House of Representatives
29 November 1940

16th Parliament · 1st Session

  1. House of Representatives
  2. 16th Parliament
  3. 1940

Mr. Speaker (Hon. W. M. Nairn) took the chairat 10.30 a.m.,and read prayers.

page 309

QUESTION

AUSTRALIAN IMPERIAL FORCE

Leave-Food

Mr MAKIN:
HINDMARSH, SOUTH AUSTRALIA

– I understand that it is proposed that Christmas leave to members of the Australian Imperial Force incamp in Victoria who formerly lived in South Australia, is to date from the 19th to the 27th December next. It is suggested that such an arrangement will not permit the men to take full advantage of the holiday period, and they ask that the dates be altered to from the 23rd to the 31st December. Will not the Minister for the Army admit that the proposed dates would not be to the best advantage of those who are required to travel to South Australia for the Christmas vacation?

Mr SPENDER:
Minister for the Army · WARRINGAH, NEW SOUTH WALES · UAP

– The point taken by the honorable member appears to me to be reasonable. I shall discuss the matter with my advisers, to see if the suggested change may be approved.

Mr PROWSE:
FORREST, WESTERN AUSTRALIA

– Men in the different camps in the various States are given a rail allowance to the cities. As many of them do not live in the cities, but have their homes in country towns, insufficient lime is allowed to enable them to make a real visit to their homes. Many complaints in this regard have reached me. Will the Minister for the Army examine this matter, in conjunction with the question to which he has just given a reply ?

Mr SPENDER:

– I shall take the matter into consideration.

Mr WARD:
EAST SYDNEY, NEW SOUTH WALES

-As the difference in the quality of the food supplied to the officers and that supplied to the men is causing a great deal of unrest among troops proceeding abroad on transports, will the Minister for the Army sec that the menus are made uniform and that the quality of the food supplied to troops generally is made much higher than at present?

Mr SPENDER:

– I am unable to speak of the menus, but the food supplied to the officers and the troops is, I understand, of the same quality.

Mr Ward:

– It is not.

Mr SPEAKER:

– Order ! The honorable member is distinctly out of order in disputing the answer given by the Minister.

page 309

QUESTION

AUSTRALIAN BROADCASTING COMMISSION

Salary of Manager -L osson Journal.

Mr RIORDAN:
KENNEDY, QUEENSLAND

– I ask the Minister representing the Postmaster-General, what salary is paid to the manager of the Australian Broadcasting Commission, and what amount was lost on the publication of the A.B.C. Weekly?

Mr FADDEN:
Treasurer · DARLING DOWNS, QUEENSLAND · CP

– I shall bring the question to the notice of the PostmasterGeneral.

page 309

QUESTION

SALAMAUA-WAU ROAD

Mr PERKINS:
EDEN-MONARO, NEW SOUTH WALES

– I ask the Minister dealing with External Territories whether he has any information to give to the House in regard to the construction of the road from Salamaua to Wau?

Mr COLLINS:
Minister without portfolio assisting the Minister for the Interior · HUME, NEW SOUTH WALES · CP

– I am not able to give any information concerning this road, other than that surveys of it are still proceeding. Owing to the very difficult, mountainous nature of the country, these surveys have been somewhat delayed. The route being surveyed rises at, times to a height of 2,000 feet, and in one place to 6,000 feet, making the proposition a very difficult one, but the work is proceeding.

Mr WARD:

– Is it true that only one surveyor is working on the central section of this proposed road? Have the surveys of the two end sections been completed ? Would it not be possible to proceed with the construction of the road from each end, at the completion of which the survey of the central portion would probably be finalized ? Is the delay in proceeding with the construction of this road connected in any way with representations to the Government by private companies which are interested in carrying on transport in the territory?

Mr COLLINS:

– I understand that the surveys of the sections at each end have been completed, and that small portions of the road have been commenced. I am not able to say what number of surveyors is engaged on the middle section, but I shall obtain that information and advise the honorable member. I have no knowledge of anything having been done to hinder the progress of the work on behalf of private companies.

Mr STACEY:
ADELAIDE, SOUTH AUSTRALIA

– Does the estimate of £150,000 cover thecost of the construction of the road or merely the surveys?

Mr COLLINS:

– The estimate of £150,000 represents the cost of construction of the road.

page 310

QUESTION

BOMBING SCHOOL AT CONDOBOLIN

Mr BREEN:
CALARE, NEW SOUTH WALES

– I ask the Minister for Air whether a departmental engineer made a personal inspection of Lake Cargelligo before he advised the honorable gentleman as to the suitability of Condobolin as a site for the establishment of a bombing school! Did this officer consult any local engineer before tendering his advice? Will the honorable gentleman also state what dimensions are required in a sheet of water to meet the needs of a bombing school?

Mr McEWEN:
Minister for Air · INDI, VICTORIA · CP

– I understand that appropriate officers of the Royal Australian Air Force visited Lake Cargelligo. I presumethat they made an inspection of that lake, as well as of Condobolin, before reporting to the Air Board as to the suitability of this centre for the establishment of an aerial bombing and gunnery school. I am not able to say whether or not they consulted a local engineer, nor can I inform the honorable member from personal knowledge as to the exact dimensions that are required in a sheet of water to make it appropriate for target towing purposes in association with a bombing and gunnery school.

page 310

QUESTION

WHEAT CHARTERS

Sir CHARLES MARR:
PARKES, NEW SOUTH WALES

– Last week I asked the Minister for Commerce to inform me as to whether it was a fact that a vessel called the Bratdal was chartered prior to the war and had been engaged by the Westralian Farmers Union for a considerable number of years, being subsequently re-chartered to the Government at an excess profit for the purpose of carrying wheat, and showing a profit of £100,000 under thenew arrangement. Has the right honorable gentleman yet obtained information which will enable him to furnish me with a reply?

Sir EARLE PAGE:
Minister for Commerce · COWPER, NEW SOUTH WALES · CP

– Immediately the honorable member submitted this question to me, I communicated with the Australian Wheat Board. Unfortunately, the general manager of the board, Mr. Thompson, has been ‘ in Western Australia, and consequently there has not been an opportunity to obtain a reply to the question. I hope to be able to furnish the honorable member, early next week, with the information that he seeks.

page 310

QUESTION

APPLES AND PEARS

Mr FROST:
FRANKLIN, TASMANIA

– At an interview thatI had with the Minister assisting the Minister for Commerce, I received the promise that he would furnish me with information in relation to the position of certain growers of apples and pears who, in response to a press advertisement promising payment for whatever quantity was marketed, supplied hundreds of bushels of fruit in excess of the quantity at which they had been assessed. The promised payment has not been made, and some of these growers are in a very precarious financial position. I understand that the Assistant Minister is sympathetically disposed in regard to the matter. I now ask him when will he be able to make the payment available to those who were honest enough to ship their fruit at a time when other growers withheld what they had?

Mr ANTHONY:
Minister without portfolio assisting the Minister for Commerce · RICHMOND, NEW SOUTH WALES · CP

– I am having investigations made into the matter and shall furnish the honorable member with a reply as soon as they are completed.

page 310

QUESTION

PETROL RATIONING

Mr CONELAN:
GRIFFITH, QUEENSLAND

– I ask the Minister representing the Minister, for Supply and Development, what was the cost of implementing the petrol rationing scheme, what will be the cost each year, how much will be saved in sterling, and how much in dollar exchange?

Mr SPENDER:
UAP

– I shall have - tie question communicated to the Minister for Supply and Development, and shall furnish a detailed answer to the honorable member.

Mr McCALL:
MARTIN, NEW SOUTH WALES

– Is the Minister for Commerce of the opinion that the commercial users of petrol are receiving adequate supplies to enable them to carry on business?

Sir EARLE PAGE:
CP

– I have seen a report from the Minister for Supply and Development which he lias received from chu saw-millers of northern New South Wales and southern Queensland, stating that they have been getting full supplies du ling the last three or four weeks.

Mr HOLLOWAY:
MELBOURNE, VICTORIA

– Can the Minister state whether shipments of petrol to Australia have fallen off since the introduction of the petrol-rationing scheme? If they have, how is it proposed to increase our reserves of petrol in Australia?

Sir EARLE PAGE:

– I shall bring the matter under the notice of the Minister for Trade and Customs.

page 311

QUESTION

BUDGET REVISION

Mr CALWELL:
MELBOURNE, VICTORIA

– I ask the Treasurer when the sub-committee appointed at a joint meeting of the Government parties is likely to report in respect of those sections of the budget on which it thinks it politically expedient that the Government should compromise?

Mr FADDEN:
CP

– That is a domestic matter.

page 311

QUESTION

CASE OE MK. HERMANN HOMBURG

Mr FALSTEIN:
WATSON, NEW SOUTH WALES

– Will the acting leader of the House state whether it is a fact that the Adelaide Advertiser has published details of Mr. Hermann Homburg’s case, in breach of the censorship? Does the Government intend to launch a prosecution in respect of this breach.?

Mr FADDEN:
CP

– I do not know whether a breach of the censorship has been committed or not.

Mr FALSTEIN:

– Is it a fact that the Adelaide Advertiser is owned and controlled by Sir Keith Murdoch?

Mr FADDEN:

– I am not in a position to answer that question.

page 311

QUESTION

TRANSPORT FACILITIES FOE SOLDIERS

Mr PERKINS:

– In view of the fact that members of the military forces on leave are allowed free transport on the railways, will the Minister for the Army consider the provision of similar facilities for those members of the forces who live in districts served only by motor vehicles?

Mr SPENDER:
UAP

– I shall look into the matter, but, 1 should imagine that the answer will be in the negative.

page 311

QUESTION

SALISBURY MUNITIONS WORKS

Mr MAKIN:

– Will the Treasurer secure a comprehensive statement from the Minister for Supply and Development as to the proposals to be made with regard to the housing of employees at the munitions works to be erected at Salisbury in South Australia?

Mr FADDEN:
CP

– The honorable member’s request will be acceded to.

page 311

QUESTION

SELHEIM MILITARY CAMP

Mr RIORDAN:

– In August last, the late Minister for the Army, Mr. Street, informed nic that a military camp was to be established almost immediately at Selheim, near Charters Towers. About the middle of September, the military authorities of the Northern Command stated that time would not permit of the establishment of this camp, since camp training commenced in October. Will the Minister for the Army see that the erection of a camp at Selheim is started immediately? I understand that the next camp training will take place in March.

Mr SPENDER:
UAP

– I am not prepared to give such an undertaking. I understand that complete provision has been made with respect to military camps. If there be need for a camp at Selheim, I shall see that the work of erecting it is commenced without delay.

Mr RIORDAN:

– Does the Government intend to abandon the proposal for the establishment of a camp at Selheim?

Mr SPENDER:

– I shall ascertain the intention of the authorities with respect to this particular camp, and shall furnish the honorable member with a reply next week.

page 312

QUESTION

INTERNAL AIR SERVICES

Sir CHARLES MARR:

– Will the Minister for Air consider bringing the whole of the internal air services under government control for at least the duration of the war, so that civil aviation may be properly developed by one authority ?

Mr McEWEN:
CP

– That matter is obviously one of policy. On an earlier occasion I. gave an assurance that it would be brought under the notice of the Government.

page 312

QUESTION

SOLDIERS’ DEBTS

Mr MORGAN:
REID, NEW SOUTH WALES

– As the moratorium regulations made under the National Security Act, with regard to soldiers’ debts make no provision for interest reduction, and will therefore allow a load of debt to accumulate and, perhaps, lower the efficiency of soldiers while on active service, will the Minister for the Army state whether the Government has any practical proposals to obviate this difficulty ?

Mr.SPENDER.- The moratorium regulations are now under consideration, with a view to the introduction of certain amendments. Before these are finally dealt with I shall give consideration to the matter raised by the honorable member.

page 312

QUESTION

PREVENTION OF INDUSTRIAL UNREST

Mr LAZZARINI:
WERRIWA, NEW SOUTH WALES

– Has the Minister for Labour and National Service taken any steps to constitute the tribunal, the appointment of which was recommended by the Advisory “War Council, and does the Minister seriously intend that this body shall function, with a view to preventing industrial trouble?

Mr HOLT:
Minister for Labour and National Service · FAWKNER, VICTORIA · UAP

– Certain steps have been taken with regard to the matter. In fact, the machinery was successfully used yesterday in the settlement of a dispute on the waterfront. I have no doubt that, from the experience gained, it will be possible to improve the present machinery from time to time.

page 312

AUSTRALIAN CONSOLIDATED INDUSTRIES LIMITED

Mr.WARD.- Will the Minister for Trade and Customs state what stage has been reached in the inquiries instituted by the Government a considerable time ago into the activities of Australian Consolidated Industries Limited? Who has been given the task of conducting the investigation, and when may the Parliament expect a report on the matter ?

Mr HARRISON:
Minister for Trade and Customs · WENTWORTH, NEW SOUTH WALES · UAP

– An inquiry has been carried out, but the report is not yet available. If the Government, after consideration of the report, considers it advisable to make it available to the House, it will do so.

page 312

QUESTION

NAVAL WAR CORRESPONDENT

Mr McCALL:

– In view of the remarkable exploits of the Royal Australian Navy, will the Minister for the Navy give consideration to the appointment of an additional war correspondent?

Mr HUGHES:
Attorney-General · NORTH SYDNEY, NEW SOUTH WALES · UAP

– I shall be very glad to do that. I understand that some such arrangement is made in the Royal Navy, and I shall give the matter immediate consideration.

page 312

QUESTION

HOUSING IN NEW SOUTH WALES

Mr FORDE:
CAPRICORNIA, QUEENSLAND

– Has the attention of the Minister for Social Services been invited to a paragraph in the Sydney press of the 14th November, containing the following statement made by him to a deputation with respect to national housing : -

I am not talking humbug when I tell you I am keenly anxious to remove some of the blots on the housing landscape. This is not a matter in which the Commonwealth Government can shelter behind the constitutional hedge. I am prepared to bring this matter again before the Federal Government. There is significance in that. The job has got to bo done, irrespective of whose job it is.

Has the Minister placed the matter before the Government, and is he now in a position to make a statement regarding it?

Sir FREDERICK STEWART:
Minister for External Affairs · PARRAMATTA, NEW SOUTH WALES · UAP

– My attention had not previously been drawn to the paragraph referred to by the honorable member. That was not necessary. I still adhere to the statement made by me on that occasion, and I am now making inquiries with a view to submitting proposals to the Government regarding the matter.

page 313

QUESTION

PRICES OF BEER AND SPIRITS

Mr PERKINS:

– Will the Minister for Trade and Customs state when the increased prices of beer and spirits will become operative with respect to the general public? Will the date be fixed by the Prices Commissioner before the increased import and excise duties are imposed ?

