House of Representatives
10 August 1922

8th Parliament · 2nd Session

  1. House of Representatives
  2. 8th Parliament
  3. 1922

Mr. Speaker (Hon. Sir Elliot Johnson) took the chair at 2.30 p.m., and read prayers.

page 1

QUESTION

NOTICE OF CENSURE MOTION

Mr CHARLTON:
Hunter

:.- I desire to give notice that to-morrowI shall move -

That the Government he severely censured for referring its sugar transactions to the Public Accounts Committee before disposing of the amendments moved by the honorable members for . Swan and Bourke, thereby delaying decision on the question of immediately reducing the retail price of sugar.

page 1

NOTICE OF WANT OF CONFIDENCE MOTION

Dr EARLE PAGE:
COWPER, NEW SOUTH WALES · FSU; CP from 1920

– I desire to give notice that to-morrow I shall move -

That, in view, of the failure of the Government to supply information regarding its dealings in sugar and the separate balance-sheets, as promised for 9th August, to enable this House to promptly determine the proper reduction in the price of sugar, the Government no longer possesses the confidence of this House.

page 1

QUESTION

SUGAR CONTROL

Mr HIGGS:
CAPRICORNIA, QUEENSLAND

– It seems that both the Labour party and the Country party axe anxious to’ destroy the sugar agreement. I desire to ask the Prime Minister whether he has seen in to-day’s issue of the Melbourne Age a statement by Mr. J. W. Aspinall, secretary of the Metropolitan and District Fruit-growers Association, to the effect that-

Mr Brennan:

– I rise to order. Haying had on many occasions the advantage of a ruling by you, Mr. Speaker, that a question to a Minister may not be founded on a newspaper statement, I submit that the question which the honorable member for Capricornia seeksto address ‘to the Prime Minister is out of order.

Mr SPEAKER (Hon Sir Elliot Johnson:
LANG, NEW SOUTH WALES

– I did not understand the honorable member to say that he was basing his question on a newspaper statement, but on a statement made by a person whose name he mentioned. A question founded on a statement by a newspaper may be asked if the questioner takes responsibility for its accuracy.

Mr HIGGS:

– I take full responsibility for the truth of the report that Mr. Aspinall made a statement to the effect that when the farmer got £19 per ton out of the £56 per ton charged for sugar there remained j£37 to account for. “ First of all,” Mr. Aspinall said, “ the miller gets his cut, then the refiner, then the wholesale distributer, then the retail grocer, and last, but not least, the Federal Government.” Adopting the language used by Mr. Aspinall, I desire to ask the Prime Minister what “ out “ does the Federal Government get out of the sugar business?

Mr HUGHES:
Prime Minister · BENDIGO, VICTORIA · NAT

– All these notices of motions and questions gravitate around this one matter. The Government does not get anything out of the sugar business except abuse and vilification. Of that it gets more than its fair share; of money it gets nothing.

page 1280

QUESTION

BRITISH HONOURS COMMITTEE

Mr RILEY:
for Mr. West

asked thB Prime Minister, upon notice -

  1. . Is it a fact, as announced by official telegram, that a committee consisting of Lord Dunedin (Chairman), Lord Denman, A. Henderson, M.P., Sir Evelyn Cecil, M.P., Sir G. Marks, M.P., and, possibly, the Duke of Devonshire, has been appointed by the British Government to make inquiries before any further honours are conferred by His Majesty the King!
  2. Will he inform the said Committee that the opinion of Australia is that, before any honours are conferred on any persons connected with Australia, their names should be submitted to the Commonwealth Parliament for approval 7
  3. If not, will he give the House the reasons for not taking that course ?
Mr HUGHES:
NAT

– No official advice has been received regarding the appointment of the Committee in question.

page 1280

QUESTION

GLUCOSE IMPORTS

Mr CORSER:
WIDE BAY, QUEENSLAND

asked the Minister for Trade .and Customs, upon notice -

  1. Upon what date was the first duty of f 12 per ton charged on imported glucose?
  2. How many tons have since been imported, amd upon what dates was the duty paid?
Mr RODGERS:
WANNON, VICTORIA · LP; NAT from 1917

– The answers are:-

  1. 14th May, 1921.
  2. The information is being obtained.

