreen Dee for sourcing the archival photos used within this publication. An excellent team of AIIA interns assisted with great enthusiasm in both organising the Forum and producing this book. We would like to thank interns Georgina Horsburgh, Matt McDonald and Rachelle Saad and work experience students Alia Huberman and Claire Paton for their help on this publication. We also thank interns Robert Ware, Chelsea Jacka, Rachel Davies and Max Feng for their work in organising the Government House event. Finally, we note with sadness the passing of Mr Pierre Hutton (16.7.1928–20.7.2014). Mr Hutton served with distinction in a number of overseas posts and contributed with great insight and humour to AIIA events. 8 Melissa Conley Tyler, John Robbins and Adrian March The Australian Institute of International Affairs’ Forum on Ministers for Foreign Affairs 1960-1972, Government House, Canberra, 19 February 2013. Left to Right: Governor-General the Honourable Dame Quentin Bryce AD, CVO; National Executive Director Melissa Conley Tyler; Adrian March; Rachel Davies; National Vice-President Zara Kimpton OAM; Chelsea Jacka; and former National President Garry Woodard FAIIA. (Australian Institute of International Affairs). 9