The Strange Case of Herbert Evatt

...He has not done so in the interests of the Government and, Wentworth continued, "he has not done it in his own interests because this has hurt him throughout...

...Pointing out that all of Evatt's promotions have been connected with Communist influence...

...Others say that the mention of some of his staff members in the Petrov papers has made Evatt extremely sensitive to anything he considers a conspiracy...

...Evatt...

...John Burton, head of the Department of External Affairs...

...I said that I did not accuse Dr...

...Wentworth concluded: "I believe that from the small beginnings . . . they have drawn him in more and more . . . deflecting his real policy . . . in alibis in accordance with what the Communists' desire really was...

...As for Evatt's charge that the Petrovs, Prime Minister Menzies and the Security Service had formed a conspiracy to prevent his winning the 1954 elections, the Commission termed this "quite fantastic...

...The most carefully reasoned theory, however, was put forth by W. C. Wentworth, a Liberal MP who has devoted many years to studying Evatt's activities...

...A host of theories are now being offered to explain why Evatt wilfully committed what almost amounted to political suicide...

...I have said this many times...

...Today he has become expendable to them, because he is now almost in the open as a Communist agent...

...The strongly anti-Communist Catholic section of the Labor party reacted sharply to Evatt's unauthorized comments...

...Evatt in the House as clumsy and foolish, but measured by the test of whether it is in the interest of the Soviet Government, it was no foolish speech-especially coming from the leader of the Australian Labor party and a man who has been President of the General Assembly of the United Nations, whose word would be available for quotation by the Soviet press and propaganda machine throughout the world...

...He has shown the country on which side ho stands...

...It was further noted that the then Labor Prime Minister, J. B. Chifley, farmed the Australian Security Service in 1948 because he was convinced that there were espionage leakages in the department...

...During the course of a speech in the House, Wentworth reviewed the Labor leader's actions and went on to point out that Evatt fits into the pattern of Communist world strategy...

...O'Sullivan admitted the authorship of a document which provided Soviet agents with personal data on all reporters in Canberra that could be used for blackmail...

...The GRU network, dealing in military espionage, was unknown to Petrov and, the Commission said, may still be operating...

...Then came the great shock...

...How Australian Labor's chief led his party to disaster THE STRANGE CASE OF HERBERT EVATT By Richard Krygier Canberra The decisive defeat suffered by Australia's Labor party in this month's general elections has increased speculation about the recent actions of its leader, Herbert V. Evatt...

...He has certainly not done so in the interests of his party, which he split and may yet destroy...

...Albert Grundemann, the assistant private secretary, and Fegan O'Sullivan, the press officer...

...They were very lenient with quite a few members of Evatt's staff, but their affirmations and opinions were extremely judicious...

...On one occasion in March 1951, challenged by Dr...

...Although he was gently dealt with by the Commission, the report did mention that Burton appointed prominent Communists to sensitive positions over the protests of loyal citizens...

...Thus he went out of his way, they argue, to combat what he feels is a "put-up job" by the Government and the Security Service...

...This is the explanation which best fits what we know of Soviet techniques, techniques which go by the name of 'small hook'-the repayment of favors growing into obligation, and then the obligation growing into compulsion...

...People may be inclined to dismiss the speech made by Dr...

...If I were asked to try to place its origin...

...Evatt...

...The alibi is no longer convincing...

...Shortly afterward, during the Korean War, he went to Peking as head of an Australian delegation to a Communist peace conference...

...The Commission also found that the Petrovs were truthful witnesses, that the documents produced were genuine and that two networks of espionage-run by the Soviet Embassy-existed in Australia...

...On the basis of this letter, Evatt asked Parliament and the Australian people to disregard the Royal Commission's findings...

...His speech lasted two hours, and I sat through its entire delivery...

...No one will believe that there is no link between Dr...

...Evatt say things which are manifestly untrue, and manifestly against his own interests and the interests of his own party...

...He has done it in the interests of Soviet Russia...

...The Royal Commission's final report was prepared by three distinguished Justices of the Supreme Courts of three Australian states...

