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Senate
23 November 1938

15^th Parliament · 1^st Session

PRINTING COMMITTEE
CANBERRA
- Swimming Pool for Northern Area
QUESTION
- MIGRATION
UNEMPLOYMENT
- Formal Motion for Adjournment
QUESTION
- MANUFACTURE OF MACHINE GUNS AND RIFLES
QUESTION
- TOBACCO INDUSTRY
QUESTION
- TREATMENT OF LEPER CHILD
QUESTION
- EXPORT OF PIG IRON
MINISTERS OF STATE BILL 1938
- Second Reading
INCOME TAX ASSESSMENT BILL 1938
LAND TAX BILL 1938
- Second Reading
ADJOURNMENT
PAPER

The President (Senator the Hon. J. B. Hayes) took the chair at 3 p.m., and read prayers.

page 1859

PRINTING COMMITTEE

Report No. 4 of the Printing Commit tee brought up by SenatorLeckie, and - by leave - adopted.

page 1859

CANBERRA

Swimming Pool for Northern Area

SenatorKEANE. - In view of the growing need for the development of the northern portion of Canberra, will the Minister in charge of the national fitness campaign sec that the Commonwealth Government does not overlook its responsibility in the Australian Capital Territory,but makes provision for the construction of a swimming pool to meet the needs of a large and growing population on the northern side of the city?

SenatorFOLL. - In the event of the Government taking action in regard to the proposed national fitness campaign, the claims of no section of the community will be overlooked.

page 1860

QUESTION

MIGRATION

Foreign Refugees

Senator McLEAY:
Vice-President of the Executive Council · SOUTH AUSTRALIA · UAP

– On the 18th November, Senator Brown, in the course of a question, upon notice, asked me whether I would make a statement of the Government’s policy concerning foreign refugees. In the first instance, I refer the honorable senator to a reply given by the Minister for the Interior (Mr. McEwen) to representations made by the honorable member for Melbourne Ports (Mr. Holloway) on the motion for the adjournment of the House of Representatives last night, dealing with the present position in relation - to the admission of alien immigrants to Australia. The question as to whether the Commonwealth Government can further co-operate with other nations and assist in solving the problem of foreign refugees is at present receiving attention. The Government hopes to be in a position to announce its policy in regard thereto at an early date.

page 1860

UNEMPLOYMENT

Formal Motion for Adjournment

The PRESIDENT (Senator the Hon. J. B. Hayes). - I have received from the Leader of the Opposition (Senator Collings) an intimation that he desires to move the adjournment of the Senate for the purpose of discussing a definite matter of urgent public importance, namely, “ the seriousness of the volume of unemployment now existing in Australia, and the need for immediate action to secure a substantial reduction thereof “.

Four honorable senators having risen in support of the motion,

Sanator COLLINGS (Queensland) [3.4]. - I move -

That the Senate, at its rising, adjourn till 10 a.m. to-morrow.

I submit the motion in order to give honorable senators an opportunity to discuss the seriousness of the volume of unemployment now existing in Australia, and the need for immediate action to secure a substantial reduction thereof. I make no apology for submitting the motion. There is nothing capricious about my action; I have no desire to embarrass the Government. My sole motive is toassist the Government to do something worth while in connexion with this very serious problem. On the 13th August, 1937, a conference met at Parliament House, Canberra, to consider this matter. The Prime Minister (Mr. Lyons), who presided,said -

For some years the problem of the relief of unemployment has been one of the greatest which governments in Australia and in most other countries have had to face. … It is essential that a schemebe instituted at a time of decreasing unemployment. It is, therefore, an urgent necessity that we take advantage of the present improving conditions to arrangeadequate machinery to meet the position should we again, unfortunately, be faced with increasing unemployment.

At that conference the following figures showing the extent of unemployment in Australia at the 30th June, 1933, were submitted : -

This matter has engaged the attention of the best minds in many lands. It has been commented on by royalty, and also by vice-regal representatives, statesmen, clergymen, university professors, captains of industry, doctors, health officers, welfare workers, and many others. I propose to quote a few of the remarks that have been made. King Edward VIII. said -

If the paradox of millions of people haunted by poverty and demoralized by lack of employment while living in a world rich in actual and potential resources is to be destroyed, this determination to apply the correctivemust never flag.

Earlier, when Prince of Wales, he stated -

I am anxious that the living conditions of the great masses of the people shall be improved as quickly as possible. My visits to the slums and depressed areas have impressed me with the urgency of the problem. We are not the individualists of the Victorian and Edwardian times. We are living mostly, as the result of the war, in a world more collective in principle than individualistic.

In passing, I may suggest that those words indicate one of the reasons that brought about a certain event in the life of the present Duke of “Windsor. His Excellency the Governor-General, in a speech at the opening of this Parliament, in 1934, began by expressing the pleasure which Australia felt at having had the Duke of Gloucester amongst us, and continued -

My advisers regard with sympathy and concern the heavy unemployment which still persists and propose togive to this grave and pressing problem priority over other matters.

With this object in view employment and its associated questions have been allotted as a special ministerial task to the Minister of State for Commerce, who will, for a period at least, devote the major portion of his labours to this great problem, and will be relieved of much of the work of the Commerce Department. Consideration will be directed to three principal matters: -

A complete survey of the unemployment problem in order to determine whether there are any root causes which could be effectively dealt with by direct Commonwealth action or by some concerted action on the part of the Commonwealth and the States;
the selection preparation and carrying out of works which, by reason of their size or special connexion with Commonwealth functions, can properly be done by the Commonwealth alone; and
close collaboration with the State employment authorities with a view to the carrying out of works which, though within the authority of the States, cannot at present be under- taken without financial aid from the Commonwealth.

The selection of these works will be a matter for consultation with the States which will be invited to consider such undertakings as the unification of the railway gauges between capital cities, further- country water storage, national forestry, housing and the. treatment ofcoal deposits and shale for oil and other commercial products. In particular the Commonwealth will aim at the creation of opportunities for the employment of youth.

Not one of those projectshas been touched. Nothing whatever has been attempted. I do not want honorable senators opposite to say that conditions have improved wonderfully since 1937. I want them to attack the problem that confronts us today. Mr. Dunstan, the Premier of Victoria, addressing a recent conference in Canberra, said - and I take it that he knew what he was talking about - that 100.000 adult males, who are able and willing to work, are without jobs in this country. For the moment we can set aside the figure of 405,000 which I have mentioned.We have Mr. Dunstan’s statement that 100,000 able-bodied men in Australia cannot find jobs.

Senator COLLINGS:
QUEENSLAND

– I shall quote from a few more authorities. The Prime Minister of New Zealand, Mr. Savage, said recently -

Surely they would protest with him at the intolerable stupidity ofa system that encouraged men to produce and to live in comfort and then prevented them from obtaining a share in the very goods they had helped to produce.

My critics say I have no experience of business, and for that reason am overlooking the realities of the situation. Well. I will say this, and no sane man or woman will disagree with me, that the real test of progress is not to be found wholly in stock exchange quotations, big company profits, trade returns or statistics of production. It is to be found rather in the social well-being of the people, and I am concerned above all things in seeing that their welfare is maintained.

I am one of those who believe that human beings are capable of asserting some control over their economic destiny. I wish to assure you that the Government is not prepared to accept the workings of economic adversity without taking adequate precautions to ward off its ill effects.

I have said many times that what human stupidity can bring about human intelligence should be capable of correcting, and that is all that the present Government is trying to put into effect.

If it should fail in that it fails in everything.

I ask the Government to see that the workers in this country, who are compulsorily idle, are given an opportunity to work. I draw attention to the following statement by Mr Lloyd George: -

Under our existing economic system, the exuberance of the earth’sgifts has resulted in creating a famine in millions of households.

