THIRTY MILLIONS NEEDED.

Timaru Herald, Volume CXXV, Issue 18616, 11 July 1930, Page 9

THIRTY MILLIONS NEEDED.

Australia’s Loans Maturing MEETING BIG DEFICIT. United Press Association—By Electric Telegraph—Copyright (Received July 10, 9.50 p.m.) CANBERRA, July 10. The Prime Minister announces that the Loan Council must secure overseas not less than £30,000,000 in the near future, in order to clear up the London position. Failure to make such provision will lead to an embarrassing position. Further, it is not proposed to extinguish the accumulated deficit of £6,500,00 by taxation. It will be covered by means of a loan appropriation of £7,000,000. LONDON COMMENT. APPRECIATION OF AUSTRALIA’S EFFORTS. United Press Association—By Electric Telegraph—Copvr^ht (Received July 10. 9 ">0 p.m.) LONDON, July 10. The “Financial Times” is greatly hopeful that nothing will occur in the industrial sphere to derange the revenue yield. Appreciation of the heavy burden of taxation will find quick expression in the London loan necessary to stabilise the position. It may be regarded, under the present conditions, as not extravagant, but as necessary to give the Commonwealth a financial buttress for the essential fructification of its plans. REASON FOR CAUTION. AUSTRALIA’S EXCESSIVE LOAN RAISING. Early in June a statement by the Loan Council emphasised the impossibility of raising loans for Australia in London, at least before next December, hence the decision to raise £10,000,000 on the local market. The accounts for the Commonwealth and State Governments, for the current financial year, disclosed a deficit of approximately £9,000,000. Loan expenditure which in the last financial year amounted to £44,000,000, had been cut down to £24,000,000. An interesting summary of Australia’s overseas borrowing was given in the House of Commons recently by Hr Lunn, Parliamentary Under-Secretary for the Dominions. A question was addressed to the Government asking for a statement showing the approximate aggregate amount of interest, excluding sinking fund, payments made during the last ten years on the overseas debts of the Commonwealth and States of Australia, and also the amount of nominal new debt raised overseas by them in same period, refunding operations being excluded from the latter calculation. Mr Lunn gave the following figures:—

Commonwealth — Interest paid to stockholders (£11,895,000 recovered from States) £30,123,000 Nominal new debt raised 125,063,000 Interest on debt to British Government 36,726,000

States— Interest paid to stockhold-

ers 133,865,000 Nominal new debt 128,673,000 These figures show that the Commonwealth during the ten years paid £66,849,000 in interest and raised £125,063„000 nominally in new debt. On the other hand, the States paid rather more in interest than they raised in fresh debt, but Australia, as a whole, borrowed abroad, mainly in Britain, but partly in America, over £50,000,000 more than she paid in interest.