page 1280

QUESTION

AIR SERVICE BETWEEN LONDON AND AUSTRALIA

Mr CHARLTON:

asked the Prime Minister, upon notice -

  1. Have certain details been submitted to him regarding an offer made by Commander C. Dennis Burney for the formation of a company to establish an Imperial mail and passenger service of air liners between London and Australia?
  2. Is it proposed that the Indian and Australian Governments shall subsidize this company to the extent of £40,000 per annum for a period of years until the service pays?
  3. What amount would be payable by the Australian Government?
  4. Does he propose to submit the matter to the House before incurring such unlimited expenditure 7
  5. If not, has any decision been arrived at regarding these proposals?
Mr HUGHES:
NAT

– No definite proposals have been made to the Government, although its attention has been drawn to the scheme in question. No action will be taken in regard to any such expenditure without the approval of the Parliament.

page 1280

QUESTION

IMMIGRATION: DICTATION TEST

Mr BAMFORD:
HERBERT, QUEENSLAND

asked the Prime Minister, upon notice -

  1. Whether a dictation test, as prescribed under section 3 of the Immigration Restriction Act, is being, or has been, applied to immigrants arriving in the Commonwealth from any part of Southern Europe; if so, during what years has the test been applied?
  2. If a test has been applied, will he say to which immigrants, and from which country they came?
  3. Further, will he say if any persons were prevented from entering the Commonwealth because of a failure to interpret the words dictated; and, if so, were any such persons immigrants from Southern Europe?
Mr HUGHES:
NAT

– The answers to the honorable member’s questions are as follow : -

  1. It is not, and has not been, the practice to apply a dictation test to immigrants from Southern Europe, but in a limited number of cases it has been deemed advisable to do so.
  2. Tlie only instances in which the test has been applied to Southern Europeans are the following: - to one Italian (arriving from Ceylon) in 1913, to a number of Maltese (arriving from Malta by one vessel) in 1916, and to one Italian (arriving from Italy) in 1922.
  3. Yes. In the case of the Southern Europeans tested all were restricted, in the first place, hut practically all were subsequently allowed to land.

page 1281

QUESTION

OLD-AGE PENSIONS

PENSIONERS in Dunwich Asylum.

Dr MALONEY:
MELBOURNE, VICTORIA · ALP; FLP from 1931; ALP from 1936

asked the Treasurer, upon notice -

Do old-age pension citizens resident in Dunwich Asylum, Brisbane, receive the same treatment as pensioners in regard to money payments as those who are patients in hospitals; if not, what are the reasons?

Mr BRUCE:
Treasurer · FLINDERS, VICTORIA · NAT

– The answer to the honorable member’s questions are as follow:

Every pensioner resident in Dunwich or other Benevolent Asylum receives a pension of 2s. per week for his own personal use. In addition, the Commonwealth pays the institution 10s. fid. per week for his maintenance. When a pensioner becomes an inmate of a hospital, his pennon must be suspended in accordance with section 45 of the Invalid and Old-age Pensions Act. If the pensioner is discharged within twenty-eight days, he is paid the full pension for that period.” If he is an inmate for more than twenty-eight days, he is paid twenty-eight days’ pension on discharge. No payment is made for the maintenance of tlie pensioner during the twenty-eight days in respect of which he receives pension, but thereafter, until he is discharged, the Commonwealth pays 10s. fid. per week towards his maintenance in the hospital. The reason for the difference is that pensioners in benevolent asylums are usually permanent inmates, while those in hospitals stay there for only short periods. It is thought proper that on discharge the latter should receive full pension in respect of twentyeight days spent in the institution, so that they may have extra comforts during convalescence.

page 1281

QUESTION

DEFENCE EXPENDITURE

Mr SCULLIN:
YARRA, VICTORIA

asked the Minister for Defence, upon notice -

What was the total expenditure on Defence, including buildings, from 1910 to the end of tho last financial year?

Mr GREENE:
RICHMOND, NEW SOUTH WALES · LP; NAT from 1917

– The information desired by the honorable member is being obtained, and will bo made available as early as possible.

page 1281

QUESTION

EXPENSES OF DELEGATIONS

Mr MAKIN:
HINDMARSH, SOUTH AUSTRALIA

asked the Treasurer, upon notice -

What amounts in expenses have been debited to the Commonwealth of Australia for the following delegations. respectively: - Prime

Minister to Imperial Conference, 1821; Delegation to League of Nations Assembly, 1921; Delegation to the International Labour Congress at Geneva, 10211

Mr BRUCE:
NAT

– The expenditure in respect of the Imperial Conference cannot be definitely stated. The Prime Minister went to England to attend this Conference and to deal with other matters. The total expenditure on this visit amounts to £9,168. The amounts in respect of the delegation to the League of Nations Assembly, 1921, and the delegation to the International Labour Congress, Geneva, 1921, are £1,390 and £1,175 respectively.

