IN THE WAR ZONE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 31 December 1941, Page 3

IN THE WAR ZONE

THE NEED OF VIGILANCE & PREPAREDNESS ALL TAKING PROPER SHARE. STATEMENT BY OPPOSITION LEADER. (By Telegraph—Press Association.) WELLINGTON, This Day. “The eve of the New Year finds New Zealand in the war zone,” said the Leader of the Opposition (Mr S. G. Holland) in a New Year message, “and it behoves all of ns to take our proper share in the burden thus imposed upon the country. This is no time for anyone to shirk his responsibilities or to say: ‘That doesn’t concern me.’ The Avar concerns every one of us. It may affect our lives and our homes and the happiness of those we love.

“If New Zealand is attacked we shall have to stand or fall largely by our own efforts. Vigilance and preparedness should be the motto of all. There is no room for the slacker. There is no place for the loafer. A country involved in a war of survival cannot afford to waste its productive power. We have got to make the fullest possible use of our resources in men and materials in order to preserve our own security in these perilous times. But even though unusual hardships, sacrifices, and inconveniences are called for, there are many compensations to be discerned. It is in these times that the finest characteristics of our race are seen. We stand shoulder to shoulder and should not let superficial differences in thought and outlook divide us.

Then, too, we have been reinforced in our struggle against the dark forces that would extinguish the light of liberty from the world. A year ago Britain stood virtually alone. Today the course of events has brought to her side two of the largest and most powerful nations of the world, the United States and Russia. Our fight is their fight, and who can doubt that such a formidable combination must eventually triumph? The road may be long and hard, but we have the satisfaction of knowing that 1942 may be one of the decisive years of world history. In a year’s time, when we look back, we may be able to know that through .our work and achievements we have helped to lay the foundations of a glorious victory.