to him and was one reason for his thinking that his trip might meet with approval. He is obviously aware of the sensitivity of Cairns Group countries to the stress we place on our links with the EC and the danger that, as we take on the Presidency, we will have no real time to look beyond Europe and reassure some of our other allies and trading partners. The Lord President's Ministerial experience includes Health as well as Social Security as Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster and a member of Cabinet, the Trade and Industry Minister at DTI in 1988 and 1989. This last may provide a peg of sorts on which to hang a speech, if not in-depth bilateral meetings, on bilateral trade/investment links and the GATT round (assuming we have something positive to say about progress!)
and,
There are two other aspects of the Lord President's duties which may be relevant to planning a programme. First, the Lord President chairs the Ministerial Sub-Committee on the Misuse of Drugs, which provides another possible theme for bilateral discussions etc during the visit. Secondly, in his capacity as Leader of the House, the Lord President is in the lead in developing closer links between the UK Parliament and the other EC Member State Parliaments and the European Parliament. This includes working up detailed proposals for a "Conference of the Parliaments" involving delegations from all Twelve Member State Parliaments and the EP, to debate developments in the EC, and as a separate strand of
of activity at the Parliamentary level, extending the lessons of our approach to Parliamentary scrutiny of EC directives etc to our other EC partners. So far Parliamentary activity as distinct from Governmental activity is concerned, therefore, he is very much involved with developments in the EC, and this is a subject which might be of interest to a Parliamentary audience in Australia and New Zealand.
as
One final point which I have not mentioned to you is that the Lord President would be very keen to break the outward or return journey in Hong Kong for a brief period, to pay a call on the Governor designate. I understand that the Lord President plans to mention this suggestion to Mr Patten in the next few days, and I assume that Mr Patten would
Patten would welcome the visit. The Lord President's responsibility for coordinating the work of the Departments responsible for different aspects of the war against drugs is an obvious theme for a short stop-over visit in Hong Kong, if one is needed. (I believe, for example, that we have had one or two Customs or Home Office drugs enforcement experts in Hong Kong on liaison work with the Hong Kong authorities; if they are still there, a call from the Lord President might give their efforts a welcome boost to morale and help to underline the importance the UK attaches to our international effort against the drugs menace.)
The Lord President has been to Australia and New Zealand once before, in his early days as a Social Security Minister. This was a brief trip with only 2 days in New Zealand. Having had a visit from Paul East the New Zealand Leader of the House, the Lord President is particularly keen to remedy that imbalance on this trip and would hope to divide the time a little less unequally.
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