MORE POPULATION

Evening Post, Volume CXXXVIII, Issue 137, 7 December 1944, Page 9

MORE POPULATION

REHABILITATION FIRST

f«?s?^ Ully a£ reem 8 the need nn«,E eaSIu S« the Illation «f the Dominion, both naturally and by a BfinfS! °f. immi^ration; the Prim? £"' st f f r stressed upon a deputation & SZuV*^ 11 Set«ement Association yesterday that the rehabilitation come S ed T S^ vice Personnel must

The business of the deputation occupied more than two hours, the speakers iQr the association bein^ Mr A T SSL* Md , LieutenanTc O Cel Ash; India) Macken2ie /on furlough from

Mr. Hunt said they were not <?n wit? yC o Out Cher^ w"h thS3vS but They SM, ret™>d servicemen.: J-ney Deiieved there was no hor>e fmSS?S?^ abilitatlon Snlels Pth£e was a large increase in population If jouiigmenwho had gSS away' did no fnh Ui n TbGC + a uUSe ey felt there was fIL ,re for them in New Zealand it tu°de d fef tragedy Of the fn-st Sgn - on?v T, rS /' ere J atisfied that the stantia^nflf r N!^ Ze?land was a sub" siantial influx of immigrants. ESTE\IATED CAPACITY. 7^Jl a/ bee, n J ? stimated that New Zealand would hold 10,000,000 people «?« * I on-the easter« standard. It 7wi be slnS erely h °Ped that New Zealand would get beyond the stage, Sfe* JhOUgM if a man was 1 finish he was not good enough to live m New Zealand. Age, health and character should be the test for immigrants, not nationality. Orphans of course, would be the best immfgrants i«}P\i Fraser said orPhans would be looked upon most sympathetically as v^I grnts' because H would not involve houses and employment. If conli;^ 113 m..Po|Mid were too unsettled wefrom^ ? 6 P°liS. h child^n would be: welcome to remain in the Dominion! ZealSri^ «P *• be fine New

f Jh£j ? Unt said.5 aid.- a plan had been Perfected for adopting orphans into New Zealand homes. Mr. Fraser said that KpYeSfd^oir heW and WoUld The Government, continued Mr. Hunt was urged to send a mission abroad with wide powers to secure orphans for New Zealand. New Zealand House, continued to be inundated wlA^ inquine3 by w°uld-be immigrants • Other points dealt with by Mr. Hunt included the provision of a universal tamily income, wages for mothers of tamilies, a suggestion for a conference ot women's organisations which could discuss abortion, domestic help, and other problems, and the appointing of a Royal Commission.

Sir Clutha Mackenzie spoke of the many inquiries about living in New Zealand that had been made by British residents in India.

. Mr. Fraser said no one had ever imagined that New Zealand could live a life of its own apart from the rest of the world. "No country struck a clearer note of internationalism and human brotherhood than the Dominion, and it was not confined to race, colour or creed. On the one hand New Zealand had to retain her friendship with other countries and at the same time maintain its own standard of living and own characteristics as a British community. That, he thought, could be done without arousing the racial antagonism and hatreds that had distorted the past. There was nothing to prevent anyone of British race who could» pay his passage from coming to New Zealand now, and there was very little impediment so far as other races were concerned. He agreed that British people and people from the Allies in Europe would make the best immigrants, and that was no reflection on the people of India and China. At the moment it was impossible to get passages in ships. TRANSPORTING SERVICEMEN. No one would question that provision should first be made for New Zealanders and that rehabilitation should be carried out as part of the war effort to the limit of the Dominion's resources. The whole future of the country depended on successful rehabilitation. There were 7000 prisoners of war and he had no idea of how soon they would get back to New Zealand after being liberated. There were New Zealand servicemen in Australia with long service who were held up by lack of transport; 800 civilians were listed to return from Great Britain, and there was no hope of getting them back; there were also several hundreds in the United Sfetes, and hundreds of Australians in New Zealand who could not return home.

When immigration was being discussed it was being discussed in terms of years ahead, said Mr. Fraser. Apart from present service demands on transport there was the transportation of the Division, which would occupy months, and would have the. Japanese war in competition.

If New Zealand could tell Britain that there were homes for hundreds, perhaps thousands, of orphan children if she cared to send them it would be a help io Britain and to the Dominion. They must be good homes, and' if British children were not available children could perhaps be sent from other countries.

To dump immigrants down in New Zealand when the people of the Dominion could not be housed and returned servicemen could not be housed would be entirely wrong, but there was no reason why plans should not be laid ahead. The development of the country and its resources had to be investigated before a large immigration scheme could be launched, and that was the purpose of the Organisation for National Development, which had invited, or would invite, the Settlement Association, with others, to discuss immigration. There was no difference of opinion about the necessity for a large population, but there might be room for differing on the method to be adopted.

Mr. Fraser said he could make no promises, but the setting-up of a Royal Commission and the holding of a conference of women's organisations would be considered.