NEW AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE MOVE

Southland Times, Issue 23736, 7 February 1939, Page 7

NEW AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE MOVE

NATIONAL REGISTER PROBABLE MOTOR TORPEDO-BOATS ORDERED (United Press Assn. —Telegraph Copyright) (Received February 6, 8.40 p.m.) SYDNEY, February 6 The Hobart correspondent of The Sydney Morning Herald says that the Federal Cabinet, at a series of meetings beginning at Hobart today, will probably approve a proposal to establish a national defence register, on either a voluntary or a compulsory basis. The Minister of Defence (Mr G. A. Street) announced that the Federal Government had ordered six motor torpedo-boats and would order six more as soon as tests of a new type had been carried out in Britain. The hulls would be built at the Cockatoo dockyard and the engines would be imported from Britain. The first would be launched before the end of the year. A militia unit, probably consisting of 200 infantry, is to be raised in Darwin to' co-operate with the permanent mechanized force which will be stationed at Darwin shortly. WORK OF DEFENCE COORDINATION “DOMINIONS MUST BE STRONG” (Received February 6, 7.55 p.m.) LONDON, February 6. The Minister for the Co-ordination of Defence (Admiral of the Fleet Lord Chatfield) in an interview emphasized his desire to make all the defence services strong and inter-reliant, not only in Britain but throughout the Empire. “The Dominions must be strong enough to defend themselves,” added Lord Chatfield. “There is no doubt of their willingness to co-operate. The great handicap is finance.” REGISTER OPENED AT SINGAPORE (Received February 6, 10.40 p.m.) SINGAPORE, February 6. A defence register for British Europeans under which in every emergency a person does the job most suited to him was opened today. British Asiatics and Europeans have been already enrolled in air-raid precautions schemes.