YouSaid · the spoken record

CASEY

lines on the record: 388
first: 1951-09-24
most recent: 1959-09-24
sittings or episodes: 9
sources: un-general-debate

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“This would mean dealing separately with the Latin American countries, whose average income is relatively high, separately again with countries in the Middle East and, finally, with the large area of South and South-East Asia, where incomes per head are very low. We, in Australia, are, of course, particularly conscious of the great and pressing needs of our friends and neighbours in South and South-East Asia, where low-income economies, unfortunately, still predominate so widely, and the adaptation of modern techniques in power and fuel, transport, industry and agriculture are still relatively limited. 53.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“In others, Australia is an under-developed country, in the sense that our economy needs regular and appreciable injections of capital from outside if our rate of growth is to be maintained. So it seems to me important to take account of factors such as I have mentioned in relation to Australia in considering other countries which are in need of various degrees and forms of outside help if their living standards are to rise, or indeed, in some cases, if they are even to be maintained at their present levels. 52. There is, of course, no exact yardstick for measuring these things, but one method of approach which may help to keep the respective claims of recipient countries in better perspective is to look at the problem on a regional basis.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“For the past three years Australia has been a member of the Economic and Social Council; This has been Australia’s second term, and our representative to the Council, Sir Douglas Copland, had the honour of being elected President of the Council this year. 50. I feel that it is important to say something about the terms “developed” and “under-developed”, which are used so freely in relation to United Nations economic programmes. In the first place, there is a tendency for people to lump together all the so-called “under-developed” countries. In fact, of course, there are very wide variations within this classification. 51. Taking my own country, Australia, as an example, we are in some fields of our economy a developed country.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“The present position in this regard is that the General Committee has not yet discussed whether or not it will be included m our agenda. I have asked for the privilege of being present in the General Committee when this agenda item comes to be discussed, when I will have opportunity to express the views of my delegation and of my Government in this regard. In these circumstances- I do not Relieve that it would be right or appropriate for me to express myself at this moment. The views of the Australian Government will be known to representatives from the debates of last year. 49. I turn now to economic and social matters.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“In any case, Article 108 of the Charter provides a direct method of amendment without the necessity for a review conference, and, if there is any immediately required and agreed amendment, it can be adopted and incorporated in the Charter as part of our ordinary business. For example, it is possible that, if a substantial number of new Members are admitted to the United Nations, some amendment to the Charter might be thought to be desirable — such as an enlargement of the established membership of certain United Nations bodies, perhaps, in particular, the Security Council itself. 48. I now feel that I must say a few words about a subject which we in Australia hope will not have to be discussed again at this session of the Assembly — that is, the subject of West New Guinea.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“Against this background, I have reached the view that the shortcomings of the United Nations over the past ten years have sprung not so much from its constitution and the text of the Charter itself, as from the more fundamental disagreements of Members, particularly the permanent members of the Security Council. 46. These differences of national interest cannot, in our view, be amended out of existence by changes in the United Nations Charter. We therefore see some danger in holding a conference to review the Charter at an early date, since amendments of substance are hardly likely to receive the necessary support, and discussion of them may very well lead to barren controversy and the hardening of positions already well known. 47.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“I would hope that the entry of new Members to the United Nations will be discussed on its merits and that irrelevant matters will not be introduced, it would be very difficult to defend, and it would be wholly opposed to the spirit of the Charter and to the Geneva spirit, to make the entry of any new Members the subject of pressure to get them to agree to some matter quite extraneous to their suitability for United Nations membership. 45. At this point I would like to say a few words on the question of Charter review. We have heard many suggestions for amending the Charter and making the United Nations more effective. A great deal of study and discussion of these problems has been going on for a long time in Australia, both within the Government and in interested private bodies.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“Japan has also accepted the authority of the International Court of Justice; and, in what could have been, in other circumstances, a difficult dispute over pearl fisheries in waters adjacent to Australia, our two Governments are submitting the legal issues involved to the International Court of Justice, while the activities of the Japanese pearl fishers are continuing under a provisional regime. 43. It is on the basis of this practical evidence of Japan’s policy and conduct in recent years, and in an atmosphere of improving relations, that Australia has recently assured Japan of full support in connexion with its seeking admission to the United Nations, which admission we hope will take place at the present session of the Assembly. 44.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“I am glad to say that in the past three and a half years very good progress has been made in clearing up the outstanding matters not covered by the Treaty and that, approaching our problems pragmatically, we have achieved a distinct advance in the relationship between Australia and Japan. 