AUSTRALIA AND N.Z.

Evening Post, Volume CXXXVI, Issue 93, 16 October 1943, Page 6

AUSTRALIA AND N.Z.

MUST PROVIDE OWN SECURITY

(Special P.A. Correspondent.) SYDNEY, October 15. In future Australia and New Zealand must take their place in the world and can no longer expect to find security and development behind the continued protection of other Powers. In the Southern Pacific these two Dominions must accept the responsibility J of playing a joint leading part. These opinions summarise the views of Australian commentators on the statement in the House of Representatives by the Commonwealth Minister of External Affairs, Dr. H. V. Evatt, of Australia's external policy. i Dr. Evatt emphasised that Australia and New Zealand must show particular interest in the control of those islands lying close to their shores. Advocating that Australia's immediate defence zone after the war should be extended to the Solomon Islands, New Caledonia, and the Netherlands East Indies, Dr. Evatt added: "It; would be blindness not to recognise the complementary relationship of the islands adjacent to Australia and New Zealand." , As a contribution towards a better understanding of common problems, he proposed to take steps to obtain a frank exchange of views between the various Governments interested in. the Southern Pacific, he said. The appointment of an Australian High Commissioner in New Zealand would be the first step. Australia's collaboration with the United States would be extremely close. Australia also shared close common interests with Canada and the Soviet Union. "While Australia's interest in the future of Europe is undoubted, our predominant interest must lie in the Pacific area," declared Dr.. Evatt. "During the war we have rightly insisted on the importance of the Pacific as a theatre of war, and I am certain the verdict of history will find this insistence justified, though at times criticised." Commentators here unanimously point out that Asia must remain a great question mark in the future of Australia and New Zealand. The Sydney "Sun" today comments: "What happens in Asia, the crowded house of half the human race, is, as. this war . has shown us, suddenly and enormously capable of altering our customs and way of life. The United States has awakened to the vital nature of foreign policy in the Pacific, and is already planning her future defence. We must do the same. We cannot live apart from the gales that shake the world. In the past, owing to the protection of the British Navy and the unquestioned status of the white man in acquiescent Asia, we were indeed in that happy position. But two world wars have altered the world in economics, psychology, and the balance of power arid rapid communication has completed the transformation."