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FOREIGN AFFAIRS

DOMINIONS' VOICE. AUSTRALIA'S POSITION. (raoir out. owk coreespondbst.) SYDNEY, November 12. In the lightning tour of the Commonwealth upon which the. Prime Minister. .Mr Bruce, embarked last week, and in the course of which he has already ■covered some of the remote parts of Queensland and New South Wales, one of the principal themes of his speeches has been the imperative necessity of obtaining a definite place for the Dominions in the Imperial councils which formulate the Empire's foreign policy. In this respect Mr Bruce reechoes the determined pronouncements of his predecessor, Mr Hughes, but the brief interlude of Labour Government in Britain made the subject a much more difficult, one to approach. The reinstatement of the Cons'/.'vatives will witness a revival of very active discussion upon the matter so far as Australia is concerned, if one may judge from Mr Bruce's recent utterances. Nevertheless it- is a matter upon which there are strong divisions of opinion between Australian Labour and Nationalism". The view emphasised by .Mr Bruce is that Australia was brought into a war in pursuance of a foreign policy in the framing of which she had no part, and that that is a state of affairs that it is not safe or fair to perpetuate. That attitude, of course, presupposes that- in a dispute consequent upon a foreign policy iii which the Dominions have a part, the. Dominions will throw their full ■ weight behind the Mother Country, as they did in the last war. Thus, however loose the arrangement under which the Dominions were consulted might be in, •would inevitaibly carry obligations, c.omething iu the nature of Imperial Federation. Against any measures implying such obligations Labour raises a vigorous resistance. Consequently Labour is very chary of any more definite formulation of Dominion status within the Empire than exists at present. When it comes to opposing defence measures in Australia it is willing enough to place its reliance upon Great Britain, but it carefully avoids any implied or expressed obligations ever •again to fight' off its own soil. Those views, of course, count for little while Labour remains iu the shades of opposition in the Federr.fl Parliament, but those would he the. principles that would restrain . a Labour Government, should one come into power at the next election, from pressing for any .more definite part in Imperial affairs than is now taken. Mr Bruce, on the other liaijd, does not for a moment question the common responsibility of all parts of the Empire, in the event of war, and consequently he sees nothing to be risked and something definitely to be gained from obtaining for the Dominions a definite voieo in the formulation of foreign policy. ''Although independent within the Empire," he says, "we act with the Empire in our relations with other countries. If Great Britain or any other part of the Empire were attacked we should automatically be at war. If we al'e liable to be attacked in this way then we must , demand- the right to be consulted in the framing of the foreign policy of the Empire. I have said at the Imperial Conference that that is the view of Australia. We will not agree to the foreign policy of the Empire being directed and controlled by the statesmen, o'f Great Britain. We''must have our measure of- control. • We are inside the ' Empire and we must makeup our minds whether we want to be there. If we do then we must decide whether we want to be consulted on materq that are of vital moment'to the .Empire. There are pe6p'le' r "iii Australia to-day, -who, even if they admit; a- desire to remain .iu the Empire, declare that they wish to have nothing,;:to do with foreign policy. They forget that a guarantee of il'ie integrity of Belgium led to the Great War, so far as Australia was concerned, and that a . distance of '"12,000 miles, from Great ..Britain will not prevent us from being drawn •into another war. These people are saying that Australia ought.to be left to the tender mercies of the British Government of the day, and that into its hands should be placed unreservedly matters of the greatest moment. I have met all ; the English statesmen, and for. them I have the greatest respect, but,, in no circumstance would I agree to place Australia, bound hand and foot, in their hands, or in any cfther hands."

Permanent link to this item
Hononga pūmau ki tēnei tūemi

https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19241124.2.93

Bibliographic details
Ngā taipitopito pukapuka

Press, Volume LX, Issue 18238, 24 November 1924, Page 10

Word count
Tapeke kupu
737

FOREIGN AFFAIRS Press, Volume LX, Issue 18238, 24 November 1924, Page 10

FOREIGN AFFAIRS Press, Volume LX, Issue 18238, 24 November 1924, Page 10

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