EMBARJOED UNTIL 7.15 P. M. 21ST NOVEMBER, 1966.
NATIONAL BROADCAST NO.
BY THE PRIME MINISTER, MR. HAROLD HOLT
In the course of this campaign 11r. Calwell has
said our system of selective compulsory National Service
is immoral, unjust and undemocratic. He was saying the
same thing nearly half a century ago.
TPhen the whole world was in arms in . Jorld ' ar I
Mr. Calwell opposed conscription.
V7: hen his own leader, Mr. Curtin, decided in " lorld
War II to bring in conscription for service outside Australia
Mr. Calwell then a Member of the Labor Party in the House
of Representatives opposed Labor's Prime Mihister
stubbornly and bitterly. Presumably in Mr. Calwell's view
Mr. Curtin's policy was immoral, unjust and undemocratic.
But Australia and the Labor Party rejected Mr.
Calwell's view in 1942.
Australia will reject his view today.
hat are the facts?
First there is nothing unusual about National
Service. All but a handful oœ the more significant
countries of the world have some system of National Service.
Our form of National Service is selective. Only a
small proportion of our young men reaching the age of twenty
is required to serve.
We introduced National Service when it became clear
that under our voluntary system we could maintain an army
of only about 24,000 men.
Our military advisers and the Cabinet's own assessment
told us that we needed an army of at least 40,000 to
meet treaty commitments and our security needs.
Y2e want an army of 40,000 because planning with our
allies is so ordered That a quick response can be provided
for various security situations that could arise.
We require forces that can be instantly available,
among other things, to prevent a conflict growing to
dangerous proportions.
3efore we introduced the present system of National
Service we examined alternatives. ' We found them all
impractical or unrealistic from a military viewpoint.
For example, under a system recommended by some
of calling for volunteers from national servicemen for
overseas duty, our service planners would never know how
many volunteers might come ? orward. Units trained
together would have to be broken up and re-formed. Our
response to an emergency would be weakened and delayed.
-2-
The suggestion that we should call for volunteers
from the Citizen Military Forces is based on a misunderstanding
of the purpose and the role of the C. M. F. This
is two-f old: to provide back-up forces in a situation of
defence emergency and to provide for expansion in the army
in the event of general , var.
Young men reaching the age of twenty have the
alternative of serving with the C. M. F. if hey wish to
avoid havi ng their names go forward for the National
Service ballot.
Integration of the National Servicemen into the
regular army units has gone very well indeed. There is a
healthy respect and comradeship between the National
Servicemen and the regular soldiers. They have pride in
their units. They know the importance of their tasks.
They know that they are well-trained for their tasks.
In Vietnam National Servicemen have been as one with
their regular army colleagues in efficiency, in resolution
and in courage.
Where the security of Australia is involved, the
government must make the decisions to provide the forces
the nation requires. That has been our responsibility.
We have accepted it. We are confident that knowing the
nation's needs you will support us.
( This talk will be broadcast by the A. B. C. National
Network at 7.15 Monday, 21st November, 1966.)