STATE SECRETS REVEALED IN FEDERAL HOUSE BY THE OPPOSITION

Grey River Argus, 7 October 1948, Page 5

STATE SECRETS REVEALED IN FEDERAL HOUSE BY THE OPPOSITION

PROBE INTO LEAKACE BY THE GOVERNMENT IS NOT RELISHED (Received October 6, at 9.30 p.m.) CANBERRA, October 6. The Prime Minister, Rt. Hon. J. B. Chifley today gave the House of Representatives details of his orders concerning the probe into the source of the confidential documents, quoted in the House, last week, by Mr. A. W. Fadden, Leader of the Country Party.

Mr. Chifley said he had entrusted the investigation entirely to the Acting-Attorney-General, Senator McKenna.

The Prime Minister stated that his instructions were to discover: —

Firstly: How documents of a secret nature could come into the possession of Members of Parliament?

Secondly: How such information could get into the possession of “at least a limited number of people, who are only in this House on privileve?" Thirdly: If there had been a leakage of information, and who might be responsible. “If this investigation brings into the net Members of Parliament, or other individuals —in some cases those only in this House as a privilege and not as a right—that will be done”, said Mr Chifley. “I made it perfectly clear yesterday that, whatever is done, it will not be to gain any political advantage. The Government is more concerned with the interests of this country”.

Mr. Fadden Wants Probe Only One Way

(Rec. 9.30). CANBERRA, Oct. 6. Mr A. W. Fadden, Leader of the Country Party, outside the Federal House, after the Prime Minister’s announcement, said that Mr Chifley’s threat disclosed an extraordinary paradox. Facts had demonstrated that there was urgent need for an intensification of security supervision of subversive Communist activities in Australia. But, in face of this situation, Mr Chifley was, evidently, prepared to divert security officers to trail Opposition Members, who, in the public interest, were attempting, within the limit of their powers, to see that effective measures were introduced to deal with Communists. In a statement made outside the House, Mr A. W. Fadden said it was the truth or falsity of the information he had disclosed which vitally concerned the public. If the information was false, t’m public should not be kept waiting uy the Prime Minister. If it was true and Mr Chifley’s actions were difficult to interpret otherwise— then Australia had been refused vital atomic defence information by America because the Government would not take adequate measures against the Communist fifth columnists in the Council of Scientific and Industrial Research. Until Communism was controlled Australia would remain to a large

extent defenceless against atomic attack. America was able but unwilling to supply Australia with “atomic gasmasks” or methods of protection. The Australian people were denied such protection because the Government feared the political consequences of rooting out the Communists. “If I had wished to use this document solely foi’ party political purposes, it would have been kept by me for disclosure on the eve of the next election,” he added. “I have disclosed only one small part of the document. The disclosure of other matters it contained might have been very embarrassing to the Prime Minister.” The repeated denials by Mr Cnfley and his Ministers that America had refused Australia defence secrets and Mr Chifley’s threat to have the movements of some Opposition members supervised by the security service operators, appears childish and inconsistent, Mr Fadden added. A stormy debate in the House of Representatives followed a statement by the Prime Minister, Mr J. B. Crifley, that the security service .would have to supervise the activities of some members of the Opposition whom he accused of being prepared to use stolen documents. Mr H. L. A. Anthony (Country Party) said that for weeks Mr Crifley and Mr Dedman had been contradicting press statements that the United States would not reveal certain information to the Australian Government, because it had no' confidence in the Government’s attitude towards Communist influence in certain departments. When he was unmasked by a document, Mr Chifley became indignant and suggested that traitorous things were being done by those who wanted to expose Australia’s weakness if the Commonwealth had to go to war with Russia. “Now, he says, he is going to put the security service on the trail of Opposition members,” continued Mr Anthony. “He is going to be Stalin lin an Australian way and all in the guise of love for country. His love for the country is no greater than that of the Opposition members who fought for it. He has no monopoly of patriotism. What is being done to the Communists who hold kev positions in the public service and whose allegiance to Russia . would virtually immobilise our services in the event of war?”