PM No 10/1964
My colleague, the Minister for the Navy, is making a statement about the sinking of the " VOYAGER" and the great loss of life which has occurred.
It is a shocking disaster unparalleled in the eace-time history of Australia. The Government and the Naval Board extend their very deep sympathy to the bereaved families who have sustained so sudden and tragic a loss.
I want to announce at once that there will be a prompt and thorough investigation into this tragedy. I have decided that the normal machinery for Naval investigations is inadeauate for the present purposes. There will therefore be a full public investigation conducted by a judge. I cannot, of course, yet say who the judge will be. I will also discuss with my colleagues whether hc should be assisted by Naval experts acting as assessors. But the main thing I want to make clear at this early stage is that the investigation is to be prompt, thorough, public and conducted by a judge.
CANBERRA,
11th February, 1964.