Australian Foreign Policy under the Labor Government
| Published date | 01 March 1974 |
| DOI | 10.1177/001083677400900102 |
| Date | 01 March 1974 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Australian
Foreign
Policy
under
the
Labor
Government*
JAMES
L.
RICHARDSON
Department
of
Government,
University
of
Sydney,
Australia
Richardson,
J.
L.
Australian
Foreign
Policy
under
the
Labor
Government.
Cooperation
and
Conflict,
IX,
1974,
9-18.
This
article
discusses
the
foreign
policy
of
Australia’s
new
government,
in
particular
the
extent
to
which
its
policies,
as
is
widely
suggested,
represent
a
sharp
break
with
the
past.
Australia
long
accepted
the
role
of
’junior
partner’,
first
of
Britain,
then
of
the
United
States.
The
change
of
government
in
December
1972
coincides
with
changes
in
the
international
system
which
necessitate
a
basic
reassessment.
It
is
argued
that
in
the
fields
of
national
security
policy
and
regional
cooperation
these
have
been
changes
of
emphasis
rather
than
of
fundamental
priorities,
whereas
new
themes
have
been
in-
troduced
on
racial
and
colonial
issues
and
in
economic
diplomacy.
The
changes
are
overdue
and
offer
some
prospect
of
a
more
relevant
and
constructive
Australian
role
in
the
emerging
international
system.
James
L.
Richardson,
Department
of
Government,
University
of
Sydney.
Australia.
The
Australian
Labor
Party,
which
won
the
election
of
December
1972
after
23
years
in
opposition,
has
revived
political
traditions
which
had
been
moribund
during
the
long
ycars
of
rule
by
Sir
Robert
I~Ienzies
and
his
Liberal
Party
successors.
There
has
been
a
sudden
re-emergence
of
assertive
nationalism
and
aggressive
grass-
roots
democracy,
a
suddcn
challenging
of
accepted
practices
and
authorities,
a
pleth-
ora
of
new
issues
and
a
bewildering
suc-
cession
of
public
clashes
between
the
fed-
eral
and
state
governments,
between
gov-
ernment
and
business,
government
and
the
trade
unions,
the
government
and
its
parliamentary
supporters,
and
between
different
members
of
the
government.
The
elegant
periods
of
the
Menzies
era
and
the
hesitant
fumbling
of
more
recent
years
have
given
way
to
a
sudden
deafening
clamour.
Opinion
polls
reveal
a
healthy
scepticism
whether
all
of
this
signifies
real
change.
But
the
one
area
in
which
the
public
does
perceive
a
clear
break
with
the
past,
and
a
clear
fulfilment
of
electoral
pledges,
is
foreign
policy.
This
is
a
little
surprising,
given
the
continuity
which
characterizes
the
foreign
policy
of
most
states
and,
in
Australia’s
case,
the
lack
of
fundamental
ideological
conflict
between
the
parties.
This
paper
will
inquire
into
how
great
this
break
with
the
past
has
been.
It
will
also
raise
the
question
of
the
adequacy
of
the
new
policies
to
Australia’s
changing
international
environment.’
I.
BACKGROUND
Until
World
War
II
Australia
lacked
the
normal
machinery
for
conducting
foreign
relations.
Its
first
diplomatic
representa-
tives
were
only
appointed
in
1940-41
(in
the
United
States,
China
and
Japan).
Tra-
ditionally
Australia
favoured
a
united
foreign
policy
for
the
British
Empire/
Commonwealth,
and
followcd
Canada
and
South
Africa
in
their
demands
for
greater
dominion
autonomy
only
with
reluctance.
In
Menzies’
view,
Britain’s
declaration
of
war
in
1939
automatically
committed
Australia.
Naturally.
Australian
govern-
ments
sought
consultation
and
sought,
not
very
successfully,
to
influence
Britain’s
strategic
priorities.
The
fall
of
Singapore
in
1942
symbolized
the
collapse
of
this
traditional
orientation.
The
wartime
ALP
government
appealed
to
Washington
for
support.
and
thanks
to
America’s
naval
*
Lecture
given
at
the
Norwegian
Institute
of
International
Affairs,
Oslo,
6
November
1973.
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