TNAG-0925-FCO40-1143-Commonwealth-Parliamentary-Association-(CPA)-annual-conferen-1980 — Page 7

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Report was right to emphasise the need for measures to be under- taken together on the basis of mutual benefit. However, the UK believed that the present economic system, and the existing institutions, had a good record of adapting to and promoting change, and that the world could continue to use them to meet the changing needs of the 1980s. For developed countries, the first priority was to fight inflation; without this, their capacity

But to give aid, and the value of that aid, would be diminished. this could not be done overnight, and meanwhile Britain was doing

It its best to meet the urgent needs of the poorest countries. was important not to be carried away on a wave of emotional rhetoric;

The this would only arouse expectations and lead to frustration. problems of the developing nations were undeniable but they had to be tackled realistically and systematically.

15. Mr Maynard, of the Bahamas, distinguished himself in an afternoon that was heavy with rhetoric, by observing that it was not by instantly castigating the North that the South's best way of getting assistance lay. Another welcome note (at least to British ears) was sounded by Mr Baxter of Victoria, Australia, who observed that Britain, as a benign colonial power, had done far more than it needed to have done, and, with its present difficulties, could not be expected to do better. In response to criticism about multinationals, he said that had it not been for multinationals Australia would still be an underdeveloped country.

Mr Trevor Skeet

MP (Conservative, Bedford) of the British delegation, referring to criticism of multinationals said that OPEC might be likened to the worst of the multinationals; the cost of production of a barrel of oil was 15 cents in Kuwait and 35 cents in Saudi Arabia, yet the

Mr David selling price was between 32 and 37 dollars per barrel. Lambie MP (Labour, Central Ayrshire) of the United Kingdom speaking of the Brandt Report, said that everyone knew the problem, but that, as usual, it was being shelved; the UK was increasing its military budget while cutting aid; the UK Government was scarcely likely to do more for the undeveloped when it seemed unable to help the poor in the north of England.

16. Discussion on the Brandt Report was continued in two separate panels. It was noticeable that these and later panel discussions produced a much livelier debate than the plenary sessions; few people spoke from prepared texts and points were made and responded to vigorously. Some straight talking was done both by the repres- entatives of the North and the South, but the tone was constructive and (mostly) friendly.

Third Plenary:

era

Africa South of the Sahara: The beginning of a new

17. The opening speaker was the Zambian Minister of Legal Affairs, Justice Chomba, who said that with Zimbabwe's independence there was increased pressure for change in that part of Southern Africa that was not yet free. He appealed to fellow parliamentarians to add their weight to the "freedom war" being waged by SWAPO, the ANC and the PAC. In the speeches which followed there was widespread condemnation of the South African government over both apartheid and Namibia. Some delegates felt that peaceful persuasion could not work, and advocated the use of force; others called for mandatory /economic

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