House of Representatives
10 June 1949

18th Parliament · 2nd Session



Mr. Deputy Speaker (Mr. J. J. Clark) took the chair at 10.30 a.m., and read prayers.

page 840

QUESTION

PETROL

Mr HARRISON:
WENTWORTH, NEW SOUTH WALES

– I ask the Prime Minister whether representatives of the Australian Government met representatives of Australian . oil companies yesterday to discuss trade control of the distribution of petrol in this country? If such a conference was held, will the right honorable gentleman inform the House of the decision that was reached? Is any form of control to be. instituted by the oil companies?

Mr CHIFLEY:
Prime Minister · MACQUARIE, NEW SOUTH WALES · ALP

– Yesterday a conference was held between representatives of the Australian Government, including myself, and representatives of the oil companies at which the question of petrol supplies was discussed at considerable length. After the position had been fully explained, all representatives of the oil companies offered to co-operate with the Government in the various ways that were suggested to them. I do not know what the honorable gentleman means by “ trade control “. I do not think that there is any dispute regarding the powers in relation to the import of petrol into Australia that are conferred upon the Australian Government by the Constitution. The representatives of the oil companies were informed of the Government’s intentions in regard to petrol imports. I shall not go into technical details of that matter at this stage. The oil companies have agreed to co-operate with the Government, as far as it is possible for them to dp so in the absence of appropriate legislation, by not encouraging the consumption of petrol and by arranging for the equitable distribution of available supplies. The Oil Industry Advisory Committee will meet at a later date to discuss one or two other points, but they are not very relevant to the main issue. Apparently the honorable gentleman reads the newspapers very carefully each morning.

Mr HARRISON:
WENTWORTH, NEW SOUTH WALES · UAP; LP from 1944

– I read them just at carefully as does the right honorable gentleman.

Mr CHIFLEY:

– I think that the honorable member reads them much more carefully than I do. If it were not for the morning press,’ I am quite sure that honorable gentlemen opposite would not ask nearly as many questions at question time as they do now. Is the days when the newspapers did not arrive in Canberra until the afternoon, question time was much easier than it is now. I have received a message from Mr. McGirr, the Premier of New South Wales, who, as the senior Premier, would be chairman of any conference of State Premiers that was convened to discuss this matter, intimating that he has received communications from’ all the other State Premiers. Those communications show that the State Premiers consider that a conference should be held to discuss the problem that has arisen in regard to petrol. Some of the State Premiers have suggested that a conference of Premiers should be held, and others have expressed the view that State representatives should confer with representatives of the Commonwealth. I have Bent telegrams to all of the Premiers intimating that, if the date is convenient to them, a conference will be held next Friday. I have not yet seen the replies and do not know whether the arrangement is suitable. If the conference is held, all of the facts will be placed before the Premiers or their representatives. I can say nothing further about the matter in the meantime, because that conference will have to decide whether some form of properly organized distribution of the petrol available to Australia is to he continued.

Mr Harrison:

– “Why cannot the facts be given to this House if they are to be given to the Premiers?

Mr.CHIFLEY.- Does the honorable member mean details?

Mr Harrison:

– Yes.

Mr CHIFLEY:

– We can probably arrange for the details to be made available to honorable members in due course. However, I point out that the High Court has taken from this Parliament all power in relation to the distribution of petrol. I do not complain about that decision.

Mr Francis:

– The High Court has not taken it away. The power is not in the Constitution.

Mr CHIFLEY:

– I make no complaint about the High Court’s decision. What has happened in relation to the liquid fuel regulations is precisely what the Government said could happen overnight in relation to the prices control regulations, but which legal gentlemen on the Opposition benches said could not happen provided that this House was in agreement about the continuation of controls.

Mr HARRISON:
WENTWORTH, NEW SOUTH WALES · UAP; LP from 1944

– Surely the rationing of petrol is different from prices control?

Mr CHIFLEY:

– The High Court has done what the Government has long anticipated that it might do in connexion with some of the National Security regulations. As a result, this Parliament has no power over the distribution of petrol within Australia. Therefore, the subject can be discussed only with the people who have that power. As I have already indicated to the Leader of the Opposition, [ shall make available at the appropriate time such information as I am able to release. I shall supply the confidential information that is in my possession to the Premiers.

Mr WATKINS:
NEWCASTLE, NEW SOUTH WALES

– Has the Prime Minister seen the reports of a statement made in London a few days ago, which were published very widely in the Australian metropolitan press, that petrol supplies in the sterling area are 4,000,000 tons short of requirements, and that additional supplies of petrol from the -sterling area can be made available to the Australian public only at the expense of petrol users in the United Kingdom, who are much more severely rationed than are Australian petrol consumers? If so, does not the right honorable gentleman think that the recent statements made by the Leader of the Australian Country party concerning the alleged availability of petrol in the sterling area were definitely misleading, and that he should retract those statements!

Mr CHIFLEY:

– The Minister for Information was good enough, at a late hour a few nights ago, to show me a copy of, I think, the Melbourne Herald, which featured in very large black print the matters mentioned by the honorable member for Newcastle, and which rather surprised me. Later I asked my press secretary to ascertain whether the Sydney Morning IIerald and other newspapers had been fair enough to publish the report, which came to them through the overseas press service; but, as I anticipated, the report did not receive very wide publicity. It is not usual for politicians who get into a mess to make retractions. They generally make a new false statement in order to distract attention from the earlier one. I am not hoping that the Leader of the Australian Country party will follow that practice. I am prepared to believe that the right honorable gentleman was misled by certain vested interests.

Mr FADDEN:
DARLING DOWNS, QUEENSLAND

– Is the Prime Minister aware that, according to cabled reports, the British Government, has offered 5,700,000 tons of petrol to the Argentine Government, whereas the quantity required to remove restrictions in this country is only one-third of 1,000,000 tons! Further, is the right honorable gentleman aware that the Government of the United Kingdom is supplying increasing quantities of petrol to Italy and that, owing to the repair of the Haifa pipeline, an additional 3,000,000 or 4,000,000 tons of petrol a year has become available?

Mr CHIFLEY:

– I am aware that the meat ration available to the citizen? of the United Kingdom has been reduced to a very small quantity weekly, and the British Government has to pay a price, which I consider even now is very high, for its purchases of meat from Argentina. The United Kingdom has entered into trade agreement with Argentina for the supply of meat, and, in return, will supply to Argentina certain products and commodities, including some oil products I understand that representatives of the United States of America have voiced some complaint about the agreement However, the Leader of the Australian Country party should remember that the United Kingdom Government is obtaining from Argentina essential food to enable it to sustain its people. The right honorable gentleman also referred to the supply of petrol to Italy. I inform him that Italy does not receive any refined petrol from British sources.

Mr Fadden:

– It does.

Mr CHIFLEY:

– If the right honor- ita ble gentleman will allow me to proceed, I shall tell him the truth as I know it. Italy receives a quantity of crude oils, and refines them.

Mr.McBRIDE. - Petrol is not rationed in Italy.

Mr CHIFLEY:

– Various members of the Opposition appear to be able to answer the questions that the Leader of the Australian Country party has asked. They should hold a session among them- selves for the purpose of supplying the information that the right honorable gentleman seeks. I am merely giving him the facts. For the purposes of clarity, I shall restate the position. The United Kingdom, in order to obtain the minimum quantity of meat required to sus- tain its own people, has entered into a trade arrangement with Argentina. Under that agreement, the United Kingdom will supply certain commodities, including some oil products, to Argentina in return for meat. I have not seen the details of the agreement between the two countries, and I am not aware whether the United Kingdom will supply crude or refined oil. However, I am aware of the position regarding Italy, because I cook the opportunity a month ago to ascertain the situation. Italy does not obtain any refined petrol from any British sources, but it does receive crude oil, which it refines. The other questions that the right honorable gentleman has asked me are merely tire- some repetition of a number of inaccuracies that have been given to him by interested oil companies, which apparently do not know what is happening between exchange control and the companies that own those subsidiaries. I have taken the opportunity to tell some of them that we have a full knowledge of the position.

page 842

QUESTION

TELEPHONE SERVICES

Mr FULLER:
HUME, NEW SOUTH WALES

– The number of telephones installed in Australia has recently been discussed in the press and elsewhere.Can the Minister representing the PostmasterGeneral inform me of the total number of telephone installations made throughout Australia in 1938-39 and in-. 1948-49 respectively?

