PACIFIC OFFENSIVE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 25 July 1942, Page 4

PACIFIC OFFENSIVE

ESSENTIAL TO ALLIED VICTORY VIEW OF NEW ZEALAND PREMIEiR. THIS THEATRE OF HIGHEST IMPORTANCE. (Special Australian Correspondent.) SYDNEY. July 24. A large and determined offensive against the Japanese in the south-west Pacific was imperative before the war could be won by the United Nations, said the Prime Minister of New Zealand, Mr Fraser, in an address to trade union officials.

He contended that there must be a successful Pacific front, whether it was a second front or a third front, in addition to large-scale operations elsewhere. The war in this theatre was of the highest importance, and a campaign bringing final and decisive victory might be fought in the Pacific. This possibility must never be forgotten. If the war was lost, all that organised labour had fought for and won over the years would be lost; all social and economic progress, all humanitarian legislation, all democratic freedom would perish, Mr Fraser continued. While the issue for every citizen was one of liberty or slavery under the Nazi and Fascist tyrants, none had more to lose than the mass of working people. There was absolutely no excuse for strikes, lock-outs, or any other form of interference with efficient production in the present war circumstances. Only the maximum war effort could save Australia and New Zealand, as well as the other democratic nations.

Mr Fraser paid a high tribute to Australia’s war effort, emphasising its magnitude and efficiency. He said that the fine co-operation existing between the Australian Government and our American allies had impressed him very much. In Mr John Curtin Australia had a most capable leader, worthy in every respect of the great responsibility of the task which lay ahead.

Mr Fraser this morning visited a detachment of New Zealand soldiers who are at present undergoing a course of training. He spoke to a number of the men and showed great interest in their work. In the afternoon he visited the Sydney Trades Hall and met a number of leading trades union officials.