SKILLED MEN NEEDED

Greymouth Evening Star, 4 November 1939, Page 8

SKILLED MEN NEEDED

AUSTRALIAN WAR EFFORT.

[BY CABLE —PRESS ASSN. —COPYBIGHT.]

SYDNEY, November 3.

The Prime Minister (Mr. Menzies) stated that there' is a shortage of tool making and other tradesmen for the factories to engage in manufacture of aeroplanes, guns, munitions and other war requirements. Two thousand five hundred skilled men were needed, and 500 tool makers would have to be trained.

Out of £2,000,000 voted by the Federal Parliament for the Lithgow Small Arms Factory and other similar works, a great deal had now been spent. There had been a second small arm factory set up in South Australia, and a second cordite factory at Albury. Of the war expenditure for the year £51,000,000 would be in Australia. Mr. Menzies said it would not be practicable to train 200,000 men in Australia, but there were now more camps than ever before in the country. Sir T. Blayner and the Minister of Defence inspected the big Victorian military camp. They said the present Diggers were in every way up to those of the last war, and were second to no other fighters. A hundred additional buildings have been added to the camp in a month.