Mr CALWELL:
Minister for Immigration · MELBOURNE, VICTORIA · ALP

– This subject has been canvassed recently, and it was mentioned in this chamber as recently as yesterday in the course of a. debate. In 1938-39, 661,996 telephones were installed in Australia. In 1948-49, after eight years of good Labour government, 1,005,596 telephones were installed. After ten years,, during seven of which we were engaged in a war, the rate of installation has increased by 343,600 annually, or morethan 50 per cent.

page 842

QUESTION

ARMED FORCES

Keswick Barracks Ordnance Staff

Mr HAMILTON:
SWAN, WESTERN AUSTRALIA

– I ask the Ministerfor the Army whether it is a fact that at Keswick Barracks, Adelaide, there is an ordnance staff of 120 officers and men on weekly pay ranging from £8 10s. for privates to £20 for higher ranks? Are these men paid on a seven-day week basiceven though the depot is closed at weekends? Is it a fact that they are onlydoing work that was done by a staff of” seventeen before the war, and that they are only busy for about two orthree months of the year in making preparations for Commonwealth Military Forces camps? If those statements are correct will the Minister have investigations made with a view to effecting economies?

Mr CHAMBERS:
Minister for the Army · ADELAIDE, SOUTH AUSTRALIA · ALP

– The position at Keswick Barracks would be no different than that at any other ordnance store.I am naturally unable to answer, at a moment’s notice, the questions asked by the honorable member, but I shall secure the information that he desires and let him have it. When a man joins the Army he joins it for seven days a week and 52 weeks a year. I have been throughthe ordnance store at Keswick, and I have not seen any waste of man-power or anything to indicate that every man on. the strength of the unit is off duty on Saturdays. I do not know why the honorable member has selected Keswick Barracks for criticism, as the

Mme conditions obtain at Keswick as obtain, for instance, at Nungarin Barracks in Western Australia, the honorable member’s own State. Would the honorable member ‘like the department to examine the ordnance store at Nungarin and see whether the same conditions exist there?

Mr Hamilton:

– I am suggesting genera] economies throughout.

Mr CHAMBERS:

– I shall examine the points raised by the honorable member, but I do not think that there is anything in some of the allegations that ite has made.

page 843

QUESTION

PUBLIC SERVICE

Mrs BLACKBURN:
BOURKE, VICTORIA

– I preface a question to the Prime Minister by saying that during the immediately previous sessional period I asked him questions relative to the conditions under which staffs in the Commonwealth Public Service are working. I found the replies not very informative. To-day I ask more particularly: What provision is made in the Parliament House for cloak rooms, common room, dining room, rest room and first-aid room for members of the staffs employed here by the Government? What number of persons is affected by the lack of these amenities - if there is a lack! If adequate provision has not been made, will the Prime Minister see that steps are taken to rectify this position while building operations in connexion with additions to the building are in progress?

Mr CHIFLEY:
ALP

– I presume that the honorable member’s question relates purely to the staff engaged within this Rouse ?

Mrs Blackburn:

– That is so.

Air. CHIFLEY. - The members of the various staffs of the House are under the jurisdiction of the Joint House Committee and directly, of course, under the jurisdiction of the President and Mr. Speaker. I have not heard any complaints ‘by them of a lack of amenities or room space. All that I can promise the honorable member is that, with the permission of Mr. Deputy Speaker, in the absence of Mr. Speaker, I shall ask Mr. Speaker and the President to examine the matters raised. If any lack of ameni ties or room space calls for action requiring some financial provision, 1 shall examine that matter also.

page 843

QUESTION

COAL

Mr McBRIDE:
WAKEFIELD, SOUTH AUSTRALIA

– I ask the Prime Minister what information the Government has regarding the threat of certain coal-mining union officials to call nev stoppages in the mines next week. Are aggregate stop-work meetings of mintworkers to be called next Thursday to enable the Combined Mining Union* Council to present a report to mineworkers on the progress of their application for acceptance of a new log of claims? What will be the estimated loss of coal production if the threatened stoppages take place?

Mr CHIFLEY:
ALP

– The honorable member knows that negotiations that havelasted some time are continuing. Fin of all, the log of claims is before the Coal Industry Tribunal, Mr. Gallagher. Th,log of claims presented by the mining unions is intended to apply not only if. the miners, but also to other workers associated with the industry. The hear ing of the action, particularly in relation to the miners’ claim for long serviceleave is in progress. A decision had been made previously and a recommendation was made to the council by the miners’ federation for the calling of a stop-work meeting last Thursday. That proposal was defeated, I understand, very narrowly, by the Combined Mining Union.Council, and a proposal was then mad that a stop-work meeting should btcalled at a later date. Negotiations have continued. Certain suggestions have been made by the Joint Coal Board, because the matter of conditions under which miners work is entirely one for the Coal Industry Tribunal. I do not think thai I can go fully into all the details associated with the conditions that have arisen because of the extent to which industries in this country are dependent on coal supplies. The hold-up of the production of coal by stoppages seems to me to be foolish, if not more than foolish. I assure the honorable member that no efforts have been spared to prevent stoppages from taking place. It has been estimated that the loss of coal production if stoppages occurred at all pf the coalmines in Australia would be between 65,000 tons and 70,000 tons a day.

page 844

ME. E. J. WARD, M.P

Sydney Morning Herald” Report

Mr WARD:
Minister for External Territories · EAST SYDNEY, NEW SOUTH WALES · ALP

– I desire to make a personal explanation.

Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER:

– That should be left until after question time.

Mr WARD:

– There have been occasions on which personal explanations have been permitted within the first- 35 minutes of questions without notice that are later re-broadcast

Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER:

– I shall endeavour to clarify the position. Because questions asked and answers given during the first 35 minutes are later rebroadcast, the practice has been to try to keep to questions and answers only during that period. If honorable members desire to raise any other matters they should arrange with Mr. Speaker to do so, either before or after question time, in order to obviate the necessity for the broadcasting staff to eliminate such other matter from questions and answers, because that entails a lot of technical difficulties. It has been customary for the House to assist in the endeavour to achieve this purpose. Has the honorable member been misrepresented in the House?

Mr Ward:

– I have been misrepresented in a newspaper report.

Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER:

– Then the honorable gentleman will have to obtain the leave of the House to make a personal explanation at this stage of r.hp proceedings. Is leave granted?

Opposition Members. - No

Leave not granted.

Later:

Mr WARD:
ALP

– I desire to make a personal explanation about a report that appears on page 3 of to-day’s issue of the Sydney Morning Herald under the heading “ Mr. Ward Wants S.I.C. to Stay “. The report purports to relate to a discussion that occurred at a meeting of the Parliamentary Labour party in Canberra yesterday. It is a distortion, and does not accurately state the views that I expressed at that meeting. Because of the gross inaccuracy, I do not consider that it emanated from any member of the Labour party who was present at the discussions. It appears to me that the Sydney Morning Herald is continuing its smear campaign against certain members of the Labour party because it strongly disagrees with- their views and politics. The members of the ministerial party who were present know the views that I expressed during that discussion and I leave it to them to ‘ correct that report in the quarters where it needs to be corrected.

page 844

QUESTION

AUSTRALIA’S MANUFACTURING ECONOMY

Mr O’CONNOR:
WEST SYDNEY, NEW SOUTH WALES

– The Minister for Post-war Reconstruction recently tabled a brief review of the Australian manufacturing economy, which gave details of new capital investments in Australian industry between the end of the war and June, 1948. Will the Minister inform the House whether any later figures are now available?

Mr DEDMAN:
Minister for Defence · CORIO, VICTORIA · ALP

– In a brief review of manufacturing industries in Australia that I presented to the House towards the end of May last year, I stated that between the end of the war in 1945 and June, 1948, over 2,000 new or expanding industries had had invested in them capital totalling £144,000,000. A later review shows that since that period and up to the end of 1948 an additional £30,000,000 was invested in industries, covering about 700 new projects in Australia. That means that the total of new capital investment in Australia since the end of the war in new or expanding industries amounts to £174,000,000, and that the number of projects involved was nearly 3,000. This indicates that investors generally see in Australia a very great field of opportunity. That, in turn, ie attributed to the work of this Labour Government, so ably led by th«* Prime Minister, in maintaining the financial stability and economic buoyancy.

page 844

QUESTION

MOTOR VEHICLES

Mr HOLT:
FAWKNER, VICTORIA

– Will the Prime Minister inform the House whether the report that the Government proposes to ask the State governments to increase motor registration fees is .correct? If so, by what amount does the Government believe that motor registration fees should be increased, and how much additional revenue is it expected that the States would get from this source! Has tha Government considered making available a corresponding amount from the surplus proceeds of the petrol tax?

Mr CHIFLEY:
ALP

– What are called the three claimant States in relation to the activities of the Commonwealth Grants Commission have restored motor registration fees to - what they were before the war. It will be remembered that during the war most of the States reduced the fees by 20 or 25 per cent. The other three States, New South Wales, Queensland and Victoria have not, so far as I know, raised registration fees to the old figure. It has been suggested that, since the States are asking for more money for roads on the ground that costs have increased, motorists who use the roads should be called upon to pay something more towards their upkeep.

Mr Holt:

– Motorists have less petrol now than .they had before the war.

