AIR MAIL WRANGLES

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXV, Issue 23067, 18 June 1938, Page 14

AIR MAIL WRANGLES

Australian Ministers have always been engrossed in safeguarding Australia's interests in connection with the Empire air mail scheme, usually at the expense of Britain or New Zealand. Their attitude over the Singapore-Brisbane section and later the Tasman route justifies this contention. The latest pronouncement of Mr. H. V. Thorby is that Australia's air mails will have first call on space in the flying-boats when, the new service is inaugurated on July 2, and presumably if New Zealand is lucky enough on some occasions space may be found for her quota of mails. Mr. Thorby casually waves aside New Zealand's right of place in the faster service by stating it will have to make its own arrangements with the company after Australia's, interests have been satisfied, thus implying he has no knowledge of what New Zealand's opinion was during the prolonged discussions. Such a one-sided, un-co-operative attitude is no surprise to the -New Zealand public, nor apparently to Mr. Savage and to Mr. Jones, who frankly doubt the accuracy of Mr. Thorby's hasty comments. It is time the New Zealand Government took a firmer stand against these petty irritations from across the Tasman. The opportunity for greater discrimination is soon to occur. If Australia insists on squeezing out New Zealand from participating in the Empire scheme, then let New Zealand make its own arrangements for the carriage of its first-class air mail. On July 3 the new K.L.M. Batavia-Sydney air service commences, and by this means mail can be sent to England, via Amsterdam, to arrive there ahead of the time taken by the British route. New Zealand's first desire is to be included in the Empire scheme, but it would be quite out of the question to chance having mail matter left behind on the aerodrome at Sydney. Under the circumstances, there would be no alternative but to seek aid by the competitive rout 6.