SECOND VISIT TO U. S. 1969
WASHINGTON
TELEVISION INTERVIEWS GIVEN BY THE PRIME
MINISTER, MR JOHN GORTON AT BLAIR HOUSE 8 MAY 1969_
CHANNEL 7 NETWORK ( Interviewer Norman Bennell)
* JC~ Q. PM: Q. PM: Q. PM: Q. PM: Firstly, Prime Minister, I wonder what assurances you had
this morning from your talks about the future of the Fill?
Well, we gathered a whole lot of technical information
and about the intentions of the United States Air Force. I think
this will be of great advantage to our own Defence Department
when we return to Australia.
Did you ever feel before these talks that the Fill might be
in jeopardy from Australia's point of view?
Well, one felt that there might be a problem and we wanted
to go into it pretty carefully to see whether that problem was
likely to develop or not. At the moment I would think it would not,
but we want to study all the information, the technical information,
the facts about intentions, the pexbd of use and all that kind of
thing. Turning to your talks in general, I wonder if you could sum
up the success of them2
I think they were successful. I think that the statement made
by the President himself was of great value to Australia and New
Zealand as a reaffirmation by the new President and the new
Administration of the ANZUS Treaty as it applies to Australia,
New Zealand and the United States. You will remember the
phrase taken from the Treaty itself which he used. It says nobody
should think that Australia, New Zealand or the United States stands
alone. I think that was very helpful and very reassuring. I
believe the talks were successful beyond that point. Though I think
I would prefer to wait to make a report to Parliament before I go
into any further details.
Your own impression of the President this time?
Well, it was the same as last time. I liked him very much.
I felt he was a strong man, a man with a sense of history and
the requirements of history, and I feel he would not be a man to
sacrifice what he thought was historically right for some ephemeral
immediate political popularity. /' 2
y & 7
-2
Is this why you use the term that yrq' would go
Waltzing Matilda with himn?
No. You see I never did say we would go Waltzing
Matilda with him. If you actually look at what I said, I said that
wherever the United States or the United Kingdom or any other
country is seeking to resist aggression, whatever joint effort is
made to try and improve the living standards and the material
well-being and the spiritua I well-being of the peoples of the world,
then we'd go awaltzing, and indeed, this is what we have done
throughout our history with the United Kingdom in two World
Wars, in Malaya, in Korea, now in Vietnam, in the Confrontation
and in trying to assist the general risie in living standards. This,
I think, is a policy which can be very difficult to say was wrong.
Q. Returning to Vietnam, Sir, did you find from these
talks anything hopeful for a settlement of the situation?
PM: I think that I couldn't say that I did find that. But there
is a feeling there may be a possibility in the future some time of
some hope but I don't think it is much stronger than that.
Q. Thank you very much, Sir.
CHANNEL 9 NETWORK ( Interviewer Michael Ramsden)
Mr. Prime Minister, four weeks ago you said of
Mr. Nixon, " I like the guy". How do you feel about him now?
My liking and respect has, if anything, grown very
much. Previously we met for a comparatively short time. On this
occasion, we met for much longer and the talks were far more
wide-ranging, and as they progressed my liking and respect for
President Nixon increased.
Your " Waltzing Matilda" comment at the White House
Dinner. Is this " an all the way with LBJ" type remark?
Perhaps I can best answer that by quoting from the
transcript of the dinner and of what I said.
" And this is that for our part speaking for Australians,
wherever the United States is resisting aggression,
wherever the United States or the United Kingdom or
any other country is seeking to ensure that there will
PM:
I, Q. PM.
Q. PM. 6110 5
& tLJ_ I
3-
be a chance for the free expression of the spirit
i of man, wherever there is a joint attempt to
improve not only the material but the spiritual
standards of life of the peoples of the world we
will go Waltzing Matilda with you."
Now this is in fact what Australia has always done. She has with
the United Kingdom fought in the First World War to resist the
overrunning of Europe. With the United Kingdom and other allies
later in the Second World War she took the same course. In
Indonesia, with confrontation between Indonesia and Malaysia, she
was there. In the Malayan emergency she was there, in Korea she
E was there and in Vietnam she is still there. And I believe that not
only in resisting aggression but also in positive action to try to
improve the general standards of living materially and spiritually
of the peoples of the worlds, Australia should be there. And that is
what I meant when I said, " We will go Waltzing Matilda with you".