We ask that that famine shall be stopped. In a recent speech, President Roosevelt, of the United States of America, said -

He insisted that not lower but higher wages were a necessity for American business.

He forcefully attacked “ short-sighted capitalists” in the Southern States who kept pay-sheets low.

He said that low wages were the basic reason for poverty and ignorance.

What would he have to say about those who have no wages? The Reverend Father Lloyd said recently at Cronulla - “ We have a country teeming in riches, where poverty is increasing, where the population is decreasing, and where the land and wealth are in the hands of a few,” declared Reverend

Father Lloyd in a vigorously out-spoken address to his Cronulla congregation. “ Babies ure born from ill nourished mothers without a chance in life. Young mcn are being put back on Cs. Gd. a week. They are denied work. They are denied marriage. The future holds for them only poverty, immorality, irreligion and discontent.

While thu Commonwealth Government sets in motion at Geneva a world-wide investigation into the nutritional standards of the peoples of the world, at its very doorstep thousands of families have been condemned to a nutritional standard inferior to that operating in many of the most backard countries.”

The problem of unemployment must bc solved as quickly as possible because it loads to poverty; and poverty is the sole cause of the other things which Father Lloyd said follow in it3 train. Senator Couszens, an American legislator, according to the New York Survey Graphic, said in an address to business men -

I do not charge you mcn with being inhuman. I charge you men with being careless, with being thoughtless of the results of your failure to solve this problem, and I have a right to charge it, because ten years ago I had the honour of being your mayor when 150,000 men were laid off in a day by the snap of a finger at the command of industry, and we, your city servants, were left to grapple with the situation ; we were left to find a way to buy shoes and milk tickets, pay rent, and send children to school.

I could give further testimony from men who urge that this problem should be grappled with. The Bishop of Goulburn, Dr. Burgmann, said -

One of the most noticeable things in the life of to-day is the sense of insecurity which haunts so many people. People who, to all outward appearances, seem set for life, are victims to this haunting sense of insecurity just as much as those who have very good reason to bc afraid.

Widespread and long continued unemployment has shown only too clearly how careless of human welfare the organization of modern industry actually is. People have seen that consideration for men and women cannot be allowed to stand in the way of the profitable working of industry, and that when we have no cash, many people find us a nuisance and very few desire to he our friends. To realize that we are in danger of being unwanted and unloved is a very alarming experience.

Yet, 100,000 men and their dependants in this country are told by the Commonwealth Government month after month that they aTe unwanted and unloved. ~No sophistry can evade the facts. Even if only one man, instead of 100,000, were unable to obtain work, he would have a right to say, “Do not tell me what you have done for my comrades;’ I want to know what you intend to do for me.” I make this- appeal on behalf of every man and woman who is seeking work, but cannot find it. In a work entitled Finding God, by A. Herbert Gray, D.D., this passage appears -

The loudest and the clearest thing God ever said to me was said in the slums of a great city, and took the form of an insistent call that I should find a’ way of doing something to remove that blot upon the dignity of man and that insult to God.

I nsk this Government and honorable senators opposite to lend a hand in removing this evil condition. Many other clergymen have spoken in the same strain. Archbishop Mowll, of Sydney, addressing the Church of England Synod, said -

It is no use telling a starving man you are working for an ideal state of society in which such a condition as his will be unknown if. at the same time, you send him .away, famished, from your door.

I tremble to think of the d:stress that would follow if relief organizations in Sydney suddenly closed operations.

I am pleading that we shall not any longer send those 100,000 men away from the door without succour. According to a newspaper report, Dr. Wilmington Ingram said that he was in favour of good wages, and was anxious to see the workers enjoy an ample standard of life and leisure, but he wanted to put it on a more secure basis. “ I want to put it on an economic basis,” he said. And Professor Percy Lelean professor of public health at the Edinburgh University, and president of the Scotch Royal Sanitary Association, said -

Ratio of fit adolescents in Great Britain is one out of three, in Germany, four out of five.

Physical unfitness is costing Great Britain £220,000,000 a year.

And poverty is brought about almost entirely, if not entirely, by unemployment. Mr. J. Gibson Jarvie, chairman and managing director of the United Dominions Trust, said -

How can . we deny an improved standard of living to people while at the same time we destroy the produce which they want? To my mind there is to-day one major problem to which all others are subsidiary - the problem of equitable and efficent distribution.

Based on PRODUCTION lt should bc declared that the standard of living shall have no visible limit, that it will be bused on production and effort, and not on any arbitrary standard of the past. There never was seriously suggested a more economically fantastic contention than that we can become wealthy by restricting the production of wealth.

We cannot have equitable and efficient distribution of wealth under the existing system. I do not suggest this afternoon that we should consider the alteration of the existing system. At the moment I point out that Ave cannot have a just distribution of wealth under that system, except by seeing, that every breadwinner has a job, and that is the easiest thing in the world to accomplish. Mr. G. S. Shepherd, on his retirement recently from the magisterial bench of New South Wales, said -

Kill poverty and you kill crime. Give men jobs and you will not have criminals.

Another important aspect of this problem is that when unemployment is rife the number of suicides increases, and as conditions return to normal the number of suicides decreases correspondingly. As unemployment has been decreased from 37 per cent, to 9 per cent, to-day, suicides have decreased in the same ratio over the last few years. I have here a letter from the Boys’ Employment League of Perth, Western Australia, which reads -

Employment - Do We Really Think it Important ?

Infant clinics operate say, two years; child welfare, fourteen years and education, eight years - as those periods overlap, the whole period is fourteen years.

Employment exists for about 40 years. “ The greatest of these is employment “, and yet we as a nation give it least attention.

Unemployment is the root cause of poverty; from it flows a never-ending and cruelly tragic stream of nationally disastrous effects. Every man who is compulsorily idle is a potential wealth producer, who is prevented from producing wealth. He is not only a personal loss to himself, his wife and his children, but is also a national loss because he is denied the opportunity to produce wealth. Not only is every one of these unemployed men a potential breadwinner, with all that that means to his dependent wife and children, but also he has a soul. He is not just an inanimate machine, a human creature who has been created and civilized ; he is a human being possessing the God-given attribute of intelligence, and capable of reasoning. As one great writer has said, poverty does not consist merely in a shortage of this world’s goods, but rather in the failure to appreciate that shortage. This motion gives the Government an. opportunity to go ahead and say to these 100,000 men - appealing to their higher instincts, their spiritual nature, their soul, if you like - that it realizes fully the tragedy which their unemployment means, and that it intends to do something to alleviate their conditions. Unemployment breeds trade depression, bankruptcy, insecurity, worry and suicides, hunger, malnutrition, starvation, disease and death, decrease of marriages^ abortion, a falling birth rate, and slums - and everywhere a growing and degrading need of charity. Any business man who has had experience knows “what it is to wake up in the morning wondering how to face the day, and what it is like on Friday to go shivering to the bank in the fear that it is going to close down his credit, and thus prevent him from paying his servants. To the farmers, unemployment means a serious loss .as a result of the reduced purchasing power of the workers. The unemployment of these 100,000 men on whose behalf I am appealing this afternoon, means that many farmers will be faced with insecurity and a lowering of their standard of living. The present offers a golden opportunity to the Government to deal with this problem. We are approaching the end of the year - the season of goodwill, a time when, in church and out of it, in our homes when our families re-assemble for their annual re-union - a time when the spirit of goodwill is uppermost in the minds of most men. If we cannot, before the festive season arrives, devise some scheme to put into operation in order to help these men, at least we should decide to plead with the Government to provide a month’s work so that every unemployed man,even if he should be unemployed for the following four weeks, may provide for himself and his dependants some of the amenities which are so dear to us at the festive season. I have repeatedly asked this Government to adopt a planned economy - an economic and industrial survey - of all of our resources, so that that state of national emergency which is always with us - the undeserved poverty of the compulsorily idle - that enemy within our gates - may be relieved. This national emergency is not an imaginary one; it is not something which may come out of the blue at some time if certain things be not done; it is here with us now, and the responsibility for it no honorable senator can escape. Every honorable senator must answer to himself for this state of national emergency, and I am asking that that be done.

