Your 577. I.L.O.

You should endeavour to avoid participation in any debate on-
(a) immigration of labourers;

(b) training in industrial establishments.

If drawn into discussion on training you might emphasise that
Australian educational institutions and training establishments
are very overcrowded and that, while Australia grants facilities
for the admission of Asiatic students who wish to attend
Australian Universities or engage in special courses of training
at technical colleges and will continue to do so, rehabilitation
courses for Australian ex-servicemen make it impractical to
provide other than limited facilities for Asiatic students and
trainees in Australia at the present time. We are looking into the
possibility of taking increased numbers of overseas students at
universities and technical colleges when conditions improve but in
the meantime feel that Australia can best contribute-
(a) by planning to make available greater opportunities for
graduate and post graduate work by Asiatic specialists; it is
expected for example that a number of Asiatic students will be
admitted on UNESCO fellowships;

(b) by encouraging Australians to proceed to Asia as teachers and
instructors;

(c) by providing particulars of courses of instruction followed in
Australia.

It would, in fact, be quite impracticable to offer to train
Asiatic apprentices whether in private establishments or in
Government institutions, and any approach towards this end should
be actively but discreetly discouraged. In this connection you can
state that the war has created a back-log of Australians requiring
technical training. [1]