PRIME MINISTER'S VISIT TO U. S. AND U. K.
on arrival at San Francisco Airport. 28th June, 1966-.
MR. HOLT: 1 el1, gentlemen, perhaps you will indicate to me first
what you have in mind as an operation you want to hear
something 0
Q. Anything you would like to say first?
AMR. HOLT: WVell I don't have any major policy statement. If you like,
I could say why I am here and what I intend to do and matters of
that sort. I am, of course, a fairly frequent visitor to the
United States. This is my seventeenth consecutive yearc of
government on the liberal side and so over those years I have been
a very frequent visitor to you. As Minister for Finance, for
example, I have been coming to Washington most Septembersfor the
meetings of the International Bank and Monetary Fund. But this is
the first visit I make as the Head of the Australian Government,
having succeeded Sir Robert IMenzies in that position in January
of this year. It's been a very crowded year including a visit to
South Viet Nam and other South East Asian countries and I think
that aspect provides some interest in the talks that I'll be
having with the President and with the Prime Minister of the United
Kingdom. I think I'm the only non-Asian Head of Government to have
visited South Viet Nam since the hostilities began and I have soine
impressions and I'm sure I'll be very in-1erested to hear what their
views are on events there also. You will probably be aware that
I've been meeting several of the leading figures from the area
in recent days because yesterday morning I formally opened the
Conference in Canberra and in the weekend leading up
to that Opening, I've been talking to the Foreign Ministers as
they've arrived The Prime Minister of New Zealand, Mr. Holyoake,
the Secretary of State, Dean Rusk, and Mrii. Michael Stewart, the
foreign Secretary of the United Kingdom, and of course others from
the Asian or South . hast Asian area who are represented at the
S. E. A. T. O. Conference. We feel that SEATO got away to a very good
start. This has been a good year from the point of view of SEATO.
I think there have been some very hopeful developments emerging
through the year and I Shall be discussing those and in particular
the view as we see it from down under. But this will be done in
mofe detail in the speeches I shall be making to the National Press
Club in V'I'ashington on Thursday and to a meeting of the Arderican-
Australian Association and in other places where I shall be
speaking. Principally, I've come on this particular journey which
won't last much more than a fortnight, in order to have dire. Ct
contact with the President and with the Prime Minister of the United
Kingdom. They've both been kind enough to invite me to have these
talks with them and indeed from the time I took office each of them
invited me to maintain with them the intimate consultation which
they had been in the practice of co iducting with Sir Robert Menzies
while he was Prime Minister, and these communications ha ve proceeded.
between us.
MR. HOLT: ( Cont'd)
But of course there is no effective substitute for the personal
contacts which can come between man and man and I gather that
your President in particular is a National Leader who likes,
to be able to size up the people wzith whom he is dealing. W ell
in the words of that charming song from " The King A nd P"
'" Getting to Know You, Uetting to Know All About You':' This
is what I hope we shall be doing together. I shall only have a
couple of days in W ashington but arrangements have been made for
me to see Mr. McNamara, Mir. George Ball, Mr. Averell Harriman.
I'll be meeting old friends again in 1Mr. Connor and DMr. Fowler.
I used to see both of those in my earlier capacity as Finance
Minister and then I shall move on to New York where I have some
engagements as well some talks with M1r. David Rockefeller,
thc. talk to the American-Australian Association, Mayor Lindsay
is giving a dinner for me I understand in New York, and so it
will be quite a crowded programme before I go on th~ en to London.
And much the same order of compression, concentration will obtain
in London. I shall be passing back across the west coast homeward
bound to Australia in about a fortnight's time.
We have, of course, very many things in common. My own
talks on this occasion while Australia doesn't lack general
interest in what is going on around the rest of the world, my
own talks on this occasion will be concentrated on the area east
of Suez and in particular South East Asia and notably of course
Viet Nam, Indonesia, and the most recent developments in relation
to that. But I came looking hopefully to the period ahead. I
think that evu: nts are going much more hopefully for us in Viet Nam.
I think that over recent years there have been remarkable advances
in the other countries of South East Asia which have been able to
progress and bui~ d their defences under the shield of SEATO and
under the general protection which the United States in particular
has maintained in that area of the -xorld. Indeed I think,
gentlemen, you~ would be doing a service to your own country as well
as to those who read about these things elsewhere if the positive
side of what we are actually achieving in that area of the world
couild be more prominently displayed. There are grim episodes, of
course, and these are reported regularly, but the more positive
constrUCtiva. achievements, less spectacular perhaps and spread
over a much longer period of time, don't seem to get the same
attention. But out of it all is building a stronger and more
secure, more stable area capabl6 of resisting aggression and
capable also of going on with the more positive and constructive
economic, social and pollt* , changes necessary in ordei: to
produce the better world! in sia that is the aspiration of all
the countries in the SEATO Organisation.
Perhaps having said that you might like to put a question
or two to me.
Q. I'll start the ball rolling, Mr. Prime Minister. With
further weakening of Britain's position with the dragging out
of the shipping strike, is she not likely sooner rather than
later to have to reduce her commitments east of Suez. Will you
discuss this and the possibility of new U. S. bases?
MR. HOLT: .,-; hile I'm not able to say with any authority what the
economic effects to Britain will be from this shipping strike
and of course it depends of the length of the strike to some
degree, but the British people are a resilient and strong people#
Icion't regard the shipping strike as a fact which would
materially affect future British policy. I think what is likely
to affect British policy is much more importantly in the minds
of the British Government and its lawmakers on the question of
armed forces east of Suez. Mr. Wilson has been quite specific
on this. As to the future of British forces following some
abatement of confrontation requirements is a mattei, which is
less certain in our minds and this is a matter on whi. cihe may
be able to illuminate my own awareness rather more usefully than
is the situation at the moment.
Q. Mr. Prime Minister, you mentioned you were going to give
the down under views on Viet Nam to President Johnson. Could
you be a little more specific?
MV HOLT: I don't think I should be conducting my conversation with
President Johnson in Public before I've met him. I don't think
he'd appreciate that. It might be more appropriate if I were
to have sol-ae discussion on that afterwards and I will be seeing
the Press Club the following day so to the extent that I feel
I can talk I shall. But I would like to be able to bring to
him, this hopeful picture and brighter picture of the area as seen
by those of us who live in it. And I would certainly be
wishing to convey to him the appreciation of the Australian
people for the greater security that we have felt, the ability
to get on with our own job of developing a vast continent
approximately the size of the United States of Amaerica
well if you leave Alaska out of it, but if you do that then the
territorial dimension of the United States is roughly comparable
with that of Australia. But you've got somiething over 29) 0
million people I think, haven't you almost or you're
getting along that way, and we have less than 12 so that we have
great problems of development and at the sane time we are
trying to make an increasing contribution to defence in the area.
Will Australia contribute more troops to Viet Nan?
R. HOLT: There is no present intention nor on the statements which
Dean Rusk has made since he arrived in Australia is it implied
that that would be necessary. It was known at the time when ' we
increased our last contribution, ( we trebled the military force
there to a task force) and this over a period in which we were
trying to use regular troops at home for the training of
National Servicemen and others, this with our commitments in
Borneo, with a need to give some protection to Papua and New
Guinea and matters of that sort, and with another restless,
turbulent neighbour to our north, this was the contribution
which they felt or at least we suggested this contribution,
and it was welcomed it was not suggested that it was in any
way inadequate.
Q. vgill your Government make any changes in the policy toward
Viet Nan as compared to that of Mr. Menzies?
24.
HOLT: No, we aLre resolutely behind the support for the United
States and the people of South Viet Na~ m and this policy of course
developed in the period that Sir Robert Mllnzies was Prime Minister.
One of the interesting points about our situation there is that
we have a coalition government and in two houses of Parliamevmt and
in the two parties we have a unanimous support for the Governilent is
policy in Viet Nam and in relation to the programme of National
Service by which we are supplementing our regular forces. Now I
think that's a better batting average than can be claimed even
in this country.
Q. Mr. Prime Minister, there has been some pressure to let
foreign banks operate in Australia. Could this meet the need
for investment capital? Is this likely to come about any time
soon?
