My Impressions of Australia [1950]

Arrangements for this “farewell address” to Australia were only struck when Russell was about a month into his tour. The general secretary of the Australian Institute of International Affairs, George Caiger, hoped that Russell’s goodbye speech to a luncheon for him at the Trocadero restaurant in Sydney on 23 August would be recorded by the Australian Broadcasting Commission. Russell’s “impressions” were overwhelmingly favourable and remained so even after his departure—despite suspicions voiced by certain Australian newspapers that he would make a less flattering assessment on his return to Britain. It is natural to an Englishman to compare Australia with the United States. The misinformation which has been disseminated in Australia has been part of a deliberate propaganda against the Labour Party. The Labour Party in England when it came into power in 1945 was faced with a very difficult situation, which it coped with vigorously and honestly without too much regard for popularity.