92

4. Office of the High Commissioner for New Zealand, Australia Close liaison with the Australian Department of External Affairs by the High Commissioner's Office, in pursuance of the prior consultation between the Australian and New Zealand Governments -enjoined by the Canberra Pact on matters of international affairs in which we have a common interest, continues to be a marked feature of the daily activities of the Office. Questions discussed have included Antarctica, Asian Conference in New Delhi, Italian colonies, recognition of Israel, human rights in the Balkan and Central European countries, occupation policy in Japan, the trusteeship of Nauru, the International Children's Emergency Fund, and Indonesia. The Office has followed and reported on social, economic, and political conditions in Australia. The settlement of displaced persons and the employment of immigrants, labour conditions, price control, industrial disputes, rationing, the wheat harvest and export trade, and citizenship legislation are subjects which illustrate the scope of the reporting undertaken by the Office. The High Commissioner, as the New Zealand representative on the Anzac Agency of the Imperial War Graves Commission, has attended regular meetings in Melbourne. This organization is responsible for the care and maintenance of New Zealand and Australian war graves in the Pacific area, notably the War Cemetery at Bourail, New Caledonia. Three international conferences at which New Zealand was represented were held in Australia during the year under review. In May and November the first and second sessions of the South Pacific Commission were held at the temporary headquarters in Sydney. The third session of ECAFE was held at Lapstone, New South Wales, in November-December, 1948, when the High Commissioner's Office provided secretarial staff for the New Zealand delegation. The High Commissioner, Mr J. G. Barclay, has accepted many invitations to address associations and organizations throughout Australia, necessitating travel as far afield as Tasmania and Queensland. Accompanied by Mrs Barclay and the Official Secretary, Miss J. R. McKenzie, he visited the western districts of Victoria in October. The High Commissioner attended a meeting of the South Pacific Air Transport Council in Wellington in November, and during his absence .in New Zealand Miss McKenzie was Acting High Commissioner. The Governor-General and Lady Freyberg visited Australia and were the guests of the Governor-General of Australia, Mr W. J. McKell. Their Excellencies were welcomed enthusiastically both