UK-AUS Continuation

[Jamie]

GOV.UK

Security Classification: OFFICIAL-SENSITIVE​

Dear Prime Minister Gillard (Owen ),

I am writing to re-establish contact regarding previous discussions between Australia and the former UK Government on a potential trade agreement. Our internal notes suggest that the dialogue ended somewhat abruptly due to the General Election, although it appears that a draft agreement or preliminary framework may have been in development at the time. We would be grateful for any information you may be able to share about the status of those discussions, including whether a draft text or working proposals were produced. If such materials exist, we would welcome the opportunity to review them and consider whether there is scope to resume or build upon that earlier work.

Our intention is simply to revisit the conversation and explore whether the groundwork laid previously might support renewed engagement between our sides.

In addition, under the UK–Australia Defence and Security Cooperation Agreement, we would like to pursue the British Army Jungle Warfare Training School in Australia. This is a project we are keen to move forward with, and we would welcome discussions on initiating construction or converting an existing site, depending on your preference. Subject to agreement, we would aim to begin construction or conversion in the coming weeks, then deploy an instructional team toward the Q3 or Q4, with training activities commencing shortly thereafter.

Kind Regards,
Peter Cross
International Development Secretary

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[Owen]

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PRIME MINISTER​

SECURITY CLASSIFICATION: SECRET​

26 May 2008

Dear Secretary Cross, May I first congratulate you on your election victory. We have just concluded our own election and I have been re-elected by the Australian people, so it is great to continue on this important work. Even though I plan on resigning in the coming months, I will strive to make sure the agreements we have made between our governments can be implemented before I leave office. Our Minister for Trade, Penny Wong, recently made a visit to the United Kingdom to discuss the proposed "AUKFTA". Whilst we are still drafting this agreement, the draft agreement shall be ready very soon and it is a top priority to ensure it is done. However, we are prioritising an agreement with Korea at the moment as our Minister for Foreign Affairs is currently in Seoul. Once this is completed though, the proposed agreement with the United Kingdom will be hurried along. However, in principle, the two Trade Ministers did agree that a near total liberalisation of trade was to occur with the exception of some key, sensitive industries, mainly in the agricultural sector. Some things which were on the agenda which were not discussed were scientific cooperation, re-establishing the Commonwealth of Nations and the freeing up of the mobility of our people across borders. I'm sure these are all areas which we can discuss in the near future. In terms of the Defence and Security Cooperation Agreement, your Defence Secretary did recently visit Australia and have a series of meetings with our Minister for Defence, John Faulkner. As apart of our recent re-election victory, we do anticipate some cabinet changes and John has indicated his desire to resign from the portfolio, so this may be a new person and you will find out when it is announced. We expect quite a large cabinet reshuffle, in preparation for my impending resignation. John did discuss, however, the desire to see increased British presence within the Indo-Pacific, or "east of the Suez" as is official terminology in your government. There is a potential for broader British forward deployment to Australia beyond just the scope of the Jungle Warfare Training School, as we have done with the United States military. We do offer a vast and secure continent for allies who seek to project power in the region to base themselves in. This would require a Status of Forces Agreement. We may even move to a more formalised alliance between Australia, the United States and the United Kingdom based on our pre-existing defence commitments to each other. Something like "AUKUS". Whilst you do maintain an alliance with the United States through TASA, we have a very, if you pardon the pun, frosty relationship with Sweden and we do not see that changing anytime soon unless they can come to a proper, adult agreement in regards to Antarctica and the handing back of Australian sovereign territory in the Heard and McDonald Islands. In terms of the Jungle Warfare Training School, we are very happy to move forward with this proposal, co-locating it with our current Jungle Training Wing in Tully, Queensland. This would be the best site proposal, given the pre-existing security around that site, the ability for Australian and British forces to train together and the fact that Tully records the highest average annual rainfall in Australia. We are willing to give a 99-year lease of land to the UK Government at the Tully site for $1, a symbolic amount to make it legally binding. I have attached a map for your reference of the proposal. The red bounded area is the proposed site for the British facilities, that being the barracks and the various supporting buildings that would need to go along with it. The green area is the current Australian Defence Force facility. The actual training area/defence property is bounded by the maroon and it extends well beyond the scope of this image, deep into the Tully Gorge and Japoon National Parks. Yellow indicates defence access roads and blue indicates public roads maintained by the Queensland Department of Transport and Main Roads. The purple area is the pass office and the main gate into the training area and this is manned 24/7 by various Australian Federal Police, Military Police and third-party security contractors, such as Serco. The orange area is a secondary gate, however it is not manned and is permanently locked, it is only used on a need-to-open basis. Everything on the other side of the public road is private property, I've heard the locals are very cooperative with the Defence Force and are well aware of the occassional loud bangs, banana farmers I believe. Obviously the expectation is that the UK Government will fully fund the construction of the facilities of the Jungle Warfare Training School on the land which is provided about as close to free of charge as possible. The actual training land does not need any modifications and will be used as is as a part of the ADF's property. I look forward to hearing from you soon. Yours sincerely, Julia Gillard.

Parliament House, CANBERRA, ACT 2600 Telephone: (02) 6277 7700​

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Jamie