ALIEN IMMIGRATION.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 19529, 11 July 1925, Page 20

ALIEN IMMIGRATION.

AUSTRALIA'S PROBLEM. FLOOD OF ITALIANS. FEDERAL POLITICAL ACTION. (Thom Owe Own Cobbespondent.) SYDNEY, July 3. Ever since the United States established its quota system of dealing with immigrants from Southern European countries last year, and so restricted the numbers coming to that country, the migrants from Italy, Greece, Malta, ana other Mediterranean countries have directed their attention to Australia. There have been considerable increases in the Southern European immigrants to this country, and most of them, especially Italians, have concentrated on the North Queensland oanefields as their centre of settlement. Two decades or so ago, Queensland rid herself of cheap labour on those fields by returning the Kanakas working there to their island homes. To-day she again faces the problem of cheap labour undermining the standard of living of nativeborn and British workers. The Australian sugar consumer has paid dearly to protect the production of sugar by white labour, because the cane-grower has received paternal gifts from the Federal Government in the form of high protection, bounties, embargoes, and what not, Australians, as it were, suffered in silence because they had the satisfaction of knowing that the cane was produced with properlypaid labour. Now the Italians, Greeks, Maltese, and other Southern Europeans, by working over-long hours and living “on the smell of an oily rag” are ousting the Australian and British workers from the canecutting gangs. As an instance, 87 gangs of cane-cutters were registered by the police magistrate at Ingham this season, each comprising nine men, or a total of 793 men. Out of this number only seven were not foreigners. This is typical of most of the cane-growing districts. Naturally, this influx of alien immigrants has arused the ire of the unions, particularly the Australian Workers’ Union. The result is that the question has become a national political one, and doubtless one of the issues of the Federal elections early next year will centre on this problem. Mr Bruce, the Nationalist Prime Minister, has endeavoured to forestall Labour’s condemnation of inactivity by introducing in the House of Representatives a measure designed to amend the existing Immigration Act. The purpose of this Bill ifi twofold—to tighten t up the laws regarding the numbers of alien migrants coming to these shores and to obtain power to deport “wreckers” of industrial peace. Only the first section concerns the Italian influx. By this the Federal Government is given the important power of prohibiting either wholly or in excess of specified numerical limits, and either permanently or for a specified period, the immigration into the commonwealth of aliens of any specified nationality, race, class, or occupation, in any case where it is deemed necessary to do so on account of the economic, industrial, or other conditions existing in the commonwealth ; because the persons specified are unsuitable for admission; or because they are deemed unlikely to become readily assimilated or to assume the duties and responsibilities of Australian citizenship within a reasonable time after their entry. This measure may not suit the whole-hog Labourites, probably it won’t suit all sections of the Cteuntry Party, but undoubtedly it will moot with the approval of the largest section of the Australian public.