Holt Determined On 'Austral’

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30146, 1 June 1963, Page 14

Holt Determined On ' Austral’

[By FRANK PUDDICOMBE, N.Z.P.A. Special Correspondent] SYDNEY.

A Federal Cabinet decision on the naming of Australia’s proposed decimal currency is expected any day now.

The fight over the name of the main coin unit has narrowed down to one between ’’austral" and "dollar.”

The Federal Treasurer, Mr Harry Holt, is firmly of the opinion that it should be “austral,” but the whole weight of public opinion seems to be against him. Small polls conducted by Sydney newspapers and in factories show that the man-in-the-street favours the term "dollar.”

In fact, “austral” is only a bad third. The second choice is for the retention of the “pound.” One of Sydney's newspapers, the “Daily Mirror,” has taken a most emphatic attitude against Mr Holt’s desire to have the main unit called an “austral."

“Stop this damned nonsense." said the "Mirror” in an appeal to the natiop to raise “a loud and anxious cry” to prevent the pound being named the “austral”—or something else “ridiculously parochial.” The newspaper urged its readers to write to their member in the Federal Parliament to “protect Australia’s dignity." It said Australians must reject the “austral" and the “roos” and all the other fanciful bits of local colour. "If we don’t, we will be laughing stock —and rightly,” said the “Mirror."

The “Daily Telegraph” also criticised the official idea of calling the unit “austral." It said “austral” was a hack-

neyed poeticism used in all the bad odes of the last century, and it preferred "dollar." The Victorian Premier, Mr H. E. Bolte, was so opjxrsed to the idea of “austral,” he said he preferred the term “quid.” Canberra reports say that Mr Holt is unimpressed by the arguments against the term "austral," and that this is likely to be the name of Australia’s new’ decimal currency. Mr Holt is also said to favour the unit worth five shillings being called “crown.” In recent weeks. Mr Holt invited Government members to submit their suggestions on how the new currency units should be named when decimal currency is introduced in 1966 The replies have not been made public, but it is known that some members expressed a distaste for "austral.” One suggested that the name would be slurred into “nostril.” The last report by political correspondents in Canberra was that Cabinet would make its decision before the Prime Minister, Sir Robert Menzies, went abroad on an official tour in a few weeks' time. Sir Robert Menzies's views on the subject are not known. So far he has remained aloof from the controversy.