AUSTRALIA

Greymouth Evening Star, 2 October 1930, Page 2

AUSTRALIA

[BY CABLE—PBESS ASSN. —COPYRIGHT.]

RAILWAYMEN’S AWARD. MELBOURNE, October 1. Argument was concluded to-day in the railway award case in which the abrogation of wage awards is sought by the Commissioners of four States. The Arbitration Court reserved its decision.

MISPLACED CONFIDENCE. SYDNEY, d'ctober 1. Robert Bowie, a visitor from New Zealand, became acquainted with a man in a Sydney hotel who offered to change £2O worth of New Zealand notes into gold. Bowie handed over his money. Then the stranger disappeared from the bar, and has not since been traced. SALES TAX. SYDNEY, October 1. The sales tax returns for September, which was the first full month in which this form of taxation has been in operation, reveals that whereas the i Government anticipated half a mil lion sterling, the actual revenue was only £280,476. A CONSTABLE’S CLAIM. SYDNEY, October 2. Constable M. Gibbons has issued a writ claiming £3OOO against Inspector Duffell, causing a widespread sensation. It is believed to be the first action of the kind to be taken by a member of any police force in the Empire against a superior officer. FEDERAL CABINET. CANBERRA, October 2. Consideration of the financial position and the proposals for balancing r .ho Budget, has been commenced by Cabinet. No definite decisions have been reached. The State revenue returns for September in Victoria, South and West Australia and Queensland show further large decreases, compared with the corresponding month last year.

FED ERA L REVEN UE. CANBERRA, October 1. The Federal Revenue returns for tho first three months of the financial year already disclose a deficiency of three millions, thus causing tho Ministry the greatest, concern. The loss of customs revenue is practically at the rate of ten million per year. The postal revenue is £421,681 below the estimate. SHIPPING COMPETITION SYDNEY, Octbber 1. A freight war has begun in the coastal shipping services of Australia, at the instance of the Patrick Line. The company’s two small steamers have repeatedly made serious inroads into trade that was originally being handled by the large inter-State Shipping Coys. The Patrick Line rates have been reduced by 20 per cent. The Associated Shipping Companies to-day fired a broadside by announcing they would make reductions in their freight charge from one and a-half to five per cent, below that of the Patrick Line. It is calculated that saving to the shippers of cargoes will as a result aggregate £200.000 per year.