§ Mr. Iremongerasked the Secretary of State for the Colonies if he is aware of attempts to exploit the public ignorance of the geographical situation, the status and the history of Christmas Island so as to suggest that directly or indirectly Her Majesty's subjects in the south-west Pacific are liable to suffer from the proposed tests to be made in that island; and what steps he is taking to make the facts known.
§ Mr. Lennox-Boyd:I am aware that there have been misapprehensions about Christmas Island which is only the base for the nuclear tests, and particularly about its geographical situation. These misapprehensions may owe something to the fact that there are two Christmas Islands, one in the Indian Ocean about 200 miles south of Djakarta and one in the Pacific.
The latter is the base for the nuclear tests and it lies in an isolated position in the Pacific Ocean, 1,160 miles south of Honolulu, 900 miles north-east of Canton Island, the nearest international airport, and approximately 3,500 miles north of New Zealand. It is the largest coral atoll in the Pacific, but has only a small area fit for cultivation and no regular settlement, the coconut plantations being worked by imported labour on short term contract. These facts and others about the Island are readily available in a number of publications about the Pacific area.
As for any suggestion that peoples of the south-west Pacific may suffer from the nuclear tests, I would repeat the assurance I gave my hon. Friend in reply to his Question of 18th April on that subject.