Mr CHIFLEY:

– They had less petrol live or six years ago than they have now. Although I have not made any request to the States on the subject, I might raise the issue at the next conference of Commonwealth and State Ministers if the Commonwealth . is asked for more money for roads. It is only right that those who use the roads should make a substantial contribution towards maintaining .them.

page 845

QUESTION

SHIPPING

Mr DUTHIE:
WILMOT, TASMANIA

– An act providing for .he establishment of a Commonwealth shipping line has been passed by both Bouses of the Parliament. Can the Prime Minister say when the act will he proclaimed, and what progress has been made towards setting up the Australian Shipping Board?

Mr CHIFLEY:
ALP

– The act has been passed by this Parliament and assented to. and the setting up of the Australian Shipping Board has been considered by the Minister for Shipping and Fuel, and by me. ‘ Difficulty has been experienced in obtaining suitable members for the board.’ We should have a first-class man in charge of this activity, and we have hot yet been able to obtain the services of one whom we would regard as suitable, although inquiries, have been made in Australia, the United States of America, the United Kingdom and Canada. “ I” understand that the. Minister’ for Shipping and Fuel is now awaiting the result’ of inquiries regarding the qualifications of various persons. . When -satisfactory information is received, the board will he appointed.

page 845

QUESTION

BROADCASTING

Mr HOWSE:
CALARE, NEW SOUTH WALES

– Can the Prime Minister say whether the Government intend* to raise the fees paid by commercial radio stations to the Commonwealth? If so. will the additional revenue derived from the increased fees be used to offset the enormous anticipated deficit in the finances of the Postmaster-General’s Department? What fees do commercial radio stations pay to the Government at present? Does the Government receive any other payments from those radio stations, and if so, what are they ? What will be the annual cost of the Australian Broadcasting Control Board?

Mr CHIFLEY:
ALP

– Although the provision of facilities for commercial broadcasting stations by the PostmasterGeneral’s Department results in an annual loss of approximately £1,000,000, annually c-.ach commercial broadcasting station pays only about £25 a year and some other minor charges to that department. An examination of the relevant figures that I made some time ago convinced me, as far as it was possible for me to form an opinion from those figures, -that a review should be made df the small contributions made by the commercial broadcasting companies in return for the facilities provided for them by the Postmaster-General’s Department, so that that department should not continue to have to bear the brunt of the burden, particularly in view of the large profits made by the broadcasting companies. 0 However, I considered that the subject should be referred to the Australian .Broadcasting Control Board, which has just been established, to make d complete examination of the whole matter, including channels, frequencies and facilities generally, and - that a decision whether the charges made to commercial broadcasting. companies should be increased, ought to be deferred until the- board washable to make, a special report, on the subject. Since that body was established its members have been engaged in preparing a complete report for the Government concerning television and the technical considerations associated with the introduction of television to this country. The board is also inquiring into the possibility of introducing the system of re-diffusion wireless reception, which enables people to listen to broadcasts without a radio receiver installation, and which has made Borne progress towards acceptance in the United Kingdom and other countries. Consideration will be given to the suggestion made by the honorable member concerning the anticipated -deficit in the -finances of the Postmaster-General’s Department. In reply to the last portion of the honorable member’s question, I cannot at -the moment furnish an estimate of the annual cost of the Australian Broadcasting Control board, but I shall obtain that information for him.

page 846

QUESTION

SUGAR

Mr BERNARD CORSER:
WIDE BAY, QUEENSLAND

– When considering representations by the sugar industry for an increase in the price of sugar, will the Prime Minister take, into consideration the fact that the sugar industry is the only Australian industry which is required to continue on the same price for its product as operated prior to the depression ? Will the right honorAble gentleman also take into consideration the fact that in defending the proposal to increase postal, telegraphic and telephonic charges by £6,000,000 he instanced the greatly increased cost of labour and materials, which could be Argued more forcibly by the sugar indus-; try in support of its claim for an early increase in price of sugar!

Mr CHIFLEY:
ALP

– The honorable member will recall that an increase was granted in the home consumption price of sugar some time ago.

Mr Bernard Corser:

– That increase merely restored the voluntary depression cut.

Mr DEPUTY SPEAKER:

– Order I “The honorable member, has asked his question; he must listen to the reply in. silence.

Mr CHIFLEY:

– I, and other Commonwealth Ministers, with the Premier of Queensland, engaged in many discussions with representatives of the sugar industry when increases of the homeconsumption price of sugar were sought. Finally, after consultation with the Queensland Government, an increase of price was approved. During those discussions I asked the representatives of the industry whether the calculations ob which the claims were based had takes into account the effect of the introduction of a 40-hour week in the sugar industry and I was informed that that factor had been taken into account. An increased price was. subsequently granted. I agree that costs have risen since thos* discussions took place. I have heard from certain sources that a further application is likely to be made for an. increase of the home consumption price, but no official approach has yet been made to me on the matter. The price of sugar is a matter for joint agreement between the Queensland and Australian Governments. If an application is made for an increased price any new factors which have arisen since the last increase wat authorized will be taken into consideration. I cannot promise the honorable member anything more than that.

page 846

QUESTION

BRISBANE GENERAL POST OFFICE

Mr CONELAN:
GRIFFITH, QUEENSLAND

– I address a question to the Minister representing the PostmasterGeneral. An amount of £30,000 was placed on the Estimates for thiyear towards the cost of building a nev . general post office in Brisbane. As the financial year expires at the- end of thu month, will the Minister see that additional funds are provided in next year’s Estimates so that the plans and specifications of the new building can be completed for certain during that year!

Mr CHIFLEY:
ALP

– I shall answer the question. Some time ago the Government prepared a long-range works programme for the Postmaster-General’s Department, which included the construction of a new post office at Brisbane. This policy was adopted in order to give the department a clear picture of the moneys that would be made available to it. The amounts approved for that purpose were estimated co be sufficient to cover all the work that the department would be physically able f.o carry out during the ensuing three years. I do not know how soon the new Brisbane post office building can be completed. That depends entirely on the Availability of labour and materials.

Mr Conelan:

– I am anxious about the plans, also.

Mr CHIFLEY:

– After the honorable member mentioned that matter to me personally the other day, I discussed it with the Postmaster-General, and he said chat an endeavour would be made to push m with the plans. I assure the honorable member for Griffith that the erection of the new Brisbane post office is not being delayed through lack of money. Expenditure on that project has already been approved as part of the general building programmw

page 847

QUESTION

DEFENCE

Mr WHITE:
BALACLAVA, VICTORIA

– I ask the Minister for Defence whether a meeting of the Commonwealth Council of Defence was he’d in Canberra this week, or recently. If so, was it attended by the heads of the three defence services or their representatives? If not, why not? Were proposals placed before the meeting for an increase of the strength of the three ser.vices? Were any decisions reached on measures to combat the lag in recruiting, or to effect a general strengthening »f Australian defences by the calling up if drafts, as Great Britain is doing. and ip is being contemplated in New Zealand ‘

Mr DEDMAN:
ALP

– There was a meeting >f the Commonwealth Council of Defence recently. The heads of the services, who are members of the council, attended the meeting. The introduction of compulsory military training of any kind taa not discussed. Recruitment figures were examined. Enlistments in one service actually exceed the number planned. In another service, the deficiency it very small, and, in the third service, thideficiency, although somewhat greater, it due to the fact that skilled personnel of a particular type are not readily available.

page 847

QUESTION

GOVERNMENT PUBLICATIONS

Mr LANG:
REID, NEW SOUTH WALES

– I ask the Minister for Information whether private publishing firms are employed by the Department of Information in preparing bulletins, newspapers, magazines, pamphlets, posters and other material for the Department of Immigration and other government departments? If so, could not that work be carried out by the Department of Information? Are tenders called for such work? If not, how are the contract* allocated? Will the Minister have prepared a return showing the total amount of money expended with each of the firms to which such work has been allocated, apart from the actual cost of printing? Are outside printing contracts allocated through a contracts board? If not, how are they allocated ? How many copies are printed each month of To-morrow’s Australians, a publication which bean the inscription that it is produced by the Department of Information and published monthly by the F. H. Johnson Publishing Company Limited, of 34 Jamieson-street, Sydney, for the Department of Immigration, Canberra, and printed by the Bridge Printery Proprietary Limited, of 117 Reservoir-street. Sydney?

Mr CALWELL:
ALP

– I think that the honorable member, in his final question, has answered some of his earlier queries. 1 cannot, at this stage, give him the details that he seeks, but if he will pui his question on the notice-paper, I shall provide him with all the information that I can obtain on the subject.

page 847

QUESTION

WOOL

Mr TURNBULL:
WIMMERA, VICTORIA

– During a recent debate, the Minister for Commerce and Agriculture said that he would give consideration to making an early start with the distribution of profits from sales of wool by the Joint Organization. What stage have those proceedings reached? ls it likely that an early distribution will be made from that fund?

