Many New Zealanders Can't Get Home

Chronicle (Levin), 4 March 1948, Page 5

Many New Zealanders Can't Get Home

Received Wednesday, 7 p.m. LONDON, Mar. 3, "There is now a waiting list of 24,000 people waiting for passages to New Zealand and applications are pouring in at the rate of 300 weekly," said Mr. W. J". Jordan, commenting on tlie difficulties experienced by people wishing to return to or settle in the Dominion independent of the assisted immigration scheme. 1 ' I have directed attention to this positiori previously," he continued, "but I continue to receive shoals of letters, many of them from Members of Parliament, Mayors and ministers of religien, who write asking me to help somehody who has approached them. All I can do is to refer people wanting passdges to the shipping companies. The only priorities recognised to-day are those for Government sponsored passengers and assisted inmiigrants. The shipping companies have «established a coinmittee which sorts out the priorities and I have an understanding with thenf that I don't send the names of people who are not sponsored. One man who recently arrivect from New Zealand and wants a quick return passage, admitted to me that before he left for England he thought warnings of the difficulties about securing return passages was a political ramp to prevent people leav ing 'New Zealand. He declared he was surprised to find the situatipn was as stated."