PM Transcripts

,7 a-
6 December 1980
An Electorate Talk to Radio 3HA Hamilton, by the
Minister for Foreign Affairs, the Hon. A. A. Street
The Australian Government is closely following developments
in and around Poland. we are aware of the very widespread
international concern about the trend of events in that
country and about the possible reaction to them by the
Soviet Union. As I told the Parliament on Tuesday, this
concern has led to clear warnings being given to the Soviet-
Union. Since my remarks to the Parliament, the Heads of
Government of the European Community,, the President of the
United States and the President-elect, Mr. Reagan, have all
given very clear warnings to the Soviet Union that it should
not intervene. If the Soviet Union did intervene with force
we and our Western partners have no doubt that very serious
consequences would-arise for East/ West relations, for
US/ Soviet relations, and for the wide range of interdependent
cooperation that exists, particularly in Europe.
Given ' the Soviet Union's record of behaviour in such matters,
most recently of course in relation to Afghanistan, it is not
surprising that there should be widespread apprehension about
the situation in Poland. I cannot say whether or not Soviet
intervention in Poland is imminent or indeed inevitable. All
I -can do, as I did in-the Parliament, is express-in the
strongest possible terms my hope that it does not. At the
same time, however, we would be unwise to ignore that
ominous possibility.
We in Australia do not accept that the Soviet'-Union has an
automatic right to intervene in any country whether or not.
-it considers that country to be in its sphere of influence.
This point has been brought home to, the. SovietGovernment,
Against thi Is background, I asked the Secretary of the Department
of Foreign Affairs to bring to the attention of the Soviet
Ambassador and through him to the authorities in Moscow.
Australia's concern about the current situation. We did thiLs so
that the Soviet authorities would be in no doubt about what
might be at stake for the international community and. for Australia,
Australia would not be immune from the consequences which would
flow from a Soviet intervention. No country would be. The
Soviet Amibassador was informed of our views on 3 December.
As for Poland itself, we firmaly believe that it is for
the people of Poland to solve the current difficulties
themselves. In the present circumstances I can appreciate
and sympathise with the understandable concerns of the
large community of Polish born people in Australia.
* We are hopeful that'Poland will be able to overcome its present
difficulties in keeping with its great tradition of
independence. Australia has sound relations with Poland.
We value those relations and we look forward to developing
them. It is for these reasons that Australia has made its
position abundantly clear to the Soviet Union in the same
way that many ' of our Western partners have. We shall continue
to watch developments in Poland very closely.