42. At the same time, Japan has entered fully into the work of the specialized agencies of the United Nations, where there was no barrier to its membership, and has shown itself ready and indeed anxious to build a place for itself in the new international system-. Japan has recently been admitted to the Colombo Plan, and is beginning to assist in its work.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“There are a number of countries on the waiting list which could undoubtedly make an effective contribution to the work of the United Nations, and which have already given evidence of their acceptance of the principles for which the United Nations stands. 41. Without at this stage canvassing the claims of particular countries to membership, I should like to say a special word about Japan as an illustration of what I have said. When the Treaty of Peace with Japan, signed at San Francisco, came into force about three and a half years ago, there remained not only a number of outstanding problems to be settled but also la good deal of understandable reserve in Australia towards Japan.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“In the better atmosphere now prevailing among the great Powers, we would welcome most gladly a decision by the General Assembly and the Security Council whereby a substantial number of the present applicants would come in. The Australian delegation will, during this session, support any realistic and practical method of achieving this. In saying this, it will of course be understood that I make no reference to Australia’s attitude about Chinese representation in the United Nations, on which, in any case, the Assembly has already taken, with Australian support, a decision to postpone action for a further period. 40.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“For the United Nations to work with optimum effect, it must unite as many of the nations of the world as meet its requirements for membership. The wider its membership, the more authority will be vested in decisions and initiatives taken in its name. This is a problem on which I hope and believe that progress will be made this year, and look forward to hearing from the representative of the Soviet Union that his Government is now ready to play its part in opening the gates. For its part, Australia has always maintained that, to be fully effective, the United Nations must be as fully representative as possible of the nations of the world. I need not remind you that universality of membership remains our agreed objective as Members of this Organization. 39.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“Despite the difficult years of economic readjustment since the end of the war, the United Kingdom has again and again played an important role in world affairs by the exercise of the same qualities of wisdom and tolerance with which we in the Commonwealth are so familiar. We know that in the present session of the United Nations problems will be ventilated which directly affect the United Kingdom’s interests. We in Australia are convinced that, in so far as the United Kingdom is concerned, these problems will be dealt with patience, justice and humanity. In the nature of things, the United Kingdom has in view not only its own interests, in the narrow sense of the term, but also those of the Commonwealth and even of the still wider world community. 38.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“Whilst all members of the Commonwealth have contributed to this experience, the greatest credit must be given to the United Kingdom for the wisdom and understanding that its Government and Parliament have applied to the development of this Commonwealth of independent countries, equal in status if not in stature, and bound by common ties. 37. Of course the influence for good of the United Kingdom itself extends far beyond the frontiers of the Commonwealth, or even of its former empire, because so many of the constitutional and legal concepts on Which the structure of the free world — and, indeed, of this Organization — is founded have been developed, tested, and exemplified in British institutions over the centuries.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“It is a great tribute to the United Kingdom that, as these countries have achieved their independence, so many of them have chosen to remain within the association of the Commonwealth, and that between these countries, whether or not they have remained in the Commonwealth, even closer ties of friendship and mutual comprehension have been established than existed before they attained self-government. The Commonwealth, as a living and evolving organism, is the embodiment of a great reservoir of experience in the arts not only of democratic government but also of co-operation between peoples at different stages of development.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“As a Commonwealth country, we hope to bring to the deliberations of the Security Council something of the special experience we share with our fellow Commonwealth countries. 36. The Commonwealth today occupies an exceptional position in world affairs because it constitutes a group of independent self-governing nations bound together in a voluntary association by ties of friendship and common heritage. The United Kingdom, which may be called the foundation member of the Commonwealth, has had unique experience in the difficult task of nurturing and guiding the development of countries to the point at which they can take Over their own affairs and their own destinies.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“Let me now say something about Australia’s attitude towards the United Nations, and in particular, at the present time, our attitude towards the Security Council, of which we have great hopes that we may shortly become a member. We like to believe that our attitude towards the United Nations is a practical one. Perhaps I may be allowed to say that we do not expect the United Nations always to achieve international co-operation and understanding in an ideal form; nor do we expect the contrary. But we have tried, and we will continue to try, to deal with matters as they arise in the United Nations in a spirit of common sense, judging each situation on its merits and in the light of what is practical in present-day circumstances. 35.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“In the same spirit, we were glad to join with other countries in drawing up a draft statute for the proposed International Atomic Energy Agency, which we believe can be a practical instrument for bringing scientific knowledge of atomic power to those who need it. 33. I may say that Australia is also keenly interested in the items which will come before the General Assembly regarding the effects Of nuclear radiation. Australia, as a country rich in the raw materials of nuclear power and a country also spacious enough to permit the carrying out of large-scale nuclear experiments, has a direct interest, and indeed a concern which is widely felt amongst our people. 