N.Z. military may get Australian ammunition

Press, 11 August 1979, Page 2

N.Z. military may get Australian ammunition

PA Auckland! New Zealand’s military forces may soon buy most of their ammunition from Australia and the Australians will send naval engines to Auckland for overhaul. The Minister of Defence (Mr Gill) spoke of these developments yesterday after his return from talks in Canberra. The talks with the Australian Minister for Defence (Mr Killen) involved mainly the development of a joint defence-industrial policy. Mr Gill said a contract for Air New Zealand to service the turbine engines of three Australian guided-missile frigates was now complete and work could begin as it arose. Australia made all its ammunition for British guns locally under licence. Until now the terms of the licence had not allowed it to export the ammunition and New Zealand had consequently bought the ammunition from Britain. At this week’s meeting, however, the Australians had agreed to seek a change

tin tfce licence terms to allow them to supply New Zealand. A number of other fairly significant proposals for industrial co-operation had been proposed. “While the defence peop’e would have little objection to them being reported it involves civilian companies and I don’t feel I can talk about them at this stage,” said Mr Gill. A Royal New Zealand Navy group going overseas to study frigate replacement needs would visit Australia. The Australians had made a similar study from which the New Zealand group could probably learn. The Australians had shown much interest in New Zealand experience in policing foreign movement within the 200-mile economic zone. So far they had had little experience in licensing overseas fishing vessles. "We were able to point out that, providing good surveillance was maintained, it was largely a self-policing exercise involving the governments of the ships concerned,” said Mr Gill.-