Source — AITW Ep102 — A Formal Statement on China? Australia's Head of State¶

Episode Metadata¶

Field	Value
Episode number	102
Title	Ep. 102: A formal statement on China? Australia's head of state
Publication date	2022-09-18
Recording date	Tuesday, 13 September 2022
Guests	None (Allan and Darren only)
Allan present	Yes
Format	Two-topic episode: debate on whether Australia should make a formal China statement; Queen Elizabeth's death and the republic question. Reading segment at close.

Summary¶

A compact episode that delivers three significant biographical fragments. First, asked about the process of writing a China speech, Allan discloses his philosophy of speech-writing from the Keating PMO: "speeches are the ultimate way of establishing policy positions. And I wasn't prepared to give that away to anyone else. Once Ministers have uttered the words, that's it." This is the most specific account in the corpus of his psychology as International Advisor — the proprietary stance toward policy-setting speeches is itself a theory of how declaratory politics works.

Second, reflecting on Queen Elizabeth's death, he produces the earliest personal memory in the entire corpus: "I'm one of the small minority of Australians who will be able to remember both her coronation, lying on the floor listening to the wireless in our living room, and her funeral." The coronation was 2 June 1953; Allan was four or five. "The wireless in our living room" is a vivid fragment of early 1950s Australian domestic life. Third, he explicitly declares himself a Republican for the first time in the corpus — and frames the case in characteristic statecraft terms: Australia lacks a deployable head of state as an instrument of foreign policy, while the Governor-General "just doesn't cut it as a pseudo head of State."

The analytical content is also notable: Allan recites a paragraph of good China policy language from memory and then reveals it was Scott Morrison's 2018 Sydney speech — his point being that sensible declaratory policy is perfectly possible and has been done before. The wry reveal is characteristic. And he names The Thick of It as "one of my all-time favourite TV shows" while recommending The Rest is Politics podcast, adding a new data point to his cultural formation alongside Yes Minister.

Key Quotations¶

Speech-writing in the PMO — "I wasn't prepared to give that away"¶

"When I was in the PMO, I certainly saw speech writing as very much part of my responsibility, partly because the International Advisor in the Office is always going to be more familiar with the Prime Minister's policy objectives and outlook and ways of talking, but also because speeches are the ultimate way of establishing policy positions. And I wasn't prepared to give that away to anyone else. Once Ministers have uttered the words, that's it."

— [00:13:40.800 --> 00:14:39.680]

Two things are being disclosed here simultaneously. First, a theory of declaratory policy: speeches are not just communications but constitutive acts — "once Ministers have uttered the words, that's it." This is why Allan argues throughout the corpus for careful speech-craft and why he is so attentive to precise language when analysing political addresses. Second, a specific account of his own conduct in the PMO: he held speech-writing close because the International Advisor is the person who most understands the PM's mind on foreign policy. "I wasn't prepared to give that away to anyone else" is frank and slightly fierce — a practitioner's possessiveness about the most powerful instrument of policy he controlled. It also explains why the speeches he drafted for Keating had the quality they did: they were written by someone who treated them as policy documents, not communications products.

"Lying on the floor listening to the wireless" — the earliest memory¶

"I'm one of the small minority of Australians who will be able to remember both her coronation, lying on the floor listening to the wireless in our living room, and her funeral. So for me, there really is a sense of an age passing."

— [00:29:27.140 --> 00:30:33.340]

Queen Elizabeth's coronation was 2 June 1953. Allan was born in 1948, making him four or five years old. "Lying on the floor listening to the wireless in our living room" is the earliest personal memory in the entire corpus — and it is precise: the physical posture, the technology (a wireless radio, not a television), the domestic space. This is early 1950s suburban Australia rendered in a single image. The phrase "a sense of an age passing" is not merely sentimental; it is the historian's recognition that he has spanned a remarkable arc — from a child on the floor in the early years of a reign to a senior foreign policy practitioner at its end. That he can say this about the Queen's reign is itself a measure of the length and continuity of his professional life.

The Republic — "we have different places to look"¶

"I'm one of the small minority of Australians who will be able to remember both her coronation... As a Republican, I did want to make the obvious point that the new King is primarily the King of Australia only when he is in our country... one minor reason... for us to become a Republic is that it would enable us to deploy our own head of State, however ceremonial the position overseas as another potentially useful instrument of statecraft like the Irish or the Germans do. And I'm afraid the Governor-General just doesn't cut it as a pseudo head of State."

— [00:29:27.140 --> 00:30:33.340]

The first explicit republican declaration in the corpus, and characteristically framed in terms of statecraft rather than sentiment. His republican argument is not about national identity or symbolism but about a missing instrument of foreign policy: a deployable head of state. The Irish and German comparisons are precise — he is not arguing abstractly but pointing to functioning models. "Just doesn't cut it" is a practitioner's verdict on the Governor-General's diplomatic utility. He then adds, with equally characteristic care: "Not to prolong Darren, I would be a monarchist if I were a Brit." This conditional is not politeness; it is a distinction he genuinely holds — the British monarchy is legitimate for Britain, but Australia has its own foundations. His close: "we have different places to look and older traditions to draw on than the house of Windsor" — an indirect reference to Indigenous Australia, consistent with his growing attention to First Nations culture throughout these episodes.