Mr HARRISON:
UAP

– A statement has already been made to the House and to the press, setting out the date when the increased prices will become operative. Following the discussion in Melbourne recently between the Prices Commissioner and those interested, certain increased charges were determined upon and became operative.

page 313

QUESTION

BRITISH SHIPPING

Mr BEASLEY:
WEST SYDNEY, NEW SOUTH WALES

– Will the Minister for External Affairs state whether the Government has yet received advice from the Australian High Commissioner with regard to certain proposals which, it is reported, the President of the British Board of Trade has placed before him? I understand that these proposals arc designed to give Great Britain increased help from Australia, particularly with regard to shipping. Have these request? been received, has the Cabinet considered them, what plans does it propose to institute to enable further help to be given to Great Britain in this matter, and will the Government co-opt the services of those who are in a position to give valuable advice on the matter?

Sir FREDERICK STEWART:
UAP

– I have no personal knowledge of the matter referred to, but I shall have inquiries made with a view to furnishing the honorable member with the information sought by him.

page 313

QUESTION

PATRIOTIC AND COMFORT FUNDS

Mr WARD:

– Has the Minister for the Army any statement to make concerning the report in the press that goods supplied to patriotic and comforts funds for distribution amongst soldiers have been sold to various business houses ?

Mr SPENDER:
UAP

– The only statement that I am in a position to make at the moment is that the military officer in charge of the Eastern Command has had investigations made regarding this report, which was current in New South Wales. His statement is to the effect that there is no substance in the allegation.

page 313

DATS AND HOURS OF MEETING

Motion (by Mr. Fadden) agreed to -

That, unless otherwise ordered, this House shall meet for the despatch of business on each Tuesday at three o’clock p.m.; on each Wednesday and Thursday at half -past two o’clock p.m.; and on each Friday at half-past ten o’clock a.m.

page 313

SUSPENSION OF STANDING ORDERS

Motion (by Mr. Fadden) - by leave - agreed to -

That so much of the Standing Orders be suspended as would prevent, before the Address-in-Reply is adopted, the introduction and passing through all stages of a Supply Bill, Loan Bill, Wheat Industry (War-time Control) Bill, and Wheat Tax (War-time) Assessment Bill.

page 313

WHEAT INDUSTRY (WAR-TIME CONTROL) BILL 1940

Sir EARLE PAGE:
Minister for Commerce · Cowper · CP

– I move -

That he have leave to bring in a bill for an net to amend the Wheat Industry (War-time Control) Act 1939.

I ask the indulgence of the House to explain the wheat position and the procedure necessary to assure the continuous working of our war-time wheat marketing productive activities. I do this because I desire to ask the House not merely to give me leave to introduce the bill, but also to carry it through all its stages to-day. The bill is non-contentious and has been rendered necessary by the act passed last year which said that -

This act shall continue in force until and including the first day of December, One thousand nine hundred and forty, or until such earlier date as is fixed by proclamation, and no longer.

I felt, however, that if I made a full statement to the House as to the course that the constitutional position necessitates adopting on the whole wheat position, and the reasons for it, honorable members would help me and that they themselves would be helped by having in their possession all the facts of what is being done for the wheat industry. Any points of controversy can be thrashed out in the debate on the subsequent bills of which notice of motion has also been given.

Legislation necessary to give effect to the Government’s wheat stabilization plan is as follows : -

  1. National Security (Wheat Industry Stabilization) Regulations which have been promulgated. These provide for the establishment of the Stabilization Board, its machinery and administration; the registration of wheat farms and the licensing of growers.
  2. National Security (Wheat Acquisition) Regulations which have been drafted but not yet promulgated. These will provide for amendment of existing regulations to ensure the guaranteed price.
  3. Wheat Tax (War-time) Bill. This will provide for a tax of 50 per cent, of the excess market realization beyond 3s.10d. a bushel on all wheat harvested after the 1st October, 1941.
  4. Wheat Tax (War-time) Assessment Bill. This will provide for assessment of the amount of tax by the Stabilization Board, and its collection.
  5. Wheat Industry (War-time Control) Bill.

It is the lastmentioned bill with which the Government is immediately concerned, because the Wheat Industry (War-time Control) Act 1939 will cease to operate after the 1st December, 1940, and it is desired to ensure that there should be continuity of provision for proper disposal of moneys raised by means of the flour tax. The Government’s plan of stabilization provides for continuance of the home-consumption price for the guaranteed price over all and for the distribution of excess realizations over and above the guaranteed price. The legislation which will be introduced immediately will provide the means for the disposal of excess realization over and above the guaranteed price. Such part of those excess realizations as are due to go to the stabilization fund, in addition to collections from the flour tax, are referred to in the bill which I now seek leave to introduce. The bill simply provides that the moneys from these two sources, standing to the credit of the Wheat Industry Stabilization Fund, shall be applied to enable the Commonwealth to pay the guaranteed price and to repay to the Commonwealth Bank advances made by the bank.

I now take the opportunity to inform the House of the nature of the Government’s plan as a whole.

Australia’s wheat problem is both a world marketing problem and a war problem. Before the war, the statesmen of every country were devising ways and means of disposing of the huge surpluses of wheat in such a way as to keep farmers on the land. The problems of the wheat exporting countries had been steadily growing more difficult because the principal importing countries in Europe, ever since they were struck by the depression, redoubled their efforts to secure selfsufficiency.

These policies of self-sufficiency restricted the market while the normal exporting countries maintained or even increased their production. The result was the accumulation of a huge surplus between the years 1928 and 1934, more than twice the normal annual demand of the importing countries. Although reduced by climatic conditions in the United States of America, the surplus mounted again until now there is a greater supply of wheat in the world than ever before. The world price of wheat dropped to a low level in recent years and efforts were continuously made over the last six years to find some form of international wheat agreement which would prevent the accumulation of these surpluses of wheat that overhung the market and destroyed profitable prices.

The Australian Governments had been trying for twenty years before the present war to secure a. plan of stabilization which would dovetail in with the international position, and wore actually discussing this problem when the war broke out. The outbreak of war increased the magnitude and complexity of the problem.

The war is largely a European war. Many great importing countries are being blockaded as the result of war. The war has caused also shortage of shipping and increase of freight rates. The four great wheat exporting countries of Argentina, Canada, the United States of America and Australia are outside Europe and are still growing wheat on a pre-war basis.

At the outbreak of war, therefore, the Australian Government was confronted not only by inherent problems of the industry, but also by those additional urgent problems caused by the cessation of trading and market quotations. Normal markets had disappeared. In the interests of the wheat industry, and to facilitate war-time marketing, the Government took control of the marketable wheat remaining from the 1 938-39 harvest and established the Australian Wheat Board to control, store and market the 1939-40 crop.

The Government then sought to bring to a head plans it had been devising to stabilize the industry for the war period and provide a basis for post-war stability. From the point of view of national war effort, some degree of security within the industry is essential. War-time stability will also help towards securing the general adjustments that are necessary to put the industry on a self-supporting basis. The Government recognized that a long-term plan would stimulate the adoption of better farming methods, thereby reducing production costs in the industry and placing it in a better competitive position in the post-war period. Such a scheme of stabilization would have beneficial repercussions on country business and employment generally, especially on the makers of farming implements in the cities, and could be used to increase the stability of other agricultural industries.

This year several conferences with the State governments have been held, but no unanimous agreement could bo reached in respect of any feasible stabilization plan for a. definite period. The Commonwealth Government therefore determined to stabilize the wheat industry under the national security regulations, because it realizes that stability in this industry is essential during the war. It discussed the matter last week with representatives of the wheat industry, and announced its plan to a conference of State Premiers and Ministers, who promised their full co-operation in administering the scheme.

The principal features of this plan, which is being brought into operation by national security regulations and the passage of three consequential bills, are as follows: -

  1. There will be a guaranteed price of 3s.10d. a bushel f.o.b. ports, for bagged wheat, in respect of an acquired crop of 140,000,000 bushels. All costs of receiving, handling, railage, storage and placing on board will be found out of this price.
  2. Provision is being made for the creation of a fund, into which surplus market realizations will be paid in years of high price, to meet debits resulting from payments to the industry in years of low price. Surplus realizations over and above the amount of 3s.10d. a bushel f.o.b. ports for bagged wheat will be shared equally between the fund and the producers.
  3. All wheat harvested as grain will be marketed through the Australian Wheat Board.

The liability of the Commonwealth Government is based on an acquired crop of 140,000,000 bushels at a guaranteed price of 3s.10d. a bushel f.o.b. for bagged wheat. Existing wheat farms will be registered, and wheat-growers will be licensed to grow wheat on registered farms. It is not intended to register properties which are not now growing wheat. These provisions are necessary in order to control the acreage to be sown early in 1941.

Mr Wilson:

– Will any properties be de-licensed ?

Sir EARLE PAGE:

– Properties will be de-licensed only in the marginal areas. That matter will be dealt with by the State Governments. We propose to go back three years, so that persons who are really wheat-growers, but did not grow wheat last year, will be considered.

Provision will be made to subdivide existing wheat properties which are registered. Licensed growers will also be required to give an undertaking that they will sow only the acreage allotted to them and carry out any other conditions that may be imposed in the interests of the industry as a whole, or that may be forced upon us by the exigencies of the war. In addition, they will, as required, furnish returns in order to enable the Government to investigate production costs.

Provision will be made for the transfer of licences in respect of registered properties. As I have said, it is not proposed that farms on which wheat is not now being grown will be registered in future as wheat-growing properties. The object is to confine the stabilization plan to farms and farmers at present growing wheat.

It is not intended to imperil the genuine wheatgrowers’ opportunities for success by allowing into the wheatgrowing industry, at depressed periods of other industries, men who can engage in a wholesale way in the growing of wheat at very little cost on land that can be used better for other purposes.

The aim of the scheme is a marketable crop of 140,000,000 bushels, which is approximately equivalent to a total crop of 160,000,000 bushels, as about 20,000,000 bushels is used for seed and stock feed. This total of 160,000,000 bushels approximates the average Australian crop during the last six years. Each year Australia consumes about 33,000,000 bushels of wheat, and has an exportable surplus of from 100,000,000 to 110,000,000 bushels. This export figure does not differ widely from the quantity suggested by Australia as one of the terms of an international agreement when discussions took place with the other great wheat-exporting countries. The average production figure will be maintained by certain safeguards, of which the first is the system of acreage control through the registration of wheat farms and the licensing of wheat-farmers.

Mr Rankin:

– Will that prevent people from growing wheat for their own. requirements ?

Sir EARLE PAGE:

– No; but they will be required to register their properties.

An additional safeguard is the provision for the cutting of crops for hay as directed by the Government. Directions to cut hay will be given in years when a heavy crop is in prospect, and arrangements will be made for some finance to be made available against such hay

Arising out of this stabilization plan, I hope there may develop some voluntary debt adjustment between debtor and creditor in the wheat-growing industry where advantage has not been taken of the provisions of the Farmers’ Debt Adjustment Act. Adverse conditions for many yeans have increased the debt obligation of a great -number of wheatfarmers to such a degree as to place them in an impossible position. Now that there is some certainty of a reasonable annual return, many creditors will no doubt realize that it will be to their own interests, as well as that of their farmer debtors, to agree upon a plan of debt liquidation spread over future years. This will enable the debts to be paid and, at the same time, will give to the farmers a reasonable prospect of regaining their independence. If only this result were achieved, I should consider that the stabilization plan had been justified.

It must be realized that any wheat grown in excess of the 140,000,000 bushels basis will not participate in the guarantee. The same must, of course, apply to surplus hay, but facilities for its disposal will be provided. The provision foi- the cutting of crops foi: hay will not only assist to form a basis, for a national conservation scheme, but, by avoiding sharp fluctuations of the acreage .sown, will also give the opportunity, should market conditions be favorable, for Australian wheatgrowers to take the fullest advantage of a high world price.

The scheme will operate in respect of the 1941-42 harvest. There should thus be ample time to work out fully all of the preliminary details of the plan. The plan is, however, being brought into operation immediately by national security regulations, and the complementary legislation is to be passed so that all wheat-growers will know, well before the next seeding, exactly where they stand. The deferring of the operation of the scheme until next year will really be to the advantage of the farmer, in view of the small harvest this year.

The export surplus ofth is year’s harvest will approximately equal the quantity used for home consumption, and it is likely that the price received by the farmer this year will be more than the 3s.10d. a bushel guaranteed by the stabilization plan. In these circumstances, if the plan were operative in respect of the 1939-40 harvest, tanners might be paying money into the fund in the first year of the scheme. In view of the adverse season, it is not desirable that this should happen.

The plan will be controlled by a small board, whose liaison with the Australian Wheat Board will be maintained by Mr. Clive McPherson, who will be chairman of bothboards. The advice of wheatgrowers will be obtained through an advisory committee. Added representation of wheat-growers on the Australian Wheat Board itself is also being arranged.

The Government regards as most important the provision that the wheatgrower will cut for hay, in any season, the acreage determined by the stabilization board. Thus the acreage to be harvested for grain can be controlled according to the seasonal conditions. The hay will form the basis of a fodder conservation plan which the Government will inaugurate with the co-operation and assistance of State governments and ind u stry orga ni zations.

Mr Badman:

– What, officers will advise the acreage to be cut for hay?

Sir EARLE PAGE:

– It is intended that this work shall be done through the State agricultural departments.

I hope later to introduce proposals for a. national fodder conservation scheme, which I shall discuss with the various States and the agricultural industries. This will provide essential fodder supplies for primary industries in normal years. Reserve stocks will be accumulated for years of short supply, when, under existing conditions, production in essential industries, such as dairying and meat, decreases disproportionately with adverse seasonal conditions. The conservation of fodder supplies should enable these industries to maintain a more constant level of production. This will benefit both the individual and the nation, and will undoubtedly assist us in competing with other nations by assuring a continuous stream of Australian exports to our customers.

Mr Scully:

– Should there not also be a national water conservation scheme ?

Sir EARLE PAGE:

– I agree withthe necessity for such a scheme.

The more effective use of farm machinery and plant which the stabilization plan, combined with a fodder conservation scheme, would bring about should also tend to reduce production costs, lessen individual farm overhead expenses and enable our agricultural industries to become more successful in the fierce competition that will emerge in the poor, but hungry, post-war period. If, by some community effort, we could apply mass-production methods to individual farms by providing the necessary plant and machinery without additional capital cost to the individual farmers, we might easily revolutionize the net results to our producers.

An examination of conditions in sections of industry to-day reveals the urgent need for action along these lines and indicates the huge unnecessary losses that have taken place because of the failure to co-operate. There is no doubt that such action would bring about a reduction of production costs which is essential if we are to retain, during the post-war period, any market advantages which we may be able to secure in the meantime.

Mr Holloway:

– There would have to be a compulsory pool.

