Indonesia Directly Concerns Australia, N.Z.

Northern Advocate, 13 January 1948, Page 2

Indonesia Directly Concerns Australia , N.Z.

“INDONESIA is vitally important strategically to Australia a -id New Zealand, and any change in policy in the state would directly affect us, especially as the capital, Batavia, is nearer to Perth than is Sydney.” The editor-in-chief of Associated Newspapers Ltd, Sydney (Mr T. J. Gurr) said this-when he arrived in New Z'ealand from Australia yesterday.

Mr Gurr is a New Zealander who went to the Commonwealth at an early age. He visited Indonesia as a guest o£ the Dutch Government with a Press delegation, and has recently paid the troublous state another visit. He predicts that the Dutch will shortly move in and occupy that portion of Java now held bv the Repuolican forces. In what they called “police action’' last August. Dutch forces won back two-thirds of Java without meeting; any opposition. In five more days the Dutch forces would have captured Jokjarta. the seat of the rebel Government, and the war would have been over, but the United Nations Security Council issued “cease fire” orders/ and Ihe two forces have been sitting on either side of the “Van Mook Line” looking at each other.

cation at Scots College, Melbourne, the Sydney Church of England Grammar School and Sydney University. He took up work as a journalist in London at 21 and has since followed his craft in 24 different countries.

During the Second World War he was a war correspondent in Europe and New Guinea for the Australian Department of Information.

EXPECTS DUTCH TO ACT “It made one sad to see roadblocks and sandbags again.” continued Mr Gurr. “The Second World War is not over—in fact, it is going on right at our front door —but I think that in the next few weeks the Dutch will take over Dr Soekarno’s fantastic republic.” There would be an outcry from UNO. the Australian Government, and. in particular, the watersiders, who have refused to load Dutch ships since the outbreak of war in Java. “The Australian Government does nothing to prevent this dictation oy the watersiders. in spite of the fact that Holland lost most of her fleet m the Java Sea battle, and her air force at Singapore, in defence of Australia." Mr Gurr said. "Thus the ‘gallant’ watersiders are permitted to dictate the foreign policy of Australia. COMMUNIST DICTATION "We have lost £10.000.000 in trade with the Dutch, their ships are lying idle in our ports, and the Americans are grabbing our trade. The Dutch have long memories and it may take a generation to recover the lost trade. “The one thing that is making the Labour Government less popular daily is the way it permits a minority of Communists, holding key positions, to dictate the foreign policy of the country.”

Born in Dunedin. Mr Gurr attended the Devonport School before going to Australia, where he completed his edu-