MIGRATION FROM BRITAIN

Southland Times, Issue 23406, 13 January 1938, Page 12

MIGRATION FROM BRITAIN

AUSTRALIAN SCHEME BEFORE CABINET SYDNEY, December 17. The Federal Cabinet will consider in detail early in the New Year the Commonwealth scheme of assisted British migration, announced by the Prime Minister (Mr J. A. Lyons) during the recent election campaign. Federal Ministers and members of Parliament expressed keen interest in the London report that the British Government proposed next year to confer with the Dominions on migration, so as to preserve Empire countries as British. The opinion of the Commonwealth Government is that Australia should renew a form of financial encouragement to British emigrants to enable her to retain the high British character of the Australian population. That policy will be pursued by the Commonwealth Government, together with an industrial expansion programme, to ensure that existing employment will be safe-guarded and sufficient new employment created to absorb the migrants. Because of the failure of the endeavours which it has made to establish a basis of co-operation with the states to revive the system of assistance to nominated migrants, the Federal Ministry has expressed the view that it cannot further delay. The British Government will be consulted on the provision of assisted passages for suitable British migrants who are nominated by relations and friends in Australia. An outline of the Commonwealth’s views on migration is:—(1) For effective defence, Australia needs a greater population; (2) the difficulty of finding profitable markets for primary products emphasizes the need for a more rapid growth of Australian secondary industries to provide employment, and an increased consumption of primary products in Australia; (3) Australia has the necessary public works and factories to serve a much larger population; (4) more intensive production and greater population will lessen the load of debt a head of population.

The Minister for the Interior (Mr McEwen) proposes to make an early survey of the alien migration position. This will be considered by the Government when it is- dealing with the scheme of assisted British migration.