Sir EARLE PAGE:

– A brief review of the conditions within the industry over the past decade best indicates the value of this plan in overcoming the problems of the Australian wheat industry.

I have had prepared, and now lay on the table of the House, statistical and historical statements concerning world production and marketing. As these illustrate the principal features of the world wheat industry and of Australian wheat problems, and may be a guide to us in dealing with the present situation, I ask that they may be incorporated in Hansard for the information of honorable members. [Leave granted.]

The state of” the Australian wheat industry during the last decade reflected the world position. Increasing Australian surpluses moi’ low prices in most years, and, as prices fluctuated violently, the growers never knew what the future,

Sir Karte Page or in fact any one year, held for them. Various attempts were made to bring about a complete operative organization to meet this position, and provide a stabilized situation for the farmer. In 1935 legislation to this end was passed by the Commonwealth Parliament and most of the State parliaments to provide a home-consumption price for the wheat consumed in Australia, and establish an Australia-wide wheat marketing organization, but such legislation was declared invalid by the Privy Council. The referendum to validate it was never understood by the people and accordingly it was rejected. In 1938, however, agreement between the States and the Commonwealth Parliament was reached, with the result that complementary and supplementary legislation in the seven Australian parliaments established a fixed price of 5s. 2d. a bushel f.o.r. ports for wheat for flour for home consumption. This legislation has resulted in substantial gains to the wheat-grower over and above what he would have received had he been paid world parity price for the whole of his crop.

An effort has been made to assist the legitimate wheat-grower by restoring to their natural industries the marginal areas which cannot grow wheat profitably over a period of years. The sum of £500,000 a year for five years is to be provided to the States under the Wheat Industry Assistance Act in. order to accelerate the process of transference of men to more profitable occupations on these areas, and thus one menace to the stability of the industry is being removed. The Commonwealth Government has agreed that during the next three years the plans of the States in this connexion, which will absorb £1,500,000, shall be expedited.

The Commonwealth Government also dealt with the problem of the overcapitalization of wheat farms, especially the debt position of the farmers. In 1934, provision was made to grant to the States £12,000,000 for farm debt adjustment on conditions that the farmers’ debts should be written down and that repayments should be used for a revolving fund to make money available to the farmers at a lower rate of interest. The beneficial effect of this money has not been as great as it would have been had the Government’s plans to stabilize the industry been successful when this money was first made available six years ago. There still remains, however, over £3,000,000 of the original sum allotted.

This money will be used more effectively and profitably than was the amount which has already been expended.

I sum up the position by expressing the belief that what we are doing now will help to establish this important industry on a basis which will enable it to deal with ail of its existing problems. Marketing organization has already provided for the most efficient disposal of the harvest; the stabilization plan now adopted will ensure a steady return for the wheat delivered to the board, the plans for the evacuation of marginal areas are being accelerated, the homeconsumption price will be retained in all circumstances, and voluntary debt adjustment on a sound basis is likely to ensue. The benefits thus envisaged will not only accrue to the farmers themselves, but also be reflected in all districts dependent on the wheat industry.

Mr SPEAKER (Hon W M Nairn:
PERTH, WESTERN AUSTRALIA

– The discussion that has occurred on the motion for leave moved by the Minister for Commerce (Sir Earle Page), has not been strictly in order as such discussion should properly be confined to the terms of the motion itself; but I did not interrupt the Minister, as it was obvious to me that honorable members desired to hear the statement he wished to make Further discussion of the subject should, however, be deferred until the bill is before the House.

Mr FORDE:
Capricornia

.- I do not intend to oppose the motion for leave provided that the Minister for Commerce (Sir Earle Page), makes a satisfactory explanation of the intentions of the Government. I have examined the proposed provisions of the Wheat Industry (War-time Control) Bill, which it. is now desired to introduce and find that they include the following: -

This act shouldbe deemed to come into operation on the 30th day ofNovember, one thousand nine hundred and forty.

Last night the Minister gave me a copy of a proposedbill under the same title as this one and it included a provision that the measure should come into operation on the date on which it received the Royal assent. I take it that some confusion has occurred in consequence of the

Senate adjourning earlier than was thought to be likely. I understood last night that it was desired that this bill should be passed through both Houses of the Parliament to-day. As it is now proposed that the bill shall have a retrospective effect as from the 30th November, there seems to be no need for urgency in rushing it through this House to-day. In any case, the measure is not so innocuous as it may seem to be on the surface of it, for it contains a definite reference to Statutory Rules 1939, No. 96. That statutory rule deals with such important subjects as the constitution of the Australian Wheat Board, the meetings of the board, the appointment of the board officers, the setting up of State committees, agents, the expropria tion of wheat, and so on. It also covers a. proposal of the Government that an additional 3d. a bushel shall be paid in respect of the wheat in No. 2 wheat pool. The members of the Labour party will not be satisfied with the payment of an additional 3d. a bushel. Last night the leader of this party (Mr. Curtin), in a fine broadcast speech over the national stations, said -

Wc say that the wheat-growers are deserving of an advance of (id. in respect of the No. 2 wheat pool. Many of them are in dire straits for want of money for immediate needs.

Seeing that the Government is proposing to pay only 3d. a bushel in the next advance, I hesitate to agree to the passage of this bill on the ground of extreme urgency. The proposal to pay an additional advance to the wheat-growers in respect of the No. 2 wheat pool raises a most contentious issue in regard to the amount involved. Our view is that 3d. a bushel will be most inadequate, for thousands of wheat-growers throughout Australia are at present in dire need. Wc feel that they deserve more generous treatment, than that proposed by the Government.

Mr Holloway:

– Perhaps the Government desires to make this the issue rather than the amendment moved last night by the Leader of the Opposition.

Sir Earle Page:

– I rise to make a personal explanation. When I spoke to the Leader of the Opposition (Mr.

Curtin) yesterday concerning the urgency of this bill I contemplated the possibility of it being passed by both Houses of the Parliament during to-day. In the seven or eight hours that elapsed before I was able to discuss the matter with the Deputy Leader of the Opposition (Mr. Forde), the Senate had adjourned, so that it became impossible to dispose of the bill to-day. If the Deputy Leader of the Opposition is prepared to permit the measure to be taken to the second-reading stage I shall be willing for him to move for the adjournment of the debate.

Mr Archie Cameron:

– I rise to a point of order. I wish to know exactly what we are supposed to be doing, for this seems to be an extraordinary procedure. In actual fact the subjectmatter of a proposed bill is being debated before the bill is properly before the House. Moreover, the Government is at present subject to a direct challenge as to its policy. In these circumstances our proceedings this morning are most extraordinary and I do not think that any satisfactory explanation of them can be offered. Until such time as the challenge which the Prime Minister (Mr. Menzies) has accepted has been disposed of all other business should be suspended.

Mr SPEAKER:

– I have already explained that I did not intervene while the Minister for Commerce was making his statement, as it appeared to me to he obvious that honorable members were anxious that he should be allowed to continue.. At any rate no objection was taken at the time. In view of the circumstances which have arisen, I shall ask honorable members not to engage in any general discussion until the bill is available in accordance with the Standing Orders.

Mr Archie Cameron:

– I certainly wish to see the bill before any further discussion is permitted.

Mr Forde:

– By way of personal explanation, I wish to say that I shall be satisfied to permit the bill to go to the second-reading stage if I am permitted to move for the, adjournment of the debate after the Minister has made Iris second-reading speech. As I understood the situation, it was desired yesterday to introduce this bill immediately as a matter of great urgency, but the need for such urgency has now disappeared.

Question resolved in the affirmative.

Bill brought up, and (on motion by

Sir Earle Page) read a first time.

Second Reading

Sir EARLE PAGE:
Minister for Commerce · Cowper · CP

– by leave - I move -

That the bill be now read a second time.

The statement which 1 made on the motion for leave covers all the ground th at would normally have been covered in my second-reading speech.

Debate (on motion by Mr. Forde) adjourned.

page 321

WHEAT TAX (WAR-TIME) ASSESSMENT BILL 1940

Motion (by Sir Earle Page) agreed to-

That he have leave to bring in a bill for an act relating to the assessment and collection of a tax upon wheat.

Bill brought up, and read a first time.

page 321

SUPPLY BILL (No. 3) 1940-41

Message recommending appropriation reported.

In Committee of Supply:

Motion (by Mr. Fadden) agreed to -

That there be granted to His Majesty for or towards defraying the services of the year 1040-41 a sum not exceeding £2,896,000.

Resolution reported and - by leave - adopted.

Resolution of Ways and Means founded on resolution of Supply, reported and adopted.

Ordered -

ThatMr.Fadden and Mr. Collins do prepare and bring in a bill to carry out the foregoing resolution.

Bill brought up by Mr. Fadden, and read a first time.

Second Reading

Mr FADDEN:
Darling DownsTreasurer · CP

– by leave - I move -

That the bill bo now read a second time.

Supply Acts Nos. 1 and 2 provide funds to cany on the services of the Government until approximately the 30th November, 1940. This measure provides for a period of one month to cover the intervening period from now to the passing of the main annual appropriation.

In my budget speech I outlined the financial proposals for the current year. The intention is to ask the House to considerthe budget and pass the necessary appropriation act before Parliament rises. In the meantime, further supply is required to carry on essential services. This bill makes provision for an amount of £2,896,000 to meet expenditure under the following main heads : -

The amounts included in the bill are based on the rates of expenditure approved in the appropriation for 1939-40, except in the case of defence, where it is necessary to make increased provision to meet war conditions. No provision has been made in the bill under the heading “ Treasurer’s Advance “, as it is anticipated that the amount of £5,000,000 already granted this year will be adequate for requirements. I commend the bill to the House.

Mr FORDE:
Capricornia

.- The Opposition does not intend to delay the passage of this bill, as it is anxious that the budget debate be continued without unnecessary interruptions. Honorable members on this side of the House will take the opportunity afforded to them by the budget debate to scrutinize the items of expenditure contained in this bill.

Mr Jolly:

– What expenditure is covered by the item “ Refunds of Revenue, £200,000”?

Mr Fadden:

– That is an internal adjustment in connexion with refunds of a mounts not properly belonging to revenue.

Mr Jolly:

– In connexion with the customs ?

Mr Fadden:

– In connexion with all sorts of things.

Question resolved in. the affirmative.

Bill reada second time, and by leave, passed throughits remaining stages without amendment or debate.

page 322

LOAN BILL (No. 3) 1940

Message recommending appropriation reported.

In committee (Consideration of Governor-General’s message) :

Motion (by Mr. Fadden) agreed to - That it is expedient that an appropriation of moneys be made for the purposes of a bill fora n act to authorize the raising and expending of a certain sum of money.

Resolution reported.

Standing Orders suspended ; resolution adopted.

Ordered -

That Mr.Fadden and Mr. Anthony do prepare and bring in a bill tocarry out the foregoing resolution.

Bill brought up by Mr. Fadden, and read a first time.

Second Reading.

Mr. FADDEN (Darling Downs-

Treasurer) [11.55]. - I move -

That the bill be now read a second time.

This bill provides for the raising and expending of £2,000,000 from loan fund for postal works. An additional amount of £1,176,000 will be provided from revenue, making a total provision of £3,176,000 for “postal works for the year. In 1939-40 the expenditure was £3,177,000. A small amount of £20,000 is included in the bill for the expenses of loan raising, such as stationery, advertising, &c., but these expenses will be kept at the lowest possible level. Honorable members will agree that expenditure for works of this class is necessary to provide adequate facilities for Australia’s growing population and to enable the post office to keep abreast of modern technical developments.It will result in the creation of assets which will more than repay the capital charges of interest and sinking fund and for this reason may be regarded as an ideal form of loan expenditure. The amount of £3,176,000 to be made available in 1940-41 is the maximum that can be provided from the budget, having regard to our huge war commitments. I commend the bill to the House.

Mr BEASLEY:
West Sydney

– I propose to refer briefly to appointments to the Australian Broadcasting Commission. I do so at this stage because within the next week or two the Government may decide to make fresh appointments to the commission or re-affirm the appointments of members already holding office. I should like to have from some Minister a statement of the Government’s policy in connexion with the Australian Broadcasting Commission. For some time there has been a controversy over the administration of broadcasting and particularly over appointments made to the . commission about six or seven months ago. When vacancies were about to be created honorable members on this side of the House requested that a representative of the Labour movement should be appointed to the commission. Our requests, however, went unheeded. The subject of appointments is about to rise again and if the Government, should survive, the reconstruction of the commission may actually take place between the rising of the House after the disposal of the business now before it, and the commencement of the next sittings.

Mr SPEAKER (Hon W M Nairn:

-Order ! I doubt, whether the honorable member is in order in discussing, on a loan bill, a matter concerning the policy of the Australian Broadcasting Commission. Such a subject could be dealt with more properly during the consideration of the Estimates, or of a bill dealing specifically with the commission.

Mr BEASLEY:

– May I draw your attention, Mr. Speaker, to the item of £29,000 in the schedule, which relates to expenditure on behalf of the Australian Broadcasting Commission?

Mr SPEAKER:

– I have already noticed that.

Mr BEASLEY:

– Seeing that item, I felt that, in this appropriation, the work of the commission was involved.

Mr Fadden:

– Not in loan expenditure.

Mr BEASLEY:

– The schedule discloses that from the total sum to be raised, an amount of £29,000 will be allocated to the national broadcasting service. I hoped to associate my contention with the fact that this money could not be spent without passing through the hands of the Broadcasting Commission. By an act of Parliament, honorable members have delegated to the commission certain powers over which the legislature cannot exercise any authority, but honorable members can still question the actions of the commission, in a direct sense, through the medium of the public purse, and the amount of money which is to be allocated to this service. The House might, by appropriate means, suggest that this sum should not be made available to the commission from loan money, if honorable members felt that they were not obtaining from the Government the necessary assurances that they require. As I should not like to transgress your ruling, Mr. Speaker, I ask the Treasurer to give to the House an undertaking that in dealing with the Australian Broadcasting Commission, its policy, re-appointments and reconstruction, honorable members will have ample opportunity to express their views respecting this very important service, and that the Labour party will be granted proper representation thereon.

Mr JOLLY:
Lilley

.- As the amount of £2,000,000, which is to be raised on the loan market, is earmarked for expenditure by the Post Office, I should like the Treasurer (Mr.Fadden) to explain whether that department will be debited with the interest payable on the loan.

Mr Fadden:

– Yes.

Mr JOLLY:

– From the Consolidated Revenue Fund this year, the Post Office will receive £118,000 for expenditure on works, hut the annual profit made by the department totals nearly £2,000,000. That money will be paid into Consolidated Revenue, while a similar sum will be raised on the loan market for expenditure by the post office.

Mr Fadden:

– There is a system of interest adjustment in the accounts, which operates to the advantage of the Post Office.