Q. Sir, how conscious have you found the Nixon
Administration of the fact that Britain is pulling out of South East
Asia and the gap there has to be filled?
PM. Well, they are very conscious that Britain is pulling
out of South East Asia and I found the Administration generally
extraordinarily appreciative of Australia's decision to assist to the
limit of her capacity and particularly that that decision was made
without asking for anything in return, was made by Australia as its
own decision, without saying that this was conditional on something
else. They were quite strongly appreciative of this.
-4 Q. Mr. Prime Minister, you have now had your talks
with the Defence Department about the F-Ill1. What would you say
the odds are about Australia purchasing this plane now?
PM I'm not a racing man. Does " odds on" mean that it is
very, very likely to happen?
Q. Yes, I think that is what it means.
PM. Subject to a full examination of all the data, I believe
there is in fact not likely to be a prcblem.
Q. If in the event that we were to take action I know
you are approaching the situation very cautiously is Australia
likely to be penalised in any way financially or do we put this
money in a new venture if we have to? e. / 4
-4-
PM. Well, it hasn't got anywhere near that stage yet.
People seem to think we are considering the possibility of cancellation
or something like that. We are not doing anything of t he kind. We
are looking at the new data, getting new information about the
intentions of the United States Air Force, the number of aircraft it
will have, the length of time it will be in service with that Air Force,
the question of spare parts. We are looking at that to see whether
there has emerged a problem since the initial arrangement and that
is all. It is not that we say that there is a problem. But we're
looking to make sure there isn't.
Q. One final question, Sir. You've invited Mr. Nixon to
Australia. When do you think the visit will take place and what sort
of a welcome would you like Australians to give him?
PM. I would like to see Australians give him the warmest
welcome that was possible. I wouldn't say when the visit would take
place because, after all, he is a new President and he has a very
heavy programme. But at the latest I would say 1971 and possibly
before.
Q. Thank you very much, Sir.
AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING COMMISSION ( interviewer Peter Barnett)
0Q. Mr. Prime Minister, at the White House Dinner the
other night you spoke in terms of going Waltzing Matilda with your
friends. What did you mean by that?
PM. Can I quote from the transcript that was made that
night because I think it will make it pretty clear what I meant. I
said: " And for our part speaking for Australians,
AICLZwherever the United States is resisting
aggression, or the United Kingdom or any
other country is seeking to ensure that there
will be a chance for the free expression of
the spirit of man from within himself and not
from dictatorship; wherever there is a joint
attempt to improve not only the material but
the spiritual standards of life of the peoples
of the world, then Sir, we will go Waltzing
Matilda with you.
L39 z
( contd.) Q.
PPM. Q. PM. Q. PM. PM. And what I meant by that was that Australia would continue to do
what she has done throughout her history and that is to join with the
United Kingdom or the United States or the United Nations in attempts
to prevent aggression from being successful either in the First
World War, the fascist aggression of Hitler, confrontation in
Indonesia, the Korean war, ghe Vietnam war, the Malayan
emergency this is what we have done. i. just as we have joined
in joint programmes seeking to improve material standards for
peoples of the world and as we have in our own bilateral programmes,
we'll be there. And that is what I meant.
As you leave Washington after your talks with the new
Administration do you feel reassured that the Nixon Government will
have a continuing interest in our part of the world?
Yes, I believe it will.
And in terms of the President himself. You said last
time you liked the guy. What is your assessment this time, having
got to know him better?
That the likL. ing had increased and the respect had very
greatly increased. Australia is a close friend of the United States,
and is a focus of special interest here.
Have you felt that in this trip?
Yes. I felt that there was a special relationship
between the United States Administration and Australia. The feeling
towards Australia was something rather special.
Do you feel that they may take us for granted?
I don't believe there is any risk of that at all.
Laird.
F-1ll? You've just come from the Pentagon. You met Mr.
Gould you tell us anything about your talks regarding the
They were designed to get full data on the intentions of
the United States Air Force itself as to how long they would have their
F-ills in operation, the logistic backing for the spare parts, as to
performance, matters of that kind, in order to discover whether there
was a chance of a problem arising. Not to discuss a problem which
had arisen but to get further information in order to, as I say, be able
to make sure that no problem is likely to arise.
So at this stage it looks as though we would go ahead
with our decision to
Well, I want to go fully into all the data we've got. But
I would say that at this stage it does look that way.
Thank you, Sir.
I1 PM. Q. PM.