MR. HOLT: ,~ ell I don't kn~ ow that it would meet the need because the
need is very great and I don't think the banks themselves would be
looking to channel money of the dimension that will be required
for Australian development. It has been put to me fr~ m various
countries that we should enable them to establish a branch of their
bank in Australia. We have a problem there because we feel it is
necessary for the Government and our RP serve Bank to maintain a
general control over credit and we don't have that same control
when the ownership is the hands of foreign bankers. Their
nlational interest or their company interest doesn't always proceed
along the same lines as our own but we have in several instan~ ces
permitted themn to esta~ lish a sort of representative office and
some have done this the Bank of Tokyo has done it, I think the
first\ National City, the Chase Manhattan, but it's not a simple
problem. ' We certainly need the development capital and there are
other financial institutions on which this limitation does not
apply insurance offices and that kind of thing, investment
groups, this is open to the American investor quite freely and
indeed a good deal of investment is still flowing in to Australia
from the United States.
Q. Is thei-e any kind of a peace movement in Australia?
MR. HOLT: Oh, yes, we have the same sort of people that hold up banners
and that kind of thing, but I would say that over recent months
there has baen , I thinkfa more general realisation of the need
for the policies we are ' pursuing in Viet Namn. The greater
sensitivity in Australia developed not so much on the issue of
Viet Nam. I think our people are more sensitive and conscious
to the Viet Nam issue even than the people in the United States
because after all we are very much closer to it, indeed it's
nearer from Darwin to Saigon than it is from, say, Brisbane to
Perth, two capital cities inside our own continent. So this is
something which we see as quite close to us and indeed sin~ ce it
constitutes an element in the total communist threat in that area
of the world then we are even more sensitive I believe than the
American people to its dangers. But where we did have quite*
a stir in Australia for some time was on the question of National
Service for overseas military service. This has not happened in
Australian history before other than in respect of a very limited
area during the second world war and for a time there was qu~ ite
a strong emotional rextion to this, but it has abated considerably
in recent times largely as a result of the reaction of the
young men in the army themselves the young national servicemen
who didn't particularly want to be called up in the first instance
but having gone in with the regular units and having proceeded to
South Viet Nam, have conveyed back a recognition of the importance
of what they're doing and the need to be there.
Q. Have you got dissent in the universities or not?
MR. HOLT: . iell, in the universities you will get debate about it but
you will get opposing groups in the debate. It is by no means
an issue in which there is a majority view hostile to the policy
in the universities. I would say that as of the moment there has
been if not an acceptance, a willingness to accept the undertakirg
which the Government has given that this will be regarded as one
of the vital issues at the forthcoming election. The Opposition
has made it clear that it is opposed to this policy and I think
most members of the public are now prepared to wait and see the
issue fought out at that time.
Mr. Holt: Weli, I think that's just about enough from mie for the
time being
Q. How would a military withdrawal from Viet Nam affect
Australia?
11R. HOLT: I think it would not only affect Australia very seriously,
it would certainly affect every non-communist country in South
East Asia. I mean let's face the matter quite realistically
so,: e people talk about the Domino Theory in reverse, that we
have been building up the strength of countries which earlier
had been comparatively weak both in their defences and in their
economics, and if that process can be sustained then those
countries in turn will be making their own increasing contribution.
You have a hopeful illustration of that in the meeting in Seoul
the so-called ASPAC Meeting just a week cr so ago. This is a
hopeful sign. The Asian Di-velopment Bank is a hopeful sign of
co-operation in the area. So we have got a long way to go but
don't let's take too gloomy an overall picture of what is going
on because in a lot of places we feel that much has been aohieved.
of
Q. What do you think would be the effect/ a negotiated peace
in that area?
MR. HOLT: ' Well, it would depend on the outcome of the negotiations.
If it merely applied a plaster for the time being and the wound
was to open again shortly afterwards, then our last state would
be-' worse than our first. But we support the efforts which the
United States is making for a negotiated peace, quite genuinely
and quite earnestly.
Thank you, gentlemcn
Thank you,. llr. Prime Minister.