VISIT TO US, CAN ADA UK SYDNEY, N S. V,;
THE PRIME MINISTER, MR. HAROLD HOLT ON HIS RETURN 22nd JUNE, 1967
PRIME MINISTER: I don't propose to make a lengthy comment this morning
because there will be opportunities in the next few days to deal with
particular matters and for the same reason, I don't propose to discuss
domestic issues which have developed while I have been away. Again, I
shall, no doubt, comment -on some of these as we go along. But I would
like to give a general comment about what has been a most concentrat-ed
journey overseas. I don't think any Australian Prime Minister could have
been treated with more regard, more concern given to his views and I have
had the most remarkable reception, wherever I have gone, from each Head
of Government I have spoken to. I think it is a mark of Australia's growing
international stature and the place we occupy in this area of the world
a significant place that we should have so much consideration given to our
views as was shown to me by the Heads of all the Governments I visited on
this occasion. It is not easy for me at this point of time to give you a
great deal of detail about the results of the journey. I have no doubt myself
that it has been a very valuable and fruitful journey, but some of the most
important matters I had to discuss are still the subject of consideration by
the Governments concerned In respect of British dispositions East of Suez,
for example, as you will know, there are to be talks with Prime Minister
Lee Kuan Yew and Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman and we can't
expect any definite United Kingdom statement until those have been completed
and Cabinet has been able to consider in the United Kingdom all the views
which have been put to us by representatives of the Commonwealth countries
concerned, and indeed by the United States which has a very lively interest
in this matter also. But it is my anticipation that they will be indicating
their general attitude on these matters before the end of next month.
I do feel, however, that the views we were able to put
which I left behind in rather more precise form by way of a letter to Prime
Minister V~' lson have been received with every consideration and I am
confident myself although only a later formal decision will confirm this
that the United Kingdom will maintain a continuing role in that area of the
world. just what form this will take remains to be determined by them, but
I feel confident that they do not intend to turn their backs on an area of the
world which to us and I believe in the long term to them will have such
great significance. In my talks in the United States with the President on a
number of trade and financial matters, we made, I believe, very good
progress, although here again the outcome has yet to be resolved in final
terms. I am bringing some proposals b ack to the Cabinet for consideration,
and there will be consideration given by various Departments of the United
States to the views we have put on a number of matters. This can be stated
quite emphatically: That in the President himself Australia has a staunch
friend who brings a sympathetic outlook to the problems that we place before / 2
him. I am sure that it would be his wish that the Administration does what
it can within its political and administrative limits to assist Australia in
the problems we have raised with him.
Some of the results of a journey such as this will later be
expressed in tangible form. Perhaps some of the no less important
consequences are of an intangible kind and I refer in particular to the very
warm and friendly discussions I had in Canada with Frime Minister Lester
Pearson. I believe we laid together, both privately and in our public
statements, a foundation there for a growing Australian/ Canadian co-operation
in relation to international questions generally and in particular to the
growing interest I think we will be finding in Canada in what occurs around
the Pacific basin. That country has, for most of its history, been oriented
to the North Atlantic or to North America, but British Columbia, fcr
example, is very conscious of the opportunities which are developing across
the Pacific and I feel confident that, increasingly, the Canadian Government
as a whole and the Canadian people will find a growing interest and display
an increasing activity in this area of the world.
There were, of course, a multitude of other discussions, and the
programme was, I repeat, a very concentrated one. In the countries
visited, I made, as you may recall, a number of speeches which I think could
be classed as significant speeches, in United States, making Australia's
views known; the World Affairs Council in Los Angeles, the Foreign Affairs
Council, the Far East America Council, the American / Aistralian
Association, the Pilgrims Society, " Meet the Press'%. This is a very widelyviewed
programme in the United States and produced a very good reaction
from all the accounts which reached me. So in these ways, Australia's views
were placed before a wide audience throughout the United States.