Mr POLLARD:
Minister for Commerce and Agriculture · BALLAARAT, VICTORIA · ALP

– It is true that substantial funds consisting of profits from sales of wool are in hand, but it is also true that the Joint Organization has not yet concluded its operations. Until those operations are approaching finalization it will not be practicable to indicate at what date any distribution can be commenced. The honorable member can rest assured that as soon as it is possible to make a decision in that respect I shall make an announcement accordingly.

page 848

SUPPLY BILL (No. 1) 1949-50

In committee: Consideration resumed from the 9th June (vide page 836).

Schedule.

The TEMPORARY CHAIRMAN:

-(Mr. Sheehan). - The honorable member must confine his personal explanation to the manner in which he claims he has been misrepresented.

Mr Duthie:

– When the committee was considering the proposed vote for the Department of Social Services, the honorable member for Darwin said that I had sniggered at what she was saying. This matter may not seem to be of much importance to some honorable member* opposite, but I do not intend to allow the incident to pass without giving the facts, because, if I had been guilty of something, I arn prepared to take what is coming to me, but as I am not guilty I wish to make this explanation. Actually, when I wa* accused of sniggering at the honorable member, I was reading something and was not even looking at the honorable member. I was laughing at something the honorable member for Gippsland (Mr. Bowden) bad said. It had nothing to do with the honorable member for Darwin. 1 very much regret that in the heat of the moment she accused me of having sniggered at, something she had said when in fact, I did not.

Dame Enid Lyons:

– I, too, wish to make a personal explanation. It is perfectly true that I said that the honorable member for Wilmot (Mr. Duthie) wat sniggering. He has told us that be was noi sniggering, but was laughing at something that some one on this side bad said. If he reads the Ilansard “flats”, he will see that I did not say that he was sniggering at something that I had said ; but he was certainly sniggering while I waI speaking. If he finds my remark hurtful to him, I withdraw it with much pleasure. I hope for a continuance of the exchange of courtesies between us.

Department of SUPPLY anr Development.

Proposed vole, ?573,160.

Mr HOLT:
Fawkner

, - J bring before the committee a matter a bom which the Minister for Post-war Reconstruction (Mr. Dedman) may supply information. It has been reported to me that at a time when the building industry of Australia, particularly that section of it concerned with our home-building programme, is seriously short of a number of components, that go into the building of a home, the Government has arranged for the export of 25,000 tons of steel billets to Great Britain for the fabrication of tinplate, I shall not be accused, I hope, by the Minister, if he replies to what I have to say, of trying to impede the free flow of trade between Australia and Great Britain, because I have done as much as any one in the Parliament to advocate an expansion of trade between Australia and Great Britain as a means of solving the economic difficulties in which Great Britain is floundering; but this matter should be examined calmly, having in view the relative needs of the two countries’ and the priority of urgency of the steel billets. A volume of 25,000 tons is very considerable, and I understand that the homebuilding programme of Australia is being greatly impeded by the scarcity of spouting and other sheet steel products. For a considerable time there has been a lag of from twelve to fifteen months in the supply of that range of products, and, if our supplies of sheet steel are to be cut by 40 per cent., as the figure of 25,000 tons would imply, the supply of materials for housing needs, which i& already inadequate, will be almost halved, and the delivery dates, I am informed, will be considerably delayed. Circumstances such as these1, it is suggested. would force a large number of building contractors temporarily to abandon their jobs, with the result that potential home-owners would be left stranded with partly completed houses on their hands. The 25,000 tom of steel to be exported! could quite easily have been converted to some1 form of building supplies,, such as spouting, down-pipes, ridging,, guttering, flashing, angle strips-, steel window frames,, angle- lintels,, reinforcemen’t rods,, nails- and a’ variety of other articles. It is significant,, and’ perhaps1 ironical, that at a time when-. Australia’ is: contemplating, the export of a considerable quantity of steel billets; State’ governments are importing thousands of tons- of steel products. The VictorianGovernment is a-waiting the arrival from abroad, of 30,000 tons of reinforcement rods- for use m hospitals. It has ordered from: overseas- thousands- of tons of steel products tha* it needs for large undertakings,, including, the> power generating plant on the Gippsland coal-fields and various hydro-electric and water conservation schemes. The Government of New South Wales has placed large orders with overseas firms. If the steel that it is proposed to ‘send abroad were diverted to those governments, there would be no necessity for the importation of such large quantities of steel products. It seems absurd that, at a time when we are’ proposing to send out of Australia 25,000 tons of steel billets to be fabricated into tinplate, we are importing thousands of tons of steel.

Mr Thompson:

– Could wes make tin-plate in Australia ?

Mr HOLT:

– I understand that tfe’ could hot do so with the equipment thai IS available. Therefore, it is necessary to consider whether at the present time tinplate should take priority of steel products which are used in the housing programme. It is- agreed that building materials must have a high priority. It is common knowledge that until recently’ there was an acute shortage in Australia1 of tinplate for the canning of foodstuffs^ for local consumption and export to> Great Britain an<d other countries1- The Government sent officers abroad te negotia te agreements under which supplies-‘ could be made available to1 us, and I assume that the arrangement to exportsteel billets’ from thi* country played am important part in those’ negotiation®; I aits informed that’ the demand for tin* plate baa fallen considerably recently. The? Commonwealth Canning and Tin*plate Board has issued1 a circular to” manufacturers notifying them’ that tinplate can now be made available for purposes for which formerly if could not be used.

Mr Thompson:

– Mostly for the canning of primary products.

Mr HOLT:

– Tinplate can now be used for purposes that, previously were not regard’edregarded as being of sufficient importance to justify its- use. This is- a* question of priorities-. Are’ steel billets, which cai* be fabricated info building* material s-,, more urgently required than-, tinplate,- which, according to the lastcircular issued, by the Commonwealth! Canning and’ Tinplate Board-, can now bamade available1 foi? purposes- for which formerly it could not be used? In view of the improved tinplate position, it may be possible to reduce the quantity of steel billets that it is proposed to export. Perhaps the Government has already decided to do so. I understand that the tomato and fruit harvests this year are expected to be smaller than those of last year. The explanation that has been given of the fact that tinplate can now be made available for purposes for which formerly it was not permissible to use it is that the quantity required for the canning of the tomato crop and the fruit crops will be less than was expected. It seems that the demand for tinplate now is not so great as it was when the arrangement to export steel billets was made. I hope that the Minister will clarify the points that I have raised.

Mr DEDMAN:
Minister for Defence and Minister for Post-war Reconstruction · Corio · ALP

– In return for the steel billets that are being exported to the United Kingdom we are to get, and are getting, tinplate. The honorable member for Fawkner (Mr. Holt) has suggested that because the demand for tinplate now is not so great as it was previously, some of the steel billets that are destined for export should be used for the fabrication of products that are needed to implement the housing programme. Every honorable member has his own view of the priority that should be given to certain needs. I doubt if the honorable member for Indi (Mr. McEwen) would accept the proposition that has been advanced by the honorable member for Fawkner.

Mr McEwen:

– The Minister must not bring me .into the argument.

Mr DEDMAN:

– I am bringing the honorable gentleman into it deliberately, because it is always good to have a man on your side if you can pull him in. The honorable member for Indi would have had something to say if supplies of tinplate had not been available in Australia when fruits were ripening in the Goulburn Valley. At one period we scoured the world in order to obtain tinplate for our canning industries. The honorable member for Fawkner has said that the Commonwealth Canning and Tinplate Board is now making tinplate freely available for purposes for which ordinarily it has not been made available in recent times.

Mr Holt:

– I said that it is now more freely available. I did not say that it is freely available.

Mr DEDMAN:

– There is an explanation for that. It is not an explanation that I like to give, and it may be that I ought not to give it, but I shall accept the risk of doing so. Of the tinplate obtained from the United Kingdom, a greater proportion than is normally the ca.se was found to be of inferior quality. Some of it was of such a quality that it was not possible to use it for ordinary canning purposes. In those circumstances, the board had on its hands a quantity of tinplate that could not be used unless it was made available for purposes for which ordinarily it is not used. The honorable gentleman has suggested that, because the demand for tinplate is not now so great as it was previously, the Government should re-examine the position to see whether it is possible to reduce the volume of exports of steel billets. I hope that the explanation that I have given has clarified the position.

Mr Holt:

– I want to make it clear that I am not attacking the original decision to send steel billets overseas. I am asking whether, in view of the changed circumstances, the Government intends to reconsider the quantity that should b» exported.

