AIR TRAINING PLAN TO BE EXTENDED

Southland Times, Issue 24755, 28 May 1942, Page 5

AIR TRAINING PLAN TO BE EXTENDED

(Rec. 6.30 p.m.) OTTAWA, May 26. The Air Minister, Mr C. G. Power, and the British Under-Secretary for Air, Captain H. H. Balfour, stated that a new agreement was negotiated to extend the life of the British Commonwealth training plan for two years until March 1945. Under the new plan Canada will have a larger quota of trained men for home defence. Mr Power said Australia, New Zealand, Britain and Canada will participate in the new agreement, but the terms of the New Zealand and Australian participation have not yet been announced. NEW ZEALAND SUPPORTS EXTENSION (P.A.) WELLINGTON, May 27. The New Zealand Government had instructed its representative at the joint air training conference in Canada to support an extension of the scheme, said the Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon. P. Fraser, when the cable message from Ottawa announcing a new agreement to extend the Empire air training scheme to March 1945 was referred to him tonight. Mr Fraser added that New Zealand had been represented at the conference by the New Zealand Minister to Canada, the Hon. F. Langstone. Associated with Mr Langstone as New Zealand representatives were Air Commodore L. M. Isitt, air attache at the New Zealand Legation in Washington, and Wing Commander T. W. White, New Zealand liaison officer at the Air Ministry, Ottawa, who was also New Zealand representative in Canada on the Joint Air Training Board.