The Southland Times SATURDAY, AUGUST 29, 1942, New Zealand's War Policy

Southland Times, Issue 24835, 29 August 1942, Page 4

The Southland Times SATURDAY, AUGUST 29, 1942, New Zealand's War Policy

IN a statement printed yesterday the Minister of the Armed Forces and War Co-ordination supplied information for which the general public had been waiting with growing impatience. Under present conditions, with a Parliament that meets briefly and secretly, the people have to depend on Ministerial candour for the answers to questions that vitally affect their business and private interests. It is too easy, perhaps, for men who are engaged in administrative work to forget that the public has been told very little about the Government’s war policy at a time when that policy is being profoundly influenced by events in the Pacific zone. Where uncertainty exists there is bound to be guessing and the spreading of rumour—tendencies which require the correctives that can be supplied only by a healthy Parliamentary activity. Unfortunately the functions of Parliament have become increasingly negative. There has been no vigorous and useful debate since it became clear that the country was not in the mood for party politics. The voice of criticism has descended to a whisper that can scarcely be heard in the electorates. Yet Parliament has never been faced with greater problems than those' which are arising from the war effort. The representatives of the people should be able to contribute more than assenting votes to the shaping .of a policy which must make heavy demands on the resources, material and spiritual, of a young nation. Just how heavy those demands are likely to become can be gathered from the statement made by Mr Coates. The calling up of reservists (“balloting” is no longer a word that can be used accurately in this sense) is to continue until all age groups up to 45 have been included. “The call-up,” said Mr Coates, “will be in a series of ages, and the effect will be to create a pool of man-power which can be called upon as required from time to time, whether for the armed forces or for industry. By this means we will know the number of physically fit men in the country capable of bearing arms.” Two points are worth noticing here. Although the primary purpose of . the call-up is to provide a reservoir of man-power for the Army, it may also be used to create a labour pool for essential industries. And it can be inferred from Mr Coates’s phrasing that the men passed as physically fit for military service will not be automatically drafted into the training camps. They will be taken “as required, from time to time.” Tlie tempo of mobilization will naturally depend on the scope of the Dominion’s commitments in the war zones. There is, of course, the constant need to supply reinforcements to the New Zealand division in the Middle East. But beyond that continuing demand there are the probable requirements of other fronts, and the basic responsibilities of home defence. Effort For Victory

These two needs are closely linked; indeed, they are different aspects of a single problem. The defence of New Zealand means much more than the protection of its coasts and the concentration behind them of large forces of trained men. It must clearly be the aim of Dominion policy to establish a genuine security by going out to meet the enemy, and the enemy in this area is obviously Japan. Mr Coates pointed out that it might become necessary to send forces to “any other theatre of war in which New Zealand’s help might be required.” A plainer meaning for this hint could probably be found in a message from a Press Association correspondent “at a South Pacific port,” also printed yesterday. After analysing the situation in the Solomons, he explained that “as a result of the United States’ commitments in other theatres of war the time must come when other countries in the Pacific theatre will take their part in the offensive plans.” The spearhead of the attack will naturally be the highly-trained American shock troops, but other troops will probably be wanted “for occupational purposes.” New Zealand is only a small country with strictly limited reserves of man-power. But the United States will have to draw heavily upon its own vast resources for the coming offensive in Europe, and possibly in the Middle East, as well as in the Pacific. This Dominion cannot play a giant’s part; but it can at least make the best contribution within its powers to a cause that will establish its safety and its future. Meanwhile, there is also the, question of supply. New Zealand is a natural storehouse, ideally situated at the edge of the Pacific war zone. If foodstuffs and other essential commodities are needed in growing quantities the country’s man-power cannot be devoted exclusively to military service. The balance that must be struck between the demands of the Army and industry is almost certainly a topic of major importance at the Washington conferences now being attended by the Prime Minister. Until his return the subject can scarcely be clarified. But it is unquestionably true that New Zealand war policy will have to be adjusted to meet the demands of an expanding effort. The problems will not be entirely military and industrial. More men will have to be drawn from civil employment, which means that the higher costs will have to be met by a smaller number of taxpayers. The war can leave no individual outside the general effort and sacrifice. But if the future seems difficult there are solid grounds for comfort in this thought: that the Allies are passing gradually from defence to attack. The effort of the near future will be hard; but it will go into the drive for victory. In this war there can be no easy success. By fighting and working with all their strength in the crucial months that lie ahead the Allies will come more quickly and securely to the days of peace.