Mr DEDMAN:

– I have explained to the honorable gentleman why tin pi at* seems to be more freely available. The reason is the inferior quality of a part of the product that has been supplied to up by the United Kingdom. That defect will be remedied in due course. When it is rectified the anomaly will not exist. The honorable gentleman has also pointed out that we are importing steel products from France and other countries and exporting steel billets to the United Kingdom. It is not easy to arrange three-cornered deals. With regard to the United Kingdom, tinplate is a fabricated product and is, therefore, much morevaluable to it than the basic material, steel, that we are sending to it. In the process of Australia exporting steel billets to the United Kingdom, the United Kingdom sending tinplate to Australia, and France sending steel rails to Australia, the United Kingdom benefits from using its manufacturing industry to give an added value to a particular product and thus it is being assisted to balance it3 payments. It may seem wrong that this three-cornered exchange should continue, but the Australian Government can do nothing about that. We are helping the United Kingdom by allowing it to use its manufacturing resources to produce * valuable product that we need. Because that involves us in sending certain basic products to the United Kingdom, it is again to our advantage that we should permit the importation of steel rails from France or any other, country from which we can get them.

Mr BERNARD CORSER:
Wide Bay

– Honorable members are aware that I have frequently expressed interest in. the development of Australia’s petroleum resources and an anxiety to secure for Australia a degree of independence of the big world oil companies on which we are now totally dependent. I have urged the Government to acquire jil rights as near as possible to Australia in lands that are known or thought likely in contain oil deposits.

The TEMPORARY CHAIRMAN (Mr Sheehan:
COOK, NEW SOUTH WALES

– Order! The committee is dealing with the Department of Supply ind Development. The honorable member will be able to discuss matters connected with the Department of Shipping and Fuel later.

Mr BERNARD CORSER:

– I am considering the subject from the point of new of development. I believe, first, in the development of our own resources in Australia and Australian territories. A great deal of research has been carried out here, and I am still hopeful that we shall obtain good results. However, we should not neglect sources of supply in other countries near Australia, and I again urge the Government to turn its attention to this matter. Only yesterday the Prime Minister (Mr. Chifley) told me that it was impossible for the Government to do very much about securing an interest in possible oil-bearing areas in other countries because the govern ments of those countries were jealous of their , assets and were not anxious to grant oil rights. I have here the Oil and Petroleum Year-Book for 1947, which describes the expansion of foreign activities in oil-bearing countries. Tremendous development has occurred in recent years in those countries close to Australia including particularly Indonesia, Borneo and the Middle East countries. The book to which I have referred states that the expansion of crude oil supplies outside the United States of America is proceeding rapidly to meet the actual and prospective increase of demand and that many American oil companies are entering foreign fields. That, being so, surely there can be no good reason why Australia should not secure interests in those fields. The potentialities of the Middle East are enormous. According to the information in this book, the development of those areas will in due course relieve external pressure upon production in the United States. Output from Persia increased from 16,S00,000 tons in 1943 to 22.695,000 tons in 1946. Production has increased on a comparable scale in other parts of the world as the result of activities by governments and private companies. Production figures in the Near East are mounting steadily. Saudi Arabia now produces 60,000,000 barrels and Irak 33,500,000 barrels annually. Bahrein Island provides 8,000,000 barrels a year, and the output of other areas is increasing as pipelines are extended. The fact is that the governments of certain oil-bearing countries are allowing foreign organizations to extend their activities. That discounts the Prime Minister’s assertion that they are reluctant to grant oil rights. There is no satisfactory reason why this Government should not seek to gain concessions for Australia. The Oil and Petroleum Year-book shows that the Royal Dutch and Shell combines have controlling interests in oil ventures in Venezuela, Ecuador, Trinidad, the Netherlands West Indies, Colombia, Argentina, Uruguay, Chile, Cuba, Irak, Egypt, the Netherlands East Indies, Borneo and Roumania. If they can secure such wide interests, surely Australia can gain entry somewhere in those fields. Many new oil companies have been formed. I do not pose as an authority on the operation of Oil companies, because 1 know that it is most difficult to ascertain the relationship of various companies and their true production figures. Nevertheless, I have been able to refer to some interesting information which shows that interests that Could have been gained by Australia have been taken over by either foreign governments, or foreign interests. The AngloIranian Oil Company Limited was originally granted concessions over an area of 100,000 square miles. Why could not Australia obtain concessions in Persia? Since 1940, that company’s concessions have been extended over areas to include 56,000 square miles, 40,000 square mile, 100,000 square miles and 80.000 square miles in various localities near the Persian Gulf. The Arabian-American Oil Company holds long-term concessions from the Government of Saudi-Arabia covering approximately 430,fl00 square miles and has preferential rights over additional areas totalling 177,000 square miles. Yet the Prime Minister says that foreign governments are reluctant to allow outside interests to secure oil concessions! The production of oil from the ArabianAmerican Oil Company’s leases increased from 7.800.000 barrels in 1944 to !80,0,00.000 barrels in 1946. While this “expansion is going on, the Australian Government sits back and does nothing except ration supplies. The Shell combine, through its interest in the Astra Romana Societe Anonyme, operates in no fewer than ten different oil-fields in foreign countries. The Bahrein Petroleum Company Limited, of Canada, has shown us what we could do if we tried. In 1939 it had rights covering 100;000 acres of Bahrein Island in the Bahrein Gulf. ‘Canada is ‘considerably farther away from those oil-fields than is Australia. Furthermore, its need is not so urgent as is ours, because there are great oil-fields in ‘Canada and nearby in the United ‘States of America. That Canadian company has now secured concessions covering not only the area that it held in 1939 but also the remainder pf the island and all other 1’ands, islands, -shoals,- reefs, waters, and submerged lands in the territory ruled by the Sheikh of Bahrein..

The island, which lies about halfway up the Persian Gulf towards the Arabian coast, ra approximately 32 miles long and 9£ miles wide. In 1946, -which is the latest year for which figures are available, these Canadian interests produced 8,000,000 barrels of oil and since then have increased production every month. Other companies that I shall mention are the British-Borneo Petroleum Syndicate Limited and the British Petroleum Company Limited. The latter company is interested in properties in Burma, Trinidad and South Africa where it holds its own rights, and through the Rangoon Oil Company Limited, in which it has 98 per cent, of the issued capital, it holds 450 oil-field and oil-well sites. There are also the British Consolidated Oil-fields Limited established in Canada in 1918 which holds concessions in South American countries, including Venezuela ; Burmah Oil Company Limited, which through subsidiary companies owns oilbearing lands in every great oilfield in the east; and the Canadian Eagle Oil Company Limited, which has rights in countries in South America, and also in Cuba. Australia does not need to go as far as that to obtain oil-bearing territory. There are also the Carribean Petroleum Company as well as the Ceram Oil Syndicate Limited, which holds licences to search for oil in the island of Ceram, Netherlands East Indies, and now receives royalties on production from the Royal Dutch-Shell interests. While these companies have been in operation snapping up oil-bearing lands Australia has been -standing idly by and has done nothing, -even in the Netherlands East Indies, which lies so close to it. We are told that the nations which own oilbearing lands are reluctant to give con.cessions to other countries, yet “we hare the Iraq Petroleum Company Limited, with the sole right for 75 years to exploit certain oil-fields, east of the River Tigris, covering an area of 32,000 square miles. So we could go on through the list of foreign companies that have gained concessions in many parts of the world. Yet, in the time of the ‘Curtin Administration in the early part of the last war, I asked the then -Prime Minister to Bee if it “was possible in any peace settlement to ensure that Australia acquired some rights to oil-bearing territory in the Indonesian area. So far, unfortunately, we have done nothing to secure for ourselves within our own country the oil that we so badly require. The importance of oil power to Australia is emphasized more and more every day, particularly since the New South Wales coal-miners have fallen down on their responsibility. It is essential that we seek resources other than coal to provide the power necessary for the country’s industries. Petroleum must replace the use of coal to a great degree, as must also hydroelectricity. I hope that the Government will try to acquire some rights in the Middle Eastern countries such as Iraq and Persia where there are such rich oilbearing lands, or acquire some rights in Dutch New Guinea. We must make ourselves independent of world oil companies which this year made £8,000,000 or £9,000,000 profit from the increased prices of petrol. We shall have only ourselves to blame if we allow those great combines to rule the destinies of our country by increasing the costs of production in Australia through the everincreasing prices that they force us to pay for petrol. Instead of doing something to ensure that we shall have supplies of petrol under our own control, this Government is concentrating on socializing successful industries belonging to people who have worked hard and invested much money over a long period of years so as to make the industries which employ so many people successful. We should also have an eye to our future defence in connexion with the desirability of having our own sources of petrol supply. We should make it clear that we do not intend to be battened upon by rich foreign petrol combines.

The TEMPORARY CHAIRMAN (Mr Sheehan:

– Order! The honorable gentleman’s time has expired.

