WAR PROGRAMME

Evening Post, Volume CXXVIII, Issue 107, 2 November 1939, Page 13

WAR PROGRAMME

AUSTRALIA'S PLANS

A.I.F. TO GO OVERSEAS

EXPENDITURE ON ALL ARMS

!By Telegraph—Press Association— Copyright.!

(Received November 2, 9 a.m.)

SYDNEY, This Day,

The Prime Minister, in the course ol a statement .on Australian defence matters tonight,* announced that the second Australian expeditionary force would definitely be sent overseas unless circumstances rendered that course impracticable. It would become the spearhead of the Australian army. The Government intended to build three destroyers of the Tribal class instead of two as hitherto announced, and four local defence vessels for anti-submarine or mine-sweeping work.

Defensive guns had been mounted on more than 60 oversea merchant ships: These would be competent to deal with enemy raiders which were likely to menace seaborne commerce.

The War Cabinet had approved the purchase of 4000 mechanised vehicles, the cost of which would be £1,500,000. These would include armoured cars.

Four additional munition and armament factories were to be erected.

Nineteen air squadrons would be trained by 1940. There would be a

great acceleration in aircraft construction ahd, subject to the lifting of the neutrality embargo, 100 Lockheed Hudson machines would be purchased from the United States. .■.*;.

The estimated expenditure on defence this year, said Mr. Menzies, would reach "the staggering total of £59,500,000.

Mr. Menzies added that only £7,700,000, or 13 per cent, of the total expenditure, would be spent abroad He directed attention to the fact that Australia's expenditure on defence in the first year of the last .war was only £19,600,000. He emphasised that the estimated expenditure for this year was not final, as it was not yet possible to forecast the cost of Australia's participation in the Empire air training scheme.