AUSTRALIA'S VOICE

Nelson Evening Mail, Volume 77, 26 January 1942, Page 5

AUSTRALIA'S VOICE

MUST BE HEARD in councils of WAR PillMl*: MINISTER'S STATEMENT Forth. Jan. 24. 'l'he Prime Minister, Mr Curtin, in revealing Australia’s demands in the cable' which has i been sent to London, stated: Australia’s position in the higher | strategic direction of the war is clear and decisive. Our air, naval and military forces have been engaged with the' enemy in distant theatres and have comported themselves with great j gallantry and distinction. What (they have done and are doing is evidence that Australia’s lighting calibre, tested on many a j field, should be available also in tlie highest councils for the stra- ! tegic disposition of the total forces to which Australia has | been so considerable a contribui tor. ‘ “The Pacific struggle obviously calls i for proper machinery for the 1110 - Uasition of the forces resisting the j enemy. I know that the dangers facing us have increased, as the deJ n ands upon us have become greater, and that the obligations devolving upon j cur people are now immeasurably greater. ! ”1 also know that, because of these needs, it has now become imperative i that the 9.000.000 Britishers in the ! Pacific should have a direct say in the ! direction of the total resistance which j the democracies must invoke.” NOT A SIDESHOW URGENT NEED FOR ASSISTANCE M e lbourne, Jan. 24. ; Emphatic cables emphasising the j urgent need for assistance were sent (t< President Roosevelt and Mr f Churchill at the conclusion of an emergency meeting of Australia’s War , Cabinet late last night. Statements to which the utmost significance can be attached were issued by the Minister of External Affairs, Dr. Evatt, and the Minister o! Supply. Mr Beasley, emphasising the need for Pacific reinforcements. Dr. Evatt said that Malaya was not t sideshow, but a primary and vital ; struggle between the democracies and i all three Axis Powers, and the de- j mand for the maximum Allied defence j in Malaya and the East Indies was i based on a broad and realistic view of j the war. GRAVITY OF EVENTS Mr Beasley said the fight in the , Pacific was a fight for the continuance j of the British Empire, and that the j people of Britain must look the Empire squarely in the face. The British Government was deluding itself if it failed to see that the Battle of the Pacific was the Battle of the Atlantic, too. It is stated on the highest authority | that the gravity of events in the Paci- \ fic and the urgency of the need for re- ! inforcements of all types could not be j ever-emphasised. Mr Forde said that the next enemy i stroke might well be an attempt on j the mainland of Australia itself. “I j am certain that the enemy will make j an attack.” he said. “Perhaps not at once, but make it he will. We are ready. : We will never surrender. We cannot delude ourselves about the future. We will have to fight as Australians ; have never fought before for our very 1 existence.” Mr Forde, in a national broadcast, j made a plea for Allied reinforcement j of Malaya. FIRM DETERMI.N'ATION In a general statement on the position. Mr Forde said that though Aus- , tralia was facing a more serious threat i to-day than ever in history there must ! bo no form of panic or defeatism, but j cnly firm determination to fight the ; enemy and throw him. "We might j suffer temporary reverses.” he said, j “but undoubtedly, with the assistance of our allies, we will clear the seas and land of the Japanese menace and win through to victory. “Australia must face the cold, hard fact that the enemy is hammering at our gates and endeavouring to 1 gain a foothold with the avowed intention of invading our land. “General Tojo. the Japanese Prime Minister, said this week that we should receive no mercy if \vc resisted. Resist we will, and fight back to the utmost of our capacity. “We are not intimidated by Japanese threats, or intimidated by the , successes which the Japanese have j gained so far. People can play their part steadfastly carrying on their j tasks and calmly carrying out what- | ever instructions are issued by the I Government.” REQUEST SPURNED Mr Curtin, interviewed at Kalgoorlie. said that Australia will in no cir- j cumstances surrender to Japan. The j only Australian who would co-operate with Japan would be a dead Australian. He spurned General Tojo’s request 1 to Australia to co-operate with Japan j and so avoid (Instruction. “There can bo no thought of co-operation with aggression,” he said—U.P.A.