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machinery whereby there might be continuous consultation between the two Governments on matters of mutual concern. Collaboration on the lines set out in the Agreement has been secured by the establishment of the Australian - New Zealand Secretariat contemplated by clauses 38-42. The Secretariat, which is charged with the responsibility of ensuring that the provisions of the Agreement are implemented, has been functioning effectively since its establishment in February, 1944, and discussions and interchanges of information are matters of daily occurrence in Canberra and Wellington. Both the Australian and New Zealand Departments of External Affairs established Secretariats which maintain continous personal contact with the liaison officers appointed from the respective High Commissioner's offices. In addition to the regular exchanges of information and views which take place as a matter of normal routine, conferences on the Ministerial level have been arranged on various occasions. For instance, every opportunity is taken, by New Zealand and Australia, of conferring with regard to possible joint action in promoting the welfare and development of their South Pacific Island Territories. Early in 194-6, Mr. Ward, Australian Minister of External Territories, discussed with New Zealand representatives in Wellington not only the South Pacific Health Service, but also the future of the copra trade. There is also a steady interchange of departmental officers and technical experts between the two countries. Frank exchanges of views on all problems of common concern have resulted. The closest collaboration took place between the Australian and New Zealand Departments of External Affairs during the period of negotiations which led up to the establishment of the South Pacific Commission, and equally close contact is maintained in the preparation for the peace settlement with Japan. THE PACIFIC 1. South pacific Health Service For many years New Zealand had been closely associated with Fiji in a joint attack upon the health problems of the United Kingdom and New Zealand Island Territories in the South Pacific, and these co-operative arrangements were extended, in September, 1946, by the formal inauguration of a joint health service in these territories, to be known as the South Pacific Health Service. The establishment of this service ensures that investigation into health conditions in the islands concerned proceeds upon a co-ordinated plan under a central controlling organization which provides comprehensive public health and medical services for the South Pacific territories of the United Kingdom and New Zealand. The Government of Tonga agreed to participate in the scheme in December, 1946, and other territories in the area may also be included in the future if they so desire. 2. The South Seas Conference and the South Pacific Commission The practical advantages of regional co-operation in health matters encouraged the New Zealand Government to believe that the arrangements could be of use on a much wider scale. The increase of the living standards of the peoples of the Pacific Islands, which it is the policy of the New Zealand Government to promote, depends, among other things, upon the introduction of modern techniques based upon local research not only in medicine, but also in agriculture and in fisheries, and upon the improvement of shipping services, marketing arrangements, education, and housing. The small area and population and scattered situation of New Zealand's island territories have always set practical limits to developmental plans. It became increasingly clear that many problems could only be solved adequately and without unnecessary duplication and waste, of manpower and expensive equipment through regional collaboration, through the sharing of specialist services and research facilities, through the co-ordination of transport and marketing arrangements.

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