AUSTRALIAN CRISIS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26228, 12 August 1946, Page 5

AUSTRALIAN CRISIS

TRANSPORT AND SUPPLY THREAT OF UNEMPLOYMENT (Rec. 7.50 p.rn.) SYDNEY, Aug. 10. Th 6 deepening shadows of unemployment, the threatened £1,000,000 stock, losses, and the growing danger of road anarchy are the highlights of Australia’s transport and supply crisis. The large Balmain shipyards will close down this week with loss of work to 500. Public works employees are being rationed on jobs, and 500 transport workers and 1000 men in the timber industry face unemployment. About 200 employees of the Public Works Department, who had been working on the construction of homes for the Housing Commission, have befen dismissed because of the shortage of housing materials, and the department expects to dismiss another 250 men next week and another 1550 within the next month.

The Road Emergency Road Transport committee will be asked on Thursday to recommend the immediate setting up of a panel, of experts to control road, rail, and sea transport on a planned basis.

The Supply Minister, Senator W. P. Ashley, has announced special plans designed to shift building materials amounting to 37,500 tons, which have accumulated at Newcastle. Waterside workers are to be brought from Brisbane and naval ships will shift timber from Northern New South Wales ports to cities where timber is urgently needed. It is estimated that 5,000,000 superfeet of building timber which the railways cannot shift because of lack of coal is banked up at north coast ports, mills, and railway sidings. The latest threat to industry is the mass walk-out which is almost certain to occur when the National Security regulations become inoperative at the end of this year. When the special ,war loadings cease nearly 100,000 women in industry will lose from 9s to 10s a week.