AUSTRALIAN FINANCE

Otago Witness, Issue 3994, 30 September 1930, Page 28

AUSTRALIAN FINANCE

POSITION IN VICTORIA.

THE GOVERNMENT “BROKE.” MELBOURNE, September 23. Giving evidence in the Arbitration Court regarding the position of the Victorian Railways Department, the chairman of the Railways Commissioners (Mr Clapp) said that the Victorian Government, speaking plainly, was “ broke,” and did not know how to meet the pay roll. “That is not an exaggeration, it is a fact,” he said. “No one will take the name of the Government on a piece of paper.”

RATIONING OF WORK. MELBOURNE, September 23.

A meeting representing 80 per cent, of the members of the Victorian Public Service Associations agreed to the scheme of rationing proposed by the Government or alternatively a percentage reduction in salaries.

SIR OTTO NIEMEYER’S VISIT.

STATEMENT BY MR BAVIN. SYDNEY, September 23.

The Premier (Mr T. R. Bavin), replying to Mr Blakeley respecting Sir Otto Niemeyer’s mission, said that Sir Otto came to Australia as the result of a communication to the Imperial Government from the Commonwealth Government seeking advice in regard to Australia’s financial obligations in London. Mr Philip Snowden (Chancellor of the Exchequer) in turn sought advice from the Bank of England, and the bank agreed to send Sir Otto to Australia in order to gain first-hand knowledge of the situation, and the Commonwealth readily assented to his coming. Mr Bavin added: “It certainly will not add to the reputation of Australia either for courtesy or honesty for Federal Ministers, in order to placate sections of their own irresponsible and extremist supporters, to try to evade responsibility. for the presence of Sir Otto in Australia.”

Speaking at Condobolin, Mi’ A. Blakeley (Minister for Home Affairs) denied that Sir Otto Niemeyer came to Australia at the invitation of the Commonwealth Government. The fact was that the Bank of England suggested to the Government that it should send a representative here with a view to taking over the overdraft of the Commonwealth Bank and the Westminster Bank, London. Mr Blakeley added that Labour had not, and would not, endorse Sir Otto Niemeyer’s proposals to reduce the standard of living in Australia to that of England, with its 2,000,000 unemployed.

THE PREMIERS’ PACT.

MR BAVIN’S VIEW.

SYDNEY, September 24.

Mr Bavin, speaking at Bondi, said that unless the Premiers’ financial pact was honoured, he could not see any way at present of paying the public service salaries towards the end of the financial year. He remarked that Mr Lang’s foolish promises were merely humbugging the people. There was an ugly scene after the meeting, when Mr Bavin was surrounded by an angry mob and almost jostled into his ear. The police guarded the gates leading into the hall, and prevented a large crowd from gaining admission.

THE ONLY ISSUE AT ELECTIONS. SYDNEY, September 24.

The Leader of the Country Party (Mr Buttenshaw) delivered his policy speech at Condobolin. He declared that the only issue before the electors was the ratification of the Premiers’ financial agreement, which was the only way out of the present economic and financial crisis. The Country Party’s policy had always been, and still was, to reduce the costs of production. He promised to introduce a better method of marketing the primary products, more especially abroad.

WESTERN AUSTRALIA.

A SURPLUS REVEALED.

PERTH, September 24. The feature of Western Australia’s Budget, which was submitted by the Premier (Sir Janies Mitchell), is a surplus of £5628. The estimated revenue is £10,104,550, and the expenditure £10,098,922.

SALARIES TO BE REDUCED.

PERTH, September 24.

Sir James Mitchell (Premier) said that balancing the Budget was a gigantic task owing to the Loan Council not providing the funds which were originally promised for the State’s commitments Drastic economies were therefore contemplated. All civil servants and politicians’ salaries would be reduced, and there would be an ■ increased totalisator tax and entertainment tax, and a special tax of 3d in the £ for hospitals, to be collected by stamps on wages and salaries.

The Premier estimated that it would be necessary to borrow £4,000,000 to pay

accounts overdrawn last June. It would also be necessary to increase the revenue this year by £BlB,OOO.