In the United Kingdom, we had talks with Senior Cab inet
Ministers concerned with our problems, and again in America, not only
were the trade matters under discussion but Viet Nam, the crisis in the
Middle East, the British troop dispositions East of Suez and a variety of
other matters occupi el our attention. Even the concluding function of
yesterday, in Honolulu the formation there of an A merican/ Australian
Association was not without some % lue for us. It has been launched by
the leading figures in the life of Hawaii, which plays a useful role as a
geographical bridge between Australia and the mainland of the United States, of
which country it now forms, of course, a part. And when I learned that
some 800, CO Americans visit Hawaii each year from the mainland, and we
only get something like 20, 00CC of them down here, there is clearly scope
for co-operation in matters such as tourism and other matters which are
of mutual interest to us in our affairs in the Pacific region.
On both visits there, I had valuable talks there with Admiral
Sharp the Commander-in-Chief of the Pacific Command, and after a very
good briefing on my way through, he was able to refresh me on developments
in military activities as I came through this time.
I am very glad to be back home, even to experience a little cool
weather again after a spate of summer days wherever we have gone, and I
come back confident of Australia's place in the world, and a growing
prosperity which I think is assured from the great interest shown towards
us in so many quarters through which I passed on my way. And it is good
to be back again in the country which still seems to me to be the best
country one can find on earth. / 3
3-
MR. EGGLETON VWill you take a few questions please Prime Mi4nister?
PM: Yes.
Q. Mr. Holt, was there any request by President Johnson for
Australia to increase its commitment in Vietnam?
PM: Well, if I answer that question by " no comment", you read
something into it. If I say there wasn't, you read into that that he was
indifferent as to whether we have more people there or not. I will say
explicitly this matter was not raised with me, but I am not implying from
that an indifference as to whether there should be an increase in Australian
forces. But the President is well aware that we review our situation from
time to time. Usually we study the Defence Vote at Budget time, The
changing position in relation to S1ingapore and Malaysia is, of course, new
element in our calculations. But I don't want to give any impression that we
are under pressure on this matter or that others are indifferent as to what
we do about it.
Q. Indifference on whose part, Sir, yours or President Johnson' s?
PM: VWell, we are not indifferent, of course, to what we do in
relation to Vietnam, but what is recognised is Australia is now providing
close to 5 per cent. of its gross national product for the Defence Vote, that
we have commitments and obligations in various other areas and the
proportion of our people who are there in a fighting capacity ( because we
dont' have the same logistics component' is higher than the mere figures
would suggest.
Q. Mr. Prime Minister, you showed an acute awareness of the
crisis for the world of the Middle East trouble by suggesting that Australia
would take some of the Arab refugees. I would like you to amplify your
statements regarding this and also to tell us of your concern.
Q. W-ell a great deal of emphasis appeared to be given out here
to this particular aspect, but of course Australia's interest in peace in the
Middle East goes far beyond that particular point. One element in the Middle
East problem is the number of refugees Arab refugees which have not
been satisfactorily dealt with for a considerable time, and I am afraid they
become the pawn of Middle East politics. Clearly there has to be a solution
of this problem and what I was indicating was an Australian willingness to
play a part in company with other members of the United Nations if there
would be value in their settlement around the world, or where they did choose
to settle, in some financial assistance to enable them to settle in the place
of their choice. I have been interested to note that in the " Financial Times"
which I read only last night on the plane, Mr. Pearson in Canada has made
almost precisely the same suggestion, talking about Canada taking its share
of those who might wish to settle there, or else providing some financial
assistance to contribute towards a solution of the problem.
Q. hen do you expect to hear from President Johnson on the
wool tariff? Wle have only got until June 30th
PM: Vliell, there have been some proposals on this which I have
to take to my own Cabinet first. Whether or not these will prove acceptable
to us remains to be seen, but we are conscious that there is a time factor. / 4
PM ( Contd)
I think it is not necessarily bound to that date. This is the impression we
gained in our discussion with them. The matter was capable of being dealt
with separately but it would be, I thinkc, to everyone's advantage 4f we could
get some decision on the matter quite speedily.
Q. Do you expect to get anything before June
PM: Well, I can't be precise because I don't know now just how
long it will take our own people to weigh the c wunter -proposal which is
being put to us. It relates to tobacco and this may take a little study
before we can get a firm reply to them on this particular matter.
