1, A UST ItA LAI( A
PRIME MINISTER Press Statement No. 550
27 August 1975
TIMOR EVACUEES
The Prime Minister, Mr Whitlam, announced tonight
that the Australian Government would take immediate action
to help evacuees from Timor.
He said he had approved a series of charter flights
to bring evacuees from Timor landed in Darwin from the
" Lloyd Bakke" and the " Macdili" to proper facilities in
southern Australia. Darwin does not have facilities to accommodate
those evacuees who do not wish to return immediately to
Portugal. Temporary residence will be granted to those refugees
electing to remain in Australia and those wishing to apply for
permanent residence will have their applications processed in
the normal way.
The Department of Labor and Immigration will be
responsible for chartering civil and R. A. A. F. aircraft to move
the evacuees south and for accommodating them in migrant hostels.
Flights are expected to begin within a few days.
There were 862 evacuees still in Darwin today. The
' Macdili", which is expected to arrive in Darwin on Friday, is
carrying about 800 evacuees. Most of the evacuees are
Portuguese citizens and the Portuguese Government will pay their
transport costs to southern Australia.
CANBERRA A. C. T.
Whitlam, Gough
Period of Service: 05/12/1972 - 11/11/1975
Find more information on Whitlam, Gough on the:
Release Date:
27/08/1975
Release Type:
Media Release
Transcript ID:
3869
Document:
00003869.pdf
1 Page(s)
Released by:
- Whitlam, Edward Gough
TIMOR EVACUEES
3869