YIELD FROM SALES TAX. GOVERNMENT SATIFIED. MELBOURNE, September 25. The Acting Prime Minister (Mr Fenton) announced that the sales tax, which was expected to yield £5,000,000 during the current financial year, had proved to be a satisfactory source of revenue to the Federal Government, and the return was as great as had been anticipated. He admitted, however, that the Customs and excise duties up to to-day disclosed a leeway of approximately £3,000,000.

MR SCULLIN IN LONDON.

A NOTE OF OPTIMISM.

LONDON, September 24.

Mr J. H. Scullin (Prime Minister of Australia) arrived greatly improved in health. He said that Australia would emerge from her difficulties in two years. He was thoroughly convinced that Mr Fenton was doing everything possible to cope with the position.

THE VICTORIAN BUDGET.

PROPOSED TAXATION.

MELBOURNE, September 25.

Mr Hogan (the Premier), in the course of his Budget speech, announced that the following new taxation would enable the Government to balance the ledger:— Increased entertainment taxation to realise £90,000; additional Id in the £ on incomes from personal exertion and 2d in the £ on property and income from companies (which is expected to yield £326,000) ; additional stamp duty of id on cheques and 6d stamp duty per £lOO on transfer of shares; 100 per cent, increase on betting tickets;- increased motor registration fees and tobacco licenses; 10 per cent, increase in probate duties; and a further 25 per cent, on registration of factories. Mr Hogan anticipates that the additional revenue thus brought in will amount to £552,000, leaving a surplus of £143,000.

THE LOAN COUNCIL.

MR LANG’S CONTENTIONS. MELBOURNE, September 25.

During his Budget speech, the Premier made a pungent reply to the contentions of Mr Lang that New South Wales would be better off if separated from the Loan Council. Mr Hogan said that abolition of the council would only result in increasing the interest rates, and would thereby prove beneficial to investors, and correspondingly injurious to the people of Australia. From this aspect alone the Loan Council completely justified its existence.

NEW SOUTH WALES.

SHARE VALUES DROPPING. SYDNEY, September 25.

Share values dropped to still lower levels to-day, and the turnover was extremely small. Bank of New South Wales fell 7s 6d, to £3O 12s 6d. Buyers for Commonwealth loans are scarce, and the market showed lack of strength. Values for all leading industrial securities were lower than a week ago, and buyers retreated in the face of sellers’ pressure.

THE FIRST ESSENTIAL STEP.

SYDNEY, September 25.

Addressing the annual meeting of the Employers’ Federation, Mr C. M. M'Donald declared that Australia could overcome her difficulties if her shackles, in the. shape of compulsory arbitration, heavy taxation, and parliamentary enactments, were removed or modified. So serious was the position in some industries that unless a definite move was made by the industrial courts to reduce costs a number must close down.

Figures were quoted showing that there were 254 strikes in Australia last year, involving 92,527 workpeople, with an estimated loss in wages of £4,869,303. 'At least 81 per cent, of the strikes occurred in New South Wales, these being accompanied by a wage loss of £3,721,412.

WARNING BY MR BAVIN.

MELBOURNE CONFERENCE AGREEMENT.

SYDNEY, September 27.

The Premier (Mr Bavin) declared that if the Melbourne Conference agreement was repudiated by New South Wales the financial and economic results would be a national disaster. Those who retained their employment in the event of such disaster would have to accept heavy reductions of salaries and wages. AH the Governments were agreed that unless this agreement was adopted it would be impossible for Australia to meet its obligations in London. Further, it would be impossible for the Governments to find money in Australia to meet their obligations—even for salaries and wages —within a very short time. The making of this agreement, therefore, had saved Australia from a crisis which all the Premiers admitted was imminent. If that crisis had happened, nothing was more certain than that there would

have been immediate chaos, not only in Government finance, but in private industries. The result would have been a financial panic, and for every one man unemployed to-day there would have been 10 or 20.

