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Makan – No. 39
1st February, 1950

Official Organ of 2/30th. Bn. A.I.F. Assn,
21 Military Road, NEUTRAL BAY.

Patron: Brig. F.G. Galleghan, D.S.O., O.B.E., E.D.
President: J.H. Cooper, Esq.
Hon. Secretary: S.F. Arneil, Esq.
Hon. Treasurer: R.E. Ellis, Esq.

Dear Dig,

We have a lot to tell you this month and we are writing it as it occurs and not in the order of importance.

Although this script was written very early in the month, we hope that the "OLD MAN" has arrived by this time. We will have our official "welcome home" at the General Meeting in March, but you will hear all about it next month.

On Friday, Jan. 13th, representatives of the Unit gathered at the Cenotaph and placed thereon a wreath to commemorate the Fallen of our Unit.

There is a little matter which is dear to your heart and which is likely to feature in the local political news-sheets, which take the place of the free press in this country. The subject is, of course, that which is known to us as the THREE BOB A DAY claim. When we first arrived back in Australia, this matter was considered as a very important claim of ours and there was a sporadic attempt by some to enlist the sympathy of the general public by writing a few letters to the newspapers. The movement, at that time, failed to achieve any tangible results, probably because there was no official backing for the claim. Since that time there has arisen the Eighth Division Council, which by virtue of the fact that it has representatives from all units of the Division, speaks with the official voice of the Division. Before the last Federal elections, the Council marshalled all the relevant facts and proceeded to write to Members on both sides of the House. The results were as follows:--

The Right Hon. J. B. Chifley (at that time Prime Minister).

I have not the text of his reply to the Council but his attitude was that, if claims were recognised from ex-P.O.W. Japan, then it would follow that similar claims would have to be recognised from ex-P.O.W. Germany and ex-P.O.W. from the First World War. He also stated that there would then be the possibility that claims would be lodged by those combatants who, by reason of being without army rations in the fighting areas for perhaps days on end, would consider that they were entitled to subsistence payments too. RESULT - Little or no chance of our claim being recognised.

Dr. H. V. Evatt (at that time Minister for External Affairs -- on the matter of reparations from Japan.

"I have consistently maintained that adequate compensation should be made by the Japanese for the physical losses and personal injuries of Australian Servicemen, and particularly for the sufferings of prisoners of war, and I shall continue to do so. Our efforts to exact adequate reparations from the Japanese have unfortunately been abortive up to the present. As you probably know, the position is that, until a Peace Settlement can be made with Japan, all matters of policy in respect of Japan, including reparations, have to be decided by the Far Eastern Commission, which consists of representatives of eleven Allied Nations, including Australia. Since the end of the war, Australian representatives on the Commission have pressed continuously for a satisfactory decision on the reparations question; but it is apparent that some countries represented on the Commission are less interested than Australia in reparations from Japan, and are even opposed to them. Up to the present time, it has only been possible to reach agreement on the release and distribution of a limited amount of Japanese plant and equipment, and this has gone to the countries which suffered the greatest physical devastation at Japanese hands.

Meanwhile, the Australian Government is continuing to urge the conclusion, at the earliest possible moment, of a Peace Treaty with Japan, under which all these outstanding issues, including reparations can be definitively settled.” RESULT - It is apparent that the previous government was in favour of reparations to ex-P.O.W. even if they did not agree with our subsistence claim. It would normally follow, in my opinion, that the present government would not differ, on the policy of reparations, from the previous government.

Reply made to the Council by the Rt. Hon. R. G. Menzies, Prime Minister (at that time Leader of the Opposition) on 24/10/49.

“As I intended to convey in my acknowledgment of the letter and other material which you sent to me on the 19th August last, I am not able to make any personal observations of a definite character at a time when the Opposition's policy is being prepared. As you probably know, the policy speech will be delivered by me on the 10th of next month.

On 25/3/47, on a motion of adjournment by Winton Turnbull, I made the following statement:-

'...What is of major importance is that a very powerful case has been made out by the Hon. Member for Wimmera. I have no doubt that a very powerful case can be made out for prisoners of war in all theatres. I have no doubt that all these cases require investigation and raise problems not to be dismissed with a wave of the hand. We are all willing to recognise that. We can start off on the assumption that every Member of this house, wherever he sits, has an instinctive sympathy with the claims of prisoners. It appears beyond contradiction that these men have been in prison in circumstances of great, and frequently, inhuman hardship. It is quite true that, during the period of their imprisonment - and this is a cold fact that none of us can ignore - Australia was saving money on them. Australia was not at the charge of maintaining these men while they were in the hands of the enemy. Their imprisonment involved the most shocking hardships, and, as the whole world knows, it invoked a great deal of splendid heroism unsurpassed in any field of war. Finally, it is abundantly and tragically clear that the imprisonment and sufferings endured by the men concerned may permanently impair their lives. These being the facts, is it not clear that this claim ought not to be rejected out of hand, or made the subject of some routine, departmental consideration? This is a claim which, in conjunction with the other claims which I have mentioned, ought to be made the subject of a full, impartial and authoritative investigation, either by a committee of this Parliament, or by a committee representing those who, by their military or other experience, are fitted to sit in judgment on the matter. I do not know whether the answer should be that a full claim ought to be allowed in respect of one section of war prisoners and not of another. All I know is - and the Minister must agree with me in this - that we cannot, consistent with human feeling and the judgment of our consciences allow a matter of this kind to be decided by the simple yea or nay of one Department of State. It affects every Member of Parliament. Its proper and just treatment is, in the long run, the concern of this Parliament. Therefore, I urge on the Minister and on the Government that they should take this opportunity to establish a full and impartial investigating authority so that all the facts may be examined, and a judgment, but one which does justice to the enormous, human issues involved'.'

This statement stands, and will be confirmed by me on the public platform." RESULT -- It sounds all right, perhaps some would buy a car on the strength of it. The main issue now is cash with which to fight the case. The Council will be doing all the yakker and if we gain everything from it then they will deserve all the kudos. It may cost a lot of coin before the case is finished and it is suggested that all Unit Associations should contribute 3/- per financial member. Our own Assoc. will be able to manage this without calling upon members, we think, but other Associations may be very hard pressed. Anyhow the foregoing is a summary of the position as we know it, we will keep you posted of further developments.

Don't miss this! The first 8th Div. Reunion will be held on 15th Feb, after the ceremony at the Cenotaph. The enclosed circular will give you all the details. It should be an excellent night and we hope to see all our chaps there.

Take to your bed for a moment and have the Dewar’s ready for a quick swig, before you read the next sentence. REG FRIEND IS ENGAGED TO BE MARRIED. We congratulate Reg, we offer our deep sympathy to his very charming fiancée. We will say no more on this subject.

We've run out of space gents as we once ran out of land so no more for this month.

Cheerio,

STAN ARNEIL.

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