Mr JOLLY:

– Does the Post Office get the benefit of that adjustment?

Mr Fadden:

– Yes.

Mr JOLLY:

– There is another matter to which I desire to draw attention, because on previous occasions I have received only a partial explanation of it. Before the Post Office can commence any works, it must wait until Parliament passes the budget. As the result of this policy, the department is obliged to carry out in six months works which should be spread over the whole year. In my opinion, that system is most unsatisfactory. Assuming that the sum to be raised by loan under this bill is not spent before the 30th June next, will the department be able to continue the work during the next financial year?

Mr Fadden:

– It does not affect the appropriation.

Mr JOLLY:

– I consider that the department should be permitted to plan ahead and proceed with important works without having to wait until the budget is passed.

Mr FADDEN:
DARLING DOWNS, QUEENSLAND · CP

– This bill achieves exactly what the honorable member suggests.

Mr FORDE:
Capricornia

.- I should like the Treasurer (Mr. Fadden) to explain whether the appropriation of £29,000 for the national broadcasting service will be utilized in connexion with the erection of new broadcasting stations in various parts of the Commonwealth, where reception is most unsatisfactory. It is of paramount importance that better services should be provided for listeners in country areas. Many of them are unable to get daylight reception from national stations, while in some places the quality of the reception even at night is indifferent. “ Fading “ is experienced in many parts of Queensland. To improve the position in that State, the PostmasterGeneral’s Department proposed some time ago to build a new broadcasting station, or erect a relay station, but up to date the work has not been commenced. Thousands of listeners, who have to submit to the inconvenience of poor reception, have a genuine grievance, because they are required to pay the full licence-fee. I can understand that the present difficult times offer some justification for delaying the erection of new stations, but as some are evidently being constructed in other parts of Australia, I urge the Treasurer not to overlook the claims of Queensland. I also hope that the amount of £29,000, which is contained in the schedule, is not earmarked to provide a new suite of offices in Sydney for the Australian Broadcasting Commission, because I know that a proposal was made to erect a new head office there. The Treasurer should explain fully the purpose for which this sum of £29,000 is intended.

Mr ARCHIE CAMERON:
Barker

– I am amazed that there should he placed in the schedule of this Loan Bill an item of £29,000 for the Australian Broadcasting Commission, which is a very wealthy institution and which has invested many times the amount of that sum in bonds. Before honorable members agree to such an item they are entitled to receive from the Treasurer (Mr. Fadden) some explanation of its purport. The honorable member for West Sydney (Mr. Beasley) referred, inter alia, to the composition of the Australian Broadcasting Commission, and I declare emphatically that honorable members are entitled, on a matter of this kind, to voice their opinions. As one who has had previous knowledge of the relationship existing between the Australian Broadcasting Commission, the Postal Department and Parliament, I consider that the time for this legislature to devote some of its attention specifically to a discussion of the Australian Broadcasting Commission, its composition, its future, and its relationship to the people of Australia, is long overdue. In my opinion, the tenure of office of members of the present commission should not be extended for more than a very short period, because it is a. most unsatisfactory body.

Mr.- SPEAKER- As I have already ruled, an honorable member may not on a loan bill discuss matters of principle concerning the Australian Broadcasting Commission.

Mr ARCHIE CAMERON:

– If you, Mr. Speaker, rule that the Treasurer is entitled to ask Parliament to provide £29,000 for the Australian Broadcasting Commission to spend as loan money, I consider that honorable members are in order in voicing their opinions of the qualifications of the body that is to spend the .money. I ask you, sir, to give consideration to that aspect, and declare whether I am right or wrong.

Mr SPEAKER:

– I consider that the House is entitled to expect from the Minister an explanation of the purposes for which the money will be spent, but I do not think that the Blouse should properly enter into a discussion of the merit* of the present broadcasting commission.

Mr Fadden:

– Perhaps an explanation will remove a good deal of the misunderstanding that has arisen concerning this item. The sum of £29,000 will be spent’, not by the Australian Broadcasting Commission but by the PostmasterGeneral, for the purpose of carrying out his part of a contract with the commission, involving certain technical work. This does not affect the activities of the commission.

Mr Rosevear:

– Let us assume that Parliament decides that the PostmasterGeneral’s Department should not undertake that work until the commission has pur its house in order?

Mr Fadden:

– That is entirely a matter for Parliament. to decide.

Mr ARCHIE CAMERON:

– The explanation tendered by the Treasurer makes the position still more extraordinary. The Postal Department is one thing, and the Broadcasting Commission is another. A big percentage of the money collected from listeners’ licence-fees is retained by the Postal Department. I have an intimate knowledge of the internal workings of that department, and having heard the Treasurer’s explanation, I say that the schedule is most extraordinary. Before the honorable gentleman asks the

House to agree to the item, he should give the matter further consideration. I hold strong views about the Australian Broadcasting Commission and certain, other matters such as the A.B.C. Weekly, the case for which has not yet been put in this House. One of the cardinal rules in relation to the presentation of Loan Estimates to the House of Representatives is that they should show clearly the authority which is responsible for the expenditure of the money. Although yon, Mr. Speaker, have ruled in a certain, direction, and 1 do not propose to challenge it, sooner or later honorable members will be compelled to debate the subject that I have raised, because the Crown has the right to raise money, and Parliament has the right to determine the authority which shall expend it. Honorable members must also examine the qualifications of the persons who are to expend the money. If, as the Treasurer announced, this work for the national broadcasting service is to be carried out by the Postmaster-General. that is one thing, but if it i3 to be carried out by the Australian Broadcasting Commission, it is a different matter entirely. In respect of both counts, however, I subnut that we should be entitled later in committee to examine this proposal in great detail.

Mr BARNARD:
Bass

.- This bill affords mc an opportunity to discuss the important matter of telephone exchange services. In a number of country centres throughout the Commonwealth, a good deal of clamour is heard for the establishment of rural automatic exchanges. “Whilst recognizing that the exigencies of war-time curtail the works which the Postal Department would undertake in normal years, I urge upon the Treasurer (Mr. Fadden), who represents the Postmaster-General in this chamber, the desirability of continuing, as far as possible, installation of more of these exchanges in country centres. Probably the honorable gentleman knows as well as I do, the advantage of this system ; and although Ave are passing through most difficult times, the necessity for proceeding in the work should not be entirely overlooked. Evidently money can be raised on the loan market for this purpose. If the necessary ‘material can be made available, the Postmaster-General should proceed more expeditiously than he has done in the past to grant this facility to people living in the country. There are many places in my electorate in which the people have been clamouring for automatic exchanges for a long time, and the reply given by the department has always been that money is not available, and that, in any case it is difficult to obtain equipment. Evidently money can be found for other purposes, and I therefore appeal to the Treasurer to provide the money for these necessary undertakings.

Mr SHEEHAN:
Cook

.- I desire to draw the attention of the Treasurer to the deplorable service provided by the Mascot manual telephone exchange. For many years agitation has been conducted for the installation of an automatic exchange at Mascot, and work was actually begun on the new project just, before the outbreak of war. Since then it has been held up. The Mascot district, within the metropolitan area of Sydney, is one of the greatest manufacturing districts in Australia, and the existing telephone service is hopelessly inadequate. Not only is Mascot an important industrial centre, but it is also the aerial gateway to Australia. It is developing rapidly. When I made representations to the Postmaster-General’s Department on this subject, I was informed that there was no equipment and no money with which to carry out the work. I now appeal to the Treasurer to make the necessary money available so that the people of Mascot may be given the service to which they are entitled.

Mr SPEAKER:

– I hope that honorable members will not take advantage of this debate to bring forward claims on behalf of various districts. The debate on this bill must be limited in its scope.

Mr DRAKEFORD:
Maribyrnong

– Provision is made in this bill for the raising of £221,000 to be expended on works, sites, fittings and furniture, and under that item honorable members are entitled to bring various requests before the Treasurer. Honorable members who have asked for improved telephone services, and particularly for public telephones, have been told by the department that the service cannot be granted because there are no telephone cabinets available, and in my electorate instances of lengthy delay are common. I ask the Treasurer why sufficient cabinets cannot be obtained when money is voted for that purpose by Parliament. In the district of Maribyrnong, where there has been great development, even more than in the district represented by the honorable member for Cook (Mr. Sheehan), we cannot get public telephones installed, because, according to the Postmaster-General’s Department, there are not sufficient cabinets available, despite the fact that money is being voted which would cover the cost of cabinets. I cannot see why it is necessary to raise a loan for the carrying out of these works, but that, apparently, is the Government’s policy, the responsibility for which it has to carry. I do not object to that, but I do object to being told, after a site has been approved and the application assented to, that the work cannot be done because there is a shortage of cabinets.

Mr SPEAKER:

– I am reminded of the practice in this House that matters relating to administration may properly be discussed on the Estimates or on Supply, but that it is not permissible to discuss them on loan bills. By way of illustration, I point to the frequent instances when pensions appropriationbills were before the House, and all attempts to discuss matters of principle relating to pensions were resisted.

Mr MORGAN:
Reid

.- As this money is to he raised for the creation of public assets, am I right in assuming that it will be raised through the Commonwealth Bank at a nominal rate of interest?

Mr Fadden:

– It will be raised in the usual way through the Loan Council.

Mr MORGAN:

– From private sources ?

Mr Fadden:

– Yes.

Question resolved in the affirmative.

Bill read a second time, and passed through its remaining stages without amendment or debate.

page 326

BUDGET 1940-41

In Committee of Supply:

Consideration resumed from the 28 th November (vide page 302), on motion by Mr. Fadden -

That the first item’ in the Estimates under division I. - The Senate - namely, “ Salaries and allowances, £8,176 “, be agreed to.

Upon which Mr. Curtin had moved by way of an amendment -

That the words “ agreed to “ be omitted, and the word “ postponed “ inserted in place thereof. as an instruction to the Government * . . (vide p.* 267).

Mr SPOONER:
Robertson

– One point on which all political parties concurred during the recent election was that Australia, as a partner of the British Empire, should prosecute an all-in war effort, both for its own protection and to honour its obligations to the Empire to which it belongs. The stage has now been reached where the financial sacrifices entailed by the undertakings we have given must be faced, and I feel confident that Australia will not fall behind in any respect. Although only a little more than two months has passed since the elections, a very acute difference of opinion has already arisen in this Parliament on financial issues and on the method by which Australia should engage in an all-in war effort. This position arises at a time when raiders are operating not so very far from Australia, and when mine-layers are at the very door of the country. When bombs are falling on England, this Parliament finds it impossible to carry out what was obviously the intention of the electorate when it returned a Parliament in which the Government and the Opposition are almost equally represented. As a newcomer to this Parliament, I make bold even at this stage to appeal for a greater degree of unity and decision. I believe there is room for the exercise of more reasonableness in the settlement of the differences that have arisen in the consideration of this budget. I believe that the budget, which represents the Government’s financial proposals, should be passed, and that the Government should then be requested to make whatever adjustments are necessary to the various tax hills. I cannot believe that the Leader of the Opposition (Mr. Curtin), for example, regards as practicable, under present conditions, all the proposals incorporated in the amendment moved by him ; a.nd neither do I believe that all of those proposals should be brushed aside, and regarded as a challenge to the Government. I shall vote against the amendment, and for the resolution moved by the Treasurer (Mr. Fadden), because I want to see the Government make a start, but that does not mean that I necessarily agree with all of the Government’s proposals. Neither will ir prevent rue from expressing my opinion in regard to certain phases of the budget.

The Government has declared that it will expend approximately £273,000,000 in 1940-41. There is room for difference of opinion as to how this sum should be raised with the least detriment to the country’s social and industrial life. I accept the Treasurer’s assurance that this amount can .be expended before the 30th lune, 1941. I say that because the rate of expenditure up to the present does not indicate that the money will be expended by the end of this .financial year, but the Treasurer has said that, before the 30th June, 1941, the rate of expenditure upon defence undertakings will have risen to £15,000,000 a month. If that conies to pass, the Government will have achieved, in the speeding up of its wai- effort, only what the people expect of it. Whether or not in every instance the Government has adopted the correct method of raising the .money required, for the expenditure that I have indicated, time will prove. I can only say at this stage that I hope the raising of audi a. large proportion of those requirements by means of increased taxation will not have a deflationary effect, and will not give rise to internal troubles in the Australian economy. To illustrate the possibility that this may happen, I remind honorable members that the budget provides for the expenditure of £87,000,000 upon interest and ordinary services. £143,000,000 upon war services within Australia, and £43,000,000 upon war services abroad. The Government proposes that this money shall be raised in the following way: £19,090,000 from business undertakings, £430,000 from revenue from the Territories of the Commonwealth, £51,400,000 from direct taxation, £74,925,000 from indirect taxation, and £4,255,000 from sundry revenues, making a total of £150,100,000 from revenue sources. It proposes also to raise £52,231,000 by way of loans in Australia, and leaves for the financing of commitments abroad, by a method that I shall mention presently, a sum of £43,000,000, making a total of £95,231,000. The Treasurer has indicated that during the current financial year, the cash balance of £28,049,000 brought forward on the 30th June will be used. The total of these funds estimated to become available agrees approximately with the estimated expenditure, and represent, a summary of the method by which the Government proposes to finance its expenditure during the year 1940-41.

Before proceeding to discuss the general position, I wish to comment upon the incidence of direct taxation and indirect taxation, and to draw the attention of honorable members to the revenue raised in the last pre-war year, namely 1938-9. In that year, the Government raised by means of direct taxation, £15,287,228 and, by means of indirect taxation, £58,749,671. This year the Government proposes to raise £51,400,000 by means of direct taxation and £74,925,000 by means of indirect taxation. Compared with the year 1938-9, the increase of direct taxation is £36,112,772, and that of indirect taxation £16,.l 75.329. The increase of direct taxation for the last two years, therefore, will, be 236 per cent., while the increase of indirect taxation will be 27 per cent. In my opinion, that illustrates clearly that the Government has not been unfair in the allocation of taxation, as between direct and. indirect sources.

I shall now deal with the Government’s loan proposals generally. In 1939-40 the Government borrowed within Australia £43,010,000, and during that year it made sinking fund contributions totalling £4,494,000, so that it took off the Australian market the net amount of £.3S,516,000. Under the Government’s proposals, in 1940-41, it will borrow within Australia £52,231,000, and contribute from sinking fund sources £6,200,000. Therefore, according to its present intentions, the Government proposes to take off the market, this year a net amount of £46,031,000. I submit that in proportion to the proposed expenditure, and in proportion to the very heavy taxation that I have indicated, the Government will not over borrow on the Australian market, provided, of course, that the market is not used in another way with which I shall deal presently. I mention this because 1 wish to refer to the Treasurer’s comments with regard to the sum of £43,000,000 that is to be expended abroad in 1940-41, and to that portion of his speech in which he made it clear that this amount would be financed by the Commonwealth Bank, which is to receive Australian Government securities in exchange for the sum provided from sterling funds abroad for overseas war expenditure. The Treasurer prefaced that announcement by saying -

Fortunately, because of the improvement in our overseas funds, arising from the control of imports, that had been made possible.

