Australian Government Will Not

Inquire Into Rabaul

Sacrifice of 300 Civilians by Officialdom fo be Ignored

From Our Own Correspondent

Canberra, June 28.

rpHE Australian Prime Minister (Mr.

A Chifley) told the House of Represen tatives to-day there would be no inquiry into the fall of Rabaul and other island bases in 1942.

Mr. Chifley made the blunt announce ment after members of the Country and Liberal Parties had spent five hours put ting the case of former New Guinea resi dent for an investigation, and after the Labour members blocked a move to table secret documents on Rabaul.

The Prime Minister said: “I see nothing at all in raking over dead ashes. I think that opinion is held by men in higher positions than mine. I believe inquiries into old issues are justified only where someone has evidently been guilty of cor ruption or treason.

“If an inquiry was ordered into Rabaul or Ambon, there would be demands for inquiries into Dunkirk, the Middle East, Malaya and everywhere else. The names of men who served their country would be besmirched. Ido not propose to be a party to supporting any inquiries into what might have been military mistakes.

“No matter what motion is moved by the Opnosirlon, so far as I am concerned there will not be any of my party sup porting them. There will be no inquiries of any kind at all.”

MR. H. L. ANTHONY led the demand for inquiries into the fall of Rabaul, Ambon and Timor.

When he produced a confidential re port from Brigadier L. F. Lind (a brigade commander of the Bth Division) showing that the leader of the Ambon “Gull” forces (Lieut.-Colonel L. M. Roach) had been removed from his post for asking fcr more men and arms and ammuni tion. Mr. Anthony was accused by the Minister for Information (Mr. Calwell) of stealing the document.

Calwell shouted: “You should be charg ed with stealing Government documents.”

Mr. Anthony: “I have no intention of telling tbe Gestapo where I got It.”

Mr. Anthony produced in the House a thick sheaf of letters from organisations who wanted an inquiry into the fall of Ambon and Rabaul.

When the Minister for Postwar Recon struction (Mr. Dedman) laughed, Mr, Anthony said: “This might be a very brave joke for the Minister, but the be reaved parents of these people who didn’t come back are not amused.”

MR. ANTHONY went on: “At Rabaul, not only the army of about 1400 men, but also 300 civilians, were sacrified. I have good reason to believe there were cables exchanged between the acting Administrator of New Guinea, Mr.

H. H. Page, and the Government, asking that these civilians be evacuated.

“But the civilians were not evacuated even though there were ships ih the har bour. Their lives were sacrificed by in competency or negligence.”

Mr Anthony demanded that the Gov ernment produce copies of the cables sent by the late Mr. Page.

His amendment, moved to a clause of an Appropriation Bill before the House, that “All cables and communications be tween the Administrator and acting-Ad ministrator of New Guinea, and the Gov ernment and the Commonwealth, respect ing all tjie proposals for the evacuation

of civilians from New Guinea and Rabaul be laid on the table of the House.

“All reports and signals between the commanding officers of the troops sent to Ambon and Timor should also be laid on the table of the House. If, after these documents are tabled, an investigation is necessary, the Government should order an inquiry into the fall of Timor, Ambon and Rabaul.”

All of Mr. Anthony’s proposals were quashed when the Labour members com bined in a division to defeat the amend ment by 33 votes to 20.

Mr. Anthony said: “The 300 Rabaul

civilians were accounted for. But most of them were accounted for as dead.”

Mr. J. P. Abbott said: “The people re sponsible for the Rabaul blunder may still be in the army. The documents asked

for by Mr. Anthony should be produced in the House so that we can see who was responsible. The Curtin Government was in power when these civilians were lost.

“I hope that whoever is responsible will be put out of his or their jobs, no matter what their rank. These civilians were massacred by the inefficiency of the Mini ster for External Territories at that time and the inefficiency of his Department.”

Mr. Calwell: “A scandalous and out rageous suggestion.”

Mr. Abbott: “We want these papers on the table of the House, so we will know whether to go ahead with a Royal Com mission or not.” rE Minister for the Army (Mr. Forde) said it was a function of the Opposi tion parties to ask for inquiries. No good purpose could be served by inquiring into the Japanese conquest of Pacific bases.

The Minister for External Territories

(Mr, Ward) said he had no objection to the papers being tabled. He later voted against the amendment aimed at having them tabled.