Socialism seen in defence role

Press, 4 April 1985, Page 37

Socialism seen in defence role

PA Wellington The Government should devote its energy to repairing the A.N.Z.U.S. alliance instead of considering “socialist neo-imperialism” in the South-West Pacific, the Opposition’s defence spokesman, Mr D. L. Kidd, has said. The summary paper on A.N.Z.U.S. prepared for the Cabinet by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was inadequate and potentially dangerous, Mr Kidd said. The paper proposed an increased militarisation of the South-West Pacific. "To be effective that would require a large increase in defence spending. A kind of socialist neo-

imperialism is at the heart of the proposals. “All this could be avoided if the Government would only devote some of its energy to repairing the A.N.Z.U.S. alliance,” Mr Kidd said. The Government was saying that A.N.Z.U.S. remained the fundamental guarantee of New Zealand’s defence. “Its policy amounts to rejecting the United States umbrella during peacetime while asserting the United States is bound by legal obligations to rescue us in the event of hostilities.” Such a rescue could be made only by a wholly nuclear-capable and increasingly nuclear-powered Navy.