VISIT TO LONDON

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25457, 11 February 1944, Page 3

VISIT TO LONDON

MR NASH’S MISSION DOMINION’S WAR EFFORT LONDON, Feb. 9. “I have come to London to give a New Zealand picture of the war effort in relation to the war efforts, first, of the United Nations as a whole; and, secondly, of the British Commonwealth,” said the New Zealand Minister at Washington, Mr Walter Nash, at a press conference. “In the past few months,” he added, “I have gained first-hand knowledge of the war efforts of New Zealand, Australia, and the United States, and I now want ,an up-to-date view of the present position of Britain and the United Nations. “We New Zealanders want to be sure that our war effort is directed into the most useful channels. We have soldiers in the Mediterranean and the Pacific, and sailors and airmen in all theatres of war. We are committed to supply foodstuffs. We want to make sure that our national effort is distributed to achieve the best results.” Mr Nash said that he was also investigating the financial position, because New Zealand, in the next few years, had a number of loans maturing. Commenting on the Pacific war, Mr Nash said that distances made it “ a terrific job.” He paid tribute to the Australian and American soldiers, airmen, and sailors for the wonderful jobs they had done in New Guinea and in the Islands. “I stayed at Tarawa overnight a few days after the Americans took the island,” he said. “ I can assure you that they did a remarkably fine job.” Mr Nash expressed satisfaction with the Australia-New Zealand agreement. He said that Australia owed a great debt to the Prime Minister (Mr J. Curtin), and he added that in January he had found Australia’s determination and war effort to be greater than ever.