“FEW REGRETS.”

Waipawa Mail, Volume LI, Issue 24, 11 November 1929, Page 4

“FEW REGRETS.”

AUSTRALIA’S MILITARY TRAINING. ABOLISHED BY LABOR. There are few regrets at the decision of the Labor Government in Australia to abolish the compulsory military training- system, according to Colonel J. P. Stevenson, who returned to Auckland by the Maheno. .“It must not be thought that Australia will be defenceless,” said Colonel Stevenson. “The Labor Government intends to concentrate on air and naval defence, especially the former.” Shortly before he left fiydney, Colonel Stevenson was in conversation with a military man who stated that, while a skeleton force would probably be retained, a number of permanent staff men would be thrown out of work. He expressed the opinion that although more would he spent on the Air Force and the Navy, a big saving would be made. “Everyone seems quite satisfied with the fact that Labor is going to manage the affairs of the country for a while,” said Colonel Stevenson. ‘ ‘ Thing's are in a bad way over there, and the people are looking to the Labor Government to straighten out a lot of the trouble. The timber strike is, of course, finished, hut the difficulty is, now that the men are willing to go back, there is hardly anything for most of them to do.”