FOR PRESS FINAL STATEMENT BY THE PRIME MINISTER,
THE RT. HON. SIR ROBERT MENZIES, ON
THE SENATE ELECTION
If Mr. Caiwell were Prime Minister, would he be
prepared to accept the professional advice of his Chiefs of
' taff? He has made it clear during the past few weeks that
he considers it most improper to reject such advice as he
so w-rongly alleged that I did. Jdhat then would he do, having
sought and received the same advice as dia my Government?
Where would he be on a measure of compulsion in providing the
numbers needed by the Army?
This simple question remains unanswered though the
very decision it demands has become the most debated and
discussed issue of the Senate election for which voting, on
Saturday, is compulsory.
SIt is one of three related issues which have proved
to be of outstanding importance, concerning foreign policy and
defence and the position of the Senate in relation to both.
You know that the Labour Party normally does not
believe in the Senate. It wants it abolished. Now, however,
it asks you to give Labour control of the Senate for the express
purpose of crippling the Government ( which you elected so
recently) controlling its legislation and interfering with its
administration, All this is at a time when any reasonable person
must admit that we have real dangers to our north and that we
need strength and certainty in our own plans and in our relations
with those great nations who are our allies, and in some
eventualities, our partners in defence,
We believe that the essential requirement of a
defence policy is that we keep the prospective enemy as far
away from our own soil as possible. So, we have done two things.
We have made treaties, ANZUS and SEATO and we have pleged our.
support to our sister Commonwealth country Malaysia in her
defence against armed attacks. Broadly we have planned for
defence in depth, with highly mobile ana modern forces of all
arms capable of effective use, preferably outside Australia, to
keep any enemy away.
It is a defence conception fully shared by our
allies, but completely rejected by the Left-Wing of the Labour
Party at Canberra which, make no mistake will be considerably
strengthened in numbers and authority within the Labour Party,
should Labour gain control of the Senate.
Our proposal for the rapid increase in the strength
of the Australian Regular Army from 22,750 to 37,500 has among
other things, been recommended by our highest military a dvisors and
has been accepted by us. e . o/ 2
-2-
Again, on the specific advice of the chiefs of Staff
Committee we have decided on a limited selective call-up of
4+, 200 next year and 6,900 in each of the two following years.
Voluntary recruiting will, of course, go on and will be
encouraged in every way. Alone, it simply cannot produce the
numbers we need in the time we need them.
Of the 100,000 or so men who turn twenty each year,
some will be deferred for a variety of reasons and the
relatively small number required will be chosen by a process
of ballot, Mr. Calwell describes this as a sort of lottery. But
how does he think they should be chosen? By selection, or by
political influonce?
All military W ovision must have relation to our
military obligations and duties. Today, and completely apart
fr-om limited local defence, AustralI. ia has obligations under
SEATO and has troops on the Thailand frontier and in South
Vietnam. We have forces of all services in and around New
Guinea. All of these current obligations make it necessary
that we should have adequate numbers and first-class equipment
and training and means of trransportation.
And, since our opponents control the time-table, as do
all aggressors, we have no time to lose,
That is why we stand where we do.
CAN BERR{ A,
1+ th December, 1964+.