PM Transcripts

FOR MEDIA -THURSDAY, FEBRUARlY 118 .1982
" HELP POLAND LIVE" APPEAL
The Government has decided to give tangible support to the
generosity of the Australian community by making donations
to the national " Help Poland Live" Appeal during the current
financial year tax deductible. This supplements the Government's
decision late last year to make a cash grant of one million
dollars to the appeal.
The appeal is organised by the Australian National Committee for
Relief to Poland, chaired by Mr Frank Galbally, CBE, and with
a membership representing different political persuasions,
religious commitments and walks of life. It is a national
appeal and I am honoured to be its patron.
The appeal organisers advise that the appeal is attracting
generous public support from the people of Australia.
Through our Embassy in Warsaw, and with the assistance of the
Polish Catholic Church authorities, the Government has sought
to monitor the flow of Australian aid and to ensure that such aid
is reaching the people who need it most. The Government is well
satisfied with the assurances it has received in that regard from
the Polish Catholic Church authorities, who are responsible
for distributing the aid raised by this campaign.
Australian private humanitarian aid, of which the " Help
Poland Live" Appeal is a particularly important vehicle, is
making an important contribution to the overall international
relief effort.
This internat~ ional relief effort aimed at alleviating the
hardships of the Polish people is an important element in the
overall Western position on the Polish crisis which was
precipitated by the Polish authorities' declaration of martial.
law last December. The Australian Government is maintaining
strong measuces complementary to the measures of the United States
and other Western allies, aimed at helping to bring about an end
to martial law, the release of politicial detainees, and a
resumption oE the process of political dialogue in Poland,
based on consensus and restraint.