AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE.
NATIONAL SECURITY ACTS. WIDE POWERS SOUGHT. MELBOURNE, June 16. The Premier (Mr R. G. Menzies), in a broadcast to-night, stated that a home defence force of 250,000 would be formed in Australia. This would be achieved by an extension of the militia training. The Government will make it possible for those unable at present to undergo military training owing to their responsibilities to do a three months’ course of militia training for home defence. Parliament on Thursday will consider legislation similar to the National Security Acts in Britain and New Zealand. It will give the Government complete power over the people’s services, property and manpower, except conscription for service abroad. However, the powers will be so wide that the Government will have power to,, conscript within 48 hours for home defence. TAXATION PLANS. The Government will take power to impose whatever taxation is necessary to supplement the war effort and will go to the length almost of financial collapse as preferable to national destruction. It will take power to tell employers and employees what to do in the national effort. ' Mr Menzies said that the Government would welcome the fullest co-operation of everyone, especially trade unions, in its endeavours. The Director-General of Information (Sir Keith Murdoch) announces that Australia is to begin the immediate production of £50,000,000* worth of munitions, and 150,000 men and women will be engaged in the scheme. The Communist Party of Australia and a number of Fascist organisations in the Commonwealth have been declared illegal and ordered to be disbanded by special regulations issued in Canberra. Two vanloads of Communist documents and literature were seized by the police who raided the offices of the 1 Communist Party and the League for Peace and Democracy, and the homes of 60 known Communists, on Saturday. No arrests were made. The . action was taken after Cabinet had decided to ban totally the operations of these organisations. . 1
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Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 169, 17 June 1940, Page 8
Word Count
320AUSTRALIAN DEFENCE. Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 169, 17 June 1940, Page 8
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