In the limited time allotted to them under the Standing Orders, my colleagues will deal with this matter. I cannot conclude my address more appropriately than by quoting the following words of the poet, Edwin Markham -

We are blind until we see that in the human plan

Nothing is worth the making, if it does not make the man.

Why build those cities glorious if man unbuilded goes?

In vain we build the world, unless the builder also grows.

Senator AMOUR:

– So did the Premier of New South Wales, Mr. Stevens, and the Premier of Victoria, Mi-. Dunstan. My leader was conservative in his estimate, and one would naturally expect Messrs. Stevens and Dunstan to under-estimate rather than over-estimate the number of unemployed. The Leader of the Senate (Senator McLeay) has referred to the extent of unemployment during the regime of the Scullin Government. In 1931-32, owing to the operations of international financiers, Australia, in common with other parts of the world, experienced a depression. Since 1932, prosperity is said to have been returning, but little prosperity has been enjoyed by thousands of men and women who have had no employment since that time. The manufacturers of armaments and munitions of war, however, have experienced a remarkable measure of prosperity. I was disappointed to hear the Leader of the Senate state that the problem of the unemployed, the unemployable and the poor would be with us to the end of time. He is obviously out of touch with the spirit of the powerful youth movement which is growing in most countries, and which will not continue to tolerate -the starvation and degradation of any section of the people. The time is not far distant,

I hope, when governments will be forced to give to the unemployed at least some of the* assistance to which they are entitled. As has been suggested by the Leader of the Opposition (Senator Collings) a sum of money should be made available for the purpose of extending to these unfortunates sufficient relief to enable them to enjoy the Christmas period.

The Leader of the Senate alleged that the Leader of the Opposition had submitted this motion for a political purpose. If I thought that to be true, I would not associate myself with the motion; but I believe that every member of the Opposition, and also many honorable senators opposite,’ sincerely desire that something shall be done to alleviate the present position of the unemployed. When the budget was under consideration, I drew attention to the seriousness of the situation. Although a couple of months has elapsed, nothing has been done by the Government in the matter; in fact, the position of the unemployed has become much worse in recent months. The former Leader of the Senate (Senator A. J. McLachlan), admitted that the situation has deteriorated since October, 1937. Yet it is within the power of the Government to improve the position of the unemployed. No difference of opinion exists between the Leader of the Opposition and Senator Darcey in regard to this matter. They both realize that, if the Government were anxious to provide a grant for the unemployed, this could be done. The Opposition has suggested the provision of the necessary funds to enable public works to be undertaken immediately, so that work could be found for the unemployed. We do not ask for the implementation of the long-range policy to which the Government is fond of referring ; we are asking to-day only for immediate benefit to the unemployed by the undertaking of works of an urgent national character. During the Gwydir by-election in May, 1936, the Prime Minister and the Premier of New South Wales said that, if a member of the Country party were returned as the representative of that electorate, £10,000,000 would be expended on a water conservation scheme for the north-western portion of New South Wales, and that the greater part of that money would be expended in Gwydir. I now urge upon the Government the necessity for the expenditure of a portion of the money required for that work, in order to assist the vast army of unemployed in the country districts of New South Wales. The Government has a policy for the improvement of aerodromes and for other works necessary in connexion with defence. The Opposition has urged that these works be undertaken on the day-labour system. The necessary men could be engaged through the Labour bureaux in the various States.

The PRESIDENT:

– The honorable senator has exhausted his time.

Senator CAMERON:
Victoria · CP

– Yesterday I addressed the following four questions to the Minister representing the Prime Minister: -

What steps, if any, does the Government propose to take to relieve the position of the thousands of able and willing unemployed workers in Australia where they cannot be employed by private employers or by Federal or State government departments?
Would the Government be prepared to consider immediately and favorably ways and means of providing all the unemployed workers in question with the managerial and financial assistance necessary to enable them to become self-supporting and independent of the present inadequate relief measures?
Would the Government be prepared to make the necessary money available immediately to State governments and other responsible employing authorities to provide all the unemployed workers in question with one month’s work at award rates and under award conditions, as a Christmas gesture pending more satisfactory arrangements being made for the relief of unemployment?
Failingthe Government being prepared to. take action, as suggested in the foregoing questions, would it be prepared to say what it proposes to do, if anything, to solve the problem of unemployment in Australia, or for the purpose of allowing all man power, available and deserving, to live under conditions at least equal to those made possible by full-time employment and the receipt of the basic wage?

To those questions I have not yet received an answer, although it is true that the Minister made a general statement to the effect that the Government proposes to expend £16,000,000 on works of various kinds. I ask honorable senators opposite, who claim to be intelligent men having the interests of Australia at heart and who believe that they justify their membership of this chamber,what construction can be placed on such a statement. Either the Ministers in this chamber are grossly ignorant and incapable of supplying answers, or they are shirking their responsibility; either they can answer the questions, but will not, or they are incapable of answering them. I shall give the reasons for my questions not being answered. The Government is not prepared to proceed along the lines suggested by me for the reason that it is not profitable to employ the unemployed. If it were in the interests of private banking institutions and leading employers to find work for these men, not one of them would be out of work. But because there is no profit for vested interests in employing them, the Government refuses to act. Despite the assurances of the Prime Minister (Mr. Lyons), the Government says in effect that these men can starve; that so long as they are prepared to live under semi-starvation conditions, and real children in circumstances which are a disgrace to civilization, they may do so.

Senator Herbert Hays:

– Extravagant statements will not help them.

Senator CAMERON:

– Such statements concerning a government which refuses to accept the challenge contained in my questions are justified.-

Senator Herbert Hays:

– No other honorable senator would say that the Government would rather see these men starve than find work for them.

Senator CAMERON:

– The facts speak more eloquently than can any words of urine. If the honorable senator will visit the slums in the capital cities of Victoria and Now South Wales and indeed, in some country districts in both States, he will find men, women and children living in semi-starvation despite the promise of the Prime Minister and his colleagues to get down to the root causes of unemployment. The Government which made such alluring promises has done nothing.

Senator COLLINGS:
QUEENSLAND · FLP; ALP from 1937

– Not one of the things mentioned in the policy speech of the Prime Minister has been done.

Senator CAMERON:

Senator CUNNINGHAM:
Western Australia.

– The motion is truly moderate, as Senator McBride pointed out. ,We have heard from the Leader of the Senate an expression of the attitude of the Government towards it, but he complained that the Leader of the Opposition had not put forward any formula or make any suggestions of a practical nature for giving effect to the motion. The Leader of the Opposition, however, is not the Government. The Government is headed by Mr. Lyons, and those in opposition to the Labour party in Australia have been entrusted by the electors with the task of governing the country. Part of that task, and part of the responsibility, is to bring about orderly government in the interests of the people, but orderly government cannot be achieved by any party whilst there exists such a huge army of workers seeking’ employment. It should be the first function and the first business of any government to provide the means of subsistence for its people. That is the first obligation placed upon it, yet no effort to discharge it has been made by this Government since the’ last election.

Senator McBride:

– That is all nonsense.