Morrison's 2018 language — "it shows it's certainly possible"¶

"I would repeat that China is important to Australia, that we welcome its remarkable success, that we're absolutely committed to a long-term constructive partnership based on mutual respect... I would say that we will not always agree... but that crucially we will manage those divergences constructively guided by the principle of equality and our deep and abiding mutual respect... It's possible that some of our listeners will recognise that every word in those past couple of paragraphs was uttered by Scott Morrison in a speech in Sydney in October 2018. I don't think we should repeat that language, but it shows that it's certainly possible for the government to articulate the parameters of a relationship that we and China could live with."

— [00:16:42.920 --> 00:19:11.180]

Allan recites a paragraph of sensible China policy language from memory, lets listeners assume it is his own formulation, then reveals it was Scott Morrison's 2018 Sydney speech. The move is characteristic: he is not quoting Morrison approvingly, but demonstrating that the right language has already existed and that the barrier to a China statement is political will, not intellectual difficulty. "I don't think we should repeat that language" is practical — the Morrison government's subsequent conduct discredited the words — but the point stands: "it shows it's certainly possible." The recall from memory also confirms his habit of close reading of primary source speeches, which he treats as data.

Biographical Fragments¶

New

Earliest personal memory — Queen Elizabeth's coronation (2 June 1953) — "lying on the floor listening to the wireless in our living room." Allan was four or five. A fragment of early 1950s suburban Australian domestic life. (Ep102)
Republican position declared explicitly — "as a Republican, I did want to make the obvious point..." First direct declaration in the corpus. Framed in statecraft terms: Australia needs a deployable head of state; the Governor-General "just doesn't cut it." (Ep102)
Speech-writing as personal responsibility in the PMO — "I certainly saw speech writing as very much part of my responsibility... I wasn't prepared to give that away to anyone else." Specific account of his approach in Keating's office: possessive about policy-setting speeches because "once Ministers have uttered the words, that's it." (Ep102)
The Thick of It named as an all-time favourite TV show — "one of my all-time favourite TV shows," with Alastair Campbell identified as the model for Malcolm Tucker. Consistent with Yes Minister (Ep096) and The Bureau (Ep071) — a pattern of affection for political satire with institutional realism. (Ep102)

Reinforcing

International Advisor in the PMO confirmed with fuller title — "the International Advisor in the Office" — consistent with Ep023 and Ep058 confirmations. (Ep102)
Declaratory policy philosophy: "speeches are the ultimate way of establishing policy positions" and "declaratory policy is quite often common sense. There's great value in setting it out unambiguously." — consistent with his speech-reading methodology throughout the corpus. (Ep102)

Style and Method Evidence¶

Wry reveal: recites Morrison's 2018 language as if his own, then names the source — a dry way of proving a point.
"Blindingly obvious": deployed when Darren suggests China should be the central organising principle of all bilateral relationships; the refusal is characteristically flat.
"Just doesn't cut it": practitioner's verdict, no hedging.
"Not to prolong": self-aware about length; uses the qualifier before a sharp close.
Memory as evidence: the coronation wireless scene is not nostalgia — it is the basis for his claim that he spans an unusual arc of Australian political history.
Foreign policy case for the republic: avoids sentiment entirely; argues from statecraft utility.

Reading, Listening and Watching¶

Allan — The Rest is Politics podcast (Rory Stewart and Alastair Campbell)

"A podcast which was recommended to me by one of our listeners. The rest is politics, which features an unlikely pairing. On one side is the former Tory MP and aid minister Rory Stewart... And his co-presenter is Tony Blair's former Director of Communications and Strategy, Alastair Campbell, who was the model, of course, for the immortal Malcolm Tucker in The Thick of It, one of my all-time favourite TV shows. So, intelligent, informed discussion from different perspectives... Not unlike us."

— [00:33:09.080 --> 00:34:02.240]

The recommendation came from a listener — he continues to act on these. His identification of Campbell as the model for Malcolm Tucker, offered as an aside, is the key biographical note: he knows The Thick of It well enough to make this connection instantly, and he describes Tucker as "immortal," a very strong term of affection. The closing exchange with Darren — "intelligent, informed discussion from different perspectives. Not unlike us" — is wry self-regard, but also a genuine self-positioning: he sees this podcast as occupying the same intellectual space as a high-quality political discussion show with practitioners from different backgrounds. The comparison is not accidental.

Open Questions¶

The wireless/coronation memory (1953) — is this the only childhood memory in the corpus? Are there others that place him in early 1950s Australia?
Allan says "as a Republican" — is there any earlier episode where he implies or states a republican position less directly? This is the first explicit declaration.
He says the Governor-General "just doesn't cut it as a pseudo head of State" — does he elaborate elsewhere on Australia's republican case, or is this the only episode where he engages substantively with it?
He credits a listener for the Rest is Politics recommendation and passes it on — consistent with his practice. Does he ever name or describe the listeners who send recommendations?
Does the Albanese government make the formal China statement Allan calls for? Does he assess it when and if it arrives?