Frigates

Press, 1 June 1989, Page 16

Frigates

Sir, —Yet another utterance about the frigates by our Minister of Defence, Mr Tizard, has failed to provide one iota of specific justification for these

floating white elephants. How can Anzac frigates be “value for money” when the proponents fail to specify what their value is? One proponent of the frigates, M. Johnston, refuses even to identify the enemy against whom these frigates would be set, let alone how they could be used effectively. Mr Johnston is so illinformed he refers to the Black Birch Astronomical Observatory as a “spy station” (May 25). Black Birch monitors the positions and movements of stars. Star positions are useful, indeed critical, for the inertial guidance systems of nuclear missiles such as MX and Trident D 5. The strength of the opposition to the Anzac frigates and to foreign military bases in New Zealand lies in research and analysis by the peace movement. If a large majority of the people and their elected representatives in Parliament reject the frigates, as is now the case, it is because objective information and reason are prevailing over political expediency and irrational adherence to an alliance mentality. Will the Government listen to facts and reason?—Yours, etc., ROBERT L. LEONARD. May 27, 1989.

Sir, —The New Zealand Government seems to be letting the frigate issue run on to cause the Australians maximum annoyance when our Government rejects the frigate deal. The Government obviously wants New Zealand out of A.N.Z.U.S., while blaming the Americans, and possibly the Australians, for it, and while also pretending to support A.N.Z.U.S. in public. The Prime Minister is deluding himself if he thinks his anti-nuclear stand has real majority support from the New Zealand public. Many protesters break the law furthering their anti-nuclear goals and many people are against nuclear visits, not because they are against the ships, but because they tire of the disruptions. These tactics are anti-democratic. Mr Lange is obviously scared of the Labour Party fighting an election with an anti-A.N.Z.U.S. platform against National’s pro-A.N.Z.U.S. stance. —Yours, etc., G. J. ROBINSON. May 28, 1989.