HUGE LOSSES

Hokitika Guardian, 28 September 1929, Page 2

HUGE LOSSES

RAILWAYS IN AUSTRALIA. IN 11 YEARS. SYDNEY, Sep.' 12.. ! The publication of the annual report of the Railways Commissioners of NewSouth Wales revealing another huge loss in, one of the most depressing periods in the State’s history, has directed attention to the serious losses suffered-by alb the State railways in the Commonwealth during the past few years. Queensland, with an accumulator deficit on its railways of £14,986,884, is in -the worst position, whil Victoria, the only system to show a profit on the last ten years’ working—a profit df £295,548 —is in the best- position, and the best is nothing to boast about ’ considering the' enormous amount of capital that has been invested by the State; An examination of the figures over the last eleven years shows that the combined railways system of Australia did not. show a profit. Instead the people had to find £31,119,862 to balance- the various State railway ledgers, and £35,346,150 ‘ if there is added the loss on the Commonwealth railways, which are in the nature of developmental lines, and cannot be expected to pay for many years to come As a matter of fact they are not expected to pay; still, the loss has to be made up by general taxpayer. For a community of 6,000,000, with a debt of £174, and taxation of £l4 a head to> have to find more than 10s a head to make up railway deficits is a serious matter, and suggests what is already known—that all is not well with the finances df the Commonwealth. From, 1918 to 1928 Queensland and Tasmania did not once balance their railways ledgers. New- South Wales and South Australia had eight deficits. Western Australia seven deficits, and Victoria six deficits. In each State lexcept that of Victoria the total losses were greater than- the total deficits. In most instances the surpluses were small, and the deficits very large. Already the Commissioners of the New South Wales system have warned the public that a deficit for the current year is certain. These results are being achieved on a rising revenue, and that is a feature of the finance of the railways that is causing such grave concern. One authority in Melbourne

discussing the position said: “Even granting the railway managers their contention that road traffic had taken revenue from them, they have not done so badly. In the eleven years under review the. aggregate State railway revenues increased by a fraction under 100. per cent. In New South Wales receipts more than doubled, and that State now collects some £2-3,000,003 from the • users of its railways'. The total State railway revenues last year amounted to' £47,583,173, as against £23,045,732 in 1918. This in a country whose population increased by only 20 per cent.”

Working expenses have, of course, gone up in much the same proportion. The total working expenses df the State railways last year amounted to £37,820,652, as compared with £17,278,037 in- 1918. A discrepancy, however, is shown in the proportion of working expenses to revenue, which, had the increase on both sides of the ledger been equal, should have remained the same. This is regarding as proving one of t.lo things. Either the railway expenditure is greater .than it should be or the charges are too low. Whether the railways charges are too low is not a matter of calculation as of ascertaining the ability of the railway uses to bear any increased cost. It seems certain, in view of the success of the various motor systems, than an increase in railways charges would be a fatal move as far as the railways are concerned, and .the only alternative seems to be the use of the pruning knife. Already that knife has made some drastic cuts in New South Wales and Victoria at least, and these have brought unpopularity to the respective Governments. The working expenses in Western Australia are the lowest in the Commonwealth, and there seems to be no reason why a similar ratio should not he achieved in the other States, except Tasmania. The railway position in Tasmania, the Cinderella State, is well nigh hopeless, through its own peculiar circumstances. Tasmania is still losing its population, while all the other States are gaining, it is- likely t K at the Clvef Commissioner in New South Wales fMr Fraser) will be retiring shortly, and the Government will seize the opportunity of nutting a business man in charge. Mr Fraser has done a great deal in making the Ncav South Wales railways the most efficient in the Commonwealth, but after all he is an engineer, and the question arises whether a man trained in an engineering school can devise means of making the railways pay when they have reached their present position. * i