EDITORIAL: SENTIMENTALITY is an easy trap for former statesmen to fall into.
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Not Malcolm Fraser though.
The former prime minister took to the podium at Warrnambool’s Lighthouse Theatre yesterday, a notable occasion given his long history with the region.
As a shy 24-year-old he gave some of his first speeches on that very same stage as a Liberal candidate in the mid-1950s, speaking about the threat of the Soviet Union and communist China.
It was the same stage where he spoke on behalf of prime ministers Menzies, Holt, Gorton and McMahon before his elevation to the top job in 1975.
But Mr Fraser was inclined to look forward rather than backward during yesterday’s address to the State Planning Conference.
He was forthright in his views about the US-Australian alliance.
Even if you disagree, as many of our current leaders do, the former prime minister’s words on the subject should not be ignored.
The press used to dub him a “Cold War warrior” and was noted for his robust yet solid relationships with US presidents Gerald Ford, Jimmy Carter and Ronald Reagan.
He said while Canberra needed to be close to Washington in the 1970s and ’80s, the Soviet threat had long passed.
Mr Fraser felt Australia’s approach to Moscow and Beijing should be more subtle — reflecting the attitudes of a number of European democracies.
While he was critical of the Obama administration, he emphasised that any loosening of ties between the United States and Australia would be similar to the maturing relationship our nation has with Great Britain.
“We will always remain friends with the United States. We have too much common history not to be closely associated,” Mr Fraser said yesterday.
“What I argue is that we have become so entwined militarily with America to the point were it is against our national interest.”
It is a highly contentious and emotive debate. But, as Mr Fraser says, it’s one worth having.