§ 25. Mr. Liddallasked the Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies what arrangements have been made for the remuneration and temporary employment locally of civil servants and other Government employees from our Far Eastern Colonies who have escaped and are now temporarily residing in Australia or New Zealand; and whether, in the interests of economy, he has encouraged them to obtain temporary employment in the war effort, making up any difference in their salary?
§ The Under-Secretary of State for the Colonies (Mr. Harold Macmillan)Payment of salary to Hong Kong and Malayan Government employees in Australia and New Zealand was arranged through the offices of the United Kingdom High Commissioners in Australia and New Zealand. In Australia special agencies were set up by the Malayan and Hong Kong Governments to deal with the personal affairs of evacuees both official and unofficial. Most of the officers concerned have now been offered alternative employment in posts in other Colonies where men with their qualifications and experience are urgently required to meet the increasing demand for European staff for essential war work. Some have been released for military or other service locally in Australia and New Zealand, and some have been retired on grounds of age or unsuitability for further Colonial employment. The High Commissioners were informed in February 757 that pending the decisions in individual cases, there was no objection to their services being temporarily used by the Dominion Governments.