AR Clark Esq
2
21 May 1975
of Mr Fraser's speech. To a large extent he was covering old ground. Mr Whitlam confidently rebutted Mr Fraser's accusations. "I am not prepared to concede that the meaning of what I said was open to misinterpretations or misconstructions whatever, except through malice or gross incompetence. The words stand as they are." The only new factor in the debate was Mr Fraser's reference to the DFA document of 30 January. This was one of a series of DFA papers distributed selectively to journalists and academics as background material. It is not available to the Opposition, and Mr Fraser in drawing attention to the document has created quite a stir in the Department who have stopped production for the time being. (Tommy Tucker will be writing separately about this.)
3. Much the same points were made by the Opposition in the debate in the Senate. Predictably the censure motion in the House was defeated on a strict party vote; it was surprising, however, that in the Senate, the motion censuring Senator Willesee was also defeated on a tied vote - Senator Steele Hall and Senator Bunton voted with the Government.
4.
The debating points in Parliament are now water under the bridge. Of particular interest, however, was Mr Fraser's decision not to attack the Government on the refugee question on which the latter seem to be particularly vulnerable. I suspect that this reflects to a large degree continuing general Australian hostility to a large influx of non-white immigrants despite the present Government's more open door approach to this question. The hostilit. is most prevalent among Liberal and particularly Country Party supporters, and Mr Fraser must have calculated that any attack on the Government's attitude towards adult Vietnamese refugees, with the implication that the L/CP could adopt a more humanitarian line, would only alienate some of his own electoral support. Be that as it may, it is clear that, as we have indicated in the exchange of telegrams over the Vietnamese refugees in Hong Kong, Mr Whitlam is resolutely opposed to any mass influx of non-white refugees into Australia, particularly when such an influx in the case of Vietnam would be likely to include a considerable number of those on the right of the political spectrum, and whose disaffection with anything slightly pink could pose problems for an ALP Government, much as the Balts and Croats have done in the past. Moreover, Mr Whitlam seems to have a complete mental block on the question of Vietnamese refugees and this probably goes far to explain why he has taken complete and sole control of this question. Mr Cameron, Senator Willesee and others closely involved, including officials, seem to have been trying to push a more reasonable line, but in the face of Mr Whitlam's opposition have given up trying to counter his arguments.
CONFIDENTIAL
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