It is evident that the Treasurer contemplates financing the sum of £43.000,000 through the Commonwealth Bank. Although the honorable gentleman indicated that Australian Government securities would be issued to the Commonwealth Bank against whatever amount was advanced, he did not state whether or not the sum to be advanced would be secured by treasury-bills or by long-dated securities by the Commonwealth Bank. Neither did he say whether or not it was proposed, or had been arranged at this stage, that the Commonwealth Bank should release all or part of these securities upon the Australian market. That is a very important point; it is important to Australia at this stage, and it is very important to this Parliament in its consideration of the Government’s proposals with regard to direct and indirect taxation. If it is proposed that the Commonwealth Bank should release upon the Australian market the whole or some part of the securities which it will receive from the Government against its expenditure abroad, the local market will have to find not only the sum of £52,231,000 which the Government proposes to borrow, but also whatever proportion of this £43,000,000 the bank may take upon the local market through the sale of its new securities.

There will arise the question of whether or not the contribution from the credit of the Commonwealth Bank to the cost of the war is limited to whatever difference may remain between the amount found by the bank and the amount taken off the local market. I mention this possibility because of the controversies that rage to-day on the question of central bank credits. It must be quite evident that the central bank has assisted the Government to finance its war expenditure, and is doing so to-day, during the lag period between the time of expenditure and the time of raising the loans or raising the taxes, as the case may be. That is obvious because the Government has not tapped the local loan market since May last. Beyond the sum of £43,000,000 for London finance, which may only be temporary finance because of the possibility that some part of it at least may be taken off the home market, there is no evidence in the 1940-41 budget of any lasting contribution by the Commonwealth Bank towards the Cost of this war, although I admit that the bank must be very freely assisting the Government in a temporary way by financing the interval between expenditure and the raising of loans. When the position is balanced at a. suitable point at the end of the financial year, there is no evidence that the bank is contributing by way of credit to the financing of the war. I mention that because I consider, that there may ibc some justification for the fear that the Government’s financial proposals will result not by inflation but deflation. That fear is supported by the drastic taxation proposals, and by the fact that there is no evidence of the issue of any credit. Whilst I pay no allegiance to any false doctrines that may lead to inflation, I cannot escape the impression that the control of finance in Australia has not yet emerged from the orthodox rigidity of the past, and that Australia is departing slowly and with some reluctance from the old procedure of the gold standard days. I cannot escape the fear that the load of taxation which is to be imposed upon the people of Australia may cause some measure of deflation next year. In a young uncapitalized country, the diversion of so much money from the usual channels of expenditure cannot fail to have some considerable- effect, on industrial and social conditions. If this be unavoidable, then I have nothing to say, because whatever steps are considered necessary to win this war must be taken. If, however, we can avoid economic dislocation in Australia, while still maintaining the necessary war effort, so much the bet tei* for us all and for those who will follow us. There must be very definite limits to any form, of credit expansion, the dangers of which are very evident, and I do not think any honorable member needs to be reminded of them. If, however, the nation has credit resources which could be used within safe limits in time of crisis to preserve its financial equilibrium, surely there was never a moment in the history of Australia when their use was more justified. The financing of overseas expenditure from London funds does not result in the issue of new credit; it is only a temporary use of moneys that have been accumulated in London through the sale of Australia’s surplus primary products. If the securities which are to be issued to the Commonwealth Bank be sold within Australia, in effect, the overseas expenditure will be met from the local market, and in the final analysis, the result will be that money will bc exported from Australia, thus to that degree depleting the local market.

Silting suspended from 1.45 to 2.15 p.m.

Mr SPOONER:

– Before the suspension of the sitting I was pointing out that if the securities issued to the Commonwealth Bank - or some portion of them. - are sold in Australia the overseas expenditure is met from the local market just, as certainly as if the money had been met from Australian funds in the first instance. The effect of realizing a portion of the securities upon the Australian market will be to export capital to that amount. I believe that this difficulty was recognized during the last ivar, with the result that Australia’s commitments abroad were financed very largely, if not entirely, by England, in order that the home market should not be depleted. We have been told that it would not be possible to follow a similar course on this occasion.

That may be so. It would be unreasonable and unfair of us to expect Great Britain in the present circumstances’ to finance our commitments abroad. For this reason I should like to see devised a formula which 1111 convince the people of Australia that our external war commitments, or some portion of them, cannot be financed from central bank credit until it can be consolidated after the Avar. It is not a sufficient answer to the difficulty I have mentioned to saythat this may involve a heavy strain upon the central bank. The burden of taxes that Ave face to-day will entail a heavy strain upon Australia as a whole. Let no one entertain any doubt whatever that the quantum of taxation now proposed will freeze the nation’s industrial effort and retard our future progress. If my assumption that, the Commonwealth Bank will unload the whole. or a portion, of the new securities upon the Australian market, be correct, this may be the explanation for the comparatively small home borrowings and the extreme taxation now proposed. Were it possible for the Government to use the home market for some portion of the money that will, I assume, be withdrawn by the central bank, taxation could be reduced to that degree, and the budget might then present a. different picture.

Are Ave wise in seeking to emulate the policy of Great Britain wi th regard, to taxation? Conditions in Great Britain and Australia differ vastly. On the one hand, Great, Britain does not stand in need of natural and industrial develop.ment; Australia, on the other hand, is urgently in need of all forms of development, and the main fund from which that expansion can be provided for is the surplus income of companies and. individuals after taxes are met. We are passing through days that are without precedent. Increased expenditure for Avar purposes is unavoidable, and Ave cannot expect to bc able to meet those commitments without lessening public expenditure in other directions. Excessive taxation must reach a stage when its repercussions will be made evident through interference with industry, and consequential unemployment. I am afraid that this may be the effect of the present budget.

I regret that the budget is silent upon matters of post-war reconstruction and development in Australia. These vital issues cannot be allowed to await attention until the termination of the Avar. Even if, at present, we cannot apply much money in that direction, we can at least set up an organization to devise plans to ensure that, no delay shall be experienced after the war in diverting expenditure towards our rehabilitation. While we are planning and preparing for a long war, we should keep our thoughts upon the prospect of attaining victory at an earlier date than may at present seem possible. When victory is won, an era of dislocation is bound to result from the rapid unwinding of a. highly specialized war organization, for sonic of which no need will exist after the war. Unless machinery be held in readiness to meet that position, disorder and distress may very well result. We are aware, for example, of how long it took Australia to move into war. It can take us equally as long, or much longer, to move back to peace, if, under the strain of war, we fail to make even elementary preparations for essential post-war reconstruction. In this regard the budget lacks imagination. It fails to anticipate Australia’s need to prepare for greater population and production after the war.

Mr Holt:

– Steps are already being taken to plan our post-war reconstruction.

Mr SPOONER:

– I should like to have seen a detailed explanation in the budget of what the Government proposes to do in that respect, because our postwar reconstruction effort should be considered conjointly with our war effort.

Reverting to the Government’s taxation proposals. I believe that we should aim at standards which are applicable to Australia. It is not necessary for us to adopt the methods of other countries. We have our own future to watch, and our own present to protect; and our conditions may differ very widely from those in other countries with whose systems of taxation our own system has been compared. We should retain in the industrial system every pound which is not urgently required for our full war “effort. I notice, for example, that the increased direct taxes which it is proposed to collect during the next financial year amount to £33,000,000. Were it possible by an adjustment of the strain upon the market for borrowings in other directions to reduce that figure by £8,000,000, and for the Government’s borrowings on the home market to be increased by an equal amount, the result would still be that the borrowings for 1940-4.1 would amount to £60,000,000, whilst the total taxation collected would still amount to £120,000,000. The proportion of taxes to borrowings would remain in the ratio of 2 to 1. It is not for me to propose a way by which taxation could be adjusted if such a rc-arrangement were possible. Such proposals must emanate from the Government itself. I hope that it will be found possible to re-arrange the taxation proposals in such a way as to keep to a minimum the costs of administration, which I believe will increase considerably under the present proposals. To-day, the services of our experienced administrators should be directed as much as possible to our war services. But the Government’s proposals will have the effect of transferring some hundreds of experienced administrators to the Taxation Department. Those men could render far more valuable service to Australia if they were employed in connexion with our many war activities. In a time like the present the Government, should take bold and original action to deal with the unprecedented difficulties with which, we arc confronted. Our present machinery of administering and collecting taxes is top-heavy and far too costly, whilst our taxation laws are unreasonably complicated. I arn afraid that the Government’s new proposals will further complicate that position and place additional burdens upon our administrative machinery. I was interested last night to hear the honorable member for Barton (Mr. Evatt) refer to this matter. I listened to him intently, as a constitutional authority, to hear whether he would express an opinion as to whether or not the Commonwealth now possesses power to cancel the State taxation systems, and to collect the whole of our taxes, both State and Federal, through one source and under one simple and comprehensive measure. The amounts of the

States’ requirements are well-known at present. Each of the States has issued its budget for the financial year 194.0-41, and has indicated the amount which it expects to collect from taxes. For that amount it must be protected, but, in order to do so we do not need to perpetuate the collection of taxes by so many methods and through so many different channels as lias been the custom now for some years. The existence of seven different systems of taxation makes it very difficult for us to start afresh by adopting a simple method of tax assessment for Australia as a. whole. This difficulty is accentuated in view of the family of new taxes which have been bred during the last decade, including those which originated during the depression, such as unemployment relief, development, wages and social services taxes. All that matters to the States is that they should receive the amount of revenue for which they have made budgetary provision. It would he a wonderful concession to the taxpayers to be relieved of the dual system of overlapping Commonwealth and State assessments. Such action would greatly increase the efficiency of Australia’s tax-collecting systems. If this cannot be done immediately it should be possible at this stage to implement a wages tax scheme for small income earners similar to those by which certain States collect taxes by stamp systems. The use of that method would render unnecessary the preparation of some thousands of income tax returns by persons earning a low rate of wages and would do away with all the expense of tax assessments, administration, correspondence and other incidental costs.

News messages cabled from abroad during recent weeks indicate that Cabinet Ministers and other public men in Great Britain are directing their thoughts towards the new conditions that must prevail in that country in the future. I believe that a movement in that direction will soon become more intensive in Australia. Such a movement will greatly assist our war effort and will create greater public confidence in the promises made by governments about post-war reconstruction. Promises of good times to come after the war is over are not enough. Something should be done now. Up to the present Australia has been- negative upon all matters not directly connected with the war. The nation is in need, of a positive effort that will not in any way diminish its determination to continue fighting until victory is achieved. I believe that this effort towards the solution of postwar problems, when it comes, will be successful and will lead to great developments in this country. I have indicated already that I shall vote against the amendment proposed by the Leader of the Opposition, but the debate on the amendment may have the effect of bringing about what Australia needs in order to preserve its democratic institutions - greater co-operation between opposing political factions and, ultimately, the formation of a national government.

Mr RIORDAN:
Kennedy

.- I support the amendment moved by the Leader of the Opposition (Mr. Curtin). Unlike the honorable member for Robertson (Mr. Spooner), who first attacked the budget and then announced his intention to vote against the amendment of the Leader of the Opposition, I shall not make an analytical speech on the principles of Government finance. I shall expose to the committee the viciousness of this budget and its brutal treatment of the lower-paid workers whom we on this side of the chamber represent. The honorable member for Robertson expressed the hope that an outcome of this debate would bo the formation of a national government, but I point out that ever since the outbreak of war the Labour party has co-operated with the Government and given, every support to its war effort. Since the people expressed their views at the elections a national war council, including members of the Labour party, has been established. Those members convey to the Government the views of. the Opposition on all matters affecting the nation’s war effort. What hopes there were for the formation of a national government have been destroyed by the viciousness of this budget. The Prime Minister (Mr. Menzies) said that it was a radical budget which represented a compromise between the views of the Government and those of the Labour party. If that be so, all I can say is, “Lord help the toilers of this country if ever a truly United Australia party budget is introduced “. This budget exposes the stupidity and futility of any further advocacy by honorable members opposite of the formation of a national government. In common with all other members of the Labour party I believe that the workers will do everything possible to bring the war to a successful conclusion. As the Leader of the Opposition (Mr. Curtin) has said, they will give their all. But the wealthier sections of the community should give their share also. This budget favours the sections which the Government represents, to the detriment of the masses of the people. Its effect on the workers will be devastating. Profiteering was rampant during the last war, but in spite of that lesson no excess war profits tax has been imposed since the outbreak of the present conflict. Admittedly, a company taxation measure was brought down on the 9th May of this year. Discussion of that measure was adjourned and, although the bill came before Parliament again in August, last, discussion was again .adjourned. Now, this budget proposes the imposition of special war-time taxes which strike directly at. the poorer sections of the community, and not at the rich combines and corporations. Notwithstanding the Prime Minister’s statement that the rate of tax on the higher incomes will be trebled, the Government proposes to collect from wage and salary-earners whose incomes are less tha.n £400 per annum a total of £5,000,000 - fifty times as much as was collected from them in the last financial year. This budget will make the poor poorer and the rich richer. The Government will have at its disposal a tremendous income, which no doubt will be expended in Melbourne, if past performances are any indication, thus assisting the wealthy sections of the community, who in turn assist the Government at election times. The honorable mem’ber for Robertson said that the budget might cause a small measure of deflation next year. I agree with that view, but I go much farther. It will create widespread unemployment; it is merely the beginning of a policy of deflation that will have a serious effect on all States except New South Wales and Victoria. I come from Queensland. What war industries are there in that State in which money collected by this Government will be expended ? On the eve of the elections, the Minister for the Interior (Senator Poll) stated that £1,750,000 was to be expended on war industries in and around Brisbane. When I asked in this House recently whether those contracts had been let, I was given the vague reply that the matter was being inquired into. The budget is merely another attack upon those who have long been the victims of a vicious system. They suffered more than any other section during the depression which caine after the last war, and they suffered most during the great depression of 1929-32. Since 1932 they have been belted by this Government through indirect taxation - I say belted because no other word is adequate. Now the Government proposes to deal a knock-out blow to them by direct taxation. Already wage-earners in the low income group are paying relief- taxes or development taxes and are contributing to the funds of the Commonwealth as members of war savings groups. The Government’s proposal is that a single man earning £3 a week - and, incidentally, in Brisbane the basic wage is £4 4s. a week - will be compelled to contribu’te ls. 6d. a week in direct taxation. A man earning £200 a year will be compelled to contribute 4s. a week. All this will be in addition to the other charges I have mentioned. Unmarried women will suffer in the same way. Most of them are endeavouring to save what they can out of the pittance they receive as wages in order that they may marry and start wedded life a little above the bread-line. The Government’s proposals will prevent them from making those savings. Honorable members supporting the Government, belonging as they do to the wealthier classes, cannot understand the position of the poorer people. Most of them do not know what it is to struggle along on a mere pittance, endeavouring to save a few shillings every week. This budget will prevent those wage-earners, not only from saving for themselves, but also from contributing to the war effort through war savings groups. Many of them will find it extremely difficult to live decently, particularly those who have relatives dependent upon them, who nevertheless are not classed as dependants according to the terms of the taxation legislation. Many mein hers of the family who are frequently unemployed have to contribute to -the family purse in order to enable the struggle for existence to be continued, yet 4s. a week is to be taken from men and women whose income is only £200 a year. That, may not mean a great deal to honorable members opposite, but it is a substantial sum to those who have sent us to this Parliament to represent them. This budget will reduce the spending power of the community in Queensland, South Australia, Western Australia and Tasmania. The full benefits of it will be felt in Victoria, because this Government has transferred the head-quarters of the various departments to Melbourne and the bulk of the war expenditure is being incurred in that State. The Government professes to favour the decentralization of industry. Why does it not decentralize the war industries, and thus make it possible for those who live in other States to secure employment? This is a deflationary budget, and if it he adopted its effects will be felt long before next year. I do not think that it will be passed; but if it is, then so soon as the taxpayer has to make his first payment, or the first deduction be made, there will be a tightening up of expenditure by those who have saved a few shillings.