34.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“The Australian Government wishes to participate to the full in international efforts to facilitate the achievement of these aims. Indeed, we are hopeful that shortly the whole emphasis of discussion and thought regarding the atom may be changed from the destructive to the, constructive. Australia participated, with as strong a delegation as we could send, in the Geneva Conference of scientists on the peaceful uses of atomic energy, and we did our best to contribute positively to the papers and studies which were exchanged, to the mutual advantage of all the participating countries.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“But suspicion, and still more a suspicion deliberately nurtured by Governments, is corrosive of anything that; can properly be called coexistence. It is no use talking about coexistence unless you practise the essentials on which it must be based. 31. I would like to say something about Australia’s interest in United Nations activities devoted to the development of the peaceful uses, of atomic energy. Australia is a country which is fortunate in possessing considerable resources of raw materials of radioactive substances. As such, we welcome the recent concentration of international effort on the development of atomic power for the benefit of mankind. Like so many of our neighbours in Asia, Australia is much in need of sources of cheap power for purposes of development. 32.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“thorough and lengthy their indoctrination, that the great majority of people — even educated people — in communist countries seemed convinced that the ordinary people in countries like Australia were down trodden and oppressed and were praying for the day when they might be liberated from their sufferings by a benevolent communist rule. 30. Such a situation cannot but concern us all, since it is obvious that when hundreds of millions of people think ill and wrongly of their neighbours, there is always the risk of their being led into dangerous adventures which could set off a great explosion. A confident peace can only be based on understanding and tolerance among nations, especially among neighbours. I do not believe that uniformity of outlook or conformity of ideology are necessarily essential to the preservation of peace.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“Those observers from the free world who have been permitted to travel in the Soviet Union and in communist China in recent times all bear witness to the fantastic picture of life in democratic countries which has come to be accepted unquestioningly even by intelligent and educated Communists. 29. Australians who have travelled in communist countries have told me personally of their dismay when they have met ordinary decent people in the Soviet Union or in China and were unable to shake by rational argument their appalling misconceptions about the facts of life in the Western world, and perhaps in Australia in particular. So great had been their isolation, and so?”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“If I am right in thinking that the Geneva Conference means that the prospect of physical communist aggression has greatly receded, it is necessary to emphasize that before peaceful coexistence can come about in any real sense, policy decisions must be made by communist. Governments which will rule out the continuation of such subversive activities vis-a-vis States with which the Communists ostensibly maintain friendly relations. 28. Another aspect of this matter, which is related to what I have said, is the state of ignorance in which the peoples of the communist countries are kept regarding the state of affairs in the principal democratic countries.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“These are the outward and visible minima on which coexistence, as I understand it, must rest. 26. For our side — the non-communist or democratic side — these considerations present no difficulty. They exist in practice already. But on the other side: — the communist side — the cessation of efforts to bring about internal dissension or Subversion in other, countries requires high policy, decisions; in both Moscow and" Peking. As we have seen so recently against the background of the activities of Soviet representatives in Australia, existing policies of long standing will have to be reversed. 27.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“to practise tolerance and live together... as good neighbours”; and one of the purposes set out in Article 1 of the Charter is: “To develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples”. Surely this is what peaceful coexistence really means. 25. Nevertheless, I believe that we have to define what' we mean by coexistence rather more precisely. I would say that coexistence must mean that no one country or group of countries shall attempt by force of arms to harass or subdue another. But beyond that — and perhaps of even greater importance, in the circumstances of today — coexistence must mean that no country shall attempt, politically or otherwise, to ‘ undermine the allegiance of the people of another country from its government.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“To suggest that one particular form of organization — either socialist or capitalist — must impose itself upon the whole world is to ignore the experience of history and to deny the facts of the modern world. It is perfectly possible and mutually advantageous for countries with somewhat different economic systems to trade with each other and to develop other kinds of economic cooperation — provided there is general confidence that coexistence is sincerely accepted by both parties as a political and social principle, as well as an economic one. 24. As a political principle, peaceful coexistence is not a new idea; it is surely but another way of stating one of the fundamental objectives of the United Nations. In the words of the Preamble of the Charter, “the peoples of the United Nations [are] determined...”