Launch of 'Fraser and China' Publication

On December 3 2015 as part of our 'Prime Ministers Series' ACRI launched 'Fraser and China'; a tribute to Malcolm Fraser's China policy.

Hosted by the Chinese Consulate Melbourne, ACRI Director Bob Carr and Consul General Song were joined by Mrs Tamie Fraser and Australia's first Ambassador to China Stephen FitzGerald in launching the publication.

The publication includes the transcript of ACRI's panel discussion on 'Fraser and China', hosted by Corrs Chambers Westgarth Melbourne on August 17 2015.

Our eminent panellists, Associate Professor James Curran and Professor John Fitzgerald, discuss the evolution of Fraser’s attitude to China. Their analysis situates Fraser’s China policy within his broader view of international affairs, covering the period from when he was elected Member for Wannon to the years after his Prime Ministership ended.

The transcript of this discussion is supplemented by two extended research papers.

The paper by ACRI researcher Hannah Bretherton traces the evolution of Fraser’s China policy. The analysis includes reference to a briefing note dated June 2 1976, the day after his landmark ‘Australia and the World Situation’ speech, which set out a defence of Fraser’s apparently sudden conversion to a positive view of China.

ACRI would like to thank Professor John Fitzgerald for his permission to include the transcript of his 2007 RG Neale Lecture. Professor Fitzgerald’s work is an invaluable assessment of documents held in the National Archives of Australia relating to Fraser’s first trip to China.

Click here to view the publication.