CASE FOR INCREASED IMMIGRATION IN N.Z.

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29228, 11 June 1960, Page 4

CASE FOR INCREASED IMMIGRATION IN N.Z.

The need for a considerable expansion in the present programme of assisted immigration is pointed out in a printed paper which is being presented by Mr A. Leigh Hunt, on behalf of the Dominion Settlement and Population Association, to the industrial development conference next week. The association states that it. is quite futile to hold out hopes of any significant development of industry when, as matters stand, it is quite impossible to recruit sufficient labour to fill existing jobSj , “The labour shortage today, it has been asserted by responsible employers, is worse than at any other time since the war. To meet the demands of industry, overtime costing upwards of £32 million was paid out last year, and because of the recent wage increase, the bill for overtime will be even greater this year. ‘‘This substantial sum is recouped by employers in increased prices for goods and services, and though the worker in receipt of overtime might consider he is deriving a personal benefit from his additional income, the gain could be quite illusory because of its being absorbed in his higher cost of living. “A chronic shortage of labour,” says the association, “benefits nobody; it is a sign not of prosperity and progress but of stagnation. Vacant Jobs

It is estimated that, based on last year’s official figures, there are some 17.000 vacant jobs in New Zealand today. This means that although employment of labour on an overtime basis might be making up some of the leeway, the annual loss of produc-

tion must be of the order of millions of pounds a year.” The association says that objections to immigration come in the main from the trade union movement, some sections of which harbour the fear that increased immigration would lead to unemployment. “Every immigrant,” the paper says, “is at once a consumer and a producer. To meet his needs entails additional employment. Further, as population increases it becomes an economic proposition for new industries, especially those which require a substantial internal market, to become established here. “At the present time, due solely to the small internal market, the size of which is obviously determined by population, industries which are thriving concerns in overseas countries would be quite uneconomic in New Zealand. As population increases, industry can become more diversified, thus leading to higher levels of employment. Benefits Seen “Australia’s population has increased by more than 2,000,000 since the war. Of these over 1.000,000 have been immigrants. Moreover Australia’s immigration programme has been stepped up this year to 125,000," the paper says. “This is being done with the whole-hearted concurrence of all sections of the community, who have witnessed for themselves the benefits the country has received from a substantially increased population. “Industry in New Zealand is faced with the alternative of limited expansion, in a highly protected field, or of rapid ‘progress combined with increased self-reliance.”