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“I find no difficulty in the idea of the peaceful coexistence of countries with different economic systems, some organized largely on the principles of private enterprise and others with a Varying degree of governmental planning and control. We have passed beyond the stage of history when men could only conceive of two diametrically opposed systems — that of completely free enterprise and that of full-scale socialism. The countries of the world today present a, great variety of different forms of economic organization, including various combinations of State control and private initiative. These differences in organization sometimes reflect factors in national political tradition, and sometimes arise out of fundamental problems of economic development. 22.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“That is probably why the orthodox meaning of peaceful coexistence in the 1920’s and 1930’s — when it really meant little more than what the French call "reenter Pour mieux sauter” — has come in the 1950’s to mean a more permanent, if still a somewhat sterile, relationship. 21. For my part, l am in favour of peaceful coexistence, but by this I do not. mean merely a static acceptance of the fact that modern weapons would make it suicidal to attempt to impose one’s political and social pattern on. the other side. I mean a relationship in which understanding and trust can be developed at all levels. Coexistence must be a co-operative and progressive thing — not just another name for the waiting game. 22.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“Many people all over the world are now giving serious thought to the ways and means of living peacefully side by side with countries whose government is based on principles different from their own. 20. In recent years we have heard much from the Soviet Government about “peaceful coexistence”, a term which it is not unfair to say originally had a rather equivocal meaning, but which nowadays we might hope is going to be used in a more real sense. But whatever the theoretical niceties of the matter, it seems dear that in present conditions we must either coexist or co-perish — either co-live or co-die.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“18. In this connexion, also, it should be possible to put the Geneva spirit into practical effect. We believe that common ground might be found between President Eisenhower’s bold and imaginative proposal at Geneva for exchange of information and mutual inspection and the position adopted earlier in the year by the Soviet Government. There is also need for all of us here to study most carefully the plan put forward at Geneva by the Governments of the United Kingdom and France. For our part, we shall do all we can to aid in the search for common ground and to encourage the growth of confidence which is such an essential part of the whole business. 19. Indeed, the present session of the General Assembly may provide some opportunities for the Soviet Union to show us evidence of its real intentions in some of the fields I have mentioned.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“Such ordinary contacts between ordinary human beings would be a way of greatly amplifying and expanding the spirit of Geneva. 17. It is of the utmost importance that the peoples of all nations should acquire a full understanding of each other based upon truth and facts. Unfortunately, as we n are all aware, the peoples of communist countries are prevented from knowing the truth about the rest of the world. They are isolated and insulated from contact with other peoples. They are deliberately prevented from learning about each other through the ordinary media of communication such as the Press and radio. This isolation of the Soviet and other communist peoples from the true facts constitutes a great potential threat to peace and is something which I sincerely hope will be progressively broken down at the next Geneva meeting and thereafter.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“Will it be only that the Iron Curtain has been moved back a short distance on the map? Is this frontier of suspicion and fear to persist? If so, great dangers will remain. Until ordinary folk can come and go on lawful and innocent pursuits, until first-hand knowledge can be gained on both sides of the frontier, confidence and security will be unsure. 16. I do not wish to overrate the importance of these exchanges, but besides increasing cultural, scientific, technical and specialized exchanges and contacts between people in the Soviet Union and other Eastern European countries, and the rest of the world, I would like to see steps taken that would result in the progressive development of contacts between ordinary people who have no other aim in view than that of getting to know each other.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“I have mentioned steps in developing this trust which must be taken by the communist side — immediate steps such as permitting the reunification of Germany — which would go far towards creating the necessary conditions for a new international relationship. But beneath these great political decisions lies a whole field of human relations which I venture to hope will be permitted to develop into fruitful and lasting contacts between the so-called Eastern and Western worlds — contacts not only between experts on such technical matters as atomic energy and agriculture and health, but between ordinary men and women who may freely visit each other’s countries, seeing what they please and talking to whom they please. 15. After the unification of Germany, what are we to find?”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“We therefore attach the greatest importance to the work of the Disarmament Commission and of its Sub-Committee. 13. The process of finding a means by which nuclear weapons may be controlled and, at the same time, conventional forces reduced, may be difficult and may take time. The whole thing — and what a vastly important thing for us all — hinges on confidence, and confidence, as we all know, has by no means yet been restored. And confidence will not be restored until integrity has been restored. Again, there is no substitute for integrity. 14. I have spoken of the need to create an atmosphere of greater mutual trust before the safety of all countries can be assured.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“We in Australia cannot accept that this is in fact the position. We believe that the existence of these apocalyptic weapons is a matter which concerns us all, the smallest hardly less than the greatest. Obviously the prime moves towards the control of these fearful weapons must rest with the gi ant Powers, but all of us must take the most constant and continuing interest in this matter, and do all we can to further the efforts which are being made under the auspices of the United Nations to regulate them. Australia therefore watches these efforts with the closest interest. We see the present situation as one in which the giants of this world are in a position to obliterate each other and possibly to drag all mankind to destruction in the process.