MAY GO TO VIETNAM IF EXCHANGE PAID

Press, Volume CIV, Issue 30896, 1 November 1965, Page 3

MAY GO TO VIETNAM IF EXCHANGE PAID

(From Our Parliamentary Reporter)

WELLINGTON, Oct. 31.

The Medical Aid Committee for South Vietnamese Peoples (N.L.F.) may send personnel from New Zealand or another country to areas under Viet Cong domination—but only if the authorities in North Vietnam or Communist China pay the overseas exchange involved in costs.

The Minister of Finance (Mr Lake) said this in reply to a question asked in Parliament today by Mr D. S. Thomson (Govt., Stratford). Mr Thomson asked Mr Lake

if he had seen a statement by the chairman of the executive of the committee (Mr W. Jermyn), and if he would explain how the committee proposed to finance the sending of personnel to help in areas temporarily subjugated by Communist forces without re-

mitting money overseas to pay the costs of travel and maintenance.

“It is apparent that the author of the statement has resorted to the practice of making his own interpretation of what Government members said in this House, so that he could then indulge in the sophistry of describing as false the propositions which he had reinterpreted,” Mr Lake said. Mr Lake said he could not reconcile Mr Jermyn’s statement (that the committee proposes to send personnel to serve under the Viet Cong) with his further contention that there will be no remittances of money overseas,” Mr Lake said.

“However, it might be possible for the committee to send personnel from New Zealand or another country if authorities in North Vietnam or mainland China were to pay the overseas exchange component of the costs involved.

“If such an arrangement were made with Communist authorities, presumably by way of reciprocity, there might need to be payment of any funds collected in New Zealand by the committee into funds of the New Zealand Communist Party or its various fronts, or perhaps into the funds of a genuinely worthy local organisation for the propaganda value to be derived from such a move.” He said he was unable to state any other means whereby the committee could carry out its stated intentions of sending personnel, but not money to sustain them in the field and pay their travel costs.