AUSTRALIAN BANK BILL

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25802, 24 March 1945, Page 5

AUSTRALIAN BANK BILL

NATIONALISATION CRITICISED CANBERRA. Mar. 22. The withdrawal and redrafting of the Commonwealth Bank Bill was moved in the House of Representatives to-day by the Leader of the Country Party, Mr A. W. Fadden. The controls embodied in the legislation submitted by the Government would make “ black market” finance an Australian institution, and would lead ultimately to contraction of Australia’s trade with the rest of the world, said Mr Fadden. The Government’s legislation would replace the bank board by a governor, who would be dictated to by the financial experts cf the Australian Council of Trade Unions. In the past Australian industry had had the advantage of a number of banks actively competing to give the best possible service. Industry would be hampered by the disappearance of this system. “ Politicalisation of banking, not nationalisation, is the real intention behind the present legislation,” said Mr Fadden. “ Straight-out nationalisation would have been far more honest. Nothing can be much clearer than that the Government by means of the proposed legislation intends to kill the trading banks by slow strangulation.” The debate is being continued.