SOUTH AUSTRALIA. NEW TAXATION TO BE IMPOSED. ADELAIDE, September 25. The Labour Premier (Mr Hill), when introducing the Budget, emphasised that the financial outlook was most serious in South Australia, and unless it was dealt with effectively it would lead to the disruption of national life. The Government would take all the necessary steps to protect the solvency and the credit of the State. He budgeted for a surplus .of £16,147. New taxation would be imposed on incomes from personal exertion and insurance companies, while cuts would be made in public servants’ salaries and grants to universities and other institutions.

DEBT REPUDIATION.

STATEMENT BY MR SCULLIN.

LONDON, September 27.

Mr Scullin, referring to the benefit of personal contact between the members of the family of the British Commonwealth, recalled that Australia, in common with other countries, had felt the effects of the world-wide trade depres sion. He proceeded; “ Not only have we been faced with the necessity of redress ing the trade but also of finding sufficient moneys in London to meet our regularly recurring interest and other charges, amounting to more than £30.000,000 annually. There has been no question of our ability to pay this money, although the payment under th.new conditions of lowered world prices will impose a heavy burden upon us foi the time being, but I sincerely hope that no more will be heard of the suggestions that we are not prepared to meet our obligations. There never was any doubt about this matter. Holders of Commonwealth bonds may rest assr-ed that we are a solvent nation, and they need have no fear about our honouring our com mitments. They should take no serio notice of the irresponsible talk about repudiation. It represents the views of so small a minority of Australians as. to be nearly negligible. They carry no weight whatever. An overwhelming majority of Australians regard the national debt as their personal debt, and they are as jealous of the national honour as they are of their own.” Referring to the work of the conference, Mr Scullin anticipated that the most important work would lie in the economic and constitutional spheres. Full equality of status between the dominions and Great Britain was to-day. he said, explicitly and definitely recognised. The people of Australia desired to maintain the strength of the ties of friendship that bound the great Commonwealth family together, and at the same time to ensure them elasticity. They hoped the discussions regarding the economic situation would go beyond the creation of consultative machinery and would lead to the direct stimula tion of the joint Imperial resources and trade.

IRONWORKS CLOSE DOWN.

HUNDREDS RENDERED IDLE. SYDNEY, September 27. Lysaght’s Newcastle works are closing to-day. Nine hundred men will be thrown idle. The works were employed chiefly in the manufacture of galvanised iron.

“We are turning out lawyers and other professional men ad lib. We give £5OO a year to a man to teach Latin and Greek and £250 a year to men to teach agriculture, and this is an agricultural country. The system is wrong. When we train a boy for the land we have to find him land, but what do we do with the hundreds of boys we pass through the schools trained for the professions? Do we find them work to go to? ” said Mr A. T. Cavell at the meeting of the Wanganui Technical College Board the other night in defence of the proposal to keep agriculture iu the forefront in present day scholastic training. An amusing story of the conception which many Americans have concerning New Zealand was told by Mr F. Milner at St. Andrew’s Hall, Ashburton, the other evening (states the Guardian). Asked by an American where he came from, Mr Milner, who was visiting that country, replied, “New Zealand.” His questioner astounded him by replying, “ Oh! What State is that in? ” Mr Milner replied that New Zealand was not part of America, but was situated in the Pacific, in the southern hemisphere and elucidated his statement by showing, the other, its situation by means of a map. “Gee,” said the American, “Is that New Zealand? What do you folk do when the tide comes in? ”

It does not pay to tell the truth in Australia (remarks the Auckland Sun). Honesty resulted in Mr W. Kerns, manager of the ‘Australian Glass Company. Ltd., paying income tax during his recent visit to Sydney. “ I was in Sydney for only a week and two days, and yet they charged me with income tax on the salary I was drawing and also 3d in the £ toward the unemployment fund,” said Mr Kerns on his return to Auckland. Apparently, it is now the duty of the officials in Australia to find out from new arrivals whether they are on business or pleasure. Mr Kerns, when he was asked the question, innocently replied that he had come on a business trip. The next thing he knew was that he was being assessed for income tax, and had to pay his contribution toward the unemployed fund in the Commonweal th.