AUSTRALIAN PREMIERS

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 75, Issue 152, 30 June 1932, Page 7

AUSTRALIAN PREMIERS

REDUCING THE DEFICITS WISDOM OF ECONOMIES? WAY OUT BY PRICE LEVEL FORGAN SMITH’S OPINION [By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright! Received June 29, 8.50 p.m. CANBERRA, June 29. At the resumption of the Premiers Conference the Premier of New BoutJi Wales, Mr. B. S. B. Stevens, yielding to a warning by the Prime Minister Mr. J. A. Lyons, that all Government must be prepared to make drastic cuts in deficits next year, said that hhoped to be able progressively to reduce his estimated shortage of £4,000,000 a year. He emphasised that by straining at excessive economy they might damage the national posi tion. He strongly advocated a seien tifie adjustment of exchange in orde*’ to help the primary producers. Air. Forgan Smith (Queensland) in timated that he would do everything in his power towards balancing the Budgets but urged a revision of thPremiers’ Plan. He pointed out that despite the Premiers’ Plan, Budget; were still not balanced, unemployment was on the increase in all States and the restoration of confidence was as far off as ever. Economies themselves, he added, could not possibly establish Budget equilibrium. This could only be done by the restoration of parity between values and prices. Mr Lang’s Management After explaining that by ignoring the Premiers’ Plan the Lang Government had permitted the New South Wales deficit to increase £5,000,000 above the estimates for the current year, Mr Stevens urged that the conference make a fresh beginning by adjusting the original plan to the facts as they now existed, covering tariff, exchange, cost of production and Government expenditure, thus dealing with the problems as a whole instead of piecemeal. Above all, a constant endeavour must bo made to get people back to work. He suggested that the conference adjourn for a month in order to deal with the problems outlined. The Premiers of the other States ox pressed general support for the Premiers’ Plan.