ALIEN MANPOWER.

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 63, Issue 170, 30 April 1943, Page 3

ALIEN MANPOWER.

AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL SERVICE CANBERRA. April 29. Within a few weeks every alien in Australia between 18 and 60 will be called upon to perform some national service. According to a political correspondent a huge drag-net will affect at least 10,000, including Italian fruiterers and proprietors of “mushroom’’ frock shops opened in recent months. JMany refugee doctors now established in lucrative city practices are likely to be sent to centres where medical services have been depleted. Other features of the alien manpower call-up will be that most aliens will be sent to work with an alien civil constructional corps, to be established under the Allied Works Council. Men of limited fitness will be given lighter work, such as washing dishes in hospitals. The only aliens to escape will be those holding important positions in vital industries, those with specialists’ knowledge essential to Australia’s security, anil export workers in rural industries. It is estimated that there are about 55,000 aliens registered in Australia, apart from those in internment camps. The Government believes that at least 10,000 of these can be more vscfmiy employed. The authorities are particularly concerned with those aliens who appear to be establishing strangleholds on the fruit and fish retail trades. Many of them have taken over businesses vacated by Australians called up for the armed services or essent’al work.