AUSTRALIA & MIGRANTS

Greymouth Evening Star, 25 July 1945, Page 5

AUSTRALIA & MIGRANTS

NEGOTIATIONS WITH BRITAIN PACIFIC AREA PREFERRED (Rec. 12 Noon) CANBERRA, July 25. British migrants would be able to come to Australia on payment of a fare of not more than £lO, under the proposal made by the Com- j monwealth to the British Government. Australia proposed that all costs of the lares above £lO should be paid by the two Governments. Britain and Australia are now negotiating on the proportion each should contribute. An early announcement on migration policy has been promised by the Minister of Immigration and Information (Mr. Calwell). Major aspects of the policy will provide for encouragement to Australia of, firstly, British -ex-servicemen and their families; secondly, children particularly orphans at the rate of seventeen thousand yearly. The appointment of an Australian migration, commission to visit Britain and Europe is considered by the Minister'to be -essential. An agreement is still being sought with Britain on details of the olan for paying British migrants the full Australian social security and repatriation benefits. Mr. Forde has reported to the Government that when in London, Lord Cranborne and the British authorities told him the British Government favoured encouragement ot migration to the Dominions and particularly Australia and New Zealand, as an important part of Empire policy. Mr. Forde was told that Britain prefers Australia and New Zealand to Canada as the destination of migrants. Past experience had shown that great numbers of British subjects were lost from Canada to the United States, where the climate and opportunities were more attractive than in Canada. SERVICEMEN’S DISCHARGE CANBERRA, July 24. Soldiers of five years’ service and operational experience are beingbrought back to the Australian mainland for discharge. “A substantial batch will arrive in Australia within the next fortnight,” said the Army Minister (Mr. Forde) in the House of Representatives. “They will be bought out by boat and air.’ Mr. Forde said that in calculating the five-year service, periods spent with the militia would be counted. SOLDIER SETTLEMENT. SYDNEY, July 24. '■‘The Commonwealth has been asked by the State Government to provide £4,000,000 to finance soldier settlements in New South Wales during 1945,” said the State Minister of Lands (Mr. Tully). “The State Government has estimated that it could purchase at least 800 farms and about 2,000,000 acres of land are under investigation, but obviously, during the first full year ol the scheme, we would spend more than £4,000,000. There is plenty of good land available from the sub-di-vision of larger estates. We could get 23,000 home maintenance areas of about 1000 acres each, and even if, lor various reasons, we rejected half, we would still have from 10,000 to 12,000 good blocks.”

HOUSING LABOUR. CANBERRA, July 24. Service and other releases would enable many more men to be available for home-building before the end of the year, said the Prime Minister (Mr. Chifley), after conferring’ with the Minister of Post-war Reconstruction (Mr Dedman), the Minister of Housing (Mr. Lazzerini), the Acting Premier of New South Wales (Mr. Bac<deley) and the State Minister for Housing (Mr. McGirr) on housing problems in New South Wales. Mr. Chifley added that while it was admitted that releases of manpowei for building industry have not been, in the past, sufficient to ensure the fulfilment of the new housing tai get-, it was pointed out that the programme undertaken for the British . Navy, which is imposing a considerable strain on these resources, will shortly be completed. This release, togethei with releases from the Services already decided on, and with manpower becoming available as a result of the depression of works, munitions and supply programmes, will. mean that the pool of labour tor civilian needs, including housing, will be increased by nearly 90,000 men before the end of the year. The momentum of releases from all sources will increase from then onwards. PRICE CONTROL. (Rec. 11.45 a -^ ELAIDE) j u iy 25. Price control would be necessary for at least four years after the war, said Professor Copland, who is Puces Commissioner. Four years would be necessary to restore the balance of Australia’s economy. “The greater the intensity of the war effort and th--longer the war lasts the greater will be the lack of balance between the demand for civilian goods, houses and canital equipment, and the supply ol commodities.” He pointed out that-in the first two years after the last war prices rose more than they had during the four years of war.

WOOL FOR CHINA. (Rec. 11.45 a.m.) T , or ' MELBOURNE, July 25. China would take as much wool as Australia could supply after the war, said the Chinese Consul-General, Dr. M. L. Tuan. He added he was sure that China could take the entire Australian annual clip. The question ol payment would probably be resolved by" China’s increasing industrial activity and expanding trade with a number of nations. The Chinese market alone should make Australian woolgrowers secure against competition from synthetic fibres and markets the synthetics might capture. China bad for centuries been using cotton lor many purposes for which there .was an increasing demand for wool.