AUSTRALIAN NAVY.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVII, Issue 20623, 23 July 1930, Page 10

AUSTRALIAN NAVY.

LOCAL CONTROL TO REMAIN.

* GOVERNMENTS ATTITUDE,

[from our own correspondent.] SYDNEY, July 3. There are times when Australians im-

agine that they are very proud of their own navy. They certainly are so when they recall the exploits of the Sydney when it sank the German raider Emden. Rut such glories are few and far between, end for most of tho time the navy is anchored in Sydney harbour, or lied up to the wharves at the Naval Depot.. Except for the two battlo cruisers, the Can-

berra and the Australia, and tho two modern submarines, all the tieefc has been paid off, and it can scarcely be said that the Navy is a real credit to the Commonwealth, even though it may bo big enough for these times of peace. It is when a suggestion i 3 rnado to transfer the control of tho Australian Navy to the Imperial authorities that something like a general outburst is heard, though there are many who believe that ■lhis, would be the best thing that, could happen when economy is so essential. Few 'Australians, however, are prepared to openly such a drastic change in iho, _ naval nolicy. They fear public opinion. And if the public could be consulted they probably would not be able to advance any good reason v.hv (he AusNavy should bo controlled by an p.vpensive Naval Board, with its first, second and third members, its secretary, and all the officials that go with it. It has just been revealed that a proposal that tho chief units should bn brought directly under tho. control of tho •British Admiralty was inado to tho Commonwealth Government by a high Australian naval officer during the recent ffiscussions on economy. But- the Minister for • Defence, Mr. Green, being a politician, and as such fearing public opinion, said "No." Instead lie adopted tho j ifc'ar*] Board's alternative plan to amalgamate tho Duntroon Naval College and tho Flinders Naval Base at Melbourne, to place some inoro ships temporarily out of commission, and to reduce tho personnel establishment by 700 officers, petty officers, and men. Mr. Green said that tfio Commonwealth Government would not bo a party to any proposal for making Australia merely a Dominion station f<>r tho Royal Navy. Knowing (hat neither Cabinet nor tho Labour Party would consider for a minute any surrender of tho principle of naval independence of Australia, and feeling certain that the people of Australia would riot tolerate if, bo had taken the responsibility of rejecting the proposal without even consulting the other members of tho Cabinet.

Somo confusion inny have arisen over a Suggestion that was made that the submarines Oxley and Otway, arid (he mother 'P Platypus, should operate in conjunction with British submarines in adjoining Raters, with headquarters at Singapore, tut it was not proposed to place the submarines m seagoing commission for the , In ac , corda "ce with the naval P j a " 3 the y have been placed in fcrth \ t • ° per £ at - e l wi,h ono crew for fcotWa saving of £30,000.,