Mr Latham asked the Minister for Foreign Affairs, upon notice, on 17 February 1999:

(1) Does his Department have records of discussions between Prime Ministers of Australia and Presidents of Indonesia; if so, in respect of which conversations does the Department hold such records

(2) Does the Department have copies of letters between Prime Ministers of Australia and Presidents of Indonesia; if so, what are the dates of the letters.

Mr Downer (Foreign Affairs) —The answer to the honourable member's question is as follows:

(1) As a general practice, records of discussions between Australian Prime Ministers and the Presidents of foreign countries are always made.

(2) To ascertain which letters between Australian Prime Ministers and Presidents of Indonesia over a period of almost 50 years are held by my Department is beyond the current resources of the Department.