DEVELOPMENT IN AUSTRALIA

Press, Volume LXX, Issue 21354, 22 December 1934, Page 14

DEVELOPMENT IN AUSTRALIA

SECONDARY INDUSTRY

HON. R. MASTERS IMPRESSED

The rapid development of secondary industry in Australia was one of the most vivid impressions gained during his recent visit to the Commonwealth by the Hon. R. Masters, Minister for Industries and Commerce. Mr Masters, in a statement he has sent to "The Press," says that the policy of the Australian Government in providing a generous protective tar: 7, and Australia's purchasing public of 7,000,000, are largely responsible for the tremendous growth of the manufacturing industries in recent years. "Not only have local secondary industries developed, tout English manufacturing interests have built factories in some instances on their own account, and in other cases have co-operated or amalgamated for greater extension with already well-establiched industries," says Mr Masters. Iron and Steel There is no doubt that the outstanding industry in Australia is that of the manufacture of iron and steel, which is carried on by th<* Broken Hill Proprietary, with a capital of £9,500,000. This huge undertaking manufactures every form of iron and steel, and from • the time when it commenced operations in March, 1915, | up to May, 1933, it had pro- I duced more than 11,000,000 tons of J pig iron, steel, blooms, rails, structural steel and wire rods. In addi tion, various by-products of the in- j dustry are manufactured, chief among which are tar (more than 40,000,000 gallons), benzol (more than 8,000,000 gallons), sulphate of ammonia (nearly 60,000 tons). An important point is that 95 per cent, of all the materials used at the steel works is produced in Australia. The company owns its own collieries, ships, wharves, quarries and plant. It has some 12,000 employees, and the wages bill amounts to nearly £1,700,000 per annum, without taking into account anv subsidiary companies or allied industries. "This undertaking is generally recognised as one of the most efficient and best organised iron and steel producing plants in the world, and a layman after visiting it would agree that there was justification for the claim. After inspecting this plant, one could not but compare it very favourably with others one had seen in the United Kingdom, the Continent, and the United States. Methods of Production "In visiting other factories of various kinds in Australia," adds Mr Masters, "I was struck by the similarity of the methods of production to those employed in NewZealand, and but for the size of the undertakings in the Commonwealth our own industries appear, in many respects, to be just as efficient as those of Australia. The great advantage the Australian manufacturer enjoys is that the huge internal consumption enables him to reduce his fixed charges and to develop an export trade. "The Australian manufacturers were very anxious and willing to allow the New Zealand Ministers to inspect their industries, and gave us every opportunity of closely studying conditions, methods, development and future prospects, and I am sure that the information we i gained will be of very great assistance to us in considering such matters in the future." . .