Last evening, the honorable member for Barker (Mr. Archie Cameron) indulged in flights of fancy, in which he spoke of lambs, doves and moths. He also said that the workers must be prepared to sacrifice their living standards. That is the policy of this Government; its aim is to. smash down living standards that have been- built up in this country over a period of years. Through the medium of this budget, it hopes to achieve what the Bruce-Page Government failed to do in 1929. That Government endeavoured to smash the arbitration system, but was itself smashed by the people. A similar fate awaits this Government. Already, 2,500,000 lower-paid workers are making a sacrifice; yet the honorable member for Barker says that there must’ be a greater sacrifice of living standards. We are informed that the basic wage, which is regarded as the irreducible minimum, Ls to be further reduced under this budget.

Mr Archie Cameron:

– Hitler would take all.

Mr RIORDAN:

– The Labour party is 100 per cent, ‘behind this Government in the endeavour to destroy the policy of which the honorable member himself, in days prior to the war, uttered words of praise. Honorable members who sit on this side of the chamber attacked that policy as soon as it raised its ugly head.

Three methods are open to the Government to finance this budget - (1) use of the credit of the nation through the Commonwealth Bank - which the Government refuses to do - (2) loans, and (3) taxation. The principal means proposed by the Government is taxation by which the wage-earner is to be brought right down to the breadline. During the period of the war there has not been a war-time profits tax. It is now proposed that such a tax shall be introduced. The only inference to be drawn from the failure to introduce it within a. few days of the outbreak of the war, is that the Government wished its wealthy supporters to exploit the position. The Minister for Trade and Customs (Mr. Harrison), who’ contends that there has been only a slight increase of the cost of living, should interview the wives of wage-earners in their homes, as to whether or not there has been an appreciable increase of the cost of living.

He would not then say that the increase has been no greater than 4.7 per cent. Already, as the result of this budget, the prices of commodities have risen. Our friends opposite claim that the additional imposts are mostly on luxury items. There have been increases in respect of other items also, and in consequence the cost of living is bound to rise. In one respect, the effect of the budget will be to inflate prices; but it will also have a deflationary effect, because it will reduce the spending power of the community and cause widespread unemployment. The increase of the sales tax must cause price levels to rise. In my opinion, the Government is following a policy enunciated in England at the beginning of this year, when it was said that a war period is one of boom and that after the war comes the burst; that during the boom period the workers should bc asked to contribute a portion of the boom payment, so that when the war is over they will be able to maintain themselves for a time even though they are unemployed.. Thus the Government may have time to prepare to assist them financially later. Apparently, this Government proposes to tax the workers in the boom period and will have to look after them when the boom bursts. When the war is ended, we shall find that the position of the financial institutions has been strengthened as the result of the expenditure of enormous sums by the Government. When the burst comes the conditions will be akin to, if not worse than, those of 1929-32. The Government has not yet made any provision in regard to post-war planning. The honorable member for Robertson said, “I regret, that the budget is silent on post-war planning”. I echo that sentiment, and so do the people of Australia. The Government will wait until the war is over and the boom has burst before setting aboutplanning for peace-time reconstruction ; but it will be merely locking the stable after the horse has fled. It appears to me that we are heading for a morass similar to that of 1929, which was the inevitable result of the activities of the Bruce-Page Administration. Although that depression was world-wide, there was no planning by the Government to anticipate its effects, neither foresight nor imagination was displayed, and there was no appreciation of the altered world conditions. The Government which occupies the treasury bench must early undertake the task - it will not be an easy one - of planning for the day when peace shall have been restored.

The press that, supports the Government has declared, almost unanimously that the people of Australia must make a. heavy sacrifice in the interests of the country. The sacrifice, however, is to be confined to the toiling masses. What, hardship will the budget impose on wealthy companies such as Broken Hill Proprietary Company Limited, Australian Consolidated Industries Limited, the Bank of New South Wales, and other vested interests. The company taxation proposals of the Government show clearly by whom the sacrifice will be made. The shareholders of monopolistic companies are merely to be asked to return to the Government a portion of their ill-gotten war gains. I have lists of figures taken from Jobson’s Investment Digest showing the net profits and disclosed reserves of 70 large companies. With the permission of the committee, I ask that the tables be incorporated in Hansard. [Leave granted’] (vide pages 338-41.) It will be seen that between 1936 and 1939 the iron and steel group increased its net profits by 102 per cent. Among the companies in this group are Broken Hill Proprietary Company Limited, Australian Iron and Steel Limited, Hume Steel Limited, and Hume Pipe Company (Australia) Limited. The disclosed reserves of these companies increased between 1936 and 1939 by 56 per cent. Broken Hill Proprietary Company Limited, it may be mentioned, incidentally, has secured various contracts from the Government. Its disclosed capital, including bonus shares or watered stock, is £10,9.33,300. Its disclosed reserves, which were £5,941,700 in 1936, increased to £9,0S6,200 in 1939, whilst its net profits during the same period increased from £850,400 to £1,413,500. What sacrifices have these companies made? What sacrifices are they to make under this budget? None at all. Apparently, the policy of the present Government towards vested interests has undergone no change. Interest and profits must remain sacrosanct.

The group of sugar and tobacco companies, which includes the Colonial Sugar Refining Company Limited, the British Tobacco Company (Australia) Limited, and Carreras Limited, made a net profit in 1936 of £1.637,600. By 1.939, the net profit of this group had increased to £2,123,000, or by 30 per cent. During the same period, the disclosed reserves increased from £4,365,100 to £5,856,000, which was an increase of 34 per cent. The glass and textiles group includes Australian Consolidated Industries Limited, Lustre Hosiery Limited, Bond’s Industries Limited, Davies, Coop and Company Proprietary Limited, Lincoln Knitting Mills Proprietary Limited, Australian Knitting Mills Limited, and Yarra Falls Limited. The net profits of these companies increased from £457,600 in 1936 to £658,800 in 1939, or by 44 per cent. Their disclosed reserves for 1936 were ?1,463,800, but these reserves have now increased to ?3,762,S00 or by 156 per cent. Yet we are told that the workers must 111 ak? sacrifices. The imposition of company income tax on a sliding scale is so confusing to the man in the street that he will have difficulty in understanding its incidence. A straight-out impost of 10 per cent., 20 per cent., or 30 per cent, on profits could be readily understood ; but. apparently, the object of the Government is to confuse the issue as much as possible, so that it may say to the toiling masses, “ We have imposed heavy taxes on the hig companies. They are playing their part.”

The shipping companies showed a net profit in 1936 of ?615,800, and in 1939, their profit had increased to ?1,031,900, or by 68 per cent. The disclosed reserves of these companies totalled ?4.209,500 in 1936 and ?5,066,200 in 1939, showing an increase of 20 per cent. One wonders what kind of Government we have when we are told by its chief: spokesman that the budget represents a compromise. It is obvious that the Government is acting as a Father Christmas to the monopolistic companies. I now come to the rubber group. The companies in that group earned a net profit of ?528,500 in 1936, and ?707,500 in 1939, an increase of 34 per cent. Their disclosed reserves amounted to ?1,013,200 in 1936, and ?1,205,600 in 1939, an increase of 19 per cent. The next group consists of the breweries. Incidentally, none of them are Queensland breweries. They are Tooheys, Tooth and Company, Carlton and United, Melbourne Co-operative, and Swan Breweries. Collectively, they made a. net profit of ?1,499,100 in 1936, and ?1,922,600 in 1939, an increase of 2S per cent. Their disclosed reserves rose by 58 per cent, from ?3,529,100 to ?5,591,800.

The chain and retail stores consist of Cox Brothers, Myer Emporium, Myer Emporium (South Australia), David Jones’s, Woolworths (Western Australia), Woolworths (New South Wales), Finney Isles and Company, Mark Foys, Anthony Hordern’s, G. J. Coles and Company, and Woolworths (Victoria). Their net profits in 1936 amounted to ?1,103,700, and they increased in three years by 30 per centre ?1,434,100. Over the same period their disclosed reserves increased by 67 per cent., from ?2,198,300 to ?3,656,600.

Mr. Buck. ; Let us have the figures for the Colonial Sugar Refining Company Limited.

Mr RIORDAN:

– I gave those figures under the heading of “ Tobacco and Sugar “, but there is no harm in repeating them. In 1936, the Colonial Sugar Refining Company Limited earned a net profit of ?938,000; in 1937, ?1,036,300; and in 1939, ?1,103,700. Its paid-up capital - including bonus shares, of course, for all of these companies seem to have them- amounted to ?11,700,000 in 1939-40. When the honorable member for Denison (Mr. Beck) has been in Parliament, a little longer, he will learn thai the Colonial Sugar Refining Company Limited does not make all its profits from its activities in the Queensland sugar industry. Most honorable gentlemen from the south seem to think that, the company rnakes all of its money by exploiting the sugar industry, but that is far from (lie truth, because it has many other investments. All of the figures which I have cited are taken from Jobson’s Investment Digest, and I commend it to honorable members. It is a most, illuminating publication.

The foodstuffs group, which consists of Peters American Delicacy Company, Nestles and Anglo-Swiss Condensed Milk, the Rosella Preserving Company, and Henry Jones, had in 1936 net profits amounting to ?484,300. In three years the net profit increased by IS per cent., to ?571,000. The disclosed reserves rose in the same period by 22 per cent., from ?2,182,100 to ?2,815,500. Then we have the cement group. It includes Adelaide Cement, Standard Portland Cement, Goliath’ Portland Cement and Australian Cement. The net. profits of that group amounted to ?203,200 in 1936, and ?254,700 in 1939, an increase of 25 per cent. But reserves jumped by S5 per cent., from ?636,000 to ?1,178,200.

Is it not obvious that exploitation is. occurring when companies over a period of three years can develop enormous reserves and pay enormous dividends from profits? Those are the disclosed reserves. God knows what reserves are not disclosed ! I should not like to have to go through the books of the Broken Hill Proprietary Company Limited in order to discover that company’s undisclosed reserves. Even a mob of Philadelphian lawyers, accountants and economists would be befogged.

The gas and electricity group, consisting of the South Australian Gas Company, Adelaide Electric, Australian Gaslight, North Shore Gas, and Metropolitan Gas (Victoria), together, had net profits amounting to £934,100 in 19*6, and £1,067,000 in 1939, an increase of 14 per cent. Their disclosed reserves rose by 15 per cent- £2,540,500 to £2,929,600. I now approach the interesting group, described under the heading, “Newspaper, Wireless and Paper Manufacturing”, as consisting of Associated Newspapers, the Herald and Weekly Times, Advertiser Newspapers, Amalgamated Wireless, and Australian Paper Manufacturers. Their combined profits were £763,200 in 1936, and £996,100 in 1939, an increase of 30 per cent. Their disclosed reserves soared from £2,111/300 to £3,293,700, an increase of 56 per cent.

The grain and wool merchants group consists of Younghusband, Goldsborough Mort, and Dalgety and Company, whose combined net profit was £322,900 in 1936. and £353,200 in 1939. The disclosed re: serves of this group decreased by 3.1 per cent, from £3,448,300 to £3,341,300. The decrease, no doubt, was the result of the drought conditions. The last group is covered by the heading, “ Miscellaneous “, and its members are C.O.B., Taubmans (Paints), Kauri Timber, United Provisions, 4th Victorian Permanent Building, Drug Houses of Australia, Gordon and Gotch, and Electrolytic Zinc. They made a net profit in 1936 of £819,300, which increased in three years by 32 per cent, to £1,084,200. At the same time, the disclosed reserves rose by 18 per cent, from £3,438,100 to £4,059,100.

The net profit earned by the groups I have cited amounted in total in 1936 to £10,291,200, and in 1939 to £14,071,900. Disclosed reserves rose from £37,559,800 to £52,765,500. Those companies are putting away enormous reserves so that when this conflict is over and property values have fallen in the depression which must set in, they will be able to employ these reserves to make profitable purchases of more property.

The banking institutions, too, are making enormous profits. The combined net profits of all these groups covering 70 major companies in Australia increased by 36.8 per cent, between 1936 and 1939, and as their disclosed reserves increased by 40.5 per cent., the total increase amounts to 77.3 per cent.

The Government expects to collect £20,000,000 from incomes over £1,000 a year, £8,000,000 from the middle incomes, and £5,000,000 from the lower incomes. The income in three years derived by these enormously wealthy companies in 1939 amounted to £14,000,000, but expansion of secondary industries since the declaration of war must mean a considerable increase of their earnings. These companies, which have more to lose than has any other section of the community, should be called upon to play their part in financing the Avar effort to at least the same degree as the Government expects the lower paid workers to share the burden. From their huge reserves they should contribute towards the Avar effort. I ask the Treasurer to consider taking from these companies, not a portion of their net profits, because there are many ways in which their net profits can be concealed, but 30 per cent, or 40 per cent, of their gross profits. That money should be paid into the coffers of the Commonwealth in order to offset the deflationary effect of the present budget. The 2,500,000 wage earners in this country have to expend all that they receive in order to live; yet a portion of their earnings is to be taken from them. That being so, the Treasurer should require these wealthy companies to make a compulsory contribution towards the nation’s Avar effort.

