Soviet Norfolk
THE Fraser cabinet considered abandoning Norfolk Island because it cost too much.
THE Fraser cabinet considered abandoning Norfolk Island because it cost too much.
Cabinet documents show an argument for keeping the island was to prevent the Soviet Union trying to take control. Norfolk's administration was reviewed by a commission that found the island was costing $2.5 million a year, which "can never be justified".
AAP
Move in New York to stop sand-mining ban
A US businessman threatened to make life "very uncomfortable" for the government of Malcolm Fraser in 1976 if it went ahead with a ban on sand mining on Queensland's Fraser Island.
Fraser was warned on Lebanese migrants
IMMIGRATION authorities warned the Fraser government in 1976 it was accepting too many Lebanese Muslim refugees without "the required qualities" for successful integration.