THE Hauraki Plains Gazette With which is Incorporated THE OHINEMURI GAZETTE. MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, FRIDAY. “Public Service.” MONDAY, APRIL 24, 1944. POPULATION PROBLEM

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume 53, Issue 32422, 24 April 1944, Page 4

THE Hauraki Plains Gazette With which is Incorporated THE OHINEMURI GAZETTE. MONDAY, WEDNESDAY, FRIDAY. “Public Service.” MONDAY, APRIL 24, 1944. POPULATION PROBLEM

In reply to repeated representations by the Dominion Settlement Association the Prime Minister recently stated that the Government had in mind organised immigration when provision had been made for the rehabilitation of all servicemen in New Zealand. The association advocates planning so that immigrants can be accepted immediately after the war. It states that other Dominions are preparing for an influx of people and that unless New Zealand acts promptly it will be left sadly behind. There can be no question that servicemen and women have a prior claim to satisfactory settlement, but it is also true that the future of New Zealand, as of Australia and other Empire countries, requires a substantial increase in population, and planning to receive suitable immigrants cannot be completed too soon. This war has taught the lesson that it is perilous to allow a country capable of supporting a greatly increased population to remain comparatively empty. The facts are eloquent of a weakness somewhere in the management of New Zealand. Everyone agrees that increased population is a vital necessity and that the country is capable of supporting millions more. Yet successive Governments for many years have deliberately erected barriers to stop the flow of immigrants. Economic conditions within the Dominion have been the reason.

Have the people lost the art of “colonising” on a large scale? Does short-sighted selfishness stand in the way of a development that would ultimately be of great benefit? Is New Zealand to jeopardise its future by refusing to make a place for increased population? It is impossible so to reorganise the internal economy that desirable immigrants could pull more than their own weight? It is a common fear that renewed immigration would entail sacrifices by the people who at present have a stake in the country. That is a fallacy which a statesmanlike policy will one day expose. The solution is not easy, as those who are struggling with the problem of rehabilitation have discovered. There must be a wider approach to the problem, which concerns the whole British Empire. Possibly a glimpse of the possibilities will be gained from the conference of Empire statesmen shortly to be held in London.