AUSTRALIA’S NEED

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXIX, Issue 20825, 2 July 1942, Page 3

AUSTRALIA’S NEED

MORE WAR SUPPLIES AMERICAN AND BRITAIN POSITION CLARIFIED (By Telegraph—Press, Aaan. —Copyright.)" (9.30 a.m.) WASHINGTON, July 1. Mr. L. J. Harnett, Commonwealth Director of Ordnance Production, issued a formal disclaimer of the New York Herald-Tribune story in which he -allegedly gave a very optimistic view of the status of Australian war production. He emphasised that nothing he had said could be interpreted as suggesting any lessening of aid from the United States to Australia. “The very opposite is the object of my visit,” he said. “Our needs are urgent more urgent because the dividend that will come in terms of production from the materials we need will be enormous. I have already started discussions ■ with Washington officials regarding practical means of accelerating and increasing aid for the munitions programme. There is no doubt that we require urgently considerable aid from the United States, England and other sources to supply our aircraft, etc., which are beyond our existing capacity to produce. My purpose is to obtain more assistance urgently from the United . States in the way of essential equipment for the munitions programme being carried out in Australia. I have found complete understanding of this objective in Washington and every indication that greater aid will, be forthcoming. We look forward to the day when, with United States aid, our production will reach a phase enabling us to. make some contribution to the general Allied pool from weapons and equipment produced in Australia.” Machine Tools Required Mr. Harnett, responding to questions -at the press conference, declared that machine tools were Australia’s greatest need in munitions production. He said that a small amount would produce a great dividend in results. “Australia needs many things such as aeroplanes and a wide variety of finished goods,” he said. "However, , she is already able to produce her own requirements in some fields, such as optical munitions and the surplus of the latter would be gratefully. contributed to the Allied pool.” He said that one of his duties here would be to make contact with a new Production Board established by Mr. Donald Nelson and Captain O. Lyttelton. He intimated that Australia wished to be represented on the board but he declined to comment directly. Another object of his visit was. to see that Australian production implements and complements the produc- / tion in other centres such as* United States, United Kingdom and 'Canada. Mr. Harnett expects to visit Canada. Correspondent’s Version The New York Herald-Tribune’s correspondent, Mr. Wilfrid Fleishdr, who originally reported ,Mr. Harnetts and Mr. Wasserman’s remarks regarding the status of Australian w&r production which the Australian Associated Press sent to Australia and which subsequently created a wave of protests there, repeats to-night in a despatch from Washington' that Mr. Harnett had told the Herald-Tribune that Australian production was rising rapidly and would soon be able, to supply the American forces with most of the needed implements of war. However, Mr. Fleisher gives a full account of Mr. Harnett’s statement to-day in which Mr. Harnett says that Australia still needs great aid from the United States. Mr., Fleisher writes: “Mr. William Wasserman'told the New York HeraldTribune last Friday that Australia is making immense efforts to be as seliF sufficient as possible, and it will require very little more aid from the United States to put Australia in a position of taking the offensive.” Mr. Fleisher adds, however: “It appeared to-day that Mr. Wasserman intended to convey the idea that very little more aid is needed in certain categories of war materials to put Australia in a position of taking the offensive in certain theatres of war.” , . .