MR. BRUCE'S WARNING

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 675, 29 May 1929, Page 11

MR. BRUCE'S WARNING

ECONOMIC CRISIS IS THREATENED TALK TO STATE PREMIERS

CANJ3&RRA, Tuesday. The Prime Minister, Mr. Bruce, to,day addressed the Premiers' Conference. He said that if the States would not agree to give fuller powers to the Commonwealth in the matter of industrial legislation, the Commonwealth Government, with certain safeguards, would repeal its existing legislation. The control of the waterside and shipping industries, however, would be retained. In reply to this ultimatum all the Premiers except Mr. E. A. Butteushaw, Acting-Premier of New South Wales, said they would not recommend their Parliaments to hand over com-

—Tornquist photo. plete control of industrial legislation to the Commonwealth. The consensus of opinion among the Premiers is that owing to the problems in the various States differing so widely it is impossible to make a common rule for all the workers of the Commonwealth. In the course of his remarks Mr. Bruee uttered a note of warning in regard to the serious economic crisis which, ho said, was threatening Australia. The situation was one which could not fail to cause anxiety. The prices of the country’s staple commodities —wool and- wheat—had declined, its surplus products had become more unprofitable and the position of its secondary industries was becoming more and more difficult owing to the ever-increasing competition from overseas.

The cumulative effect was to be noticed in the growth of unemployment and the increasing complexity of Australia’s everyday problems. They had attempted to foster prosperity in recent years by the free use. of borrowed money, something like £300,000,000 having been spent since 1920 on capital works. The result of that huge expenditure had not been such as to warrant its indefinite continuance upon tlie basis which had prevailed in the past. Any further burden of taxtion would defeat its.own object by reducing the value of production and increasing the already high overhead costs. The true solution, therefore, would have to come from the increasing prosperity of the people augmenting the avenues of employment and providing opportunities for its expansion.