HUGE BURDEN

Evening Post, Volume CXVII, Issue 49, 27 February 1934, Page 9

HUGE BURDEN

AUSTRALIA'S DEBT

LATEST FIGURES

(From "The Post's" Representative.) ! •■ ' SYDNEY, February 23. Australia is famous for many things, and not the least of these is the size of its Public Debt. According to figures just issued, tho Public Debt at December 31 last was £1,213,296,358, and of that vast amount £617,760,260 was held in Australia, £549,15i,015 in London, and £46,355,081 in New York. The bulk of tho debt belongs to the States, which have always been prolific spenders, the Commonwealth total being £319,660,285. . Of the Commonwealth debt £281,362,363 was incm;red : during the war, and forces one to consider, how much better off Australia would, have been today if it had not willingly borne its share in the cost of the World War. Tho existing conflict between the States and tho Commonwealth on the matter of .finance can all, be traced to the war burden which tho Federal Government is called upon to bear. The States^ it is feared, are inclined to overlook this when they make demand upon the Federal Government for a greater share of public money. One hesitates to think how tho States would be faring today if they paid a greater proportion of the war debts. The,total interest bill on the Public Debt is £49,799,112, of which £23,343,182 is payablo' : in Australia. That at least is something to be thankful for. ■....-..

There are some very gratifying figures in the statement of Commonwealth financial operations- during the. halfyear which ended on December 31. Details .of tho receipts reveal that there has been remarkable progress in the business carried on by the Commonwealth Railway Department, which is £20,318 better than for the same period last year. Revenue from the transAustralian • railway , was £103.000 which was £12,713 greater than for the same period in, the previous year. The revenue of the Central Australian railway improved by £6601, and on the North . Australian railway by £1346. This, surely, is a sign that better times are returning to Australia. It was generally expected that the railway finances would be among the last to recover, and'there were thoso who claimed that they would never recover. A remarkable increase of £49,836 in the profit from coinage is said'to reflect the improved business conditions during the- last half of 1933. Total profits from this source during the sis months were £93,452, compared with £43,616- for tho same period in 1932. Against this, the profit on tho Australian notd issue decreased 'from £613,183 to £291,759, but it is pointed out that financial arrangements between the banks largely govern tho note issue, which_ does nQt reflect business conditions in the samo way as coinage.