...This was set up to investigate the validity of documents turned over to the Government by Vladimir Petrov, former Soviet Embassy attache who sought asylum here and admitted heading a Soviet spy network in Australia...

...People here are still wondering why this man, an extremely able lawyer, historian and writer who has served as Deputy Prime Minister, Minister for External Affairs, Attorney General, and Justice of the High Court, took a position which safely allowed one of his opponents to label him "chief counsel of the Communist party of Australia...

...Only one minor typist on Evatt's staff admitted passing copies of all papers typed in his office to Communist party officials who acted as spy contacts...

...Evatt produced a letter from Soviet Foreign Minister Vyacheslav M. Molotov which claimed that the Petrov documents were forgeries...

...He was dismissed as soon as the Menzies Administration came to power...

...But Evatt went on to suggest that the whole Petrov case should be reviewed by an international tribunal-which would embrace the USSR...

...It was climaxed by a stream of uncomplimentary remarks which led to his ejection...

...His appearance resulted in what amounted to a frenzied defense not only of his staff but of the Communist party...

...This is particularly true because Evatt conducted the most violent anti-Catholic campaign in Australian politics...

...It was quickly pointed out that this would be tantamount to accepting a convicted thief's protestations of innocence over a judge's decision...

...But the report listed the following members of Evatt's personal staff as being mentioned in the Petrov papers: Dr...

...Several of Evatt's staff members were mentioned in the papers, and he requested permission to come before the Commission, although he was not personally involved...

...Among other things, the report established beyond doubt that between 1945 and 1949 (when Evatt was Minister for External Affairs) the Department of External Affairs passed information to the Communists...

...He began by noting the great loss of trade that had resulted from the Royal Commission's investigation...

...It fits in with what we knew earlier about Dr...

...Petrov uncovered the MVD network, dealing in political and other espionage...

...If this were only madness, there is too much method to it...

...When the report came up for discussion in the House, Evatt, as Leader of the Opposition, was the first speaker...

...The Burgess and MacLean technique seems to be the technique that has been applied to Dr...

...Evatt of being a member of the Communist party, but I did say . . ., 'I do accuse him of having too often adopted policies and tactics which were in fact in the Communist interest, and in my view this has happened so often, and sometimes in such circumstances, that, looking at it as a whole, it can scarcely be mere coincidence.' "Why does Dr...

...Evatt...

...Evatt and the Australian Communist party...

...It is not surprising, therefore, that the Menzies Government decided to hold elections this month...

...When, after a showdown vote, he succeeded in retaining his leadership, the Catholics formed an independent party...

...Some say, quite seriously, that in his frustration at being unable to achieve the Prime Ministership the Labor leader has become somewhat unbalanced...

...That, I think, is the explanation of the strange case of Dr...

...The outcome of the election proved them right...

...Once again I go back four years to the time when I stressed to the House that he acted as he did because he was under some kind of compulsion that he had to do these things because the Communists had some hold over him...

...I would say that this goes back . . . at least to 1930, when Dr...

...Evatt, I said it outside the shelter of the privilege of the House...

...It was shown that during this period certain defense secrets were requested by the Department of External Affairs-but were never supplied...

...His present conduct cannot be rationally explained in any other way...

...Evatt appointed Burton, then a young man and one of his closest collaborators to this day, ahead of many other experienced public servants...

...Evatt's latest difficulties stem, of course, from his performance before the Royal Commission on Espionage...

...Indeed, their findings were generally accepted as a sound legal document...

...Evatt received his promotion to the High Court at the hands of those who are the friends of the Australian Communist party...

...The latter did not win any seats in the election, but they did cost Labor a considerable number of votes and undoubtedly contributed to its weak showing...

...The conservatives were convinced that they could strengthen their relatively small majority as a result of Evatt's wild turn...

...He also questioned the validity of the Petrov documents...

...Furthermore, several known Communists were appointed to its staff and authorized to participate in discussions with the Defense Department...

...Alan Dalziel, Evatt's private secretary...

...It was going pretty far to expect the Australian elector to accept this amazing reasoning...

...Regardless of whether this analysis of Herbert Evatt's career proves true, one thing is sure: The once great Australian Labor party has suffered severely under his leadership...