Senator CUNNINGHAM:

– It is true. No effort of a tangible nature has been made to provide employment for the workers. There has been much discussion, many promises, and voluminous reports as to the procedure to be adopted by the Government for the purpose of giving effect to its policy have appeared in the press throughout Australia, but so far nothing has been done. That is true, even in connexion with defence. Although the Government’s defence policy has received the approvalof Parliament, no provision has been made for additional work as a result of funds being made available. I was surprised to learn f rom the Western Australian press that a sum of £665,000 was available for defence in that State. No portion of that money has been expended. Contracts have been drawn up, but work has not yet been commenced. Thatis our complaint. It is the responsibility of the Government to provide employment for the people. This Government acknowledged its obligations, and in addition the Ministry, by assumption of office, undertook to do justice to all men. Whilst there is an ever increasing army of workless men in this country the Government is not keeping faith with the people or doing justice to all men.

The number of unemployed in Australia at the present time has been variously estimated, but the minimum number given recently by at least two State Premiers is 100,000. We know, however, thateven that high figure does not represent the actual number of men out of work in Australia. The estimated number is enormously increased by large groups of workless people who go unnoticed; they never come in contact with men holding responsible positions in either Commonwealth or State spheres. Some of these unfortunate people have almost sunk tothe level in Australian life corresponding to that of the “ untouchables “ in India. The present grave social position must be remedied. It is not the function of the Opposition in this Parliament to give any direction to the Government in this matter. The Ministry accepted that responsibility when it took office, knowing full well that it would he expected to honour its pledges. So far it has not done so. Instead of facing the issues confronting it the Government has been concerned with disruptions in its own ranks. Efficient government is impossible whilst these miserable squabbles are taking place daily in the Cabinet.

Senator McBride:

– That is what the people are thinking about the Labour party.

Senator COLLINGS:
QUEENSLAND · FLP; ALP from 1937

– The sixteen Labour members of this chamber are the answer to that statement.

Senator CUNNINGHAM:

– That is so, but unfortunately for the people of Australia, Labour is not in office. If it were, the workless army would not seek assistance in vain. Within twelve months of a Labour government taking office, the administration of Commonwealth affairs would be such that there would be no need for the people to convene public meetings, or arrange demonstrations in order to direct attention to the pitiable industrial and social conditions.

The Leader of the Opposition has not charged the Government with any grievous crime. All that he has done is to call upon the Ministry to honour its promises in, relation to unemployment. Do not Government supporters see the incongruity of, on the one hand, an appeal being made for recruits to be trained to defend Australia and, on the other, a vast army of unemployed whose physical condition must be such as to render them unfit for military service? Health and defence are related problems. Any considerable volume of unemployment, if unrelieved, is a blow at the heart of the community. Australia can be defended effectively only if its manhood is virile, purposeful and strong. We cannot expect that social condition to obtain with unemployment rife in so many centres of the Commonwealth. Employment must be found for men expected to shoulder the responsibilities of citizenship and play their part in the defence of their country. Of what use is it to talk of defence if the people are not adequately fed and clothed? An army, we are told, marches on its . stomach. This being so, how can the Government expect to appeal successfully for recruits if the men, to whom the appeal is made, are out of work? I urge the Government to honour its pledge with respect to unemployment in order that Australia may once again take its place in the vanguard of social reform. At one time this country led the world in respect of working standards and living conditions, but in recent years it has slipped badly. The Government’s duty is clear. Sufficient income must be provided to enable fathers of families to provide food and clothing for their children, so that they may become firstclass citizens of the Commonwealth.

SenatorFOLL (Queensland - Minister forRepatriation and Health) [4.56]. - One would imagine, from the speeches made by some honorable senators opposite this afternoon, that during the last seven years little or nothing has been done by the Government to assist the unemployed in this country. The only suggestion offered by Opposition senators is that the Government should immediately make available a sum for the relief of unemployment, to be expended without reference to any co-ordinated plan. One of the worst aspects of unemployment relief in the earlier years of the depression was the absence of planning. Millions of pounds has been expended during the last six or seven years. In every State money was wasted. There is nothing to show now for much of the expenditure which was incurred on unproductive work.

Honorable senators who spoke earlier referred to the fact that at the recent conference held in Canberra tentative proposals were submitted by representatives of State governments for the granting of £500,000 for the relief of wheat-growers stricken by drought. May I remind Labour senators that relief given to wheat-growers is more likely to reduce unemployment than the undertaking of some classes of unproductive work in the cities. Unemployment is not confined to urban areas; it is a pressing problem in rural areas also.

– The Government has had £750,000 on hand for that purpose for a considerable period, and has done nothing in the matter.

Senator FOLL:

– I hope that, with the assistance of honorable senators on both sides of the chamber, effect will be given to the policy of the Government in that regard. The Government also intends to submit a measure dealing with the manufacture of newsprint, and this new industry will provide increased employment in Tasmania. It is far better for the Government to assist industries by acts of policy, which will build up substantial interests and give permanent employment, than to expend a few thousands of pounds indiscriminately on work which will not assist in reaching a permanent solution of the problem of unemployment.

The Government makes no apology for the fact that it has come to the aid of drought-stricken farmers, and has introduced legislation dealing with the adjustment of rural debts. It considers that the man on the land and the farm worker have as much right to the help of the Parliament as has any other section of the community. In certain parts of Queensland and Victoria, the farmers will have practically no means of subsistence other than the grant which they will receive under the legislation to which I have referred. In the opinion of the Government it is necessary to adopt a long-range policy, if the problem of unemployment is to be dealt with satisfactorily. The Government considers that, by assisting primary industries, protecting secondary industries, and pushing on with defence and other urgently necessary public works, it is adopting the best course.

Senator Allan MacDonald:

– Provision is also being made for the establishment of new industries.

Senator FOLL:

– Yes. That has been the policy of the Government during the whole of its term of office. Despite hostile criticism it has a creditable record in that regard.

It is most unfortunate that, in many parts of Australia, employment is only seasonal, and that there is inevitably a great deal of seasonal unemployment. In Queensland, that is one of the most pressing of governmental problems. In the awards of the arbitration courts it is necessary to provide especially for workers engaged in seasonal employment of different kinds. In a country which depends largely on its primary production and its export trade, the problem associated with seasonal unemployment is a very real one. Fortunately, this difficulty is being gradually overcome by the development of secondary industries. It is unfair of honorable senators opposite to suggest that during the Government’s term of office it has not seriously considered the problem of unemployment. An effective reply to that charge is furnished by the fact that thousands more men are employed in industries in Australia at the present time than there were when the Government assumed office.

Senator Collings:

– That has happened in every country, due to world recovery.

SenatorFOLL. - The honorable senator admits that I have stated the position correctly.

Senator Collings:

– But that does not help the 100,000 unemployed.

Senator FOLL:

– The honorable senator’s argument falls to the ground, because there is more employment in Australia to-day than ever before. It is far better to adopt the sound policy of developing primary and secondary industries than merely to make temporary relief available.

Senator AYLETT:
Tasmania

– According to the Commonwealth Statistician’s figures, the number of unemployed for the quarter ended the 31st May, 1938, showed an increase of 6 per cent., as compared with the previous quarter. If that increase continues what will be the effect in the near future? We are all aware of the serious extent of malnutrition amongst children during the last depression, from which Australia has not fully recovered, although it is now heading for another. Of children under five years of age, 43 per cent. were found to be suffering from malnutrition, and it may be said that 75 per cent. of the under-nourishment which results in children being under weight is due to their parents being out of employment.

– The system by which Commonwealth moneys are made available for the relief of unemployment is far from satisfactory.

