BROAD. CAS. T NO._ 3
BROADCAST BY THE PRIME MINISTER ( THE RT. HON. R. G. MENZIES)
ON NATIONAL STATIONS AT 7.15 P. M.
24TH NOVIE4BER9 1961
FOREIGN AFFAIRS
I will not take up your time by rehearsing what we have
done in the field of foreign policy. In my Policy Speech I made
references to the treaties to which we had become parties, such
as ANZUS and SEATO, which mean so much to our own security and to
the defence of South East Asia against Communist aggression.
On this occasion I will briefly say something about
four current world preLlems Disarmament, Berlin and Germany,
Laos and South Vitnam, and Indonesia and West New Guinea.
1. DISARMAMENT Earlier this year, the Commonwealth Prime Ministers, in
London, unanimously made a doclaration in favour of disarmament,
beginning with a suspension of nuclear tests. As you know the
Soviet Union ignored this, and quite suddenly resumed such tests
on a singularly great scale.
In srite of this callous and threatening action, which
cannot be ignored by the Wfestern Nuclear Powers, we believe that
negotiations should be resumed as soon as possible indeed
urgently, and that an agreement for suspension, under proper
control and supervision, should once more be sought.
Meanwhile, the Western Powers must be free to look to
their own defences. The proposal, made in some quarters, that nuclear
weapons should be abolished without a general disarmament agreement
is quite unrealistic. If accepted, it would be suicidal,
for the free world's great deterrent against Communist aggression
would disappear.
2. BE'RLIN AND GERMANY
This is one of the great issues in the Cold War which
the Communists have maintained so long.
Khrushchev says he wants peace. His followers in
Australia and their dupes or fellow-travellers, say they want
peace. o do you and I. But if Khrushchev wants peace over
Berlin, his course is quite easy.
He can recognise the position of Berlin as it was
established, between the Allies, at the end of the War, with the
Allies entitled to be present with troops, with free access9 and
with freedom. He can, through his satellite government of East
Germany, permit such access.
He can permit the free movement of freedom loving
people out of East Germany, as the Declaration of Human Rights,
to which the Soviet Union subscribes, requires.
He can join in promoting a free election by all the
German people to decide whether they want to be united or not.
He will do none of these thinas. He prefers threat and crisis,
because in such an atmosphere he thinks that Communism will
make headway. The West wants peace. It makes no threats. But it
will not surrender to bullying. We agree with the West.
3. LASAD__ THY; % AZ
Win common with our partners q 1 SAO tn
Laos which is independent, self-governing on a
neutral, and not a sateLite of either side.
Why should such an obviously just solution take so long
to achieve? L-1. hy do the talks at Geneva go on indecisively?
Again, the answer is that the Communists while pretending to want
peace, are essentially concerned to acquire authority and control
over nations now outside their dominion.
South Vietnam, headed by a gallant fighter against
Communism, is a test case in the great cause of resistance. 4ie
believe that if Communism won in South Vietnam, South East Asia
could be lost to freedomz, and the isolation of Australia would be
ominous. That s why we h-ill stand up to our obligations under
ANZUS and SEATO.
4. INDOICZ-AIA AND WjEST Mij' GUINEA
The issues here need to be once more, explicity stated.
Indonesia is a near neighbour-, with her own political and economic
problems. , Ie want to be on The best of terms with her. We
profoundly sympL. thise with her desire for economic and social
, growth, for an assured independence, for resistance to Communist
control. We receive her students, and in turn do what we can to
assist her own development. There is no enmity between our
people, nor should there be.
The one matter of difference between us concerns West
New Guinea, over which the Netherlands exercises sovereignty.
,4e recognise that sovereignty, just as we expect other people to
recognise our sovereignty in Papua.
But we do not seek to perpetuate any form of colonialism.
We have for years made it clear that we regard ourselves as holding
East New Guinea in trust, aiding the development of its people ( at
no small cost) until the day comes when those people having been
equ4. pped for competent decision, decide their own future for
themselves. This is the principle of self-determination, We
have welcomed the promotion of precisely that policy by the Dutch
government in relation to 4est New Guinea. In the United Nations,
the Netherlands have made quite clear their willingness -to transfer
to the people of West New Guinea full sovereignty just so soon as
they are ready to assume it.
, That is wrong with this? 1o are told that the government
of , Iadonesia dislikes this attitude of ours, though it is one which
we have voluntarily imposed upon ourselves in relation to our own
section of the island.
All I can say is that Australia is a democracy, ard
therefore deeply attached to the principle of self-. government.
So far from being " colonial exploiters", as the phrase goes, we
put into Papua and New Guinea, in hard cash and hard work and
devoted service by many hundreds of Australians, far more than we
ever hope to get out of it. Our one great ambition is that, when
the day comes for these territories to determine their own des-tiny,
th'jir people will look on us as friends who have been faithful and
just to them. If this is how we feel and act, why should we deny the
same policies to the Netherlands?
So far, Indonesia has not accepted the principle of
self-determination for the people of West ' New Guinea. It says
that the area is; or should be, part of Indonesia, and that it
has no more righLt to delf.. determination than, say, Sumatra or the
Celebes. We would like to see the issue of sovereignty taken to
the International Court, by whose judgment all could abide.
3.
We are not partisans in this matter, for we are not parties
principal. But, while legal sovereignty resides in the
Netherlands and is not legally challenged in the appropriate
tribunal, we must adhere to our support of the principle of selfdetermination.
We deprecate talk of war over such a matter. We want
peace and friendship. There is no occasion for hostility.
Living as we do so close to the great island of New Guinea, we
regard the interests of its people and their peaceful progress
as the paramount consideration. We hope that all concerned will
see it in this light.