THIRD EDITION AUSTRALIA’S DRIFT

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LV, Issue 17425, 25 November 1930, Page 11

THIRD EDITION AUSTRALIA’S DRIFT

OBJECTIONS TO ECONOMY THE BURDEN OF TARIFFS RATIONS FOR UNEMPLOYED “Australia, as a country, seems to he drifting hopelessly and the principal point of discussion among people who are awake to the position concerns methods by which they can keep the country and themselves off the rocks/’ said Mr. J. W. Tattersfleld, of Auckland, who returned by the Niagara this week after a business trip to Australia. “One hears'a lot of talk about meeting obligations, but no serious attempts are being made to economise, especially in the direction of reductions in civil servants’ wages. “The new tariff, from which much was expeeted, is not an uninixed blessing. Wholesale distributing houses have been hit very badly, because the local manufacturer does all his own distributing. “One large manufacturer in Melbourne confessed to mo that Australia

had gone ‘protection mad/ The tariff protecting his particular industry had Wen increased from 33 1-3 per cent. 55 per cent, without any request 11 from anyone concerned with the trade. He said* that a tariff of 15 per cent, would, provide ample protection for the industry.” A number of business men had come out from England to establish industries in Australia in an endeavor to overcome the high tariffs, Mr. Tattcrsfield continued. In the main they did not seem pleased with the prospects. The local manufacturer, already established, resented their presence as competitors, especially as many of the new firms had long years of experience behind them and possessed valuable trade secrets. On the other hand, the English business men were used to large turnovers and could not See enough work to keep their factories busy. Moreover, they had to contend with transport difficulties. It was easy enough and cheap enough to send a parcel of boots from London to Brighton, but to send the same parcel of boots from Melbourne to Darwin was a different proposition.

Abuses of the State system, of providing rations to people out of work were glaringly frequent. The rations were so generous that the amount of • meat allowed daily to a recipient would be really unhealthy if all of it were consumed. A typical case of the abuse of the system was that of a man who drew his full supply of bread during tlie absence of his wife and family and sold most of it to a neighbor. * Similar deals were carried out in rations of coal and firewood. “In South Australia some of the farmers have discarded tractors and are going back to farm horses,” Air. , Tattersfleld said. “They hold that the idea of speed at any price is far tco costly, and certainly their action will keep money in the country to be Serpent on feed, harness and the like.” /-Herald.