Fadden replaced Menzies as prime minister in August 1941. A few weeks later, cabinet decided to send Page to London as resident minister, with the intention that he would be granted access to the British War Cabinet. While he was en route to England, the Fadden Government lost a confidence motion and was replaced by an ALP minority government. The new prime minister John Curtin nonetheless allowed Page to take up the position, declining his offer to return to Australia. The attack on Pearl Harbor in December changed the dynamic of Anglo-Australian relations, as the War in the Pacific became the primary concern of the Australian government. Page assisted in the creation of the Pacific War Council early the following year. He later recalled Winston Churchill's frustration in war cabinet meetings with Curtin's decision to withdraw troops from the Middle East and North Africa and return them to Australia. He credited himself with helping negate the tensions between the two men, but in February 1942 mistakenly advised Churchill that the Australian government was amenable to diverting the 7th Division to Burma rather than return it directly to Australia. He was heavily rebuked by Curtin and external affairs minister H. V. Evatt for his error.