Mr THOMPSON:
Hindmarsh

– I wish to discuss the matter of tinplate that has been raised by the honorable member for Fawkner (Mr. Holt). T hope that the Minister, when giving consideration to that honorable member’s remarks about tinplate, will keep in mind the effect that a reduction of supplies of tinplate for canning purposes would have on the activities of many primary producers. Recently I asked a question in this House regarding thedesirability of increasing the supplies of tinplate. I emphasized then the great need of tinplate for the canning of celery. The celery-growing industry is one whose product has to be used very quickly. If not canned or preserved, it must be placed on the market for sale very soon after it is picked. For a long period celery-canning was not included among the list of industries for which the use of tinplate was permitted. It was placed on the list recently. I am referring to this matter at the request of primary producers and not of canning factories. Tinplate is also required by the orange-growing industry in the irrigation areas of South Australia, where a great part of that State’s orange crop is grown. After the new electoral boundaries come into force, those areas will not be represented by the honorable members who now represent them. The representation of that district in the next Parliament will be entirely new, and that is why I mention this matter at the present time. South Australian orange-growers are mainly ex-servicemen, most of whom served in World War I. If we are to consider properly the question of whether housing is of more importance than the importation of tinplate we must go much further into the matter than the bare question of whether one is more important than the other. It cannot be denied that it is important to Australia that those primary producers should obtain reasonable prices for their produce on a ready market. Consideration must be given to the maintenance of adequate supplies of tinplate, because food supplies generally are involved. As honorable members know the works of Imperial Chemical Industries of Australia and New Zealand Limited are located at Osborne in my electorate.. Large quantities of the soda ash and other commodities produced there are used in the manufacture of glass containers. If sufficient tinplate is not available for the making of cans for foodstuffs greater use will have to be made of glass jars for that purpose. It must be remembered, however, that considerably greater expense will be involved if foodstuffs are to be sent for long distances in glass jars. As extra shipping space would be required, consideration must be given to the matter of deciding whether steel should be provided for the making of tinplate in preference to steel for housing fixtures. It is difficult to deal with these two aspects of the matter separately because they are interlocked. I am quite sure that the honorable member for Fawkner (Mr. Holt) did not mean to prejudice the primary producers in any way by his reference to this matter. I sincerely hope that the Minister will take steps to ensure that the greatest possible quantity of tinplate shall be made available for the manufacture of cans for food. There has been a tendency in South Australia to lay much stress on ultimate food value rather than the economic value to the producers. Many letters have been published in the South Australian newspapers about the practice that has developed of growers sending currants and sultanas to the distilleries instead of drying them for food. It has been stated that those fruits are not being used to the best advantage. The grower cannot be blamed for sending his produce to the distilleries if by so doing he receives an additional £5 a ton. It is but human nature for the growers to secure the best prices for their produce. If the food processors are not supplied with sufficient tinplate for cans I doubt whether they will be prepared to use costly substitutes. If the most satisfactory containers for food cannot be supplied to the manufacturers it ‘may be that in time food now obtainable will disappear from the market. Although many honorable members regard the electorate of Hindmarsh as a secondary industry district only, the majority of glass-house tomatoes grown in South Australia are cultivated in that electorate. The bulk of the tomatogrowing districts in my present electorate will not be in the new electorate of Port Adelaide that I hope to represent after the next general election. It is therefore incumbent on me to impress upon honorable members that the people in those areas desire that the existing means of marketing their products shall be preserved. I therefore ask the Minister to bear in mind the needs and just rights of those primary product rs when considering this matter, particularly if the tinplate is of first quality which could be used for purposes other than the making of containers. I point out that most of the men who are growing oranges, celery, and tomatoes are only .in a small way of business. Their interests should be protected to the greatest possible degree.

Mr WHITE:
Balaclava

.- Like the honorable member for Fawkner (Mr. Holt) I have received a protest from the Builders and Allied Trades Association in Melbourne with relation to the export of large quantities of steel from Australia. If tinplate was not badly needed in Australia there would be no criticism of this export. But, as th« honorable member has said, there is a scarcity of that commodity to-day. Certainly we have to look after the canning industry, which is one of our greatest export industries, but let us consider what is happening. In answer to a question the Prime Minister (Mr. Chifley) admitted recently that £2,500,000 worth of steel products had been exported from Australia in recent times. Those products included piping, lighting fixtures, galvanized iron and all kinds of household requirements. Many buildings are being held up because of shortages of materials. In some instances only small articles are involved. As mentioned by the honorable member for Flinders (Mr. Ryan) there is an acute shortage of nails. Although, wire factories are unable to obtain wire, if the Government wants it supplies are made available. Screws, also, are almost unobtainable. I know from my own experience that it is impossible to obtain galvanized guttering unlesthe order is placed a year in advance. We have in Australia a steel mill equal in efficiency to any mill in any part of the world. It is making steel as cheaply as that commodity can be produced in any other country, except India. That mill is capable of producing over 1,000,000 tons of pig iron a year. At present, because of coal troubles, output is down. The mill is running at only 75 per cent, or 80 per cent, of capacity. Every strike on the coal-fields means less steel because it takes two tons of coal to make a ton of steel. A state of chaos is rapidly developing because the Government has permitted the export of housing fixtures to New

Zealand and other places in the Pacific without first providing for the requirements of this country. Last week I asked the Prime Minister whether a report that the Australian Government had authorized the New South Wales Government to import a large quantity of steel from Japan was correct. To my astonishment the right honorable gentleman admitted that the report was correct. C had hoped that the report was wrong. That is an outstanding example of the crazy control being administered by the Government. We are exporting 25,000 tons of steel to Great Britain and importing from Japan large quantities of steel with which to make dog spikes for use in railway construction. It is obvious that the community suffers whenever the Government meddles in commerce. The Minister should give the House an assurance that Australia’s requirements of steel, galvanized iron, and wire netting will be fully met before any more permits to export those commodities are issued.

Yesterday, the necessity for the provision of a new automatic telephone exchange in Melbourne was debated in this House. One need only ask any telephone subscriber connected to the Windsor manual exchange hie opinion of the present service to be convinced of the urgent necessity for a new automatic telephone exchange in Melbourne. When reinforcing rods are used in government buildings, as in the additions to Parliament House, and other buildings in Canberra, while ordinary citizens cannot get houses to live in, it is clear that there is something wrong with Government policy. I am glad that the honorable member for Fawkner raised this matter because it emphasizes the pass to which this Government’s policy has brought us.

Mr SHEEHY:
Boothby

.- I disagree with the honorable member for Balaclava (Mr. White), who said that the more the Government tried to assist industry the worse the position became. Only last week the Government, in response to representations by me, granted assistance to the refrigeration industry in South Australia, enabling it to develop, and to provide employment for more people. During the war, a South Aus tralian company, at the request of the Government, embarked upon the manufacture of fork-lift trucks because, at that time, it was impossible to get such trucks from Great Britain. The fact that the company was able to supply the trucks was of great assistance to the Government, and contributed materially towards relieving the shortage of labour. The Government helped the industry in every possible way. Honorable members will realize that to establish an industry of that kind from the ground up is a big undertaking, as I know from my own experience. Fork-lift trucks are now being imported from England, and I do not complain of that. My policy has always been, Australian goods first, and after that, British goods. However, I have been informed that fork-lift truck* are being brought to Australia from the islands. They were bought up by speculators, not for immediate use, but to be held in stock. I should like the Minister to tell me whether dollars were used for the purchase of the trucks, or whethethey were bought through the Commonwealth Disposals Commission. The matter is important, because the trucks ave coming into competition with Australian and British trucks, and the Australian industry provides employment for a considerable number of persons.

Mr McEWEN:
Indi

.- When the honorable member for Fawkner (Mr. Holt)’ mentioned tinplate and the export of steel billets, I am sure that it was not in his mind to propose anything to the detriment of the primary industries by opposing the importation of steel. He was pointing to the extraordinary anomaly, which the Government has not yet explained, of Australia exporting steel billets and importing steel rods. How the Government can justify such behaviour in a so-called planned economy I cannot say. As the control of exports, as well as control of all major imports, is in the hands of the Government, the Government cannot plead that private industry is responsible for the anomaly.

Mr Dedman:

– The honorable member does not want us to get tinplate for the primary producers.

Mr McEWEN:

– The Minister foi Post-war Reconstruction (Mr. Dedman) well knows that that is a fatuous interjection. He knows that there is no member of Parliament more personally concerned than I am with getting tinplate for primary industries. It is well known that the great canning industry of Australia is concentrated in my electorate, and that the greatest canning factory in the British Empire is in the principal town which I represent. I do not claim to be more interested than others in the primary producers, but I will not admit that I am any less interested, a fact which my speeches in this House fully demonstrate, and I am certainly eager to ensure that enough tinplate is obtained for the canning industry.