page 1281

QUESTION

BUREAU OF SCIENCE AND INDUSTRY

Mr HIGGS:

asked the Minister for Trade and Customs, upon notice -

  1. Whether the Bureau of Science and Industry undertakes technical research work for the public, and, if so, do the public pay for same ?
  2. Does the Bureau test fuels and give mechanical efficiency of same?
  3. Is the Bureau equipped with the necessary plant to carry out such tests; if not, will the Government provide plant?
Mr RODGERS:
WANNON, VICTORIA · LP; NAT from 1917

– The answers to the honorable member’s questions are as follow : -

  1. So far as the equipment and vote of the Institute of Science and Industry permit, it undertakes technical research when, in the opinion of the Director, that is desirable in the general interest, and the Director may charge such fees, and may agree to such conditions, as be thinks fit, for special investigations carried out at the request of any authority, institution, association, firm, or person.
  2. The Institute of Science and Industry is prepared to test fuels to ascertain their efficiency for various purposes.
  3. The Institute of Science and Industry is partially equipped for - the purpose of general fuel tests, and this equipment is to.be extended so far as the vote and its general circumstances will permit.

page 1281

QUESTION

TELEPHONES : PROPOSALS IN . 1916

Mr POYNTON:
Postmaster-General · GREY, SOUTH AUSTRALIA · NAT

– On the 3rd instant the honorable member for Cowper (Dr. Earle Page) asked me the following questions : -

  1. What tenders and requisitions for telephone intallations, construction, materials, and stores were submitted by the PostmasterGeneral to the Treasury in the year 1916, and rejected?
  2. What was the price of the materials comprised in such tenders.
  3. What is the present price of the same materials?

I promised that the information would be obtained, and now furnish the following replies: -

  1. The New Telegraph and Telephone Works Estimates for 1916-17, as presented to the Treasury, amounted to £1, 142,000,but only £647,000 was made available. The value of material and equipment (for some of which tenders had been received) included in the foregoing was approximately £912,000, which had to be reduced to approximately £520,000.
  2. See No. 1.
  3. Based upon current market rates, the present price of the some materials would average50 per cent, higher, or, say, £1,368,000 and £780,000 respectively. The actual increase in the case of automatic equipment is about 100 per cent

page 4

INCOME TAX

Refund of Over-payments.

Mr BRUCE:
NAT

– Yesterday the honor able member for Wilmot asked whether it was the custom of the Taxation Department, when taxpayers inadvertently overstated their income, to allow such persons to pay the full . amount. I see in reports in the newspapers this morning a suggestion that since I became Treasurer an alteration has in some way been made in regard to such cases of overpayment. I wish to correct that impression, and to state to the House that the officers of the Taxation Department have always worked under definite instructions from the Commissioner that their duty is to rectify all errors in taxpayers’ returns, whether for or against the revenue.

page 4

PERSONAL EXPLANATION

Mr MAXWELL:
FAWKNER, VICTORIA

– Idesire to make a personal ‘explanation. Yesterday I recorded a vote in favour of the adjournment of the debate on the sugar question moved by one of the Ministers, and my consistency in so doing has been called in question by one of our daily newspapers this morning. On the previous day of sitting I voted for an amendment, moved by the . honorable member for Hunter (Mr. Charlton), that the price of sugar be reduced to 4½d. per lb., andI did so as a protest against the failure of the Government to supply us with such figures as would enable us to say whether or not such reduction may be made.In regard to my vote yesterday for the adjournment of the debate, I desire to say that I gave it on the- assurance of the Minister for Trade and Customs (Mr. Rodgers) that the figures for which I have been asking would be supplied to-day. It was on that distinct assurance that I supported the motion for the adjournment; otherwise I should have voted against it.

page 4

ADJOURNMENT

Motion of Censure

Mr HUGHES:
Prime Min ister and Minister for External Affairs · Bendigo · NAT

.- I move- ‘

That the House do now adjourn.

In view of the notice of motion given by the Leader of the Opposition (Mr. Chariton), I follow the usual practice in movingthe adjournment of the House.

Question resolved in the affirmative.

House adjourned at 2.44 p.m.

Cite as: Australia, House of Representatives, Debates, 10 August 1922, viewed 22 October 2017, <http://historichansard.net/hofreps/1922/19220810_reps_8_99/>.

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