WHERE AUSTRALIA STANDS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 86, Issue 116, 20 May 1942, Page 5

WHERE AUSTRALIA STANDS

MR. CURTIN EXPLAINS APPEAL TO ROOSEVELT UNITY WITH BRITAIN (By Telegraph—l’iess Association—Copyright) Sydney, May 18. “I have never been able to understand the misconception about the message whkh I sent President Roosevelt early in January asking for United States aid for the defence of Australia,” declared the Prime Minister (Mr. J. Curtin) in the course of a speech here. “Let it be clearly understood that the relationship between Australia and the United States, Australia and Canada, and Australia and New Zealand are all governed by one supreme purpose—the retention of Australia as an integral part of the British Commonwealth of Nations. “If it was right and proper for Mr. Winston Churchill to make two visits to sec President Roosevelt, as 1 have no doubt it was, I I cau only wonder why it was wrong for someone else to send a message to Mr. Roosevelt.” Mr. Curtin pointed out that, as leader of a democratic country, it was his duty to let the people know what was in his heart and mind, what he thought the nation was capable of doing with its resources. If he thought those resources inadequate to preserve the security of the country, he should AUSTRALIA STRONGER ~ London, May 18. In Australia the Prime Minister, Mr. J. Curtin, to-day gave a reminder that Australians may have to meet the shock of war on their own soil. “But,” he said, “I don’t fear the result. We are stronger than we were. The aid we asked for has come and is still coming.” not be afraid to face criticism and to say where the things most needed by the country could best be obtained. Geographical considerations made it inevitable that Australians might hold different views on war matters from those in other parts of the Empire moulded in the institutions and traditions of England. Vital to Whole Structure. “Strategically, Australia is vital to the whole structure of the Empire in this war,” he said. “We are in the soulH, the Motherland in the north, and the two together are complementary, otherwise the whole story oi colonisation is unreal and without an objective. “I make no apology for the statement which I made to the United States to regard this Pacific zone as oi vital importance not only to us but to the security of the United States. The help we asked for has come to us, and more is coming. “I know tnat with the ultimate mobilisation of the resources of the Allied nations, we will be much stronger than the enemy. The Allies must stick together—there must be no sacrificing of one for the alleged common good. Australia stands irrevocably with the Allies.” VOLUNTEER CORPS AUSTRALIAN GROWTH Canberra, May 18. The strength of the Volunteer Defence Corps has more than doubled in the last four months, said the Army Minister, Mr. F. M. Forde. The corps has also been substantially strengthened by the appointment of a number of full-time officers, including some with militia force experience, and by the return to all the States ol other officers who have been trained in guerrilla warfare in Victoria. In the event of any attempt at invasion of Australia, the Volunteer Defence Corps would be placed under operational and divisional army commanders, Mr. Forde said. Although preference was being given to the A.I.F. and the A.M.F., for equipment and uniforms everything possible was being done to speed up the supplies for the Volunteer Defence Corps, especially the units serving in vulnerable areas.