‘Subservience’ On Aid

Press, Volume CVIII, Issue 31775, 4 September 1968, Page 26

‘Subservience’ On Aid

(N Z. Press Association) WELLINGTON, Sept. 3. The New Zealand Government, with other Western governments, had for too long tended to take an “almost subservient” attitude to some of the countries it was attempting to assist, Mr A. J. Faulkner (Lab., Roskill) said in Parliament today. Speaking during the debate on the Estimates of the External Affairs Department, Mr Faulkner said that New Zealand’s civil aid to South Vietnam, particularly the surgical team at Qui Nhon, was a case in point. “In South Vietnam we have trained people to be helpful to their countrymen and we

seem to be quite willing to allow them to be drafted into the military forces," he said.

One case was that of four Vietnamese radiologists who had been trained by New Zealand. The Vietnamese had been drafted into the forces and were not able to use their new skills for the benefit of civilians, he said. “Surely we should take a firmer line about it. Without tying our aid in any way we can still put our foot down. “I believe the Western world—not only us—-lets these people get away with things that we would not let our own people get away with," Mr Faulkner said. The Prime Minister (Mr Holyoake) confirmed that the Vietnamese radiologists had been called up for military service by the Vietnamese Army, but said: “I honestly don’t think that we should protest or make representations.”

Mr Faulkner also asked the Minister of External Affairs

(Mr Holyoake) whether the Government intended to increase the s2m vote for Colombo Plan aid in the Supplementary Estimates. This amount was the same as was voted last year, and if devaluation were taken into account the vote had actually been cut, Mr Faulkner said. He also asked for an explanation of the 33 per cent rise in the vote for New Zealand’s membership of the South-East Asia Treaty Organisation. Mr Holyoake said New Zealand's devaluation had been partly responsible for the increase in New Zealand’s S.E.A.T.O. contribution. Another factor had been an increase in the general budget of S.E.A.T.O. Replying to criticism of the Colombo Plan vote he said it should be remembered that New Zealand also gave sl.6m annually to the Asian Bank, which was used for much the same type of aid as the Colombo Plan provided.