AUSTRALIA AT WAR

Evening Star, Issue 23817, 22 February 1941, Page 11

AUSTRALIA AT WAR

IMMENSE CONTRIBUTION TO EMPIRE EFFORT HOT COUNTING THE COST " better broke than conquered "• (British Official Wireless.) Press Association—By Telegraph—Copyright RUGBY, February 21. (Received February 22, at 10.5 a.m.) 1 Australia’s immense contribution to the Empire war effort receives additional emphasis from the visit of Mr Menzies to London, arriving at a moment when the southern seas may become a new theatre of Axis aggression. It is confidently believed that the consultations in which he will be engaged in London will be of great value. Mr Menzies reached London via Palestine and Egypt, where he had been able to visit the A.1.F., Loth in the training camps and in forward positions in the Western Desert and to discuss the military situation in all its aspects in conversations with Generals Waved, Creagh, O’Connor, Admiral Cunningham, and Air-marshal Longmore. Mr Menzies confessed to a Press conference this morning that he had not yet fully recovered from exhaustion, but there were no signs of fatigue in his vigorous and stimulating speech, in. which he described Australia’s enthusiasm for war tasks, “ The fine efforts of the Australian forces already made will be trifles compared with what we hope to achieve before this job is finished,” he said. “ When Australians fight they do so because they are the great-grandsons of the men who were your greatgrandfathers. The people of Britain must not be tempted to feel .that they are alone in the fight. They are not alone. A very large proportion of the world, including my own country, is with them, not out of some feeling of benevolence, but because we are an integral portion of the British community.” Striking evidence of what Australia was doing in providing .men and material in the various arms and the stupendous cost, at which this was being accomplished was given by Mr Menzies. “ The Commonwealth income tax has been trebled, but Australians are not counting the cost,” he said. “If we come out of this shooting match broke, well we would be better broke than conquered.” “ What seemed an ambitious scheme for establishing a pre-war pilot strength of 400 for the Royal Australian Air Force has been left far behind. Under the Empire training scheme now operating Australia will produce by the same stage next year 26,000 pilots, gunners, and observers. There are some problems associated with the scheme, but no problems in recruiting the type of men needed.” Australia’s tota.l expenditure on munitions before the war, he said, was between £3,Q(X),000 and £4,000,000 out of a total defence appropriation of £14,000,000. The Munitions Department, which had called in the help of outstanding men in each department of industry, was now working on a total defence programme of £120,000,000, which it hoped- to encompass within two years. This year’s total Australian Budget for defence was £186,000,000. As to its sea effort, Australia was now building naval ships from the Tribal class of destroyer downwards, and the present programme consisted of no fewer than 51 ships which they anticipated would be completed in four months. As regards land forces, Mr Menzies drew attention to a problem which Australia had not been called upon to face in the last war, when Japan was an ally, whereas now she was in line with, the Axis.

Australia was pursuing no policy of aggression in contributing to th* defence of Singapore, but was following a prudent policy of preparing to defend herself in an ocean in which there'were elements of danger. Australia hoped, as she believed, that peace in the Pacific would be kept, but it must not be thought that, remote as she was, Australia was unwilling or incapable of defending herself. Mr Meuzies said that in Libya ha found it difficult to reconcile the expenditure of so much Italian time and money with so great a reluctance oa their part to defend it. Their 12 divisions were simply rolled back before aa astonishingly small striking force. PARLIAMENTARY VACANCIES INQUIRIES INTO PRESUMED DEATHS (British Official Wireless.) RUGBY, February 21. (Received February 22, at 9.45 a.m.)' In order to determine whether a parliamentary vacancy exists in the case of a member presumed to have beea killed on active service a panel of advisers will be set up representing various sections of opinion in the House of Commons. Announcing the procedure in th« Commons, the Speaker said that, after the notifying of presumed death from enemy action, he, at his own discretion, would consult two members of the panel, and, if necessary, inquire into ttie evidence after the presumed death. He announced that a period of a week would be allowed members to seek further information, after which it would be permissible to move a writ of a jnesiupod death.