He's a pretty solid conservative (although a bit wet for my tastes on some issue). He was Foreign Minister (our equivalent of your Secretary of State) during Prime Minister John Howard's (our most conservative Prime Minister in decades) long premiership from 1996 until 2007, our longest serving Foreign Minister, in fact.
He is not just some hack diplomat.
I have always had doubts about this story that Downer met with Papadopoulos and had the conversation described (which was a story that first appeared in the New York Times and hasn't as far as I can see been confirmed by any reliable source) was accurate. I certainly can't say for certain one way or the other, but it does seem to have been simply accepted as factual based on very little evidence at all.
Note, I am not saying it isn't true. I think it's possible. But it could also be very wrong. There's no real evidence either way from what I can see.
Downer donated over 25 million to the Clinton Foundation.
And u call him a conservative?
LOL.
I just can't fathom why someone like Downer would even give a nobody like Popadopolous the time of day.
Was Downer a heavy drinker when you knew him?