DOMINIONS MUST TAKE PACIFIC LEAD

Gisborne Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 22665, 16 June 1948, Page 5

DOMINIONS MUST TAKE PACIFIC LEAD

(P.A.) AUCKLAND, June 15. “Inevitably New Zealand and Australia must take the lead for the British Commonwealth in the Pacific,” said the Minister of Finance, Mr. W. Nash, on his arrival from Sydney by air today accompanied by the Minister of Industries and Commerce, Mr. A. H. Nordmcyer. In Canberra they conferred with Mr. J. B. Chifley and Dr. H. V. Evatt. While the returning Ministers were cordial and co-operative they were reticent and vague in their answers to reporters. “New Zealand and Australia must take more responsibility in all matters,” Mr, Nash continued. “That does not mean that Britain gets out. It means that Australia. New Zealand and Britain jointly must uphold the British tradition in the Pacific. How this is to be done has yet to be discussed.” Mr. Nash agreed that it would cover the co-ordination of defence and greater contributions by the Dominions to the Navy. Mr. Nash admitted that the dollar question was discussed. Under the Marshall Plan New Zealand and Australia had to make quarterly requisitions for the list of items which, in the main, went to Europe. “We won’t get supplies if we don’t put in requisitions,” he said. The expansion of trade was also discussed. Australia was interested in New Zealand soft woods for 'paper pulp and ultimately a newsprint trade expansion was aimed at, lowering New Zealand’s deficit with Australia—about £10,000,000 last year. “Everything humanly possible to provide New Zealand with steel is being done by the Australians,” Mr. Nordmeyer said: “There never have been more harmonious relationships between the two Dominions.” AUST. FINANCE TO AID DOMINION’S IMPORT DEMANDS SYDNEY, June 15. “Any help which the Commonwealth Government can reasonably provide to assist New Zealand out of her trade difficulties would be sound politics as well as sound business,” comments the Sydney Morning- Herald.

“The Anzac Pact was designed to establish collaboration between the two countries and it should be on economic just as much as on a military or political basis. “This does not mean that there should be any further acts of charity at the expense of the Australian taxpayer like the notorious contract whereby the Commonwealth sells wheat to New Zealand at 5s 9d a bushel.

“But there is no reason why the Commonwealth should not sell the Dominion additional sterling in the same way as Britain sells us additional dollars.

“In spite of a prosperous export trade New Zealand finds her sterling balances insufficient to finance her import programme. There is a heavy back-log of orders for which import licenses have been issued and very extensive needs of capital equipment in addition. “Australia, on the other hand, has an almost embarrassing abundance of sterling funds. It would be in the common interest to make some of these available to New Zealand in exchange for her own currency or goods,” adds the paper.

U.S. IMPORTS NOT TO BE RELICENSED (P.A.) WELLINGTON, June 16. A denial that he had told the Australian Prime Minister, Mr. J. B. Chifley, that it was proposed in New Zealand to relicense all proposed imports from dollar sources, as reported in a cable message from Sydney published yesterday, was given last night by the Minister of Finance and Customs, Mr. W. Nash. He said there was no proposal whatever to relicense imports, nor was there any discussion on the question in Australia.