EMPIRE POLICY

Greymouth Evening Star, 25 July 1923, Page 5

EMPIRE POLICY

AS AUSTRALIA SEES IT. MR BRUCE’S PROPOSALS. (Australian and N.Z. Cable Association.) MELBOURNE, July 25. In the House of Representatives, Mr Bruce declared that the two outstanding questions at the Imperial Conference would be foreign policy and defence. The Imperial Government had forwarded the fullest information of foreign affairs, but such information was always received concurrently with the public announcement. It always came when too late to influence the decisions. Urring the need for closer consultation,T\lr Bruce said he believed that some good would result from the appointment of a Minister in Britain for a short period, provided he retained Ministerial status. He also favoured the creation of a small Australian secretariat within the British Foreign Office, to assist in informing public opinion in Australia. Another aspect was whether the separate Dominions were to be entitled to conclude separate treaties on their own account.

Dealing with defence, Mr Bruce said that neither the League of Nations nor the Washington Conference solved the defence problems for Australia. There was room for a conference of Pacific nations to discuss the armament question. Defence was an impossible task for Australia by herself, and only by different parts of the Empire acting together could a proper scheme of Empire defence be secured. He would tell the Conference that Australia was prepared to do her part in such a scheme. The establishment of the Singapore basa was a condition pendent to the establishment of any large fleet there, therefore the proposal must commend itself to the people of Australia. It showed that Britain recognised the heart of the Empire was not now in the North Sea, but had shifted to the Pacific. The proposal was the carrying out of what had for long been an Australian ideal. Mr Bruce next dealt with the importance of the development of airship and wireless services. In all these matters he reiterated that he would not commit Australia to one penny expense, till Parliament had a full opportunity of discussing the decisions of the Conference. Turning to the Economic Conference, Mr Bruce declared that one of. the most important subjects for discussion was overseas settlement, trade development was bound up with land settlement. The question was a problem of finding markets for Empire products. Unless we could find markets for our supplies and products it was useless to go on with migration schemes. There was no reason why we should not enter into intey-Empire. trade arrangements, which, while not shutting the door to other nations, would help Britain and the Empire over a period when the markets of the whole world were unstable. The only way to meet the situation was by reciprocity within the Empire, and he proposed to urge this with all his power. Upon Australia was thrown the obligation of showing the need for preference. If Australia could not find markets in Britain, she must inevitably find them somewhere else. That meant some other nations’ goods would be substituted for those of Britain. That was the last thing the Ministry desired, because it would be most serious to Britain. In regard to preference, he declared that under it. Empire trade within the Empire would increase the purchasing power of the Dominions from Britain. If the basis regarding Empire foreign policy were not reached, it would mean the disintegration of the Empire. The result of that would .be disastrous. He believed that the Ministry was doing its best in the interests of the Commonwealth. They held that Australia should defend herself, and that within the Empire there should be a common policy for the whole Empire. The whole question should be approached from the high Australian standpoint. The debate was adjourned.