The Boomerang

Sun (Auckland), Volume IV, Issue 970, 13 May 1930, Page 9

The Boomerang

IMPORTS BAN HAS REACTION Empty Ships Reach Australia COMMONWEALTH FACES BIG DEFICIT THE embargo placed by the Australian Federal Government upon imports has reacted with boomerang effect, and ships are arriving in the Commonwealth with empty holds and losing work to the watersiders. The N.S.W. State Treasurer estimates Australia will face a deficit of £9,000,000 at the end of the current financial year.

United I’. A.—By Telegraph—Copyright Reed. 10.45 a.m. SYDNEY, Today. The Federal Government’s tariff embargo on imports is having a boomerang effect. Waterside workers are the latest to complain. They say thousands of members of their federation cannot obtain work because the majority of the overseas vessels are arriving nearly empty and many are being divex-ted to other countries. The officials of the Waterside Workers’ Federation have written to the Prime Minister, Mr. J. H. Scullin, pointing out the circumstances and saying families are starving and being evicted from their homes. They ask for some relief. Speaking at Eastwood, the New South Wales State Treasurer, Mr. B. S. Stevens, forecast that there would

be a deficit in all public funds of £4,000,000 at the end of the present financial year. He also expected a Commonwealth aggregate deficit of £9,000,000. Official statistics show that Australia is losing people by migration. In the three months ended March 31 last the excess of permanent departures over permanent arrivals was 2,217. This is believed to have been due to the general depression in the country. The influx of Southern Europeans, however, has been definitely checked. A message from Canberra says the Federal Cabinet has caused consternation in the ranks of public servants by insisting that they shall all join unions. Those who hold aloof will he the first to suffer in any scheme of retrenchment. In Brisbane the Industrial Court has granted the application of the Crown for lengthening the hours worked by all Government employees from 44 to 4S a week.