I have no desire to misquote Senator Keane, but I believe that he said that the Scullin Government provided £3,500,000 to assist farmers by means of a bounty on wheat. It did nothing of the kind. It certainly introduced legislation to provide a bounty, but it left the responsibility of finding the money to the Lyons Government, which succeeded it. Again, if I have misquoted the honorable senator, I shall apologize. The disorder which my remarks have caused among honorable senators opposite suggests that the medicine which I am giving them is not to their liking. At least, I have stuck to the truth. The estimate of Mr. Stevens, the Premier of New South Wales, that there are 100,000 workers unemployed in Australia to-day is generally accepted as being fairly correct. Senator Amour gave another figure, but he did not say where he obtained it. To me,100,000 is a colossal figure, but, apparently, it was far too modest for Senator Amour, so he simply raised it to 150,000. The honorable senator went on to say that, during recent months, the number of unemployed persons in New South Wales has increased by 13,000. That may be correct, but I doubt it. I remind the honorable senator that, when speaking in this chamber, he is not on the street corner, where no one asks any questions or queries his figures.

Senator Sheehan:

– Some of the people on the street corners are most inquisitive.

Senator DEIN:

– Senator Cameron charged the Government with acquiescence in existing conditions on the ground that, if the army of unemployed be large, workers in industry are prevented from demanding increased wages and better working conditions. Senator Cameron is too fair-minded to believe that statement, yet he made it in this chamber. Unfortunately the Hansard records of his speech will reach some people in the community who will believe what he said. I ask the honorable senator how he reconciles his statement with the fact that almost every day awards are made by which wages are increased. How long is it since Senator Cameron has seen an award which provided for a reduction of wages? It is true that some of the increases have been small - too small, in my opinion - but the fact that they were increases disproves the honorable senator’s statement.

Although Senator Brown rose to put a concrete proposal before the Senate, he proceeded to tell us of some of his experiences in Britain when a youth. He then referred to a number of democracies, among which he included Russia. Finally, he quoted from a speech by the Prime Minister (Mr. Lyons), and then he resumed his seat, leaving us still wondering where the concrete proposal was. His speech was typical of the speeches of Opposition members.

Senators Cunningham and Aylett went further, for they said that it was not the responsibility of the Opposition to assist in finding jobs for hungry men. I challenge honorable senators opposite to make that statement at a public meeting on any street corner in their own States. It is remarkable that men, who claim that the party to which they belong represents the majority of the electors, should say that, because they are not on the ministerial bench, they will not lift a finger to help their less fortunate fellow citizens. Such statements reflect little credit on those who make them. No honorable senator who has a worth-while suggestion to make should refuse to pass it on. Such an attitude on the part of a public man is beneath contempt. It is every one’s job to assist in finding work for the unemployed. I was glad that the Leader of the Opposition struck that note in his opening speech. Unfortunately, Senators Cunningham and Aylett repudiated their leader’s statement.

During the budget debate, I suggested several ways in which work might be found for some of those who are now unemployed. I suggested that a reduction of the working week, and a lowering of the retiring age, might result in additional work being found for men who are now unemployed. A third way is by raising the age at which youths are allowed to commence work. Those are three methods by which we can provide additional jobs for those unfortu nates who are out of work to-day, mainly because of the mechanization of industry. Senators Aylett and Cunningham, however, adopted the attitude that the responsibility of solving unemployment is solely that of honorable senators on this side. They say, in effect, “ We do not care for the unemployed, because we are not on the Government side.”

Senator Aylett:

– I rise to a point of order. I did not make such a statement, and I ask that it be withdrawn.

The PRESIDENT:

– That is not a point of order. If the honorable senator has been misquoted, he has his remedy in contradicting the statement attributed to him.

Senator DEIN:

page 1885

QUESTION

MANUFACTURE OF MACHINE GUNS AND RIFLES

Senator BRAND:
VICTORIA

asked the Minister representing the Minister for Defence, upon notice -

Is the Government satisfied that there are sufficient Vickers machine guns in reserve to equip the Australian Military Forces on a war footing?
Are the stocks of component rifle parts sufficient; ifso, could not the machines at the Lithgow Small Arms Factory be used to manufacture parts for other munitions?
What is the cause of the delay in the manufacture of theBren gun. If the reason be that supplies of jigs and gauges are not likely to be received from Great Britain for some considerable time, could not the making of these tools he commenced forthwith at the Small Arms Factory?

Senator FOLL:
UAP

– A reply will he furnished to the honorable senator as early as possible.

page 1885

QUESTION

TOBACCO INDUSTRY

Senator COOPER:

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

What is the average landed cost of American bright fillers leaf, re-dried?
What is the average landed cost of American dark fillers leaf, re-dried?
What amount of tobacco pays the duty of 5s. per lb.?
What average allowance is made for stems ?
What amount of tobacco pays the duty of 3s.6d. per lb.?
What amount is allowed for stems under this heading?
What amount of tobacco is used in the manufacture of cigarettes which pays the duty of6s. 7d. per lb.?
What amount of cigarette tobacco pays the duty of 5s. 2d. per lb.?
How much tobacco, hand-made strand, containing only Australian-grown leaf, pays the excise of 3s. 7d. per lb.?
How much tobacco, hand-made strand, pays the excise of 4s. 3d. per lb.?
How much tobacco, manufactured, n.e.i., containing only Australian-grown leaf, pays the excise of 3s.10d. per lb.?
How much tobacco, manufactured, n.e.i., which is usually referred to as “ otherwise “, pays the excise of 4s.6d. per lb. ?
How much tobacco containing only Australiangrown leaf for the consumption of the Australian Aboriginals pays the excise of 3s. 2d. per lb.?
What quantity of Australian leaf benefited by the differential excise of 8d. per lb.? (The foregoing questions referring to the financial year 1937-38).

Senator FOLL:
UAP

– The Minister for Trade and Customs has supplied the following answers: -

Information with respect to the average landed cost of all importations is not available, but particulars which have come to hand with respect to the bulk of importations during January to September, 1938, show that the average landed cost (excluding duty) of such importations was approximately 2s. Id. per lb. This was mainly fillers leaf.
The same remarks given under 1. apply in this case, the average landed cost (excluding duty) of the bulk of importations during the period January to September, 1938, being approximately1s. 2d. per lb. This was mainly fillers leaf. I may add that such dark leaf is not an inferior grade of tobacco, but is leaf which has been deliberately darkened in the curing.
3,271 lb. unstemmed.

Note. - An additional quantity of 2,381 lb. of stemmed leaf paid duty at the rate of 5s. fid. per lb.

24.4 per cent.
11,742,044 lb. unstemmed.
22 per cent.

Note. - With respect to questions 4 and 6 the percentages taken as representing the average allowance for stems are based upon the amount which the refunds of duty allowed for stems, &c, bear to the gross amount of duty collected.

18,069 lb. unstemmed. 8.6,875,479 lb. unstemmed.
Nil.
49,051 lb.
2,115,603 lb.
13.527,998 lb.
58,44.5 lb.
Approximately 2,260,000 lb. unstemmed. (In addition Australian leaf benefited to the extent of approximately62,000 lb. unstemmed by the differential excise of1s. 4d. per lb. in favour of tobacco for aboriginals).

page 1885

QUESTION

TREATMENT OF LEPER CHILD

Senator AYLETT:

asked the Minister representing the Minister for the Interior, upon notice -

Has the Minister noticed the report in a . Sydney daily newspaper of the 19th November, to the effect that a coloured child only six years of age, a leper child, was caged as if she were a wild animal,, and spent the night in a truck unprotected from rain or heat, or public gaze, and spent one and a half days under such conditions in transit?
If this report be correct, will the Minister intervene to prevent the recurrence of such treatment in future?
Does the Minister consider that this is fair treatment to any one who is so unfortunate as to contract such a disease?
If the answer to No. 3 be in the negative. who was responsible for such treatment?
Will any action be taken against such person?

Senator ALLAN MacDONALD:
UAP

– The report in question has been brought to the notice of the Minister for the Interior. Inquiries are being made and the honorable senator will be advised of the position.

page 1886

QUESTION

EXPORT OF PIG IRON

Senator COLLINGS:

asked the Leader of the Government in the Senate, upon notice -

Whether, following his statement regarding the export of pig iron and the action of a section of waterside workers, the Government will similarly indicate its decision to other bodies such as the recently formed National Defence League and any similar organizations allegedly usurping the rightful functions of the Government?

