[?] e Will Defend’

New Guinea

a review of Australian de ?, the Australian Prime ster, Sir Robert Menzies, Federal Parliament on May hat the area of immediate egic concern to Australia not yet entered a period of lity. ? added : “We have made our w in the light of our treaty igements but particularly in ence to the security of our try and of the Territory of la and New Guinea.

Ve will defend these terri s as if they were part of the iland; there must be no mis t ideas about that” le Prime Minister an iced plans for an increase in gth and equipment for the d services, including a ling of the strength of the ic Islands Regiment — Papua- Guinea’s permanent de ? force. Present strength is tensive improvements would iade to the present Wewak Id (right next to the town, Boram), which the Prime ster said would have great ? for defence as well as for ml Territory development. meral reaction of the Aus m Press was that the Prime ster’s specific guarantee to id P-NG was overdue and ome, but that the defence nisation within the Territory d still be far too inadequate.