INVERCARGILL VIEW ON N.Z. DEFENCES

Greymouth Evening Star, 12 March 1948, Page 7

INVERCARGILL VIEW ON N.Z. DEFENCES

(P.A.) INVERCARGILL, March 11. “Our Executive has not considered the matter yet, but my personal opinion is that the position is not as bad as the Wanganui branch makes out,” said the president of the Invercargill R.S.A., Mr D. F. Leckie, when invited to comment on the Press Association message concerning a resolution passed by the Wanganui branch of the R.S.A, which expressed conmern at the delay and apparent New Zealand, and the resolutions passed asking the Prime Minister and the Goverenment to call an immediate special meeting of Cabinet to formulate a programme for the Navy, Army and Air Force and compulsory physical and military training of the various services. “My opinion in that, at the moment, we have a big trained reserve of men and technicians from the Second World War, who would be an immediate reserve in the event of any sudden emergency, which is not likely to come,” said Mr Leckie. “Possibly the Wanganui people are getting at the training of public opinion,” said Mr Leckie. “In the complacency business and so on, I think they are fairly right, but I think that if there had been anything radically wrong with our defences, we would have heard of it from Field-Marshal Lord Montgomery when he was here. “The general policy of the R.S.A. is behind .defence, but I don’t think there is any cause for worry.”