TO BE RETAINED

Evening Post, Volume CXXVIII, Issue 53, 31 August 1939, Page 10

TO BE RETAINED

AIR-MAIL SURCHARGE

VALUE TO AUSTRALIA

CANNOT BE DONE WITHOUT

(From "Y-*. Post's" Representative.)

SYDNEY, August 25,

The Federal Cabinet has decided to retain the 3d per half-ounce surcharge on Empire and internal air mail, and the surcharge will also be imposed on the trans-Tasman service.

The Prime Minister, Mr. Menzies, explained that the surcharge had to be retained for financial reasons. Abolition of the surcharge, he said, would have meant a net loss of £59,000 for the financial year 1939-40 and of £76,000 in 1940-41, and increasing amounts in subsequent years. The inter-departmental committee which had examined the whole question of air services and surcharge had recommended that it should be retained. The committee had stated that every possible economy was necessary to meet the greatly-increased defence programme

"An increase in expenditure on air services would be inevitable," Mr. Menzies continued, "because the abolition of the surcharge would mean a substantial increase in the amount of first-class mail matter which internal air services would have to carry. Larger aircraft would be required and this would involve the Government in larger subsidies and would also mean considerable expenditure for the enlargement of aerodromes. An alternative would be to constitute Sydney as the point of distribution and collection of air mail for transport over internal routes. In this event, an efficient service to each of the capital cities could be provided only if night services were established. Obviously, the adoption of such a proposal would involve the Commonwealth in substantial additional expenditure. As the Government has to exercise every possible economy in the current financial year to provide for a greatly-expanded defence programme, it is felt that at present the abolition of the air-mail surcharge is impracticable."

The Minister of Civil Aviation, Mr. Fairbairn, said that air-mail surcharge revenue would be credited to his Department. Its abolition would cause curtailment of improvements in ground, facilities which were being introduced to make flying safer.

The air-mail rate charged in Australia is 5d a half-ounce to British Empire countries —2d postage and 3d surcharge—and considerably highex and varying rates to foreign, countries. Airmail letters from England and New Zealand are carried to Australia at the ordinary postage rate of ljd a halfounce.