MR. NASH'S MISSION

New Zealand Herald, Volume 78, Issue 24101, 21 October 1941, Page 6

MR. NASH'S MISSION

Mr. Nash's visit to Australia has occurred at an opportune moment, enabling New Zealand to make official contact, with Sir Robert Brooke - Popham, Commander - in - Chief of the Imperial Forces in the Far East, before his return to Singapore. Unfortunately for the Dominion, Sir Robert has had to abandon the visit he had planned in order to have talks with the Government and heads of the defence services. No doubt the heightened tension in the bar Last has dictated this omission, while making it the more regrettable. Luckily Mr. Nash has a firm and comprehensive grasp of NewZealand's affairs, and his meeting with Sir Robert should prove valuable in providing an opportunity for a mutual exchange of infox*mation on defence requirements and the means available for meeting

them. After all, New Zealand is responsible for the right of the line stretching from Singapore through the East Indies to Fiji. At the same time, Mr. Nash will be meeting the new leaders of the Australian Government, fresh from their consultations with Sir Robert. The liaison with the Commonwealth defence authorities has been strengthened since the outbreak of war, but it can still be made firmer and more concrete. Surely all the units of the British Empire east of Suez should by now be seized of the vital need to weld their defensive resources — men, munitions, materials —into one unbreakable whole. It may be hoped that Mr. Nash is going to Australia prepared to assure Sir Robert and the Commonwealth leaders that*this Dominion will do all within her power to contribute to the Imperial amalgam in the Pacific and Indian Oceans.