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“Or is it only a mask for a tactical phase of synthetic good will designed to lull the fears of the peoples of the West, and deprive Western leaders of the backing of their populations? The further talks of the Big Four will indicate the answers to these questions, and what Moscow proposes about Germany will be the clearest sign. 11. In the last year, I believe the most sinister subject that has occupied the minds of thinking men has been the hydrogen bomb. Many people may think of the hydrogen bomb as something which, in the extreme, would be used only by one giant Power against another, leaving the rest of the world immune. From this it may be argued that the control of the hydrogen bomb is a matter which rests in the first place, and possibly ultimately, with the great Powers. 12.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“You cannot neutralize the power and influence of a great people which has shown how it can rise within a decade from the dust and rubble of defeat to a position of significance in the world. I believe that Western Germany today, though fully conscious of its rapidly growing industrial and political power, is determined that its power shall be used for good. 10. The granting of the opportunity for the reunification of Germany by genuinely free all-German elections, without strings, is the sort of evidence that practical men will require before the Geneva spirit can be considered to have prevailed. Will we see this evidence at the Foreign Ministers’ meeting next month? Does the Moscow “new look” mean that peace and the release of mankind from the terror and the horror of atomic war are the real goals of Soviet policy?”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“The negotiations on Germany will be an illuminating test of the sincerity of the new leadership in the Soviet Government. The terms on which it will consent to consider German reunification are the acid test. 8. In saying this I do not forget for one moment that during the past year Austria has been freed. With all the world, we welcomed the news of the successful results of Chancellor Raab’s visit to Moscow. But are the terms on which Austria was released from bondage to be a model for Germany? If so, would not a power vacuum dangerous to Western Europe, the Atlantic, and hence to the greater part of the world, be created ? Could Western statesmen then be expected to accept such terms? 9. The German problem remains one of the hard cores of tension and mistrust.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“However practical and down to earth we may believe ourselves to be, let us not adopt, in this inter-Geneva period, an attitude of scepticism. Let us look forward with hope to the meeting of the Foreign Ministers in Geneva next month. We will discover soon enough if the Geneva spirit is really what the world has been hoping and praying for. If not, I think the peoples will know who to blame. 7. The most important single problem is that of Germany. Europe — and so the world — cannot be permanently stable and at peace while the division of Germany endures. The tensions inseparable from this division preclude the confidence without which disarmament is a dream. The horror of atomic war is bound up with this question of the reunification of the German people more than with any other single political question.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“In going to Geneva and making personal contact, and thus removing some of the animosities and suspicions which have marked international affairs for so many years, the Heads of Governments did us all a great service. 6. Nevertheless, the barometer is not yet set fair. Let us not forget that the Geneva talks did not solve any single problem. Certainly they were not intended to do so; they were meant to afford a way of approach to solutions. However, the contacts achieved at Geneva were important and significant, and give grounds for hope that, as a result, a process of practical co-operation in respect of specific matters can be set in train directed towards the solution of particular international differences.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“Since that historic meeting, a great deal has been written and said about what was achieved there. I think for myself that quite the most important thing about the Geneva meeting was the fact that it was held. 5. Like many others, I put a very high value on personal contact. Even in this age of almost instantaneous world-wide communications, there is no substitute for it. You cannot transmit personality, conviction or sincerity by telegram, nor by any means of communication yet to be achieved. One cannot make friends by proxy or at long distance, however perfect one’s means of communication. I often wish I could convince myself that one could, as it would save me a lot of very hard travelling.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“No one of these events was outstanding in itself but, taken together, they seemed at the time to promise a process of gradual change for the better. 3. This year I would rather look at the international scene the other way round. Instead of adding together a number of more or less isolated occurrences and trying to assess their influence on the international climate as a whole, I believe we should consider the great change which appears to have taken place in the political climate of the world and try to assess what influence this change has had and will have on particular problems and situations with which we have to deal. 4. The great change in the international climate came about early this year, and was notable at the Geneva Conference of Heads of Government in July.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“1. May I start by saying how warmly the Australian delegation welcomes the election of Mr. Maza to the high office of President of the General Assembly. We congratulate him and assure him of our full co-operation in his task of steering the affairs of this great meeting through what I hope will be calm waters. In addition, I should also like to express our gratitude to his distinguished predecessor, Mr. van Kleffens of the Netherlands, who last year here, and more recently in San Francisco, presided with such patience and skill over our deliberations. 2. When I spoke last year in the General Assembly [479th meeting], I pointed to a number of events in various parts of the world which seemed to give grounds for optimism.”
