P.M. contradicts Minister

Press, 8 May 1985, Page 8

P.M. contradicts Minister

PA Wellington The Prime Minister, Mr Lange, contradicted his Minister of Defence, Mr O’Flynn, yesterday on the possibility of stationing New Zealand troops in Australia. Mr O’Flynn told a lunchtime meeting of diplomats in Wellington that New Zealand should station troops in Australia, and be prepared to help defend Australia’s north. He said this would be part of the revamping of defence forces in the wake of the A.N.Z.U.S. row.

But later yesterday Mr Lange, in an interview with Australian Associated Press, said, “There is currently* no proposal, policy, or pro-

gramme for positioning New Zealand forces in Australia.” The idea of a New Zealand battalion in either Townesville or Darwin had been around for at least 10 years, said Mr Lange. Mr O’Flynn had hinted that Australia could be a destination for New Zealand’s battalion now stationed in Singapore; again Mr Lange poured cold water on the idea. He told AAP that New Zealand had no intention of withdrawing its forces from Singapore. New Zealand had given a specific assurance to the Association of SouthEast Asian Nations (A.S.E.A.N.) that the batta-

lion would remain as a commitment to regional security. The suggestion that this battalion could be sent to Australia did not arise, Mr Lange said. Mr O’Flynn told his audience of diplomats, “Our Army must be trained, equipped, and organised to operate at short notice with its Australian counterpart. “We must be prepared to play a direct part in defending the mainland of Australia. We are going to have to be prepared, if we are asked to do so, to join in the defence of mainland Australia.”

He declined to specify possible enemies but said it

was “perfectly clear” that any attack in New Zealand’s direction was going to come from north of Australia.

Mr O’Flynn said the battalion would not be considered part of an Australian regiment but would be standardised with Australian troops in such things as weapons and equipment. “That battalion I was speaking about could be sent to mainland Australia to join in the defence of northern parts of Australia,” he said.

“We would be prepared to station them there if asked to — at any rate we have got to be prepared to join in whatever defensive measures the Australians

think desirable and ask us to join.

“It is simply an idea which sticks out a mile if you draw logical conclusions from the view that Australia and New Zealand are to be treated as one entity and be defended together.”

The idea had not come from his recent discussions with the Australian Minister of Defence, Mr Kim Beazely, he said, but it would be reported to the Australian Government soon by Group Captain Noel Montgomery, defence attache at the Australian High Commission in Wellington, who attended the press conference.