RECONSTRUCTION

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LIX, Issue 17948, 28 November 1932, Page 5

RECONSTRUCTION

ECONOMIST’S SOLUTION

WRITING DOWN BY 33$

BRISBANE, Nov. 12.

In a paper read-to-night before the Queensland branch of the Economic Society of Australia, Dr. A. Melbourne, lecturer in economics and financial history at Queensland University, advocated a general writing down by 33J per cent, of advances and mortgages of every kind; of all bank deposits; all internal Government and municipal debts, and the calling in of all Commonwealth notes, with a fresh issue at the rate of two new notes for every three surrendered as a plan for the financial rehabilitation of Australia.

Ho declared it would be much wiser to terminate the period of uncertainty by a radical measure of reform than to apply palliatives, which merely had a temporary effect. The Premiers’ Plan, which gave expression to the policy of national reconstruction and equality of sacrifice, was adopted as a "national slogan. In so far as income, salaries, wages or rates of interest were concerned, the idea of sacrifice was everywhere, although unequally, enforced, but nothing was done to touch capital values. Dealing with exchange, he said it was probably true that the policy of maintaining' an artificial rate of exchange was favored only by those banks which had made extensive advances to primary producers, and which saw, in the manipulation of currency, means of insuring themselves against heavy loss.