VISIT TO NEW ZEALAND

Greymouth Evening Star, 23 March 1929, Page 8

VISIT TO NEW ZEALAND

HINDRANCE TO TRAVEL.

SYDNEY, March 4.

Sir Victor Wilson, who recently returned from New Zealand, expressed astonishment at the feeling which existed between residents of the Commonwealth and Dominion. This to a

large extent has been caused, he said,

by the irritating and unnecessary procedure that had to be gone through 'when a traveller was leaving the Commonwealth, entering the Dominion, or returning to Australia. This irritation unquestionably affected the tourist traffic both to and from New Zealand. The procedure, under which people visiting New Zealand had to give guarantees with respect to Commonwealth taxation, and again the long documents that had to be filled in by travellers before they arrived in New Zealand, were both irksome and absurd. As one who had much to do with the framing of. the original regulations covering traffic between New Zealand nd Australia, Sir Victor insisted that in Be-

the ridiculous procedure now vogue ws never contemplated.

fore entering the Dominion it was, for instance, compulsory to sign a declaration of loyalty to the King. There should be no necessity for any decent man, Australian or otherwise, to be compelled to sign such a document. In any case it was no safeguard against

disloyalists, as they would readily sign such paper. Furthermore, visitors from Australia to New Zealand and vice versa were subjected to a Customs examination that > was at times offensive and was always ludicrous.