R.S.A. CONFERENCE

Grey River Argus, 20 June 1945, Page 2

R.S.A. CONFERENCE

MR NASH’S SPEECH

Not Pulling Out of Pacific War WELLINGTON, June 19. ■ The N.Z.R.S.A. conference opened to-day. Hon. W. Nash, ActingyPrime Minister, in his address, said no right-thinking person would subscribe to the suggestion that New Zealand should pull out of the war against Japan and bring back the overseas forces for the sole purpose of producing foodstuffs that the world needed so badly. ■ Such talk was just plain nonsense. It must be remembered that Japan had over ninety million people. Her forces were still fighting fanatically, and sometimes brilliantly. The real picture was that New Zealand was in the F'acific. Japan was also in the Pacific. When New Zealand went on with the wai; after the entry of Japan, agreements were made with Australia in 1942, that if the menace came to these shores Australia would send a force to our aid’ and New Zealand agreed to give what help she could to Australia if the need arose. From that time New Zealand and Australia had been closely linked to help one another as needed.

The suggestion that New Zealand had done enough had caused some reactions in Australia, and some heart-burnings for which there was no real justification. The real people of' the Dominion could not be persuaded to pull out of the war against Japan. There was no easy road, ahead. It was going to be hard' but we could make it better if we wanted to. If she kept her bond, New Zealand must go on with the fight till it was over. • In each Parliamentary session, that had been reaffirmed. SMALL N.Z. FORCE FOR PACIFIC. Discussing the probable extent of New Zealand’s future contribution in the Pacific, Mr Nash said there were at least 20,000 men not yet returned from active service in the Middle East and elsewhere. • They would be returned as soon as ships were available. In addition there were about 7000 released prisoners of war to come back from Europe. The plans the Government had in mind' were to prepare a small land force for the Pacific. Questions -for final decision after consultation with . General Freyberg and the Chiefs of Staff in Britain concerned how many men were to be made available, and where and when they .would be used. He hoped shortly to make a statement on the subject. When the plans came to fruition, New Zealand would have a small land force available. Her air activities would be continued and the naval contribution would continue as at present. Britain had lost more than any other country except Germany aiid' Russia, whose figures were not known. Britain had lost six and a-half men per thousand to New Zealand’s five and a-half. fine Old Country had suffered huge losses from bombing. Measured in terms ot sacrifice and determination, New Zealand stood remarkably high and was unsurpassed in the quality of the men she sent overseas. WAR GRATUITIES < Mr Nash said the Government would be more than pleased to have the advantage of the experience ana knowledge of* the R.S.A. in producing regulations regarding war gratuities. It was not, proposed to pay the amount due to any man in one sum, ’but if circumstances ensured that a man was entitled to it he would receive the full benefits of the amounts due to him. “We will make provision for payment in one sum, provided it is so paid as will prevent any possibility of inflation,” Hon. C. F. Skinner, Minister of Rehabilitation said. We don’t want to have to legislate to see that ex-servicemen get a fair spin. He mentioned instances of unfair competition by large well-es-tablished businesses against ex-ser-vicemen, who had been set up on their own account, and deplored the difficulties frequently encountered in the purchase of land on behalf of exservicemen. The Government would not hesitate to use that portion of the statute which gave it power to buy land for servicemen. MILITARY OBJECTORS

Hon. W. Nash stated that some men have been in detention for three or four years. He was satisfied there were men so detained who had an honest, clean, conscientious objection to war, and he had never yet heard a right-thinking returned soldier who did not respect a conscience of that type. Mr Churchill had said exactly the same thing, that we were fighting to defend, among other things, freedom of conscience. Men had the right to follow their own conscience, and when that conscience was honest and they had been detained in accordance with the law, they should be released on the basis of not making a profit out of their attitude and of doing the work allotted to them. If the Tribunal were satisfied that appellants could justly be classed as conscientious objectors they would be released on parole. That procedure was followed in the United Kingdom. Mr B. J. Jacobs (Dominion President) said there was no need for him to repeat his attitude on the subject. “My first reaction was more than disappointment. It was one of disgust. If the injustice that is now alleged has just recently been discovered, then it is just too bad when we think* of men whose appeals on the grounds of conscientious objection were not allowed.” Some resolution would come from the conference expressing the Association’s feelings. The Wellington R.S.A. Council last night at the annual meeting had adopted a resolution endorsing the N.Z.R.S.A. published statement on military defaulters.