Senator McLEAY:
UAP

– I am not aware that the National Defence League or similar organizations are usurping any rightful function of the Government. Appropriate action will be taken in regard to any organization which may be acting in contravention of Commonwealth laws.

Sitting suspended from 6.9 to 8 p.m.

page 1886

MINISTERS OF STATE BILL 1938

Second Reading

Debate resumed from the 22nd November, 1938 (vide page 1792), on motion by Senator McLeay -

That the bill be now read a second time.

Senator COLLINGS:
Queensland

– Quite frequently of late I have commenced my second-reading speeches with the words, “ The Opposition does not intend to oppose this bill”; but on this occasion we shall oppose the measure until the bells have rung for the final division upon it. We do not suggest that the Government should not conduct its own business in its own. way. If the members of the Opposition were in power, and decided that an additional minister or even two or three extra ministers were needed, we should proceed to appoint them; but we should advance sound reasons for their appointment. In his second-reading speech, the Leader of the Senate (Senator McLeay) was not quite accurate. He said that the number of Ministers was to be increased from ten to eleven. Obviously, the honorable senator was then speaking only of Ministers with portfolios, but several Assistant Ministers are included in the Cabinet.

Senator Allan MacDonald:

– They have ministerial duties to perform.

Senator COLLINGS:

– I do not say that the Assistant Minister who has interjected does not do his share of ministerial work, but the Cabinet includes men who not only do not pull their weight in the boat, but also are incapable of doing so.

Senator Keane:

– Perhaps they are bailing out the boat.

Senator COLLINGS:

– They are merely rocking it.

– Certain honorable senators opposite, if allowed to be guided by the dictates of their conscience, would probably register a protest with the Opposition. I am a confirmed optimist, but I am not sufficiently optimistic to imagine that honorable senators opposite can be converted on this matter. This afternoon we had the spectacle of one honorable senator opposite adopting tactics for which there is only one explanation, namely, that he is determined to burgle his way into the Cabinet by posing as its chief defender. He says, “ I have seen a few Richmonds shifted. I have seen Bruce sent to the High Commisionership ; I have seen Latham transferred to the High Court bench ; I have seen the AttorneyGeneral put into his place in the last fortnight; if I make noise and bluster enough they will no doubt bc prepared to put me where I will promptly become a mild and temperate follower of the instructions of the boss.” It is not many years since the present Treasurer (Mr. Casey) was merely an Assistant Minister. He was suddenly promoted to full ministerial rank, and I entirely approve of that promotion, because the Treasurer always pulls more than his own weight in the Cabinet boat. He was a worker from daylight to dark. Much as I object to him politically - I object to him because he is a born dictator and like the boy after the soap, “ won’t be happy till he gets it” - his elevation can be justified because, at least, he is a worker, and never shirks his job. Day after day the newspapers of this country subjected the then Minister for Defence (Mr. Thorby) to what I can only describe as cowardly attacks.

.- I rise to oppose the bill. I do not know why the Senate should be used as a convenience to enable the Government to escape from its diflicul- ties. As we look back over the events preceding the recent Cabinet re-shuffle,, which is said to have saved Australia, we are reminded that there was developing on the part of the newspapers of this continent a definite hostility to the Government because it was not doing its job. The recent crisis overseas revealed that, notwithstanding that the Government had been in office for several years, this country was not in a position to face a crisis. Of course, as is usual in such circumstances, a scapegoat had to be found. The Government selected for the sacrifice a man who, until that moment, had received its wholehearted support. It selected the then Minister for Defence, Mr. Thorby, for the sacrifice. The Government said, in effect, that if he were removed, the odium that attached to it might be lessened. Consequently, it proceeded to the -execution. Almost in a moment the unanimous support of his colleagues was withdrawn from Mr. Thorby. I differ from my leader in my estimate of the fitness of that gentleman for the position that he held ; my opinion agrees with that of the great bulk of public opinion in this connexion. I do not doubt that Mr. Thorby had an extraordinarily arduous task, but the fact remains that he did not get results. In the reconstruction of the Cabinet, the Country party exercised an influence greater than that to which its numerical strength entitled it. Another major portfolio, that of Postmaster-General, has been handed over to a member of that minor party.

Senator -E. B. Johnston. - Hear, hear !

Senator ARMSTRONG:
NEW SOUTH WALES · ALP; ALP (N-C) 1941-42

– Senator Johnston will get his reward if he perseveres.

Senator KEANE:

-They will make him Minister for Wheat.

Senator ARMSTRONG:

– At this juncture I do not propose to attack the Country party. I have decided views concerning that party, but I shall be more complimentary if I refrain from expressing them. The Country party has maintained its prominence in the political life of this country by encircling the neck of the Government with legs of iron, and no doubt when the United Australia party finally faces its debacle, the Country party will be the cause Of its doom. Another aspect of this so-called reconstruction is the proposal to set up an inner group within the Cabinet. Honorable senators opposite repeatedly allege that the Labour party is controlled by an inner junta. Apparently the Government has once more seen fit to follow in the steps of the Labour party. Evidently, it is not satisfied with taking one of our rank and file as a leader, who, as the Leader of the Opposition (Senator Collings), has pointed out, it will be unable to replace from among its own members. The constitution of the inner group within the Cabinet led to the resignation of the Minister for Trade and Customs (Mr. White).

Senator Keane:

– Because he was not admitted within that group.

Senator ARMSTRONG:

– He denied that that was the reason for his resignation. He contended that he objected to half a dozen men deciding trade and customs matters, and treating barn as a rubber stamp. The danger of an inner group is that it will lead to the constitution of another inner group, consisting probably of the Prime Minister and another Minister. Probably, for all practical purposes, not more than two members of the Cabinet already decide what the Government shall, or shall not, do.

– Do not say too much about Mr. Cameron because he may give us the Brisbane Post Office now.

Senator BROWN:

– Yes, we had better not say too much about “ the honorable Archie,” because if we do we shall possibly not get the Brisbane Post Office. It has been coming now for 55 years, and we can “perhaps afford to wait a few years more. Then there is the Minister without portfolio assisting the Treasurer, Senator Allan MacDonald; the Minister without portfolio assisting the Minister for Commerce, the Honorable Victor Charles Thompson; and the Minister without portfolio assisting the Prime Minister, who has no portfolio himself. This is the Honorable Eric John Harrison. There is also the Minister for Repatriation, the Honorable Hatill Spencer Foll. He is a very busy man, and, although I am a political opponent of his, I believe that he is carrying out his duties vigorously, fearlessly and courteously. I know I get courtesy from him whenever I have to see him and I always get replies to mv letters. I have read to honorable senators the names of all these Ministers and their positions so that they can come to a proper conclusion as to whether or not it would have been possible, by the exercise of common sen»e and efficient organization, to form a ministry without costing the country another £1,600. I come now to the present Leader of the Senate (the Honorable George McLeay). If he stays in that position long enough, I have no doubt he will settle into his job and carry out his duties with lustre to the Senate and honour to himself, but I fear that he will not be there very long, because soon there will be another reshuffle, the Ministry will “shuffle off to Buffalo “, and be succeeded by a Labour Government. Speaking now seriously, earnestly and sincerely with regard to the work and responsibilities that attach to members of the Cabinet. I believe that we should follow the lead given by New Zealand. There are men in the rank and file of the United Australia party and the Country party who have talent, ability, and remarkable energy and I do not see why the Government, instead of trying to “ corral “ all the work themselves, should not divide it and the responsibility that attaches to it among a number of those members.