I believe that the Minister for Postwar Reconstruction unwittingly did British industry an injustice when he said that the surplus supply of tinplate in Australia was due to the unfortunate fact that a considerable amount of British tinplate that had been imported into Australia was of inferior quality. The Minister said that perhaps he should not mention that fact, but then he went on to do so. As a matter of fact, British tinplate in Australia is not of inferior quality, but it is of a different type from that which modern, fast-running, automatic American can-making machinery is able to use. The older kind of can-making machinery was designed to use hot-rolled tinplate. American manufacturers, who lead the world in canning and fast automatic can-making machinery, have devised a thinner type cf tinplate, which is known as “cold rolled “, but, unfortunately, much of the British tinplate cannot be used in that machinery. British tinplate is not inferior to American tinplate, and I should hate to think that any such stigma attaches to British industry. Because of the unsuitability of the American machines to process British tinplate, the United Kingdom has had to allocate American dollars to import cold strip. The Broken Hill Proprietary Company Limited has already announced that it proposes to expend considerably more than £1,000,000 in the establishment of a cold strip mill at Port Kembla, which will be operated by Australian Iron and Steel Limited, which is a subsidiary of the

Broken Hill Proprietary Company Limited. We all hope, I am sure, that that undertaking will be able to provide all Australia’s requirements of tinplate. Because of the efficiency of the Broken Hill Proprietary Company Limited, I think that we may look forward to Australia eventually becoming an exporter of tinplate.

Since we are discussing the proposed vote for the Department of Supply and Development, I desire to express a general, but important, viewpoint. As its title implies, the department is concerned with matters relating to supply and development. In the present postwar era I cannot imagine anything that should engage our attention more than planning for the development of this country, which also involves consideration of our capacity to absorb more population. Indeed, our continued possession of this continent depends on the development of Australia and on our capacity to populate it. I believe that the preparation and implementation of great and far-sighted plans for the development of Australia should rank as the highest responsibility of any administration. Instead of the Department of Supply and Development having but minor rank in the priority of Commonwealth departments, and instead of its functions being diffused through a number of other departments, its functions should be enlarged to cover an infinitely wider field. That department should exercise more direct control over those aspects of the national economy that are connected with the nation’s development. The time has come for the establishment of a special ministry of state to deal with matters relating to the development of the vast potentialities of this country. It is inevitable that certain national services such as the railways should be initiated and administered by the Government. That statement may, of course, be .regarded as supporting socialism, but I emphasize that the undertakings I have in mind serve the whole community. In any event, we all know that we have attained our present stature and strength as a British community because of the industry and initiative displayed by private enterprise. I suggest that the Department of Supply and Development should concern itself with all those matters that are admittedly the function of the State. To-day we desperately need developmental railways, and if ever railway gauges in this country are to be standardized that can come about only under the leadership of the National Government. Nevertheless there are many directions in which private enterprise could be assisted by a powerful and far-sighted developmental organization. At the present time we are considering a vast scheme for the development of the rich potential resources of the Snowy River. Instead of that project being the concern of the Department of Supply and Development, it is placed under the River Murray Waters Commission, whose primary function is the supply of water for irrigation purposes, and which functions under the direction of the Department of Works and Housing. The Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organization, which has an important influence on the development of this country, is placed under the supervision of the Prime Minister’s Department for matters connected with finance, and under the Department of Post-war Reconstruction for general administration. Although the Commonwealth Railways are under the administration of the Department of the Interior, the project for the standardization of railway gauges is the concern of the Department of Transport. Every member of the House, irrespective of his political allegiance, is, I am sure, desperately eager to provide meat for the people of the United Kingdom, who are so badly in need of it. We all know that, although there are scores of thousands of fat cattle in northern Australia, the hungry people of Great Britain cannot receive an ounce of meat from them because of the lack of a developmental railway. If we had a railway to serve that area those scores of thousands of beasts could be transformed into meat, which would appear on the breakfast tables of the British people within three months. As it is, we know that no meat from northern Australia will reach England before at least eighteen months. Instead of prime fat cattle being trucked from the Barkly Tableland or Victoria River Downs to a seaport for shipmen abroad, they have to be walked a distance of 1,000 miles, by which time they are reduced to skeletons and have to be refattened. My colleague, the honorable member for the Northern Territory (Mr. Blain), has been tireless in advocating the construction of a developmental railway through the Northern Territory.

Mr McLeod:

– The honorable member for Indi (Mr. McEwen) was the Minister for the Interior before the war. Why did he not construct a railway?

Mr McEWEN:

– I was the Minister forthe Interior before the war, and the planswhich I presented to the Parliament toprovide for the development of ‘theNorthern Territory are on record.

Mr Lemmon:

– Plans, plans, and: nothing more!

Mr McEWEN:

– If honorable members opposite, would cease chattering amongst themselves-

Mr Lemmon:

– It is all very well for the honorable member to complain about the lack of a railway now-

Mr McEWEN:

– I should like to be able to continue my remarks free of interruption from the Minister from Western Australia. My remarks concern the State of Western Australia, from which the Minister comes, and since he is the only member of the Government from that State I did not expect him to obstruct me.

The DEPUTY CHAIRMAN (Mr. Burke). - The honorable member must not provoke interjections.

Mr McEWEN:

– I have no desire to provoke interjections. In referring to the Minister for Works and Housing (Mr. Lemmon), who was continually harrying me with interjections, I inadvertently described the honorable gentleman as the only Minister from Western Australia. I apologize to the Minister for the Interior (Mr. Johnson) for having overlooked the fact that he, too, is from Western Australia.

The DEPUTY CHAIRMAN.- Order I The honorable member’s time has expired.

Mr RYAN:
Flinders

– I take this opportunity to attempt to elucidate what I can only term as the great nail mystery. Whereas in New South

Wales and in the Australian Capital Territory it is possible to obtain nails in large quantities, in Victoria it is impossible to obtain nails for either love or money. When Victorians need nails they have to obtain them from New South Wales and pay a freight charge of £12 10s. a ton.

Mr Scully:

– Where are the nails manufactured ?

Mr RYAN:

– In New South Wales. The heavy freight charge involved greatly increases the retail price of nails and adds to the cost of home-building and other activities in which nails are used.

Mr Scully:

– Does the rate quoted by the honorable member cover sea or rail freight?

Mr RYAN:

– It is the rate charged for motor transport. Recently I asked the Minister for Post-war Reconstruction (Mr. Dedman) what authority is exercised by the Government to control the distribution of nails. The honorable gentleman confirmed what I already thought to be the case when he stated that the Government had no direct power to deal with the matter. All that it does is to approach the manufacturers of nails and other steel products and endeavour to arrange a gentlemen’s agreement under which distribution is made throughout Australia on a reasonable basis. I have made some inquiries to ascertain what Hee at the bottom of the maldistribution of this essential commodity. In Victoria there are some four plants for the manufacture of nails. One is working part time; one is working almost to full capacity, but the remaining two, I believe, are not working at all. The low production of nails in Victoria is due to the fact that steel wire, which is the raw material from which nails are made, cannot be obtained from New South Wales. The output of the only Victorian factory now working almost at full capacity is, I understand, entirely absorbed by the Australian Government. That factory is able to remain in production only because the Government provides the steel wire. Its output is used by the Government on all sorts of Commonwealth enterprises in Victoria, some of which are necessary, such as war service homes, but others, consisting of expensive and completely unnecessary government offices, could well be deferred until a more suitable time. Two questions need to be answered by the Government. The first is: How does the Government, which states that it has no authority to control the production and distribution of steel wire, manage to obtain the raw material to enable one Victorian factory to meet the Government’s needs? The second question is: If the Government can obtain steel wire for its own purposes, why can it not also obtain wire for general building purposes and for th* general public in Victoria? These questions must be answered. Steps should be taken by the Minister for Post-war Reconstruction to call a conference of manufacturers of steel wire and of nails with a view to ascertaining whether arrangements can be made for Victorian nail manufacturers to obtain larger quantities of steel wire than they are now able to get. At present many activities are held up because of the shortage of nails. Unless a Victorian knows somebody with influence in the industry he is unable to obtain nails at all. I trust that the Minister will be good enough to look into this matter so that this unsatisfactory state of affairs may be remedied.

