COUNCIL OF EMPIRE

Waikato Times, Volume 132, Issue 22137, 8 September 1943, Page 5

COUNCIL OF EMPIRE

MR CURTIN’S PROPOSALS CANBERRA, Sept. 7 A proposal for the formation after the war of a permanent Empire council to enable Britain and the Dominions to collaborate on postwar policy was outlined by the Prime Minister, Mr J. Curtin. He suggested that to ensure continuous contact with the Dominions, such a body should have a moveable venue, meeting by arrangement in Ottawa, Canberra, Pretoria and Wellington, as well as in London. Points in the plan suggested by Mr Curtin are:— Firstly, the proposed Empire council to have a structure similar to the present Pacific War Council, on which representatives of the Dominions may consult regularly with representatives of the British Government. Secondly, a permanent secretariat should be established by the council, comprising men as expert in the problems of peace as well as those who, expert in war, are now advising the councils of the Empire and the United Nations. “The place Australia will occupy in the Pacific after the war can never be the same as it was up to 1939,” said Mr Curtin. “She must have available the advantage of a concerted Empire policy if she is to be a power to stand for democracy in the South Pacific. Similarly the power cf Britain as a force for peace in the future will be strengthened in the world if a firm voice against potential aggressors comes from the Empire, not merely from London. “Economic war in the post-war years will be fierce and marked by many complex angles. Australia cannot allow her economic position to be not known or misunderstood. With the Pacific studded by bases occupied by half-a-dczen nations shut out behind tariff walls, Australia’s voice in these matters must be heard equally as it is heard now in matters of war.”