PM Transcripts

EN1O~ TB RGFOO: R RELEASE BEFORE 7.45 P. M. ON 19/ 12/ 67.
TRIBUTE TO MR. HOLT ON NATIONAL RADIO BY
THE PRIME MINISTER. THE RT. HON. JOHfN Mc~ l," EN. M. P.
Harold Holt and I have been Parliamentary colleagues
and intimate friends for more than 30 years. As two men in
Australian political life we enjoyed a long and understanding
relationship. His presumed untimely death is a tragedy for us
as a nation and for many thousands as individuals.
W He had great personal charm. He was one of the
warmest and most friendly persons one could know. He was a
humble man. The great and important offices he held did not
change this. He certainly was a man of honesty and of great
courage. In some ways I think he was at his best when the
going was difficult, when he sensed a challenge.
As a Minister he was responsible for some notable
measures for child endowment; for continuing the active
immig-ration programme commenced by Mr. Arthur Calwell in the
1940' s for improved relations on the waterfront; for orientating
our policies towards Asia; and for a firm commitment with our
great Ally the United States in the cause of freedom in Viet
N am. All this he achieved without weakening our British ties.
He brought to his administration a breadth of humanity,
a concern for the welfare of the individual. He had a strong
belief in the rights of the citizens to be made aware of the
Government's policies and its purposes. In this he had an
influence on all his colleagues.
We will miss him as a friend and leader. will miss
the wisdom of his counsel.
Now we must face the future with the same resolution,
the same energy and the same imagination which endeared him to
all of us.
Canberra, 19th December, 1967.
EMBARGO: