The Press THURSDAY, JUNE 18, 1964. Paying For Security

Press, Volume CIII, Issue 30470, 18 June 1964, Page 12

The Press THURSDAY, JUNE 18, 1964. Paying For Security

The Prime Minister’s address to the Dominion council of the Returned Services’ Association strongly affirmed the Government’s acceptance of its defence responsibilities. Mr Holyoake’s plea for understanding and support “if increased expenditure on “defence and other important Government activi- “ ties ” resulted “ in an increase of taxation at any “time” had a sympathetic audience. -It would, however, be a pity if the Prime Minister’s statement were used to make defence a whipping-boy for any increases in taxation. When Mr Holyoake said that “ no Government’s policies would make sense unless “ the nation’s basic security were first ensured ”, he was saying in another way that expenditure on defence has priority. Increased spending on national security need not necessarily mean an increase in taxation. An individual most often compensates for increased expenditure on essentials by curtailing his outlay on less important items. A Government may do the same.

As Mr Holyoake said, defence, like every other aspect of Government spending, must be kept under constant review; and it is evident that New Zealand’s obligation to spend more on defence, has been accepted. The Minister of Defence (Mr Eyre), speaking after Mr Holyoake, mentioned such items as the re-equipment programme' of the Army at £1,500,000 a year; new Hercules transport aircraft (arriving in the middle of next year); approval of the purchase of Orion maritime aircraft; and the construction of a new frigate for the Navy. Expenditures on this programme could well be accelerated by preparations to - honour the Prime Minister’s undertaking that the New Zealand battalion in Malaysia would be available for service in Borneo if needed. New Zealand is now required to provide logistic and other support services, formerly supplied by Britain, for New Zealand forces in Malaya, though Britain would still have to be called upon (no doubt at New Zealand’s expense) for such jungle essentials as helicopters and specialised aircraft.

The Prime Minister’s statement about the possible employment of the New Zealand battalion in Sabah and Sarawak is an explicit declaration of policy that must be taken as seriously by New Zealanders as by New Zealand’s allies and, it is to be hoped, by Indonesia. It may be, as Mr Holyoake says, that Indonesia’s objectives are political and that “ the military measures it has used up to date have “ been limited ”. But It is surely odd that, as a preliminary to diplomatic talks, there should be a wrangle about withdrawing Indonesian guerrillas from territory (where they have not the slightest right to be) in which they have been deployed to intimidate and to kill civilians and military. Such cynical behaviour from a nation pledged to the peaceful Charter of the United Nations should warn easy-going New Zealanders to be prepared, even though that may call for some slight sacrifice of a high standard of living.