TNAG-1834-FCO40-2608-Sensitivity-review-of-Hong-Kong-Government-records-1988 — Page 55

UNCLASSIFIED

DSR 11 (Revised Sept 85)

DRAFT: minute/letter/teleletter/despatch/note

FROM:

TYPE: Draft/Final 1 +

Reference

Prime Minister

DEPARTMENT:

TEL. NO:

Your Reference

BUILDING:

ROOM NO:

The Honourable W B McLeay, MP

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION

TO:

Top Secret

Secret

Confidential

House of Representatives

Copies to:

Restricted

Unclassified

PRIVACY MARKING

CAVEAT

In Confidence

Canberra

SUBJECT:

When we met on 13 April you raised with me the

question of the permanent loan to Australia of one

of the original copies of the Commonwealth of

Australia Constitution Act.

Enclosures flag(s)

to me on

As you know, this request has been put to

several occasions in the past by Prime Minister

Hawke. I have, however, looked at it again and

given it fresh and careful thought. I would like

to be able to grant the request in the spirit of

the deep and unique friendship which exists

between the peoples of Britain and Australia,

particularly in this Bicentenary year; but I am

afraid that our further consideration of the

question has led us back again to the same

conclusion that we have reached in the past. I do

not see how the British Government could make an

exception to the rule of conserving our own

British records intact by agreeing to the

permanent loan in Australia of either the copy

held by Parliament as part of its own record of

its own proceedings or of the copy held by the