Notice must be taken of Pacific nations

Press, 22 May 1978, Page 6

Notice must be taken of Pacific nations

Self-government and increasing world interest in the Pacific was forcing Australia and New Zealand to pay Wider attention to the Island nations, said Mrs Mary Boyd, » reader in history at Victoria University in Wellington. She told delegates that these two factors made the Pacific important in Australian and New Zealand ’oreign policy. Independence among Pacific countries had meant t need for increased development aid, trade and top level tolitical consultation and co-'

■ operation, from Australia and ; New Zealand, she said. The new Island states were r seeking wider contacts to ’ lessen their dependence on 1 their formei administrating t powers. ’i “Natura’ly they tend to ilook first to Australia and ’ New Zealand, who belong to their area and with whom t thev have been associated. s “But they are also looking • beyond their own region to I the wider world, and those powers are showing an in- ; crea'ing interest in the t Pacific, particularly Japan, ■ China and the Soviet Union.” I Mrs Bovd said. She argued that the early

1 initiative in Pacific relations was taken by New Zealand, s but shi said it was time to ) discard the myth that New i Zealand was more a Pacific I country than Australia. She said that after the )i economic recession and 1 change of Government after ) the death of the Labour ) Prime Minister (Mr Kirk), “Austral! rapidly overtook ! New Zealand and even begun > to outpace her as the natural ; leader of the South Pacific. “There is no question that ; Australia is now taking the , South Pacific as seriously, if ’ not more seriously, than New Zealand.” Mrs Boydi r said.