I wish to refer now to an anomaly in the budget. The Government proposes that deductions shall be made weekly from the earnings of taxpayers. There are many seasonal and casual workers, such as those engaged in the timber, tobacco-growing, pastoral and sugar industries, who do not receive a weekly wage all the year round, but are seasonal workers only and paid at piece-work rates. During their periods of employment they are paid at higher rates than are usually paid to men who work throughout the year because of the seasonal nature of their work. [Leave to continue given.~ Shearers come within this category. The Commonwealth Pastoral Award of 1938. which, I believe, is still current, and covers Victoria, South Australia, New South Wales and Tasmania, takes into consideration the fact that the basic wage amounts to £3 17s. a week. To that amount is added 12s. a week as the margin for skill, making £4 9s. a week. Because the work is intermittent, a further 20 per cent., or 17s. lOd. a week, is added, bringing the total to £5 6s. lOd. a week. The court assumes that that wage is paid for 20 weeks in each year, making a total of £106 16s. 8d. This is called by the court an expedition. Fares are assessed at lis. a week, or £11 for the 20 weeks. The court also assumes that three weeks of the 20 weeks are occupied in travelling, and therefore it adds £10 10s., representing three weeks at £3 10s. a week, to cover that expense. Of the 20 weeks, the shearer is actually engaged in the work of shearing for only seventeen weeks. The mess allowance for that period is £1 6s. a week, or £22 2s. in all. As the shearer is required to supply his own combs and cutters, he is allowed 10s. a week, or £8 10s. for the seventeen weeks during which he is engaged at shearing. The total amount is then £158 18s. 8d. It must be remembered that the shearer has to maintain two homes. The court takes into consideration that the shearer may have to travel for two or three days after leaving his home before he commences work, and travels a few days after he finishes work in order to reach his home; accordingly it allows the shearer an additional £4 9s., bringing his total earnings up to £163 7s. 8d. But because he has not been at home for 20 weeks, the sum of 14s. is deducted weekly from his earnings, that being the estimated cost of his upkeep at home. The total of £163 7s. 8d. is, therefore, reduced by £14, thereby bringing his total earnings as a shearer to £149 7s. 8d. In order to earn £5 6s. lOd. a week, which the court says shall be his wage, the shearer has really to earn £8 15s. 9d. a week. Under the Government’s income tax proposal, he will be assessed on the basis of earnings amounting to over £400 a year. The scale of tax sets out that a taxpayer without dependants who earns £9 a week shall pay 22s. 6d. a week income tax. Actually, the shearer receives under £150 a year and, therefore, he should pay no tax. The Government should correct anomalies of this description.

Mr Fadden:

– The honorable member has made a pertinent point, but I assure him that provision has already been made to deal with the subject.

Mr RIORDAN:

– I am glad to hear the Treasurer’s remark, but I ask him to direct my attention to the particular provision to which he refers. Unless such anomalies be corrected I shall be inundated by telegrams and letters from shearers and workers in pastoral, timber and tobacco industries, and also from other casual employees, requesting that corrective action be taken. I desire to know in detail how it is proposed to deal with such anomalies.

I wholeheartedly support the amendment of the Leader of the Opposition, for I consider that the budget as presented is grossly unfair in its provisions in respect of lower-paid workers. I urge strongly, also, that the 70 monopolistic companies to which attention has been directed should be called upon to contribute out of their gross profits in some proper way towards the cost of waging the war. The shareholders in these companies have valuable assets to protect, and they should be willing to agree to a fair allocation of profits towards our defence expenditure. The burden should not be left chiefly to the unfortunate toilers who constitute by far the greater number of the men who go overseas to fight for what, after all, is a miserable pittance, in comparison with the incomes enjoyed-, in one way or another, by most of the shareholders in these wealthy companies. Unless the Government takes action along the lines I have suggested it will find that very shortly a cyclone of public condemnation will be whirling around its head. It may then be too late for it to awaken to its responsibilities to the great mass of the people.

Progress reported.

page 341

ADJOURNMENT

Flax Industry/ - Shipbuilding - Labour for Munitions Annexes - High Court : Rowan and Garland Case. Motion (by Mr. Fadden) proposed -

That the House do now adjourn.

Mr POLLARD:
Ballarat

– I take this opportunity to direct the attention of the Minister for Commerce (Sir Earle Page) to the necessity for granting to the flax-growers of Australia, and particularly those of Victoria and Tasmania, representation on the Commonwealth Flax Production Advisory Committee. It is most undesirable, in my view, that the growers should be left without direct representation on the committee. Flax production should have been encouraged in Australia long before the outbreak of the war.

Mr Archie Cameron:

– That is quite true.

Mr POLLARD:

– It is rather strange to find the honorable member for Barker (Mr. Archie Cameron) in agreement with me. Flax-growing was begun in Victoria 40 or 50 years ago, but it was not encouraged and has never been very successful except in portions of Gippsland. At last, however, the Government has realized the wisdom of stimulating the industry. It is for this reason, I assume, that the Flax Production Advisory Committee has been established. Yesterday I asked the Minister for Commerce a series of questions on this subject. I desired to know, in particular, the names of the members of the Flax Production Advisory Committee and was informed that they were -

Mr. J. A. Stevenson, Department of Supply and Development, Chairman

Dr. A. E. V. Richardson, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research

Mr. I. H. Boas, Chief of Division, Division of Forest Products, Council for Scientific and Industrial Research

Mr. R. Bruce Hogg and Mr. E. H. Kinnear, jim., persons experienced in the production of fibre from straw.

I assume that Mr. Kinnear is a son of the well-known principal of the flax processing organization established at Colac and Camperdown in Victoria, and the rope and twine works in Melbourne. I do not know whether I am right or wrong, but I believe that Mr. Hogg is associated with the firm of Miller and Company Limited, rope manufacturers and flax and fibre processors. I offer no objection to the appointment of those two gentlemen, for it is probably desirable that their expert knowledge in the processing and treatment of flax fibres from the straw state to the finished product should be available to the committee. But there are surely just as strong reasons why the section of the industry engaged in the production cf flax from the soil should also he represented on the committee. In fact if the best interests of the industry are to be served, it is essential that the flax-growers should have direct representation. The Minister himself must be quite ready to admit the justice of this claim. In my series of questions I asked the right honorable gentleman whether any request had been received from the Ballarat Flax Growers Association for representation on the committee, and I was informed that none had been made. Yet it seems beyond question that, in order to ensure the proper functioning of the committee, the growers of Victoria and Tasmania should be represented upon it.

Mr POLLARD:

– Probably his hands are already full. I am quite certain that an acceptable representation could easily be secured.

That the interests of the growers need protection is shown by the fact that the price fixed for flax grown in Australia is £5 a ton, the pre-war figure. Yet the processors of flax were practically invited to mark their own ticket, for they were asked to quote the price at which they considered they would be able to supply flax fibre to the manufacturers. I have no doubt at all that it will be discovered in due course that the pre-war price of £5 a ton for flax will prove to be definitely unremunerative to the growers. I ask the Minister for Commerce, without waiting for representations from the flaxgrowers of Victoria and Tasmania, to invite their associations to nominate representatives on this Advisory Committee in order that they might impart to it their knowledge of the production of flax, and ensure also that the economic interests of all associated with flax-growing are not neglected.

Sir EARLE PAGE:
Minister for Commerce · Cowper · CP

– I shall bring the honorable member’s representations under the notice of the Minister for Supply and Development, who deals with flax-growing. I understand that the difficulty in the past has arisen because a difference of opinion existed as to which was the most representative organization from which to secure a nominee. I believe that if the honorable member will be good enough to discuss that matter with the Minister for Supply and Development we shall be able to come to a satisfactory arrangement.

Mr HOLLOWAY:
Melbourne Ports

– I desire to bring before the House a matter . of great importance to the people of Australia, namely the maintenance of ships and new ship construction. Honorable members on this side of the chamber at least a decade ago tried to compel some of the big Australian shipping companies to be patriotic enough at least to build their ships in Australia. At that time honorable members from New South Wales joined with us in an attempt to impose a duty on new ships imported by the Broken Hill Proprietary Company Limited. A good deal of lobbying took place and our proposals were rejected, with the result that there has been a shortage of shipping in this country ever since. Only recently two ships were lost off the Victorian coast because of the inadequacy of the coastal patrol. Discontent exists, not only among the crews of ships trading in Australian waters, but also among passengers because of the inadequate protection of the sea lanes approaching our ports. During the last 12 months only two second-hand trawlers have been regularly engaged in mine-sweeping in waters adjacent to the coastline of Victoria. Those two vessels remain at sea as long as their crews can keep awake or until their coal or stores run out. When one ship is in port for revictualling and to give the crew a rest period, the other has to do the work alone. I have no doubt that, in reply to these statements, the Minister will say that there are at least five or six vessels of this type now in commission and engaged in patrolling the sea lanes approaching our ports and harbours, and that they are assisted by the Royal Australian Air Force. Let me say at once that those engaged in the protection of our sea lanes have done good work; but there are not enough patrol vessels to give us a feeling of security. The Royal Australian Air Force is ably assisting in this work hut air patrols cannot be undertaken during the hours of darkness when enemy raiders are most likely to approach our coast. Two or three conditioned trawlers which were never constructed for work of this kind, some armed with 4-inch guns and others with 3-inch guns, have recently been added to the coastal patrol, so that altogether we have five or six vessels to safeguard the sea-lanes and approaches to our ports and the whole coastline of Victoria. Such a small fleet cannot do the job properly. It is regrettable that we should have again to raise the all-imporant subject of shipbuilding in Australia at a time when ships have been sunk off our coasts and in adjacent waters and mines have been laid at our doors. The short-sighted policy of past governments in- connexion with the shipbuilding industry is now made apparent. We have no suitable vessels with which to augment the coastal patrol. Five or six months ago the then Minister for Commerce (Mr. Archie Cameron) bluntly told the House that there were not enough bottoms to take our cargoes across the seas and that we would have to ration what shipping space was available. The honorable gentleman said that it was proposed to give priority to wool because wool was essential for war purposes, that a little space would be given to wheat, a little to meat and other commodities, but nothing at all to the products of the thousands of men engaged in the wine industry. At that time we urged that the Townsend report on the possibility of quickly and economically building in Australia cargo ships of 9,000 tons gross weight should be made public. Unfortunately, however, the Townsend report has been pigeonholed for eight months, and this Government and the one that preceded it have been guilty of almost criminal neglect in their failure to deal with the problem of the provision of shipping for Australian requirements. The naval position is equally bad. The British Government asked us to help it out by building ships here, but we want them for ourselves.

Mr Duncan-Hughes:

– We have had strikes, too.

Mr HOLLOWAY:

– That is true, but honorable members on this side of the House are doing their best to help the Minister for Labour and National Service (Mr. Holt) to’ find a way to prevent them. I do not object to the honorable member’s interjections, but it gets us nowhere. Honorable members on both sides of the House should put their heads together in an endeavour to cope with both problems. It was that note in the honorable member’s speech yesterday which struck a responsive chord on this side of the chamber. We get nowhere by merely throwing stones across the chamber at one another. The Townsend report should be tabled without delay ; we should already be giving effect to its recommendations. Docking facilities in the big capitals should be improved. The Treasurer may say that the preliminary work on the construction of a graving dock in New South Wales to accommodate capital ships has already been started. That dock will be a great asset to Australia, but what has been done in the other States? Before the graving dock can be completed, we should undertake and complete the building of at least twenty more new ships, which are so badly needed. The New South Wales people are doing their best, but in Victoria we are doing very little because we have not the facilities, the plant, material, heavy lifting gear and large docks.

When Great Britain began to prepare to meet Hitler’s blitzkrieg, the Broken Hill Proprietary Company Limited was asked to supply various kinds of sheetmetal for air-raid, shelters. We should be very proud tha-t this great industrial undertaking was able to fulfil the orders, and we hope that the Australian-made materials were instrumental in saving thousands of British lives. But here is the moral : At the outset, the metal was carried overseas in British ships. The Broken Hill Proprietary Company Limited was pleased to receive the orders, and was able to deliver them so long as the British Government was able to provide the necessary sea transport. Now, the British Government has lodged further orders for sheet-metal, but the Broken Hill Proprietary Company Limited, which is anxious to supply the goods, has been notified that the materials must be carried in Australian ships. That gives rise to a grave problem, because no such ships are available. Some years ago we asked the Broken Hill Proprietary Company Limited to build in this country small ships such as the Iron Duke, the Iron Prince and the Iron Baron, which carry cargoes from South Australia to Newcastle. The company possessed all the materials required for the construction of the vessels, and many hundreds of men would have found employment in that industry. As the company makes tremendous profits in Australia, it would have made a patriotic gesture in acceding to our request. Of course, it did not do so, but continued to purchase ships built abroad. Now, when the company is receiving big orders, it is unable to fulfil them, because it lacks ships to carry the cargoes to the British Isles.

Private enterprise will not engage in shipbuilding in Australia until local construction becomes more profitable than purchasing abroad. The Commonwealth Government should hesitate no longer. We should have commenced to build ships when the former Minister for Commerce explained the precise position to us. He stated that the report could not be given effect to because all of our efforts must be concentrated on building ships.

Mr Archie Cameron:

– The report, so far as it relates to shipbuilding, is hot worth a “ hang “.

Mr HOLLOWAY:

– The honorable member declared that Australia could not afford to split its shipbuilding resources, and that, as all our ships were required for naval purposes, cargoes would have to wait. Such a statement illustrates the. seriousness of the position.

Last week, a shocking tragedy occurred in Port Phillip Bay. When the Duntroon ex Melbourne was passing through the “ RiD “, it was involved in a collision with a mine-sweeper which had been compelled by bad weather to return to port. Both vessels were controlled by the Department of the Navy, which must have been aware that one of the ships was leaving port and that the other one was returning. That tragedy seems to indicate lack of co-operation within the department. As a result of the collision, all the members of the crew of the mine-sweeper lost their lives. The majority of them lived in my electorate, and I had the sad duty of visiting their relatives. It is common knowledge on the Melbourne waterfront that adequate provision is lacking to safeguard the lives of men who are patrolling our coast.

