MIGRATION TO AUSTRALIA

Press, Volume LXXXIV, Issue 25446, 18 March 1948, Page 5

MIGRATION TO AUSTRALIA

ASSISTED PASSAGES FOR FORMER ALLIES

SCHEME ANNOUNCED AT CANBERRA (Rec. 8 P.m.) CANBERRA. March 17. Former fighting allies and members of the underground movements of five European countries who fought against the Axis at any time before the end of the war will be eligible for assisted passages to Australia, according to the Minister of Immigration (Mr A. A. Calwell). The new scheme will apply to former servicemen and women, with their dependents, who served in the armed forces, resistance movements, or merchant navies of Holland, Belgium, France. Norway, or Denmark, subject to the usual immigration requirements and security checks. The scheme will also include nationals of these countries who served in the armed forces or merchant navies of the Empire countries or the United States. The Commonwealth will contribute up to 40 per cent, of the tourist class fare or £3O (sterling) towards the cost of the passage of each adult, with proportional contributions in the case of dependent children. Unless the British Government made more ships available, no migrants could be allocated to work on the rocket range in Australia, said Mr Calwell. He added that all the displaced persons expected to arrive in Australia in the next few months had been allocated to priority jobs, and that he did not expect that many British migrants would want to work on the rocket range. British migrants could not be directed to work on any particular project, but displaced persons could be required to work for at least a year in any stated occupation.

New Soviet Power Station^-The Moscow newspaper “Pravda” says that work has begun on a monster new hydro-electric power station near Gorky, on the Volga. The work involves the building of a dam nearly seven miles long.—London. March 16.