§ 89. Major Beamishasked the Assistant Postmaster-General whether he has any statement to make regarding the delays in delivery of gift parcels to people in this country from well-wishers overseas.
§ 90. Mr. M. Lindsayasked the Assistant Postmaster-General whether he will make 249W a statement in regard to the continued non-delivery of food parcels from abroad.
§ Mr. BurkeOwing to the great number of such parcels now being sent mainly by our generous friends in the Dominions, and the consequent necessity of using all available shipping capacity, parcels generally take much longer to reach this country than they did before the war, when they were conveyed by regular sailings of fast mail ships. This is especially noticeable in the case of parcels from Australia and New Zealand. An erroneous impression has thus been created that the parcels in question have failed to reach the addressees. Special arrangements are in force to ensure that food parcels are cleared for delivery as soon as possible after they reach this country.