UNION OF N.Z. AND AUSTRALIA

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31635, 22 March 1968, Page 1

UNION OF N.Z. AND AUSTRALIA

Mr Gorton Pressed To Begin Negotiations

(N.Z. Press Association —Copyright) CANBERRA, March 21. The Prime Minister (Mr Gorton) was asked today to begin negotiations for the union of Australia and New Zealand as one country.

The appeal was made in the House of Representatives by a Government back-bencher, Sir John Cramer, who also suggested that New Guinea and surrounding islands could become part of Australia.

“I know this is ahead of its time,” he said. “I cannot see that it would not be beneficial in this part of the world—which is traditionally in the West and geographically in the East—that we should endeavour to build a better, stronger new nation.” Sir John Cramer said the Prime Minister could begin negotiations with the New Zealand Government on his visit to the country next week. A joint committee of the Australian and New Zealand Cabinets should be set up to discuss the degree of cooperation which could be achieved, with the longdistance view of complete cooperation. Sir John Cramer said he spent three weeks in New Zealand recently and found a unanimous view that integration with Australia was inevitable.

New Zealand was passing through real difficulties, particularly shortage of overseas funds. In defence and foreign affairs, integration was essential because New Zealand was too small to be effective alone. The present Australian-New Zealand agreement on freedom of trade was not free enough to be effective. “There is a need for much closer examination of many things,” Sir John Cramer said. Butter Production In the field of butter, New Zealand “can beat us into a cocked hat," he said. “There are fields such as

heavy industry where we can beat them into a cocked hat. “We are brothers together, New Zealand and ourselves, and we should think together. We must be broad and generous in our approach and not in any way condescending. “It is as much our duty to take New Zealand in as it is New Zealand’s to take Australia,” he said. No Bar Sir John Cramer said there was no bar in the Australian constitution to New Zealand joining the Commonwealth, as she almost did at federation. “There is no reason why there should not be a New Zealand-born and New Zea-land-resident Prime Minister of this country. “I do appeal to the Australian Prime Minister at least to have preliminary discussions on this matter, which I believe will be inevitable in the not-too-distance future,” Sir John Cramer said.