DOLLAR LOAN FOR CAPITAL GOODS ONLY

Greymouth Evening Star, 24 September 1949, Page 6

DOLLAR LOAN FOR CAPITAL GOODS ONLY

CANBERRA, September 22. —“Any dollar loan that is raised by Australia in the United States will be secure capital equipment that is needed by Australia, and for commitments that have already been entered into,” said the Prime Minister, Mr Chifiey, in the House of Representatives today. “You can forget the possibility of a loan being floated to secure consumer goods,” he said. “What we are concerned about is capital goods, which cannot be obtained in the easy currency countries, and for which commitments were made prior to the 25 per cent, dollai’ cut decision. Up to the moment, no dollar loan has been discussed in America. The question of obtaining a loan is being considered by the Government. If that is done, it will not be to enable us to depart from the arrangement made at the Finance Ministers’ Conference to reduce any imports from the dollar area by 25 pei' cent.” The Minister of Commerce, Mr Pollard, later, said: “The devaluation of the Australian pound will mean a windfall of between sixteen million and twenty .million pounds from our next season’s wheat crop. The increased return might even be higher if the prices of wheat sold outside of the international wheat agreement maintain the present level.”