C: Sir, can you give us any details of Britain's defence plans
East of Suez?
FM: No, I have made it quite clear that final decisions will not be
taken on these matters, certainly until there have been talks with the other
two Prime Ministers, . Mr Lee is in London at this moment. I understand
that Tunku Abdul Rahman will be there next month. But in the House of
Commons, if my recollection is correct, Mr. Grossman, replying to a
question, said they expected to give an answer before the end of July.
Q. just going back to the Middle East crisis, Sir, your statement
. that the Middle East affair was at one stage " huffing and puffing" came
in for some criticism. K'ere you quoted out of context or could this now be
construed as an error of judgment?
PM: Well, where did I make the statement? This is the question
I think is fair to ask.
Q. In the United States a few days before
PM: V/ here, though, will you tell me?
Q. I am afraid you are testing my memory
FM: You are testing my statement. In point of fact no such
statement was ever made by me publicly and certainly not ma-: de in context
but Tony Eggleton in good faith, with his usu al capable care of what i s
said at these background briefings, referring to the situation between the
two major powers who clearly did not want to come to a clash themselves
on this matter, and having heard me comment along those lines at an earlier
point of time, did use this phrase in his press briefing. Now, I am not
critical of Tony for that, but we do rely on the good sense of the pressmen
who are getting the press briefing not to try to make in shorthand terms an
over -complicated situation out of what I think was clearly known to be the
intention of the statement. Once you have the tinder-like situation which had
developed as between the Arabs and the Israelis, then no-one could predict
with certainty what would come out as between those two. But we were
confident in our own minds that neither the United States nor the Russians
wanted this to develop into a Big Fower conflict.
Q. Getting back to the troops in Vietnam, Sir. Reading between
the lines, I suspect you think there might be a need for us to send more troops
to Malaya and Singapore?
PM: Vieli, we are not making decisiorson this matter at this point
of time. The M-ister for Defence is still overseas. We have our Budget
provision for Defence yet to be considered. Australia does what it can
within its capacity from time to time, and I don't want to be pressed on it.
Q. Mr. Frme Minister, the world spotlight is of course on
New York at the moment. You have just come from the United States and
we know you share the concern of President Johnson and also Mr. Iilson
Wie notice today that the British Government has suggested that Israel should
withdraw from Jordanian territory. How do you feel about this and what do
you think the prospects are of a lasting settlement?
PM: Yes, well, I don't propose to make any off-the-cuff
statement on this. My own colleague will have been kept more closely
in touch with the developments and views of other Governments. I will be
talking this over with him, no doubt, quite early when I get to ' Canberra, but
I am not making a detailed statement on Middle East policy at this point of
time.
MR. EGGLETON: Sir, you have an aircraft wIting to take you to % C,: nberra.
Perhaps just one more question if there is anyone with a pressing one you
want to raise
Q. In a lighter vein, Mr. Prime Minister, did you actually lose
your pants while swimming? ( Laughter
PM: W~ ell, you know, the last time I came back, one of the
cartoonists had a statement about the President and myself having a frank
exchange of poems. I suppose this time it could be said we had a frank
exchange of films. ' lie didn't have an exchange of pants, but my luggage not
having arrived, and the day being veay hot and lunch about to be served
around the pool, I mentioned a little wistfully how much I would like a swim.
The President very kindly made these trunks available. I am not implying that
he is a stouter man than I am he's a very much taller man, and what would
sit quite gracefully on his figure was a little ample for mine. Having dived
off the board it is a fact they couldn't stand the impact as well as tb'ey might
have. I don't think any harm was done as I was managing to keep underwater
at the time and I was able to restore the situation without too much
em barrassment. In Honolulu at the dinner after the wind-up of the
A mcrican/ Auntral-an Association function, they presented me with a-pair
about this big ( indicating tiny size). I am hoping they will fit the
grandson. They said if I could ever get into them I would never fall out of
them. ( Laughter"
MR. EGGLETON Thank you, gentlemen.