[UMA-SRE-20060023] PAPERS RELATING TO THE 'LOANS AFFAIR'

Description

IdentifierUMA-SRE-20060023Extent4 boxesLinear Meterage0.61Scope and ContentMaterial relating to the 'Loans Affair' maintained by J M (Malcolm) Fraser as Leader of the Opposition (March-November 1975). The Loans Affair had its origins in controversial arrangements, initiated in 1974 by the Whitlam Government, to borrow $4 billion from overseas sources through a Pakistani dealer, Tirath Khemlani. The Affair reached its peak in mid-1975, but contributed to the Opposition blocking Supply in the Senate and the subsequent downfall of the Government in November of that year. Two senior Whitlam Ministers involved, Rex Connor (Minister for Minerals and Energy) and Dr Jim Cairns (Treasurer) had already lost their portfolios. The Queensland Government (Premier Joh Bjelke-Petersen) prompted further investigations in early 1976, but with no significant result.
The folders are essentially of two types. The first are those folders including reference material sourced from media coverage of the Loans Affair (news cuttings, transcripts of interviews). The second group of folders comprises other documents (mainly photocopies of statutory declarations, affidavits, telexes, extracts from Hansard) which would have assisted the Opposition in its campaign for full disclosure of the affair. These include a bound collection of papers authorised by the House of Representatives in July 1975 and copies of others relating to the Queensland investigations.ArrangementSingle number system imposed by the National Archives of Australia Allied Materials

The following items in this series (items 14–15, 19) are held by the National Archives of Australia:

14. Transcripts of interviews [relating to /Loans Affair with E G Whitlam, R B Todd, J Bjelke-Petersen, G Terry], 4 Dec 1975–8 Feb 1976

15. Queensland Loans Affair investigations [news cuttings], 4 Dec 1975–18 May 1976

19. Copies of letters from Richard Todd [relating to Queensland investigation of the Loans Affair], 8 Nov 1975–5 May 1976

Collection CategoryCommunity and PoliticalAccess StatusOpen for public accessRequest Access to RecordsRequest records from this SeriesSearch within this Series

Unit

2006.0023 Unit 0004

2006.0023 Unit 0003

2006.0023 Unit 0002

2006.0023 Unit 0001

Provenance

CreatorFraser, John Malcolm

Dates

Date1974-1976

Description Control

Previous System ID2006.0023Other IDsNational Archives of Australia series. » M1363State of ListFully listedSource of DescriptionAyres, Philip, Malcolm Fraser: A biography

Relationships

Feature CollectionThe Malcom Fraser Collection

University of Melbourne Archives

Archives

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[UMA-SRE-20060023] PAPERS RELATING TO THE 'LOANS AFFAIR'