Out of that tragedy, apart from the loss of life, a most serious position might easily have arisen. If the Duntroon had been too badly damaged to make its way to Sydney for repairs, it would have been laid up in Port Phillip Bay indefinitely, because Melbourne has no dock capable of carrying out a big job. Another vessel, the Orungal, is aground off the coast 500 miles from the nearest dock. If experts consider that it can be refloated, the damaged hull will have to be patched, and when three or four days of favorable weather is indicated, an attempt will be made to take the vessel to Sydney for repairs. On such a voyage the lives of the crew will be endangered unnecessarily, simply because no adequate docking facilities are available in Melbourne. More docking facilities are urgently required, as every ship which receives a knock may be crippled and may have to crawl to the nearest harbour. I can visualize half a dozen ships lying idle in Port Phillip Bay, all too big to be docked, whilst the damage done to them precludes their being towed to Sydney for repairs. Unfortunately the Commonwealth Government is doing nothing to encourage shipbuilding in Australia. The construction of the Sydney dock cannot be completed in two or three years. Are we to build no ships in the meantime? The fullest use is not made of the Williamstown dock, which is owned by the Government of Victoria. Recently, a proposal was made that the Commonwealth, instead of spending a few hundred thousand pounds upon this dock which has done such good work in the past, but which must be enlarged to meet present-day requirements, should subsidize a private company to undertake shipbuilding on a site on the banks of the Yarra. Another plan has been suggested by me - the Government of Victoria, the Melbourne Harbour Trust and the Commonwealth Government each to contribute one-third of the cost of bringing the existing dock up to date. This work is urgent, because we lack sufficient vessels to patrol the coast. Such a condition of affairs is disgraceful and should be rectified without delay, seeing that we have no ships to send our surplus foodstuffs overseas. I urge the Treasurer (Mr. Fadden) to ascertain what has become of the Townsend report and ask the Government to confer with the port authorities in Melbourne upon the advisability of making a joint effort to improve existing dock facilities. I am assured by the Premier of Victoria (Mr. Dunstan) that at the dock in question six ships totalling 36,000 tons were built in five years, but the dock, being out of date, cannot now be used to any appreciable extent. Recently, I asked the Prime Minister (Mr. Menzies) to receive a deputation upon the subject, but he explained that he was too busy to do so, and suggested that I should approach the Minister for Trade and Customs (Mr. Harrison). It is our duty to help the Government of Victoria and the Melbourne port authorities to construct the dock, because it will constitute an important link in our defence system and be a great economic asset to Australia.

Mr ROSEVEAR:
Dalley

.- I ask the Treasurer (Mr. Fadden) to bring under the notice of the Minister for Labour and National Service (Mr. Holt) a matter concerning the recruiting of labour for munitions annexes in New South Wales. In Melbourne an office has been established to which application may be made by those who desire to find employment in the munitions factories, and at this centre, employer and employee are brought together. The difficulty in New South Wales, particularly in the metropolitan area, is that no such convenience exists, either for the unemployed person who desires to find work in the annexes, or for the employer who wishes to obtain labour. On a number of occasions, when I brought this matter under the notice of three Ministers, who in turn administered the Department of Supply and Development they explained that the State Labour Bureau in New South Wales was dealing with the problem. The point which I desire to emphasize is that, although the Labour Bureau has registered large numbers of unemployed men, a particular kind of tradesman is required for the purpose of being trained to make munitions. The choice of labour by the Labour

Bureau is restricted to those men who are permitted in New South Wales to register for work. A great many younger men, living, perhaps, in families where the permissible income provision prevents them from registering at the Labour Bureau or for food relief are excluded from consideration although they would be very suitable for work in munitions factories, both because of their age and their high degree of adaptability. Another difficulty at present is that applicants for work are unable to present themselves to their prospective employers, particularly in the metropolitan area, because the factories are guarded by the military authorities. The only means of establishing contact is by correspondence, which is most unsatisfactory for both parties.

Mr Holloway:

– Is there no special office for this purpose?

Mr ROSEVEAR:

– No, not in Sydney. I understand that the Melbourne system works well, and, that among its other advantages, it relieves members of Parliament of the obligation of advancing the claims of applicants for work. I hope that the Treasurer will bring this matter before the Cabinet. Perhaps he has been advised that the present system is working satisfactorily. It may be working satisfactorily from the point of view of the State Government, which wishes to unload some of its surplus labour on to the munitions factories, but it is not working satisfactorily for the factories, or for prospective employees.

Mr MAKIN:
Hindmarsh

.- I very cordially support the request of the honorable member for Melbourne Ports (Mr. Holloway) that the Government should embark upon a vigorous shipbuilding programme in Australia. I cannot understand why it should be necessary to urge this upon the Government. I compliment the honorable member upon his tenacity; he has been pressing the claims of the shipbuilding industry for a long time. If there is one country in the world which is dependent for its existence upon sea transport it is Australia. Shipbuilding should be one of our principal industries. I also believe that we should be provided with much better docking facilities than are now available. Even the new dock in Sydney, when completed, will be very vulnerable to attack, more so than would a dock in almost any other part of Australia. Rather than expend such a huge sum of money on a dock which will not be finished for two or three years, it would be better to use the money for improving docking facilities in other States.

Mr Holloway:

– We should not have all our eggs in one basket.

Mr MAKIN:

– That is so. There should certainly be better docking facilities along the southern coast of Australia. It is absurd that all shipping should have to go to an eastern port for repair and overhaul. For many years, the honorable member for Boothby (Mr. Price) has urged that a dock be built at Adelaide. It astonishes me that those in authority are unable to see the need for it. The present situation should be improved without delay.

I have received the following telegram signed by the secretary of the Labour party in South Australia and the secretary of the Trades and Labour Council, of Adelaide: -

Our solicitors state Federal AttorneyGeneral arranging special meeting of High Court in Sydney almost immediately to hear Commonwealth appeal against the dismissal of the charge against Rowan and Garland and Garland’s appeal. Time and expense, principals and witnesses, grossly unfair. Contend heaving should be in Adelaide.

These two men, Rowan and Garland, were prosecuted under the provisions of the National Security Act for having made certain statements at an anticonscription meeting in Adelaide. The case was heard before a magistrate in Adelaide, who dismissed the charge against Rowan, and convicted Garland. The Commonwealth Attorney-General has appealed against the dismissal of the charge against Rowan, and Garland, I understand, has appealed against his conviction. Both appeals are to be heard by the High Court. Now, it appears, the cases have been set down for hearing in Sydney. This is grossly unjust, because it will mean that the principals, their counsel, and witnesses, if any, will have to travel from Adelaide to Sydney. The prohibitive cost will make it impossible for these men to proceed to Sydney and adequately defend their case. It is only fair that the appeal should not be heard until the court is in session in Adelaide.

Mr Fadden:

– When is the appeal to be heard?

Mr MAKIN:

– The telegram says “ almost immediately “. An injustice will be done to all concerned in this litigation if the appeal be heard in Sydney, but if it be postponed until the court sits in Adelaide, the parties will have an equal opportunity to produce witnesses to speak on their behalf. I am sure that the fairness of my representations will impress the Minister and that he will exercise all his influence to see that my request is acceded to.

Mr FADDEN:
Darling DownsTreasurer · CP

– in reply - I sympathize with the request of the honorable member for Hindmarsh (Mr. Makin), and, being a great believer in decentralization, I shall not find it very difficult to use all my influence in favour of having it granted. The honorable member can take it that I shall do all I can to impress upon the Attorney-General (Mr. Hughes) the fact that there are other places in Australia besides Sydney.

With regard to the subject of shipbuilding, I am sure that every member who was in the House was impressed by the sound advocacy of the honorable member for Melbourne Ports (Mr. Holloway). I remind the honorable member that the Government has not been asleep in this matter, and is fully seised of the importance of establishing shipbuilding on an economic basis in this country. The importance of this matter is obvious and needs no emphasis by me. I shall bring the representations by the honorable members for Melbourne Ports and Hindmarsh under the notice of the Minister for Trade and Customs and the Government at the earliest possible moment.

Also, I shall bring to the attention of the Minister for Labour and Industry (Mr. Holt) at once the matter raised by the honorable member for Dalley (Mr. Rosevear). On the face of it that matter also involves decentralization.

Question resolved in the affirmative.

page 346

PAPER

The following paper was presented : -

Lands Acquisition Act - Land acquired for Postal Purposes - Toorak, Victoria.

House adjourned at 4.9 p.m.

page 347

ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS

The following answers to questions were circulated: -

Inoculation of Troops

Mr Calwell:

l asked tie Minister for the Army, upon notice -

  1. Is it a fact that inoculation is purely voluntary in the British Army ?
  2. Willhe have the Army Regulations amended to provide for voluntary inoculation for members of the Australian Imperial Force, the Militia Forces and the Citizen Forces?
Mr Spender:
UAP

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

  1. Yes.

  2. No. It is a matter of the greatest importance for the maintenance of the health and fighting strength of the army that inoculation and vaccination should be carried out universally for the following reasons: -

    1. The Australian Imperial Force is liable for service in countries where smallpox is endemic. Vaccination is therefore essential.
    2. The value of inoculation against typhoid was amply demonstrated in the last war. Voluntary inoculation would leave many of the troops unprotected, thus endangering the mass.
    3. The value of protection against tetanus provided by inoculation is established by the experience of the French Army, as well as the British Army.
    4. In view of the added risk imposed by war conditions it is considered essential that protection similar to that given to the Australian Im- perial Force should be extended to Militia and Citizen Forces. This action should be taken now rather than under the conditions of emergency which would arise if there were a more immediate military threat to the Commonwealth.

Returned Soldiers Conference:

Alleged Subversive Statements

Mr Ward:

d asked the Prime Minister, upon notice -

What form of inquiry is it proposed to hold into the reported disloyal utterances of certain delegates at the Returned Sailors and Soldiers Imperial League of Australia conference, held in Canberra last week, and whether, in view of the fact that the Sydney MorningHerald and the Daily Telegraph have since published statements to the effect that they are quite satisfied that Mr. Robb was not mis-reported, it is intended to give the reporters of these papers who were present an opportunity of giving evidence at any such inquiry?

Mr Menzies:
Minister for Defence Co-ordination · KOOYONG, VICTORIA · UAP

– I refer the honorable member to the reply which I gave in the House yesterday in answer to a question on this matter by the honorable member for Melbourne (Mr.Calwell).

Australian Broadcasting Commission.

Mr.Calwell asked the Minister representing the Postmaster-General, upon notice -

  1. Has his attention been drawn to an article in the A. B.C. Weekly, dated the 30th November, 1940, headed “Propaganda against Australian Broadcasting Commission exposed - the better the programmes the stronger the attacks”?
  2. Will he ascertain whether the attacks are the work of fifth columnists!
  3. Will he take immediate steps to protect A-class stations against the insidious attacks complained of in the article?
Mr Fadden:
CP

n. - The Postmaster-General has supplied the following answers: -

  1. Yes.
  2. No. Such an investigation is, in my opinion, quite unnecessary. _ 3. Since I am charged with the administration of the laws governing the operation of both national and commercial stations, it is obviously my duty to see that both classes of broadcasting activities are adequately protected from any unjust criticism.

Private Banks: Subscriptions to War Loans

Mr Langtry:
RIVERINA, NEW SOUTH WALES

y asked the Treasurer, upon notice -

What amounts have the private banks sub scribed to the Commonwealth loans since the commencement of the war?

Mr Fadden:
CP

– It is the invariable practice of the Treasury not to publish amountssubscribed by institutions or persons without the consent of the subscribers. As no permission has been given in this instance the information cannot be supplied.

Effect of Taxation

Mr Calwell:

l asked the Treasurer, upon notice -

Will the Treasurer bring up to date and circulate among honorable members the document published by a former Treasurer (the Bight Honorable R. G. Casey) showing the effect of State and Federal taxation on individual incomes, assuming that the proposed increases of income taxation contained in the budget are put into effect?

Mr Fadden:
CP

– It is intended to bring up to date and circulate the publication containing the details of Commonwealth and State income taxes and rates as soon as the various legislatures have enacted their taxation proposals for the present financial year.

Overdraft Accounts

Mr Falstein:

n asked the Treasurer, upon notice -

  1. Is it a fact that the Commonwealth Bank has entered into an agreement with the private trading banks whereby customers of those banks cannot transfer their overdraft accounts to the Commonwealth Bank?
  2. Is it also a fact that the private banks charge 6 per cent, on ordinary overdraft accounts whereas the Commonwealth Bank charges 4¼ per cent, for similar accommodation ?
  3. If these are facts, will the Treasurer give consideration to issuing a regulation under the National Security Act to dissolve this agreement and, by reducing the rate of interest, assist those persons affected to meet the heavy taxation foreshadowed by the Government ?
Mr Fadden:
CP

– Inquiries are being made and a reply will be furnished as soon as possible.

War Expenditure Overseas

Mr Sheehan:

n asked the Treasurer, upon notice -

As the budget presented to Parliament provides for the financial requirements of the Commonwealth, including its overseas war commitments, from the 1st July, 1940, to the 30th June, 1941, and as five months of that period have elapsed, will the Treasurer inform the House of the amount of overseas war expenditure during the last five months?

Mr Fadden:
CP

– The amount of overseas war expenditure from the 1st July, 1940, to the 31st October, 1940, is £A.6,300,000. The November figures are not yet available. I invite the attention of the honorable member to the remarks on pages 8 and 9 of the budget speech, relating to war finance.

Rosebery Race-course.

Mr Spender:
UAP

r. - On the 27th November, the honorable member for Darling (Mr. Clark) asked the following question, without notice -

Can the Minister for the Army inform the House what rent is being paid for the use of the Rosebery race-course, which it is understood is rented at the present time by the Eastern Command, and at which only 120 men are stationed?

I am now in a position to inform the honorable member that no rent is being paid for the use of the Rosebery racecourse by the Military Forces.

Militia Forces: Compensation to Dependants.

Mr Menzies:
UAP

s. - On the 27th November the honorable member for Lang (Mr. Mulcahy) asked whether it was the intention of the Government to introduce an amendment of the Repatriation Act to provide compensation for members of the Militia who may be permanently injured while serving in the Militia Forces, and also to the dependants of militiamen who may lose their lives while in the service.

I desire to advise the honorable member as follows: -

Compensation for members of the Militia is governed by regulations under the terms of the Defence Acts, and the question of the measure of compensation for incapacitated members of the Militia and their dependants has received the attention of an interdepartmental committee appointed for that purpose. The report of the committee will be made available to the Minister for Defence Coordination within the next few days. The Government will then review the whole question, and take any action necessary to implement decisions arrived at.

Petrol Rationing- Cream Transport Wagons.

Mr Spender:
UAP

r. - Yesterday the honorable member for Corio (Mr. Dedman) asked me whether pressure would be brought to bear on the Fuel Advisory Committee of Victoria to permit cream transport wagons to visit farms.

I am now in a position to inform the honorable member that the Minister for Supply and Development has furnished the following reply to his question: -

Permission has not been refused for cream transport wagons to visit farms. The butter factories employing the transport wagons are required to reduce their petrol consumption, but the precise method of securing the reduction is one for the industry concerned.

Cite as: Australia, House of Representatives, Debates, 29 November 1940, viewed 22 October 2017, <http://historichansard.net/hofreps/1940/19401129_reps_16_165/>.

View PDF View XML View in Voyant