CONFIDENTIAL
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financial contributor to the Commonwealth.
Mr Hawke and his
colleagues have managed to hold in check the anti-nuclear lobby in
the ALP.
UK-AUSTRALIA RELATIONS
1988,
4. The Prime Minister on returning from her visit to Australia in August 1988 commented that she thought Australia deserved greater priority in our foreign policy. A Whitehall Australia Group (WAG)
Bilateral under FCO chairmanship was set up to co-ordinate action. co-operation has been strengthened by increasing the number and scope of regular exchanges at Ministerial and official level. Australia's Bicentenary, saw the most intensive exchange in the history of the relationship. In addition to the Prime Minister, the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry, Lord Chancellor, Attorney General, Speaker and 2 FCO Ministers of State visited Australia. In order to maintain the momentum in 1989 the Defence Secretary, Secretary of State for Education and Science, the Lord Chancellor and the Secretary of State for Scotland have visited
Australia.
5.
The Prime Minister of Australia visited Britain from 20-24 June 1989 accompanied by 3 senior ministers. The highly successful visit set the seal on the more modern forward looking relationship we are seeking with Australia.
6. The UK is Australia's third largest trading partner after the USA and Japan. We are the largest overseas investor in Australia with a total cumulative investment of A$44 billion (£1 = A$2).
There are few bilateral problems.
CONSTITUTION ACT
7.
The Australians have made several formal requests to have one of our two Archive copies of their Constitution Act (held in the Public Records Office and the House of Lords Record Office respectively). Both form part of unbroken archives which go back several centuries. This and the need to avoid an undesirable precedent have caused us to decline the request. During a visit to Australia in August the
CONFIDENTIAL
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