Editing Foreign relations of Australia (section)

===World War I and 1920s===
World War I brought about an increase in direct Australian engagement with governments outside the British Empire, prompted by strategic concerns including the fate of German territories in the Pacific captured by Australian troops during the war. Prime Minister [[Billy Hughes]] visited the United States in 1918 and "in a series of meetings and speeches, called on the US to cooperate with Australia in ensuring postwar security in the Far East".{{sfn|Cuffe|2021|p=16}} At the [[1919 Paris Peace Conference]], Hughes led an Australian section within the British delegation and co-signed the [[Treaty of Versailles]] on behalf of Australia, as with other British [[dominion]]s. Hughes lobbied powerfully for Australian interests at the conference, including the granting of [[League of Nations]] mandates over the former [[German New Guinea]] and [[Nauru]] and opposition to Japan's [[Racial Equality Proposal]] to protect the [[White Australia policy]].<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.nma.gov.au/defining-moments/resources/versailles-treaty|title=Versailles Treaty|publisher=National Museum of Australia|access-date=3 June 2024}}</ref>

The 1920s marked "the genesis of a distinct Australian foreign policy", largely in response to changing power dynamics and the decline in British influence in the Pacific following the [[Washington Naval Conference]] of 1922 influence.{{sfn|Cuffe|2021|p=5}} Australia continued continued to rely on "the UK and its imperial machinery for diplomatic representation and economic and material security".{{sfn|Cuffe|2021|p=4}} Following the [[1923 Imperial Conference]], attempts to formulate a uniform imperial foreign policy were largely abandoned in favour of a system of dominion ratification of British decisions.{{sfn|Bird|2008|p=6}} Governmental interest in foreign policy declined during the [[Great Depression in Australia|Great Depression]] as the [[James Scullin|Scullin government]] concentrated on internal economic matters. In 1929, internationalist [[Frederic Eggleston]] complained to a [[Australian Senate committees|Senate committee]] that "no parliament which is responsible for its own foreign policy has less discussion on foreign affairs than does the Australian Parliament".{{sfn|Bird|2008|p=7}}

While yet to exchange formal diplomatic representatives, Australia made a number of "quasi-diplomatic" appointments in the post-war period, who functioned as official representatives of the Australian government but held no [[diplomatic rank]]. These included appointment of [[Henry Braddon]] to the United States in 1918 with the title of "commissioner" and the appointment of Clive Voss as "commercial agent" in France in 1919.{{sfn|Schedvin|2008|p=24}} In 1921, Australia appointed its first official representative in Asia, with the appointment of Edward S. Little as trade commissioner to China, based in Shanghai.{{sfn|Schedvin|2008|p=28}} Senator [[Thomas Bakhap]] undertook a trade mission to China in 1922 at the instigation of Hughes,{{sfn|Schedvin|2008|p=31}} and in the same year Egbert Sheaf was appointed as a trade commissioner to "the East", based in Singapore.{{sfn|Schedvin|2008|p=34}} The initial trade commissioner service was partially funded by state governments and ultimately failed due to a lack of support from Prime Minister [[Stanley Bruce]] and state premiers.{{sfn|Schedvin|2008|p=36}}