AUSTRALIA’S FORCES

Grey River Argus, 19 February 1943, Page 5

AUSTRALIA’S FORCES

NEAR THREE-QUARTER MILLION Debt £1717 MiHions SENATE PASSES MILITIA BILL. (Rec. 12.0.) CANBERRA, Feb. 18. The Government’s Militia Bill determining the areas to which compulsory service in the South-west Pacific is extended for tiie Australian Militia has- passed all stages in the Senate to-day. . Senator McLeay moved an amendment t° extend the area of service. It was lost, when Senator Crawford cressed the floor of the House to vote with the Government, making the voting seventeen all. Under the Senate rules an amendment is lost when the voting is equal. Senator Spicer then moved an amendment providing for the inclusion of New Zealand in the area of service. This also was defeated, Senator Crawford again siding with the Government, and making the voting seventeen all. The all-over figure for Australia’s three armed services exceeds seven hundred thousand. This is equivalent to 4,250,000 under arms in Great Britain, 13,250,000 in the United States, and 11,000,000 in Canada. These facts were given by the Government leader in the Senate Senator Collings, replying to criticism of the Militia Bill, which is still under consideration by that body. He added that the strength of Australia’s land forces had been nearly trebled since Japan entered the war. Nearly five hundred thousand had been diverted from civilian production to the services, or direct war work, while since the outbreak, the number of employees in Government munition factories, including aircraft and shipbuilding plants had increased by eight hundred per cent. The number of workers producing goods for the civil market had been reduced by sixtyfour per cent.