H.—lla

INTRODUCTION 1. The 1945 annual report of the Department records all activities in the field of national service during the year ended 31st March, 1945 —the fifth year of the Department's existence and the sixth year of war. 2. By the end of the year under review there could no longer be- doubt that the complete defeat of Germany and her satellites was a matter of a very few months at most. [Note. -VE day was declared on the Bth of May and the final defeat, of Germany celebrated.'] Germany's overthrow brings much nearer that of Japan and is a striking earnest of the collective war effort of the United Nations. Therefore this year's report of the Department is more than an account of its military and industrial mobilization activities. In addition, it is in a sense an appreciation of the part which New Zealand man-power has played in the war, from its outset to its fast approaching culmination. 3. For this reason the 1945 report briefly summarizes the developing man-power phases, problems, and measures which were dealt with at length in the Department's 1943 report. It brings these up to date, and adds to them a detailed account of policy developments, difficulties, and achievements during the twelve months ended 31st March, 1945. 4. As stressed in earlier reports, activities in the field of national service are best dealt with as a whole, although particular treatment of the two natural subdivisions of military mobilization and industrial mobilization is helpful. 5. Accordingly, this report is divided into three Parts. The first of these deals in a general way with man-power policy, organizational provisions, and the results achieved during the five years of the Department's existence. First the historical background of the Department's activities from its establishment in July, 1940, to the 31st March, 1944, is summarized. This implies a synopsis of the detailed material presented in previous reports. Next the main currents of man-power policy during the twelve months reviewed, and their outcome, are dealt with in general terms. Then follows a Section on the several aspects covering the field of administration and departmental expenditure. The concluding Section of this Part of the report covers the outlook for man-power policy and organization. 6. The general treatment contained in Part I is followed in Part II by a detailed review of the various activities and difficulties recorded in the particular field of military mobilization. Reference to the table of contents will disclose the component Sections into which this Part of the report divides. 7. Similarly, Part 111 is devoted to a detailed treatment of developments in the particular field of industrial mobilization. Here again the table of contents reveals the break-up of the subjectmatter. 8. In both Parts II and 111 of the report the practice of giving progressive information from the outset of departmental activity to the 31st March of the current year has been followed. The information brought forward from previous reports has necessarily been of a skeleton nature. It is considered that this approach should be helpful to those who, reading this report, desire to link its contents with the background of military and industrial mobilization. 9. The full Appendix contains charts and tables which provide statistical elaboration of the subjectmatter of Parts I to 111. PART L —THE GENERAL DEVELOPMENT AND ADMINISTRATION OF NATIONAL SERVICE SECTION I.- HISTORICAL BACKGROUND, JULY, 1940, TO MARCH, 1944 (i) Organization 10. (a) Establishment and Development of the National Service Department.—When war was declared in September, 1939, the readiness with which volunteers entered the Service Arms and the comparative abundance of industrial labour made unnecessary any immediate national service measures. By mid-1940, however, it was evident that compulsory military service would have to be resorted to if New Zealand was to play the part in the war which it was the Government's desire should be played. Accordingly, the National Service Emergency Regulations of 18th June, 1940, were gazetted. These authorized the compulsory mobilization of New Zealand's military man-power resources, vesting this function in a Minister of National Service and a Director of National Service. The National Service Department came into existence during the succeeding month. 11. Even before the outbreak of war, some study had been made of the probable utilization of man-power during war, and a schedule of important (or reserved) occupations was worked out by a departmental Man-power Committee. In addition, a special branch of the Social Security Department (the Registration Branch) was set up to assemble population statistics likely to be helpful during a mobilization. 12. The National Service Department incorporated the Head Office and twenty-two district offices of the Employment Division of the Labour Department and the Registration Branch of the Social Security Department. The latter provided the nucleus of the Military Mobilization Division (at that time called the " Man-power Division "), while the former continued as the Employment Division until the gazetting in January, 1942, of amendments to the National Service Emergency Regulations making provision for control over industrial man-power. With the gazetting of these regulations

I*

3