Template letter to a constituent
27 May 1977
An exchange of correspondence between then Minister for Business and Consumer Affairs the Honourable John Howard MP to a Mr Martin Andrew was sent to me by the latter many years ago as an example of the type of letter a constituent prefers to received rather than the stock standard acknowledgement prepared by Ministerial and Departmental Officers. Shane Stone as a Member of Parliament, Minister and Chief Minister kept the letter in his top draw to remind him of the importance of writing meaningful letters to constituents. Shane Stone was a prolific correspondent with the electorate as evidenced by this website. He was acknowledged as such and much to the annoyance of staff and bureaucrats dictated his own correspondence, a skill essential to any barrister. Shane Stone considered the Martin letter a 'gold standard' of Ministerial letter writing - personal, thoughtful, accepting and open to another's point of view punctuated by a genuine appreciation for writing in the first place. Regrettably Ministerial correspondence nowadays is tightly scripted and controlled, if it occurs at all.
- Document type: Correspondence
- Time period: Legislative Assembly NT
- Person: John HOWARD
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