EMPIRE AFFAIRS

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LV, Issue 17439, 10 April 1931, Page 11

EMPIRE AFFAIRS

NEW ZEALAND’S DANGER 1 POLITICIANS’ WEAKNESS Some outspoken criticism of the attitude of the New Zealander to matters abroad, was made by Mi*. W. 11. Cocker, during an address to the Masterton Optimists’ Club, reports the Dominion. Mr. Cocker declared that New Zealand had played an unimportant—almost a negligible part in tlie development of the British Empire. Ho also ventured the opinion that tho politicians in this country had shown weakness in that too much dependence had been placed on the- views expressed in Britain on matters concerning Empire and foreign affairs. We hacl no views ourselves, ho said, but were simply content to dot the i s and cross the t’s made by Great Britain.

New Zealand, lie thought, had got into a back water. It seemed to him that we were content to leave Great Britain to control all Empire and foreign affairs. Factors contributing to this were New Zealand’s distance from Great Britain, and the need for naval protection. Our aloofness to outside affairs, in Mr. Cocker’s opinion, had also been contributed to by too much attention to the material development of the country. The achievements had been good, "hut a preoccupation with material things had tended to close our minds to tilings of more importance. New Zealand’s chief danger, said Air. Corker, was a feeling of complacency. The, outlook and point, of view were homogeneous, and there, was too little tolerance of people who thought- differently' from ourselves. Mr. Cooker also asserted that we refuse tn recognise other than the accepted point of view. In concluding he expressed the view that New Zealand could still play an important part in world affairs if a greater interest were taken in altnirs elsewhere.