1955-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 10 (1955)
“The pursuit of our individual ambitions will not avail us if thereby the security of the whole is imperilled. Let us not forget that the whole is greater than the component parts.”
1954-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 9 (1954)
“However, whatever apparent evidence there may be to the contrary, I am enough of an optimist to say that we should not shut our minds to the possibility that the present tensions may be merely a temporary and not a permanent feature of international relations. Indeed, I am coming to believe that the opportunity that this annual General Assembly provides for continuing and progressive personal contacts between Foreign Ministers and representatives of most of the countries of the world, is one of the most important and valuable functions of the United Nations. 50. We come here as members of delegations representing our respective countries, and to watch and promote the interests of our countries. But let us remember that the survival of our individual countries depends on the survival of the whole free world.”
1954-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 9 (1954)
“It is here, at meetings such as this, that important first steps can be taken in the process of breaking down the barrier of mutual distrust and suspicion at present dividing the democracies and the countries under Communist control. The United Nations provides a common meeting ground where the leaders on each side can come together in personal contact and, as many of us have so often pointed out in the past, these personal contacts are of considerable importance in bringing about a better understanding of differing points of view. Every opportunity, however small, which may arise and which gives promise of breaking down the present barriers between nations must therefore be taken. This is not a position of weakness, I suggest, but of sanity. We must, of course, be on our guard against being deluded by false hopes.”
1954-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 9 (1954)
“In addition, there is the vast and overriding problem of the division of the world between the free democracies and international communism, and the possession by each side of the means of almost totally destroying the other. 48. These things do not make for optimism, and yet it would be unwise to succumb to pessimism as regards the future of mankind. One can only hope and work in the belief that mankind is not destined for national — and international — suicide The only real hope for continuing peace in the world lies in the possibility that the Communists will come to realize that there is room enough for them to live with the democracies in the same world without interfering with each other. 49. The question of nations living together peacefully is basic to the very conception of the United Nations.”
1954-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 9 (1954)
“I have tried, in what I have ventured to say to the Assembly today, to express the views of my country on a number of matters in the international field that are of concern to us. The opportunity that this annual General Assembly offers of making each other aware of the reactions of our respective countries is one of the useful attributes of the United Nations. We all know only too well that the organization of the world for peace and survival is very far from being perfect. Nationalism and what is called “enlightened self-interest” and the varying circumstances and environment of each one of our countries, all these things militate against unanimity and even make compromise a difficult matter.”
1954-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 9 (1954)
“I am glad to be able to say that the Australian Government, subject to ratification by the Australian Parliament — I hope within the next few weeks — will be making a contribution of £25,000 to the United Nations Refugee Emergency Fund, for the current financial year ending June 1955. 46. Regarding other Australian contributions, my Government also expects early Parliamentary approval for a contribution of £50,000 to the United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East, and for a contribution of over half a million pounds to Korean relief, both these to be available during the financial year ending June, 1955. Regarding our contribution to UNICEF for the Fund’s current financial year ending December, 1954, Australia expects to provide £201,000. 47.”
1954-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 9 (1954)
“The success of these two essentially humanitarian enterprises provides a good example of what can be achieved by co-operation between Governments through the machinery provided by the United Nations. The Australian Government has contributed substantially to these programmes in the past and will continue to support them to the extent that our other commitments allow. 45. I would remind the General Assembly that the problem of European refugees — largely from behind the Iron Curtain — is a continuing one and I hope that sympathetic and humane action will soon bring substantial relief to these unfortunate fellow human beings.”
1954-09-24 · UN General Assembly · General Debate, Session 9 (1954)