Senator Cameron:

– And the money?

Senator BROWN:

– Yes, if the honorable senator is prepared to consider the measure on its merits. An additional Minister has been appointed to enable the Government tograpple with the grave problem of the defence of Australia. Any honorable senator who suggests that one’ Minister could deal efficiently with defence matters, civil aviation, and the heavy works programme that has been undertaken, must lack ordinary intelligence. Every member of the Senate must find that his time is fully occupied in attending to the many duties which he is called upon to discharge, and that the. salary provided for him is not excessive. The Government considers that the separation of the administration of civil aviation and defence works from the portfolio of defence is a step in the right direction. I resent the attempt to make political capital out of this bill. There is no justification for the references that have been made to an inner junta. I shall make my own position in the Cabinet clear. Fifteen Ministers sit at a table. The responsibilities ofthe work of the nation increase from day to. day. In the opinion of the Cabinet, this work can best be done by the formation of committees. The policy committee of seven Ministers is mainly concerned with the problem of defence. The Prime Minister (Mr. Lyons) has explained that any committee appointed by the Government makes recommendations to the full Cabinet, and that every Minister has an opportunity to vote in connexion with Cabinet decisions.

I object to the cheap gibes heard about ministerial trips overseas. The Ministers who have undertaken these journeys on important public business have had to make sacrifices in the interests of the country. The money thus expended has been a good investment for Australia. It is essential, from timeto time, that members of the Government and others should confer with statesmen and others in Great Britain, and in other parts, of the Empire, and the various agreements reached regarding defence and trade matters more than justify the expenditure incurred by such visits. This bill merely involves an additional expenditure of £1,650 a year. I hope that the Senate will regard the measure as a step in the right direction.

Question put; -

That the bill be now read a second time.

The Senate divided.

AYES: 0

NOES: 0

AYES

NOES

Question so resolved in the affirmative.

Bill read a second time.

In committee:

Clauses 1 to 3 agreed to.

Clause 4 (Salaries of Ministers).

Senator AYLETT:
Tasmania

– I desire toknow whether the additional Minister will receive the extra amount of £1,650 authorized under this measure?

Senator McLeay:

– That amount will be paid into the Cabinet pool.

Clause agreed to

Title agreed to.

Bill reported without amendment; report adopted.

page 1904

INCOME TAX ASSESSMENT BILL 1938

Bill received from the House ofRepresentatives, and (on motion by Senator Foll), read a first time.

page 1904

LAND TAX BILL 1938

Second Reading

Senator ALLAN MacDONALD:
Assistant Minister · Western Australia · UAP

– I move -

That the bill be now read a second time.

This bill gives effect to the Government’s proposal to increase the rates of land tax by 11.1 per cent. The formula for ascertaining the rate of tax payable on a given amount of taxable value which, as honorable senators are aware, is based on the principle of graduation, is set out in the first and second schedules ofthebill. The firstschedule applies to residents. The rate of tax commences at one half-penny and one thirty-seven thousandfive-hundredth of a penny and increases by a regular arithmetical progression of one thirtyseventhousandfivehundredth of a penny as the taxable value increases until the taxable value reaches £75,000, At that stage, the rate of tax payable: on each £1 of taxable value is 21/2d. For every £1 of taxable value in. excess of £75,000, a flat rate of 41/2d. is charged.

The rate of tax to be applied in the assessments of absentees is set out in the second schedule. Absentees do not receive the deduction of £5,000 which is allowed to residents in arriving at the taxable value of their land. They, therefore, pay tax on the whole of the unim- p roved value of the land that they own. I n their case, a flat rate of1/2d. is charged on the taxable value of the land up to a value of £5,000. “When the taxable value exceeds £5,000, the rate of tax on the excess is one penny and one thirty-seven thousand five-hundredths of a penny, increasing at the same even progressive rate of one thirty-seven thousand fivehundredths of a penny, as in the case of residents until the taxable value reaches £80,000; At that stage, the rate of tax payable on each £1 of taxable value is 3d. For every £1 of taxable value in excess of £80,000, the tax is a flat rate of 5d.

Clauses 2 and 3 repeal the provisions contained in the Financial Relief Act 1932-1935 and the principal act as the reductions of tax authorized by those provisions are now embraced in the first and second schedules included in the bill. Clause 4 amends section 5 of the principal act so as to bring that section into line with section 12 of the Land Tax Assessment Act to authorize the commissioner to issue assessments after the close of a relevant financial year.

In ordinary circumstances, assessments are issued within the financial year for which the tax is payable, but for various reasons in individual cases it frequently happens that this is not practicable. In addition, the department is constantly discovering defaulters in respect of past years. The proposed amendment will leave no doubt as to the commissioner’s authority to issue assessments for any financial year after the close of that year. Clause. 6 providesfor a necessary amendment to be made to the schedules appearing in the Land Tax Acts of 1910 and 19.14.,

When these formulas were drafted, the words “pound sterling” were used to denote the Australian £1. The different currency value of the Australian and sterling £1 which now exists makes it necessary to delete the word “ sterling “ from these formulas wherever it appears. Clause 7 provides that the amendments’ in the bill repealing section 4 of the Financial Relief Act 1932-1935 and section 4a of the principal act, as well as the schedules included in the bill, shall: apply to assessments for the present financial year and all subsequentyears.

Commonwealth land tax was first imposed in 1910-11. The rate of tax was 1d. where the taxable value was £1, increasing uniformly by one thirtythousand of a penny with each increase of £1 in the taxable value until, at £75,000, a maximum rate of 6d. was reached. The. flat rate of. 6d. remained constant for the excess over £75,000. In 1914-15, as a war measure, the rates were increased and the formula recast. The average increase over the whole range from £1 to £75,000 was approximately 30 per cent. The uniform increase was one eighteen-thousand seven hundred and fiftieth of a penny instead of one thirty-thousandth of a penny, and the maximum rate was increased to 9d. In 1918-19, also as a war measure, the rates were increased by 20 per cent. In 1922-23, the rates were reduced by 20 per cent., thereby restoring the 1914-15 rates. There was a further reduction by 10 per cent. in 1927-28. Again, in 1932-33, thereduced rates were further reduced by one-third under the Financial Relief Act of 1932. In 1933-34, the reduction of one-third was increased to one-half by the Financial Relief Act 1932-33. Since that time, the rates have been only 45 per cent. of the basic rates in 1914-15. The increase of 11.1 per cent. for 1938-39 will bring the rates up to exactly one-half of the 1914-15 rates. The number of taxpayers has remained fairly constant.For the last completed year, namely, 1936-37, the number of taxpayers was 23,297, and the amount paid by them was £1,435,000. The estimated collections for this year will be approximately the same as in 1936-37. In the event of these rates applying to laud with an unimproved capital value of £1,000, a resident taxpayer would pay no tax, because of the exemption in respect of land up to £5,000 in value. An absentee taxpayer would pay £2 ls. 8d. The tax will increase gradually until, in respect of land of an unimproved value of £100,000, a resident taxpayer would pay £1,156 5s. and an absentee taxpayer £1,364 lis. 8d. Honorable senators may be interested in the amounts collected in respect of town and country lands. In 1936-37, the tax paid in respect of town lands amounted to £919,227, and in respect of country lands, £336,607.

Debate (on motion by Senator Collings) adjourned.

page 1906

ADJOURNMENT

MONETARY System - Unemployment.

Motion (by Senator McLeay) proposed -

That the Senate do now adjourn.

