Australian War Loan “To Back The Attack”

Northern Advocate, 5 October 1943, Page 3

Australian War Loan “To Back The Attack”

i(Rec. noon) SYDNEY. This Day. ! Launching the Fourth Liberty Loan [campaign in Sydney, the Prime Minister [(Mr. Curtin) said that the £125,000,000 ;heing sought by the Government was needed to back the attack against Japan This reversed the Australian loan slogan from “Lend to Defend” to "Back the Attack.” He added that war expenditure in the current six months would bo greater than Australia's total expenditure in the four years and three months of the last war. ~

j Australia's national income in 1942-43 [was £1,223.000.000 and £562,000.000 had (gone to defence. This was an average of i£819,000 each day. During August this iyear expenditure had' risen to over '£47,000,000—£1.526,000 a day. In the Pacific theatre the Japanese were ■being driven back towards Tokio. Places [that the enem.v had captured and used as (bases to launch acts of destruction against Australia were now being converted into bases from which Allied forces would launch attacks on the Japanese., Australians must regard the Fourth Liberty Loan as a thanksgiving loan. They must give thanks because their capital cities had not. suffered the fate of Rotterdam and Coventry.