Royal Commission in the Matter of an Inquiry into a Statement that There Was a Document Missing from the Official Files in Relation to "The Brisbane Line"

Ward alleged during 1942 and 1943 that the Menzies and Fadden governments had planned to abandon northern Australia to an invading force behind a 'Brisbane Line', and later claimed that the relevant records had been removed from official files. In June 1943 the Curtin government appointed Justice Charles Lowe of the Supreme Court of Victoria as royal commissioner to inquire whether any document concerning the Brisbane Line was missing from the official files and, if so, its nature. Ward was suspended from the ministry while the inquiry proceeded. Eric Miller was counsel assisting.

1. July 1943Hearings held, with Ward's allegations examined in July 1943.

Lowe reported in July 1943 that the files were complete and that no plan of the kind alleged had been official policy under the Menzies government. The controversy featured in the August 1943 election, which Labor won; Ward was afterwards given lesser portfolios. The Parliamentary Handbook gives 28 September 1943 as the date the final report was presented.

• Whether a document about the Brisbane Line was missing from official files
• Nature of any missing document

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