Immigration Scheme Extended In Europe

Press, Volume CX, Issue 32392, 3 September 1970, Page 22

Immigration Scheme Extended In Europe

(New Zealand Press Association)

WELLINGTON, September 2.

Details of a widened immigration scheme to bring in workers from Belgium, France, Italy, Switzerland and West Germany, as well as Britain, the Netherlands and the United States, were announced in a statement today by the Minister of Immigration (Mr Marshall).

The widened scheme had been disclosed in a speech made by the Prime Minister (Sir Keith Holyoake) in Wellington at lunch-time today.

the basic British background of the majority of the population.

contributions from other sources. There will be more of them.” “DROP IN BUCKET” Four thousand subsidised migrants this financial year represented only a drop in the bucket of New Zealand’s requirements, the president of the Manufacturers’ Federation (Mr J. S. Osborne) said today.

“It mightn’t show up until the next generation, but the experience of Canada, the United States and Australia proves that it will show up." He added that this new pattern of immigration could be a significant factor in our broader relations with Europe. The Prime Minister said New Zealand could not and would not turn its back on Europe as it went about its job of nation building. “On the contrary, we will consciously look for new associations which will broaden our national character.

In his statement, Mr Marshall said the subsidy scheme of assisted immigration had been extended to the United States and the countries of Western Europe in which New Zealand had diplomatic posts “As in the case of Britain, the Government will pay 75 per cent of the fares for immigrants from those countries, and the employers will pay only 25 per cent,” Mr Marshall said. The final concurrence of the Governments of Italy and West Germany had not yet been obtained, but approval was expected soon, the Minister said.

“Manufacturing industries are screaming for more labour,” said Mr Osborne. “The latest information from the Labour Department’s halfyearly survey in April showed that there were more than 10,000 vacancies in the manufacturing industries alone, and more than 21,000 in ail occupations. “The response so far shows that advertised invitations can produce a massive response from potential migrants. Extensions of the scheme to European countries opens the way to expansion of the flow of applications, and is most welcome.

“So far the predominant pattern of British settlement has been the main factor, but there have been significant

Other points Mr Marshal) made were:

There had been an excellent response to the new subsidy scheme announced for British migrants in February. New procedures had been developed to help employers recruit workers in the United States and Western Europe. Negotiations had been proceeding on improved arrangements for the future migration of workers from the Netherlands.

“However, the efficiency of the machinery for processing the applications must be further improved. We must have a more dynamic approach to recruitment and the arrangements for actually getting the migrants out to New Zealand.

Procedures for the entry of unassisted migrants from Western Europe were being streamlined.

The Minister said the subsidy scheme would not be extended to Canada which, like New Zealand, was a country of immigration. In his speech, the Prime Minister suggested that the new immigrants would “add a new dimension of strength and vitality to New Zealand.”

He drew an analogy with the United States and Australia, where large-scale immigration from Europe had altered'