TRESS, RADIO AND TELEVISION CONEIRENCE GIVEN BY
THE PRIME MINISTER, MR. LHAROLD HOLT AT TOWNSVILLE
( A: BERLEY AIR FORCE BASE)
® i 23rd October, 1966
HR. H OLT This has clearly been a most successful visit anC: far
exceeded my own bright expectations of it when I knew it was to
come about. The Australian people have responded magnificently
and, of course, both for the President and Mrs. Johnson this has
been a great personal triumph. I am sure. mQet Australians feel
that they have a much more realistic r~ pSrj ltR~ se wonderful
people now they have come close to them in the course of this
visit. I want to speak now, not so much of the personal side of it
but of the significance and implications for this country, for the
United States itself, for other friendly countries, and indeed for
the world as a whole, because what has happened as a result of
this visit to New Zealand and Australia and I have no doubt that
as the President proceeds through the rest of his extensive and
arduous itinerary we shall have accentuated what I am about to
suggest. That is that there will have been a concentratior, in these
various parts of the world on this area, on the problems we are
trying to cope with, on the meaning of the Viet Nam conflict itself.
That can't fr. il to be useful, I believe, in making for a deeper
understanding ef our objectives and how we are going about them.
It will also encourage attention to the Manila Conference itself.
Never in the history of this country that I can recall has there
been such concentrated attention through the public media on
an official visit, and with more than 90 per cent. of the Australian
people able to take advantage of televised programmes, they have
been able to keep close to the events. You people in all sections
of the public communications media have done a wonderful job.
You have conveyed faithfully to the Australian people, and to that
wider audience beyond Australia just what has been happening in
realistic, exciting, intere-tin terms that has made its great
contribution to the success of the visit. But we will have,
as I say, this concentration on the area and its problems.
Inside Australia itself, I am sure this will be of value as
bringing wider support for the undertakings of the Government
and our actions in relation to these obligations. It will make
more clearly known American purpose and that of our allies in
relation to these problems. And I speak not only of Viet Nam
in the sense of resolving a military conflict there,
but in iManila we shall be thinking, after we have reviewed the
current military situation, of the positive and constructive
opportunities that will be open to us to better the lot of the
South Vietnamese even while hostilities proceed; butes we
talk together, I am sure we will be thinking also of what can
be done in relation to the area as a whole how these age-old
enemies of mankind, not the human enemies but the enemies of
which the President spoke so eloqently poverty, disease and
short life expectancy and illiteracy, the lack of the amenities
of life that have meant so much to us. These are things
which I know he wants to be dealing with in a practical and
helpful way. And if the conference succeeds in developing
along these lines, then I believe it will have made a: notable
contribution to human advancement which could, in its
consequences, become a quite historic landmark in the history
of mankind. It is encouraging to know that the Australian view
of how the conference should run, its agenda, the objectives we
should be seeking, are so closely in line with those of the
President and his advisers. I am sure that this is true also
of New Zealand. I have just welcomed the Prime iinister of
New Zealand who, with his official party, will be joining me
on the aircraft we have charturedto take the Australian party to
Manila. We have hopes, but not, I think over-optimistic hopes. / 2
-2-
HOLT ( Contd.)
We realise how difficult it is in a few short days to produce
practical results, but I am sure this will be . a valuable
forward step. We can't fail to develop a more siglificant
and deeper understanding of each other's viewpoints and-recommendations,
and to this extent, there will be an advance made
in our common objectives.
I hope when I come back in a few days and report,
perhaps through many of you here today to the Australian people,
that I shall have news for you and be able to indicate that real
progress has been made. Thank you.
1R. EGGLETON Gentlemen, just one or two questions perhaps.....
Q. Do you think that the visit of the President has given
you encouragement for the Manila talks, Mr. Prime Minister?
1IR. HOLT It certainly has. I think Australia was a tonic and
an encouragement to him. As you know, I have been travelling
with him, at his own request to these functions and to the various
cities he has visited and we have been able to have much good
talk together. And he has reacted in a most positive way
and in a most obvious way so far as I have been concerned
anyhow to the warmth of the welcome he has received. It has
been a remarkable welcome, capped by this visit to Townsville
which holds so much sentimental meaning for him. I knew all
along that this would be on his itinerary not because he had
said so, but from what I knew of the man, I felt he could not
come to Australia and not pay a visit to a city which had meant
so much to him. This w; as apparent right through this morning's
proceedings. Of course, the warmth, the friendliness, the
enthusiasm which he has felt as he has gone around, on his
admission to me has. far exceeded anything he has known in the
United States. And for a political leader, even a great
political leader, it is comforting to know that you are popular
and that what you are doing is so widely supported. It has
been a success not only from our point of view: but a success
in many ways fro..: his own point of view.
Q. Mr. Holt, you have selected the similarities between
your view and that of the United States. Are there, at this
stage, any points of difference between you?
MR. HOLT Not that I am avware of. We shall perhaps discover,
as we hold our discussions together, that there are differences
of emphasis. One of us might want to spend more time on one
aspect of the agenda than the other, but I didn't detect any
differences which were significant enough to be noted in our
talks together. In fact,-I could say quite frankly that there
were no differences ' I could bring to mind anC mention to you here.
Q. Are you more confident now about your prospects for the
general elections than you werc say, last Thursday morning?
i. R. i-OLT Well the short answer is I don't think it has
done us any harm, but I was confident of victory long before
President Johnson came to this country,
Q. Do you think it has changed the views of the Australian
people on Viet iTam?
IR HOLT: I wouldn't claim that, but I do think it has brought a
better understanding for many of those who may have been in some
doubt about the rightness of our objectives. This morning, the
President himself made pointed reference to the fact that in
a democracy, the views even of a minority must be treated with
respect and assured of public mention. And this has been done
in Australia. No-one could deny that. Ours is a robust, forthright
democracy and the people have had an opportunity to consider
MR. HOLT ( Contd.) both sets of views. But what does, I think,
come into the situation is the fact that this State of
Queensland has always struck me as being more conscious of the
threats which can come to Australia than I1aye the more southern
parts of Australia. You are closer, in your experience, to the
threat of invasion. You have knovwn of the activity which
developed in Townsville itself during the last world war, and
there is the fact that the Coral Sea Battle was fought so close
to the people of this northern area. He was impressed by that
I '-know the warmth and enthusiasm and biendliness without
so far as I could detect in Townsville one sour face being
encountered, or one critical banner being displayed.
MR. EGGLETON: I am sorry, gentlemen. Our aircraft is waiting
so that will have to be all. A