AUSTRALIA’S WAR WORK

Greymouth Evening Star, 22 May 1942, Page 5

AUSTRALIA’S WAR WORK

CIVILIAN CONSTRUCTION CORPS POWER OF CONSCRIPTION (Special Australian Correspondent) SYDNEY, May 21.. Thirty thousand men will be mobilised within the next few months in Australia’s new war works army called the Civilian Construction Corps. Thousands of workers are already serving with the corps in all parts oi Australia. Most of the new draft will be called up compulsorily from the 45 to 55 age group, but it is announced that suitable volunteers between the ages of 18 and 60 will also be accepted under the direction of the Allied Works Council.

The corps is building aerodromes, roads, railways, docks, dams, stores, and munitions factories. No combined Federal and State public works programme has ever attempted the same vast amount of construction which is controlled by the council, with Mr. E. G. Theodore as director-general. The council allots vital construction jobs in order of priority to the works authorities and private contractors whose plants and organisations have been co-opted in the scheme. Labour from the Civilian Construction Corps as well as plant and materials are provided by the council. A census of constructional plant has been made throughout Australia, and plant is being' called up as required. Members of the corps will be paid award rates, payment being made for wet weather and similar interruptions. The men will receive one week’s leave plus travelling time to their homes in each year of service. They will also be entitled to nine public holidays each year—work on those days will be paid for at penalty rates. The greater part of the corps will be labourers, who will be enrolled from all occupations. Tradesmen, such as carpenters and plumbers will be paid award rates for work done in their own trades.

Mr. Theodore has power both to enrol volunteers and direct men compulsorily to serve in the corps. Men between 18 and 60 are affected, with the exception of members of the Armed Forces and persons engaged in protected industries. Compulsory enrolment for the corps, however, will be made in age groups not interfering with Army requirements. Volunteers who appear to be draft dodgers will bo released to the Army. Men from all occupations will be taken. Publicans, salesmen, accountants, jewellers, and grocers are among those already serving. Members of the corps working near their homes are permitted to live at their homes. Where the jobs are away from their homes, they live in camps with sleeping accommodation and messing facilities provided. Married members of the corps are required to make a minimum allotment of £3 a week to their wives. An additional allotment for children is voluntary. Because members of the corps are drawn from all walks of life, and many have commitments which they are unable to meet from corps service pay, the possibility of a moratorium along the lines of that granted to the fighting services is being considered. Where the corps has taken over the entire staffs and plants of big contracting firms, or where the public works authorities have been absorbed, the men employed are seconded back to their employers while remaining as members of the Construction Corps. Mr. Theodore has power to authorise the issue of uniforms to the corps, but because of supply difficulties it is unlikely the corps will be uniformed. The men are under civil discipline but may not leave the corps for the duration.

MILITARY WATERSIDERS. (X.Z.I’.A. .Special Australian Correspondent). SYDNEY, May 21. The Army is playing an important part in relieving congestion at the Australian ports by unloading the war cargoes and by transporting them to the places where they are urgently needed. The Allied Command General Headquarters has now revealed the formation of Army Dock Operating Companies. The main purpose of these companies is to enconomise the shipping time and to reduce the delay at ports, as well as to disperse valuable property from the target areas. All ports installations would become target areas in the event of Japanese attacks. An Australian Docks Operating Detachment was formed for service in Singapore. This unit have done excellent work since their return, and they inspired the establishment of other similar units. The United States Army Authorities are stated to be gratified at the greatly increased despatch with which war goods are being handled. The Army has formed Port-Con-trol Detachments throughout the Commonwealth. They include stevedores and shore labour. They aim to have available sufficient labour at the principal ports to handle effectively any shipping emergency which may arise. Central Cargo Control Committees are being established under the direction of the Minister of Customs, and are concerned in the dispersal of all the cargoes. It Is intended to reduce the storage time of private cargoes from six days to three days.

MUNITION WORKERS. CANBERRA, May 21. The number of workers employed in the production of munitions and of military equipment throughout Australia, is now in the vicinity of fifty thousand. There will be double that number in twelve months’ time. These figures are provided by the Minister for Munition Making, who stated that, at the outbreak of war, the number of workers . making munitions did not exceed five thousand. “GRAVE POSSIBILITIES.” SYDNEY, May 21. The Prime Minister (Mr. Curtin) emphasised to-day the danger to Australia. He spoke of grave possibilities and said: “That warning I repeat in the gravest terms as the tempo of the struggle increases.

U.S.A. SOLDIERS’ TRIALS (N.Z.L’.A. Special Australian Correspondent). SYDNEY, May 21. The United States Army is seeking an arrangement with the Australian Government bv which members of the United States forces will be tried before Army tribunals for all classes of offences, no matter where they are committed. It is expected that no difficulties will be encountered in completing some such arrangement. The present procedure is that the United States Army authorities apply to the Courts before which American servicemen appear, for permission to have offenders dealt with by Army court-martial. The arrangement is working smoothly, but it is hoped that now a general policy may be defined. Assurances are said to have been given that the penalties imposed will certainly not be lighter, and will probably be heavier than those of the civil Court. The Commonwealth would also be saved the expenses of the Court and the prison administration. Men found guilty of minor offences would be made to work out their punishment while continuing 'Army duties. In serious cases, such as murder or rape, where the penalties

are death or life imprisonment, the United States Army is prepared to administer both punishments. Where damage to civilian property is involved, compensation rights would be secured by a claim on the United States Army. As under- the King’s Regulations, a soldier in the forces of the United States is subject to trial by court-martial for any offence committed, no matter where it takes place. This does not affect the rights of the civilian authorities to take action. HOUSING FACILITIES CANBERRA, May 21. An extensive national housing plan has been recommended to the Federal Government by the Committee on Social Security. One of the chief recommendations is that low income workers’ rentals should not exceed, twenty per cent, of the basic wage. Even lower rentals should be paid by tenants with large families and family obligations. The Committee urges that before the war ends the Government should put its hand to projects ensuring continuous completion of homes which will be ready for returning troops. The Government should order the demolition of any sub-stan-dard dwelling without compensation to the owners, and provide houses fox- sale to low-income workers without deposit. Interest charged under the national housing plan should not exceed 21 per cent. Where money is needed for slum clearance, the Committee recommends that the Commonwealth should provide it interest-free. Relief for house-owners oppressed by onerous mortages is also recommended. '

UNEMPLOYMENT RELIEF CANBERRA, May 21. The Prime Minister (Mr. Curtin) announced that the Federal Government intends to provide temporary financial assistance to persons who lose their employment owing to the clothes rationing. Assistance will not begin until a person concerned has been unemployed fourteen days, and the maximum period of aid would be three months. FIXED INTEREST RATES. SYDNEY, May 21. In a speech at the annual meeting of the Bank of Adelaide, the Chairman, Sir Howard Lloyd, protested against fixation of the rate of interest on advances made by banks at a 5 per cent, maximum. He declared this was arbitrary and illogical, and it was made without consideration of the incidence of risks which varied in each State. He said his Bank’s effective earnings on all overdrafts in the past two years, after allowing for interest, not received, has not exceeded £4 15/1 per cent., while the range of rates amongst all of the Banks varied from below £4/13/- to no higher than £4/17/- per cent. The fact was that. Banks lending on all classes of security, often without security, were thus not permitted to earn as much as private mortgagees lending upon fixed securities and wide margins.