Stricter Credit Moves Likely In Australia

Press, Volume XCIX, Issue 29361, 14 November 1960, Page 15

Stricter Credit Moves Likely In Australia

CANBERRA, November 13. The Treasurer (Mr H. E. Holt) will announce Government proposals to strengthen current measures aimed at

checking the drift in the Australian economy, in the House of Representatives on Tues-

day night, according to auth-

Mr Holt is expected to announce a policy of far stricter credit restriction and other drastic measures. Speaking in Adelaide last night, the Treasurer said current antiinflationary measures had ' not worked out in the way intended. He said the Federal Cabinet was completing a review of the national finances. The Government thought that any necessary correctives should be applied early rather than later. "This can only mean that if action is called for it does not

have to be nearly as drastic as it would if the position were allowed to drift," he said.

“Applying this approach to our present situation it is clear that some corrective action is desirable.”

The Government’s prime economic problem at the moment was to steady the excessive rate of expenditure in the economy. It had reached a stage where some harmful consequences were

appearing. Mr Holt said a certain amount of credit restriction bad taken place recently but it could not be called severe. One of the things the Government had set out to do early this year was to reduce the excess liquidity of the banks, but it had not met with any great degree of success. "Plainly something has to be done about this situation," he said.