11.
These directions were to be that these papers should remain closed for a period of 60 years after Sir Paul ceased to be Governor-General (that is, until after 11 July 2034), and that thereafter access should only be after consultation with the Sovereign's Private Secretary of the day. It would now be appropriate for the directions to state that the papers should remain closed until after 11 July 2024, and that thereafter access should only be with the approval of the Sovereign's Private Secretary and the Official Secretary to the Governor-General. I assume you will wish to contact Sir Paul to seek his concurrence in the new arrangements, and I would appreciate your further advice in due course.
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The National Library's Guide to Collections of Manuscripts relating to Australia indicates that the National Library holds papers of Sir Paul Hasluck and Lord Casey, six earlier Governors-General, and one Administrator of the Commonwealth, including Baron Tennyson's secret despatches, Viscount Novar's official despatches to the King and letters to and from the King's Private Secretaries, Viscount Stonehaven's correspondence with the King and the King's Private Secretaries and some papers of Sir Isaac Isaacs. Only some of the Stonehaven papers appear to be affected by the new 50-year rule."
30 Two aspects of the Director-General's response to the Official Secretary are noteworthy. The first is that the Director-General was unequivocal in adopting the position that the Official Secretary's conveyance of the "decision" of Her Majesty was effective to create a "new 50-year rule". The operation of that new 50-year rule was accepted to be effective to reduce the closed periods stipulated by the earlier letters of deposit in which the former Official Secretary had conveyed the wishes of Her Majesty and instructions of Sir John Kerr, Sir Zelman Cowen and Sir Ninian Stephen respectively. It was also accepted to be effective to increase the closed period stipulated by Sir Paul Hasluck in his Instrument of Deposit.
31 The second and more specific of the noteworthy aspects of the Director-General's response is that the then Official Secretary's conveyance of Her Majesty's decision was accepted by him to be effective to reduce the closed period stipulated in the letter dated 26 August 1978 on the instructions of Sir John Kerr even though it was apparent from the terms of the letter dated 23 July 1991 that Sir John Kerr had not been consulted about the reduction and had not consented to the reduction. Indeed, Sir John had died several months earlier. Quite properly, the position adopted by the then Director-General has been maintained by the current Director-General as respondent to the appeal.
