Facing the inevitable: Britain's entry into the European Community and Australia's policy, 1970-72

While Australia's response to Britain's 1961-63 bid to join the European Community has been examined in almost every possible detail, Australian policy towards Britain's 1970-72 application has drawn very little scholarly attention. This article therefore aims to fill this gap by drawing on newly released archival material from the National Archives of Australia in Canberra and the National Archives in London. In doing so, the article examines the impact of Britain's 1971-72 application to join the EC on Australian policy and the Anglo-Australian relations. It argues that while far from provoking the same widespread uproar as the Macmillan government's original application in 1961, Britain's final bid had important political and economic implications for Australian foreign policy.