Mr DEDMAN:
Minister for Defence and Minister for Post-war Reconstruction · Corio · ALP

– I rise solely to deal briefly with the remarks made by the honorable member for Flinders (Mr. Ryan). I have explained on several occasions in this chamber that, through the Division of Industrial Development of my department, an endeavour is made to obtain a fair allocation of steel product? to all States. Earlier that was done by national security regulations under the defence power. The recent decision of the High Court, however, has demonstrated that the defence power can no longer be relied upon for such purposes. The Prime Minister (Mr. Chifley) has already written to the State Premiers stating that the Commonwealth is no longer prepared to control the allocation of steel and other products because it no longer has constitutional power to do so and suggesting that the States should reach some agreement to assume control over these matters. Replies have been received from some of the Premiers but no decision has yet been made that the States should exercise such control. I desire to make it perfectly clear that, because of the recent judgment of the High Court, and of views which we had reached prior to the announcement of that judgment, the Government is not able to control the distribution of steel or other products between the respective States. It is the responsibility of the State governments to make such arrangements as they can to obtain their requirements of such products. The honorable member for Flinders referred to what he called the mal-distribution of nails throughout the Commonwealth. The honorable member rightly related the maldistribution to supplies of steel wire from which nails are manufactured. I can give him one of the strongest reasons why there is at present a shortage of nails in Victoria. That shortage exists because the responsible Victorian Minister has refused a manufacturing permit to a company which desires to engage in the manufacture of steel wire. That is the sole reason why Victorians are unable to obtain their requirements.

Mr LEMMON:
Minister for Works and Housing · Forrest · ALP

– I want to deal with one or two of the points that were raised by the honorable member for Indi (Mr. McEwen). The honorable member waxed eloquent in his story about how Australian beef could have been placed on the tables of the people of Great Britain but for the inactivity of the Government.

Mr McEwen:

– I did not say that.

Mr LEMMON:

– The honorable member said that because of the lack of development of the Northern Territory Australia cannot supply much urgently needed beef to the British people.

Mr McEwen:

– I did not say that, either. What I said was that, had developmental railways been constructed in the Northern Territory, it would have been possible for us to send larger quantities of beef to Great Britain.

Mr LEMMON:

– If that was not a complaint about lack of development, I do not know what could be so described.

Mr McEwen:

– There are many things that the Minister does not know.

Mr LEMMON:

– When the honorable member for Indi was Minister for the Interior, although there were ample materials and man-power available, all that he could do was to produce plana. In the Northern Territory to-day, there is not one mark of hia administration. There was no development of the territory during his term of office. Had more attention been devoted to the territory in those days, there would be much more Australian beef available for the British people to-day. During the regime of anti-Labour administrations, the only meat works in the Northern Territory were closed down. The Government does not claim credit for the war-time construction of roads in the Northern Territory, because they were built primarily for war purposes. Bitumen roads were built from Alice Springs to Darwin and from Tennant Creek to Mount lsa for military purposes. However, had an anti-Labour administration not permitted the closing down of the meat works those war-time roads would have been of great value to-day to the cattle industry in the Northern Territory.

Mr McEwen:

– To which works is the Minister referring?

Mr LEMMON:

– The Darwin meal works.

Mr McEwen:

– But that establishment was closed in the 1920’s.

Mr LEMMON:

– That is no reason why the works should not have been reopened by the Administration of which the honorable member was a member. The Labour Government has made a valuable contribution to the development of the Northern Territory. For instance, provision has been made whereby the cost of any “ dud “ water bores sunk in the Northern Territory shall be borne by the Commonwealth.

Mr McEwen:

– That is not so.

Mr LEMMON:

– The honorable member’s interjection shows how ignorant bc is of present conditions.

The DEPUTY CHAIRMAN. - Order ! The honorable member for Indi complained about interjections when bt was speaking, yet he has been persistently interjecting since the Minister began hit speech.

Mr LEMMON:

– Obviously the honorable member for Indi, who had been endeavouring to impress people by his knowle dge of the Northern Territory, is ignorant of modern developments. I repeat that any property-owner who sinks a water bore which proves ultimately to be a dud “, is compensated by the Commonwealth for his work. That ensures that land-holders who invest their money in sinking water bores shall not lose their investment should they fail to find water. That concession has given the greatest impetus to the improvement of water supplies. Anybody who knows the Northern Territory will realize that the first necessity for the expansion of the cattle-raising industry is improved water supplies. There is ample feed, but water mustbetakentothe areas in which it is grown. I am sure that the honorable member for the Northern Territory (Mr. Blain) will agree with that. The honorable member for Indi spoke of droving

Stock overland for 1,200 miles. That is quite true. But he failed to mention that until the present Minister for the Interior (Mr. Johnson) assumed office, no effort was made by any government to ensure an adequate supply of water along that 1,200-mile route. Now, plentiful water supplies are to be found every 8 or 10 miles along the routes which Northern Territory cattle follow to the north of Queensland and ultimately to the tableland and coastal areas.

Turning to the other side of the Northern Territory, we have arranged with the Government of Western Australia for the construction of a road running south from the Ord River. The Commonwealth has provided £1.500,000 for that purpose. The road will run very close to the border of Western Australia and the Northern Territory, but 95 per cent, of it will be in Western Australia. It will provide access to the Gordon Downs and Inverway areas which are at the end of the good stock country in the Northern Territory. In addition, money has been allocated for the bridging of the Ord River. Hitherto, the lack of a bridge has meant a delay of from six to eight weeks in the killing of stock from the Victoria River, Wave Hill and Rosewood areas. When the bridge has been completed the killing season will be extended by from six to eight weeks, and many thousands more cattle will reach the slaughterhouses for despatch to the United Kingdom. The policy for the development of the Northern Territory has been laid down by the Department of the Interior. The physical work is carried out by the Department of Works and Housing. A road is to be built from a point just south of the Ord River crossing, running due east to the Victoria River Downs country. That, too, will facilitate the movement of stock. Three hundred or more miles further south, another drive is to be made east to tap the country around Wave Hill, Inverway and Gordon Downs. All this work has been left to a Labour Administration, although the Opposition parties held office in this Parliament for decades. As I have said, during the term of office of the honorable member for Indi as Minister for the Interior, Northern Territory projects never passed the planning stage.

Progress reported.

page 860

PAPERS

The following papers were presented : -

Commonwealth Public Service ActAppointments - Department -

Shipping and Fuel - W. H. Geeves.

Supply and Development - E. J. Fry, T. J. Mahony, J. R. Petrie.

House adjourned at 12.45 p.m.

page 860

ANSWERS TO QUESTIONS

The following answers to questions were circulated: -

Pharmaceutical Benefits

Mr Rankin:
BENDIGO, VICTORIA

n asked the Minister representing the Minister for Health, upon notice -

  1. Since the pharmaceutical benefits scheme came into operation on the 1st June, 1948, what amount has been paid to approved chemists in respect of prescriptions dispensed under the scheme?
  2. How many prescriptions have, been dispensed ?
  3. How many (a) permanent and (b) temporary officers are employed in connexion with the scheme?

What has been spent to the latest avail- able date in connexion with the schema on. (a) salaries and allowances and(b) general expenditure?

Mr.HOLLOWAY. - The Minister for Health has supplied the following information : -

  1. The amount paid to chemists to the 30th April, 1949, is £47,507 3S. 7d.
  2. No information in regard to the dispensing of prescriptions is available until they have been presented for payment. Prescriptions presented for payment to the 31st May, 1949, amounted to 247,475. 3. (a) Sixty permanent, (b) twelve temporary.
  3. Since the scheme began operations In June, 1948, salaries and allowances have amounted to £26,841 and general expenses £4,7S5.
Mr HAMILTON:
SWAN, WESTERN AUSTRALIA · CP

n asked the Prime Minister, upon notice -

Will he furnish a detailed list of the Commonwealth Government’s shareholdings in various activities, such as Commonwealth Oil Refineries Limited, &c.?

Mr.Chifley. - The information sought by the honorable member is being obtained and will be supplied as soon as possible.

page 861

COMMONWEALTHSHAREHOLDINGS

Aborigines

Mrs Blackburn:

n asked the Minister for the Interior, upon notice -

Is there any law of the Commonwealth which prohibits corporal punishment of aborigines, such punishment being unrelated to a sentence or order by any court of law!

Mr Johnson:
Minister for the Interior · KALGOORLIE, WESTERN AUSTRALIA · ALP

– The answer to the honorable member’s question is as follows : -

There is no law of the Commonwealth which specifically prohibits corporal punishment of aborigines, but any person who inflicts on an aborigine or any other person corporal punishment which is unrelated to asentence or order by a court of law would be guilty of an offence and could be punished accordingly..

Armed Forces.

Mr Chambers:
ALP

s. - On the 18th May, the honorable member for Henty (Mr. Gullett) made the suggestion that soldiersof the rank of private, and particularly those serving in the Royal Australian Infantry Corps, should he referred to in future as “ Digger “ instead of “Private”. The term “Private” is, and always has been the accepted mode of address of the lowest rank in certain corps of the armies of the British Commonwealth, whereas the term “Digger” is a colloquial term which is applied to all ranks and all ex-members of the Australian and New Zealand military forces, and particularly to those who served in World War I. It is notproposed to make the change in this rank which the honor-

Cite as: Australia, House of Representatives, Debates, 10 June 1949, viewed 22 October 2017, <http://historichansard.net/hofreps/1949/19490610_reps_18_202/>.