Greymouth Evening Star. TUESDAY, MARCH 18, 1947. A New Chapter Opens

Greymouth Evening Star, 18 March 1947, Page 6

Greymouth Evening Star. TUESDAY, MARCH 18, 1947. A New Chapter Opens

A new chapter in the history of Australia and New Zealand, the two most important members of the British Commonwealth in the Far Eastern area, is now opening. The establishment of self-govern-ment in India and Burma will, as Dr. Evatt, the Australian Minister of External Affairs, pointed out recently, throw additional responsibilities upon them. Isolation is no longer possible. Upon the statesmanship of the leaders of the two countries and the steadfastness of the people now devolves in large measure the Imperial burden in the Pacific borne before the war by Britain.

Not only was the proportionate contribution of Australia and New Zealand to the defgat of Japan very high, but their interest in the post-war settlement is second to none. It is important that this aspect of the present international situation should be clearly understood by the people of both these Dominions. And yet there is definite evidence that it is not. At home there are domestic squabbles, with militant and reckless union leaders pressing for every possible advantage they can possibly gain, regardless of the consequences. At the same time, in spite of an intensive advertising campaign designed to appeal to the youth of the country, over 1000 recruits are needed to complete the relief contingent for the J. Force with, it would seem, little indication that they will be found by the present methods. The prevailing spirit is to take what can be gained today—no matter how gained and to give no thought to tomorrow. What the average man in New Zealand has not yet realised is that he is being led by the nose by extremists whose only concern is the propagation of the seeds of disruption. Matters of national welfare have no place in their creed.

New Zealand’s obligations in the Pacific have increased many fold. It is not a matter of choice. The international situation has so changed as to enforce their acceptance. What has to be more generally realised is the imperative need for the acceptance of those responsibilities. If they are neglected now, a heavy price will undoubtedly have to be paid by the rising generation. How can the Japanese be expected to take military occupation seriously when they learn, as they are bound to, that their victors are finding difficulty in obtaining men for the task? The influence on the future that such a realisation would have requires no stressing. It is futile for the Government to speak frequently of New Zealand’s obligations to the British Commonwealth and to seek to make its voice heard, in the councils of the United Nations unless it has the backing of the people. If obligations are accepted, they must be met. Proud words if they are to carry any weight must be backed by practical action. A people that concentrates on seeking an easy way of life and pays little heed to vital matters of future welfare—and is allowed so to do by invertebrate leaders —is heading for national disaster.

Danger Money IF irony be the “simulated adoption of another’s point of view for the purposes of ridicule,” then Mr. K. W. Stewart, of the Dunedin R.S.A., is a master of irony in comparing the dangers of the workers on the AVanganella with the dangers that our soldiers endured. There is little likelihood, of course, that returned servicemen as a body will interpret literally the phrasing of the remit on clanger money, which, at Mr. Stewart’s suggestion, the Dunedin R.S.A. executive has approved for submission to the annual Dominion conference. That is undoubtedly, not what the mover had in mind. Returned servicemen will readily agree that the sacrifices they made and the haz-

ards they faced, although the compensation can never be made adequate, are not to be measured in terms of money at award rates. They fought for principles, and it is no doubt true to say that the first thing for which they ask is that those principles should be honoured in peace. They have returned to a country upset by industrial disturbances and demands. They have seen, obstacles to their successful rehabilitation in homes and jobs created through the machinations of union agitators. They have watched the rise to power of small but militant organisations who obtain what they want by direct action and threat of such action, regardless of the welfare of the community as a whole. It is no wonder in these circumstances that returned servieenfen should pass remits of the nature of that adopted by the Dunedin R.S.A. Although their superficial logic is not intended to be taken seriously, these remits are a plain indication of growing impatience with the practice of industrial blackmail which is upsetting the economy of the country alnd inflicting unnecessary hardship on the Community generally.