9.
access by the public when a period of 30 years has elapsed since the end of the calendar year in which they were created".
26 In relation to Sir Zelman Cowen and Sir Ninian Stephen, the "personal and confidential" correspondence between each of them and Her Majesty was deposited with the Archives by Mr Smith in his capacity as Official Secretary under cover of letters of deposit dated 14 June 1984 and 31 August 1990 respectively. The letters are materially identical to the letter of deposit dated 26 August 1978 under cover of which Mr Smith had deposited with the Australian Archives the "personal and confidential" correspondence between Sir John Kerr and Her Majesty. They express the "wishes" of Her Majesty and the respective "instructions" of Sir Zelman and Sir Ninian that the correspondence should remain closed for 60 years from the dates of their retirements, so as not to be released to the public until after 29 July 2042 in the case of Sir Zelman and until after 16 February 2049 in the case of Sir Ninian.
27 Next in chronological sequence of the documents in evidence are letters exchanged in mid-1991 between Mr Douglas Sturkey, who had by then succeeded Mr Smith as Official Secretary, and Mr George Nichols, who was then Director-General. Each wrote in his official capacity.
28 The full text of the letter from the Official Secretary, dated 23 July 1991, is as follows:
"Under cover of letters dated 31 August 1990, 14 June 1984 and 26 August 1978, my predecessor forwarded sealed packages containing the personal and confidential correspondence of Sir Ninian Stephen, Sir Zelman Cowen and Sir John Kerr respectively with The Queen.
In those letters the requirement that the papers remain closed for 60 years after the end of the appointment of each Governor-General was stated. The Queen has now reduced this period to 50 years, subject to the approval in each case of the Sovereign's Private Secretary and the Official Secretary to the Governor-General.
I have taken this up with Sir Zelman Cowen and Sir Ninian Stephen, both of whom have signified their concurrence in the new arrangements. Accordingly, the dates of release of the three packages should now be:
Sir John Kerr after 8 December 2027 Sir Zelman Cowen after 29 July 2032
