COAL CRISIS.

Auckland Star, Volume LX, Issue 282, 28 November 1929, Page 22

COAL CRISIS.

POSITION IN N.S.W. STATE INTERFERENCE. CLASH WITH COMMONWEALTH. [(By the "Star's" Special Representative.) SYDNEY, November 22.

In the contemplation of its own troubles in the coal industry, New Zealand may overlook the fact that in New South Wales a number of collieries have been idle, and thousands of men unemployed, for a period of over twelve months, with much resultant poverty and misery, in a formerly most prosperous portion of the State. It is not a strike. The colliery owners proposed a reduction in the miners' wages, on the plea that coal could not profitably be produced at existing cost. The miners refused the reduction, and the owners closed down. Since then the men have partially been supported by contributions from the unions in other industries, and the branches of their own union in which the mines are working; but what they have received merely keeps body and soul together—and not even that sometimes, for it is said that a number of people have literally' starved to death.

Loss of Exports. That such a state of affaire should exist in a civilised country for so prolonged a period does not flatter the ability of the Government, the genius of the Labour leaders, or the acumen of •the coalowners. Already Australia had lost almost the whole of her former vast overseas coal trade owing to strikes and lock-oute. I remember Newcastle a veritable forest of masts, with ships waiting by the score for berthing space to load coal, mostly to the West Coast of South America, Later came the big ocean trampe, eager to load up and be off with the wonderful Newcastle coal; these reinforced by hundreds of ships from overseas and those belonging to the intercolonial services, to fill their bunkers. The vessels that visit Newcastle now are few in number, compared ■with the old days. Countries that used to buy Australian coal found that they very often could not rely on delivery, and turned elsewhere for their supplies. For the same reason, oil has largely taken the place of coal as fuel in steamships.

Supplies All Australia. „ Had Newcastle to depend upon her export trade for a living, she would not now be very prosperous. But Australia has not the great waterways of New Zealand to supply her with electric power, which here is almost entirely generated from coal. And almost the only coal mines of real importance are in the Newcastle and Maitland districts and some southern coastal areas, of New South Wales, which supplies the Commonwealth. It wiil be realised, therefore, that the closing down of some of the largest mines in the State for a period of twelve months has resulted in considerable inconvenience to trade, vast loss in wages, and further depreciation in export.

"Government Of Fools." There is in the present position all the •elements of a general strike, owing to the action of the State Government in trying to enforce the issue by taking over three important mines and attempting to work them. In the opinion of even those opposed to Labour, or to many of them —it is the action of a "Government of Fools" —which is. a term that has latterly been applied freely to the Bavin Government—that same Government having been transfixed in three places by the spears of arbitration, the basic wage, and child endowment. Now it is wriggling like a spiked snake. The sudden frenzied rush to "work the mines" is very plainly a senseless plan to baulk the Commonwealth Government, which had announced its intention of taking action to end the hold-up, and whose representatives have already been in conference with owners' and miners' representatives to try and find some basis of settlement. For there is not the slightest doubt that this Nationalist State Government is intensely jealous of the Commonwealth Labour Government, and would spare no effort to discomfort it.

Cry For Unification. In the first instance Mr. Bavin saw only one way out of the impasse—that the men should accept a shilling a ton lees for wages. That was refused as definitely then as it is defiantly to-day. Mr. Bavin went to England, and during hie absence there was not anything like a serious effort on the part of his incompetent Ministry to handle the situation. When the Premier returned, he almost immediately proceeded, as head of the State Nationalist party, to organise help for the Federal Nationalists, and then he threw himself with great fury into the fight against Labour in, the Federal elections. How almost every Nationalist candidate in New South Wales was defeated is a matter of history. Now, apparently, Mr. Bavin intends to fight the Commonwealth Government. Those who are thoroughly "fed-up" of State Governments hope most heartily it will be so, for it will hasten the day of Unification, when six Stat© Parliaments, with their hordes of highly-paid members and their six Governors, will be swept away, and full powers will be assumed by the National Parliament.

Threat of General Strike. 1 If the mines now taken over by the Government of KS.W. are worked, it will assuredly lead to a general strike, and there will he come hot doings, apart from total dislocation of trade. However, it is quite unlikely that the mines will he iworked. Yesterday the Minister for Mines went to Ceesnock to take a survey of the situation. A call had heen made by the Government for men to work the Roxbury mine, at Branxton -—at the reduced wage. Not a man offered. Then the Minister declared that the mine would be opened next week if the heavens fell. He spoke from a box in Cessnock'a main street, and a crowd of 2000 miners turned their backs on him in derision, and hooted the man who (like our good friend Gordon Qoates) intended to "get things done." The heavens didn't fall then, but a shower of ripe tomatoes did. And that's the only result bo far of the Government's role of mineowner.

One thing is certain, if the Government attempts to work the mine 'next week on free labour, it will take all the police, in the State to guard the free labourers, "But there is little chance of much free labour offering. The lock-out is most unpopular, and the withdrawal by the recently defeated Bruce Government of the prosecution against millionaire col-

liery owner John Brown set the public firmly against the owners generally. Publicsympathy is firmly with the miners.