Reagan, Australian Leader Talk

President Reagan met today with Australian Prime Minister Bob Hawke and expressed the hope that Australia’s neighbor, New Zealand, “will soon return to its traditional role as a responsible member” of the Pacific alliance.

Reagan made the remarks in a farewell statement to Hawke after an Oval Office meeting that reportedly focused on agricultural export problems. New Zealand, a member of the tripartite ANZUS alliance along with Australia and the United States, has refused to allow port calls by U.S. ships that may be carrying nuclear weapons.