“BIG JOB TO DO”

Wairarapa Times-Age, 15 March 1939, Page 5

“BIG JOB TO DO”

AUSTRALIAN WORKERS WELCOMED.

SKILLED IN VARIOUS TRADES. (By Telegrapn—Press Association.) AUCKLAND. March 14. Twenty-six Australians arrived by the Awatea from Sydney to work under the State housing scheme. More than 20 other men and women of various occupations also arrived by the ’Awatea to seek work. They were not brought over, by the Government. The men’s callings range from farming to iron and steel work. Four women included a waitress, a tailoress, a bookkeeper and a canister-maker. No difficulty is expected in placing the skilled workers.

Except for an electrician who is being sent to Wellington, all the Government men will start work tomorrow on local housing contracts.

“It is not because the workmen in New Zealand are not good that you are arriving today; it is because the good workmen we have have put the Labour Government into power and given it a big job to do,”, said Mr J. A. Lee, Parliamentary Under-Secretary in charge of Housing, when welcoming the- tradesmen in the Awatea. He added that they would be teaming in with a fine body of New Zealand tradesmen. Welcoming the Australians as good tradesmen and unionists, Mr Kennerley, secretary of the Carpenters' Union, said that at the moment things were not over-busy in Auckland because of a temporary slackening in commercial building. However,, there would be no difficulty in placing tradesmen. “The Government has a big job on hand, and the greatest problem has been finding good tradesmen,” said Mr H. Campbell, secretary of the Painters’ Union council.