Senator DARCEY:
Tasmania

– I am sorry that I did not have an opportunity this afternoon to speak on a subject which was debated at some length without the root cause of unemployment being mentioned. I believe in getting down to fundamentals. The law that there is no effect without a cause applies in. other realms besides physics. Australia got on fairly well until it was overtaken by the recent depression. I read of a meeting of bankers in London, at which the manager of the Bank of England, Sir Montagu Norman, was asked if he could foresee the end of the depression. He said that he could not see any way out of the tunnel. A year later, at a similar function, he was asked the same question, and he gave the same answer. A celebrated Swedish economist, Gustav Cassel, was asked how long he thought the depression would last. He said that the depression was brought about by the restriction of credit. ‘ Concerted action on the part of the banks in the restriction of credit, dictated by high finance, brought about the disastrous drop in prices which ruined the primary producers of the world, and he added that the banks, having deliberately caused the depression, could litt it whenever they like. That is a strong statement. Before the Com mon we.. 1th Government, or any other government, can deal with unemployment effectively, it will have to solve the pr.oblem of equating consumption to production. The problem before the world to-day is not unemployment, but the cause-of unemployment. 1 maintain that under the present monetary system it is impossible to help the workers of this country or any other country as they should be helped. Senator Sheehan said that the workers in Austraia are worse off to-day than under the Harvester award of nearly twenty years ago. That is a fact. Recently I suggested to the Prime Minister (Mr. Lyons) that, according to the finding of the Royal Commission on Banking and Monetary Systems money could be issued by the Commonwealth Bank free of interest. The Prime Minister has stated publicly that he will not listen to any unorthodox financial proposal. That means that it is his intention to borrow £40,000,000 through the usual channel, and to pay the usual rates of interest, notwithstanding th..t the royal commission appointed by his own Government, said that the money could be issued free of interest by the Commonwealth Bank. So long as we have to borrow money to keep people employed, we shall find that what we receive in one hand’ will be paid out by the other. The. great trouble is the huge interest bill. Workers are awarded higher wages and fewer working hours, but they are no better off. The experience of Mr. Higgs, who was Commonwealth Treasurer in 1916, in raising money on the London market, makes interesting reading. “He was instructed that the people who had previously handledCommonwealth loans were R. Nivison and Son, of Threadneedle-street, London, and accordingly, he wrote to them. He received a reply that that firm was prepared to put a ‘oan of £4,000,000 on the market if Australia paid* 5 per cent., and agreed to the issue being made at £99. Had their proposal been accepted it would have meant a clear gain of £40,000 to the promoters. Fortunately, Mr. Higgs had some backbone, and refused to allow the loan to be floated at £99. He demanded that it be floated at p-r. As he had not long been in Parliament, and had no previous experience in the raising of loans, he thought he had better agree to pay oi per cent, interest. The brokers advised him that unless he agreed to float the lon at £99 the opportunity to do so might pass. Eventually, however, they agreed to float it at par. My authority on the method of raising loans in London is Mr. Reddaway, an ex-employee of the Bank of England. R. Nivison and Son underwrote the whole amount, £4.000,000 not being regarded by them as a big loan. Within a few days of the flotation of the loan, it was quoted at an appreciation of 5a. per cent. The commission for raising that loan was £2 7s. Id. per cent. For the £4,000,000 loan and the firm mentioned was paid commission at the rate of £2 7s. Id. per cent, and, in addition, it benefited by its transaction on the London stork exchange. That is the orthodox way of raising money. When Sir Denison Miller, as Governor of the Commonwealth Bank, first raised money for Australia, he floated a loan of £38,000,000 and the cost of raising that loan was 4s. lOd. per cent Honorable senators will thus see the difference between the cost of raising money by the orthodox method, which the Prime Minister is determined to follow, and the cost of raising it by the method which I advocate. The difference between the costs of raising the two loans which T have just mentioned- -one by the orthodox method and the other by the unorthodox method - was £744,642.

Senator Cooper:

– Those loans were raised at different periods.

Senator DARCEY:

Question resolved in the affirmative.

page 1911

PAPER

The following paper was pre sented : -

Northern Australia Survey Act - Reportof Committee appointed to direct and control the Aerial, Geological and Geophysical Survey of Northern Australia, for the period ended 31st December. 1937.

Senate adjourned at 11.32 p.m.

Cite as: Australia, Senate, Debates, 23 November 1938, viewed 22 October 2017, <http://historichansard.net/senate/1938/19381123_senate_15_158/>.

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Senate23 November 1938

PRINTING COMMITTEE

CANBERRA

Swimming Pool for Northern Area

QUESTION

MIGRATION

Senator McLEAY:Vice-President of the Executive Council · SOUTH AUSTRALIA · UAP

UNEMPLOYMENT

Formal Motion for Adjournment

Senator COLLINGS:QUEENSLAND

Senator McLEAY:South AustraliaVicePresident of the Executive Council · UAP

Senator Collings:

Senator McLEAY:

Senator Collings:

Senator McLEAY:

Senator Collings:

Senator McLEAY:

Senator KEANE:Victoria

Senator McLeay:

Senator KEANE:

Senator Dein:

Senator KEANE:

Senator Dein:

Senator KEANE:

Senator AMOUR:New South Wales

Senator Wilson:

Senator AMOUR:

The PRESIDENT:

Senator CAMERON:Victoria · CP

Senator Herbert Hays:

Senator CAMERON:

Senator Herbert Hays:

Senator CAMERON:

Senator COLLINGS:QUEENSLAND · FLP; ALP from 1937

Senator CAMERON:

Senator McLeay:

Senator CAMERON:

Senator Herbert Hays:

Senator CAMERON:

Senator Herbert Hays:

Senator CAMERON:

Senator Herbert Hays:

Senator CAMERON:

Senator Herbert Hays:

Senator CAMERON:

Senator McLeay:

Senator CAMERON:

Senator Dein:

Senator CAMERON:

Senator Keane:

Senator CAMERON:

The PRESIDENT:

Senator McBRIDE:South Australia

Senator Keane:

Senator McBRIDE:

Senator Keane:

Senator McBRIDE:

Senator BROWN:Queensland

Senator McBRIDE:SOUTH AUSTRALIA · UAP

Senator Collings:

Senator MCBRIDE:

Senator BROWN:

Senator McLeay:

Senator BROWN:

Senator CUNNINGHAM:Western Australia.

Senator McBride:

Senator CUNNINGHAM:

Senator McBride:

Senator COLLINGS:QUEENSLAND · FLP; ALP from 1937

Senator CUNNINGHAM:

Senator Collings:

Senator FOLL:Minister for Health · QUEENSLAND · UAP

Senator Cooper:

Senator FOLL:

Senator Cameron:

Senator FOLL:

Senator Cameron:

Senator Collings:

Senator FOLL:

Senator Collings:

Senate
23 November 1938

Senator McLEAY:
Vice-President of the Executive Council · SOUTH AUSTRALIA · UAP

Senator COLLINGS:
QUEENSLAND

Senator McLEAY:
South AustraliaVicePresident of the Executive Council · UAP

Senator KEANE:
Victoria

Senator AMOUR:
New South Wales

Senator CAMERON:
Victoria · CP

Senator COLLINGS:
QUEENSLAND · FLP; ALP from 1937

Senator McBRIDE:
South Australia

Senator BROWN:
Queensland

Senator McBRIDE:
SOUTH AUSTRALIA · UAP

Senator CUNNINGHAM:
Western Australia.

Senator COLLINGS:
QUEENSLAND · FLP; ALP from 1937

Senator FOLL:
Minister for Health · QUEENSLAND · UAP

Senator AYLETT:
Tasmania

Senator DEIN:
New South Wales

Senator ASHLEY:
New South Wales

Senator WILSON:
We have spent nearly threehours in considering the doing of something for the unemployed. I welcomed’: the motion of the Leader of the Opposition (Senator Collings · South Australia; [5.52].

Senator FRASER:
Western Australia

Senator BRAND:
VICTORIA

Senator FOLL:
UAP

Senator FOLL:
UAP