Queensland

Parliamentary Debates [Hansard]

Legislative Assembly

WEDNESDAY, 26 AUGUST 1936

Electronic reproduction of original hardcopy

Questions. [26 AUGUST.] Questions. 117

WEDNESDAY, 26 AUGUST, 1936.

Mr. SPEAKER (Hon. G. Pollock, Gregor,;) took the chair at 10.30 a.m.

QUESTI0:0JS.

RoADS TO BrLoELA AND BARALABA SELECTIOKS

Mr. FOLEY (.Yormr:11by) asked the Secre· tary for Public Lands-

" 1. \\'hat 1nilca~e of trunk road.; hcts been constructed by the Pu1Jlic Estate Im;novcment Branch of the Lands De· partment at-(a) Biloela; and (b) Baral­aba:

·· 2. \Yhat mileage of feeder ror-ds to selections has bcei1 opened up at (a) Bilocla; and (b) Baralaba?

"' 3. ·what is the cost per mile of---(rr) trunk roads; and (b) feeder r·oads at the places n1cntioned? "

The SECRETARY FOR Pl:DLIC LA:\DS (Hon. P. Pease, Hcrbcrt) replied-

" l. (a) 25 miles (Biloela); (b) 25 miles (Baralaba).

"2. (a) 50 miles (Bilocla); (b) 75 miles (Baralaba).

"3. (") £850 per mile (Biloela), £500 per mile (Baralaba); (IJ) £250 per mile (Biloela), £220 per milo (Baralaba)."

TowKsvrLLE Co-cKCIL EoiPLOYEES AND A-cs­

TRALL\N \VORICERS' VKION TICKETS.

-:\1r. MAHER (H'r st Jf art! an) askt·d the Secretary for Labour and Indust,·y-

" 1. Has he received a communicatim1 from tlce Townsville City Council com­plaining of men being required to hold an A_u:;tralian \\,~orkcrs' Un:on tjdcet in order to be eligible for employment, and not even being allowed to subscribe for such ticket out o£ their first p:ty?

"2. If so, what reply has he made to the Council? "

The SECRETARY B'Oll LABOUH AND INDL.:STRY (Hon. :M. P. Hynes, 1'o'c11scillt) replied-·

"1. Yes.

" 2. The Council has been advised that the preference clause in the a ll'ard con­cerned-\'iz., the \Vater Supply and Sewerage Labourers' A ward-was agreed to in conference by the representative of the Local Authorities' Association. The parties concerned haYe now rcgiotered an agreement in the Arbitration Court giving equal preference with financial members of the Australian \Vorkers' Union to persons who give an uqder­tahjng, in writing, to become financial members within two weeks of accepting employment; such agree·nent boing operative as from 24th August."

0PERATIOKS UNDER DEXTAI. AC'f'R.

Mr. NIMMO (Oxley) asked the Secretary for Health and Home Affairs-

" 1. Why is the examination of candi­dates under section 8 of ' The Dental Acts Amendment Act of 1935 ' being

conducted by employees of the Govern­ment instead of by tJ,e Dolltal Faculty of the Queensland Uni,·ers[ty '!

" 2. \Vhy did Mr. Hdfc•ran, 1.;ho was nominatecl by tho D<•ntal Board as an exa1nlner of can•lid .. b>; undcJ.- scc1 ion 8, resign frorn such positi~)n?

"3. \Yho are 1ho ex•tminors under Section 8, anfl what atT their position.S and qualifications?

"4. \Vhat are the qualifications of Dr. Cro1~Tc for judging pructic·1l opt~rative and mechanical dentistry?

"5. In tho ca,se of C'1n<1it1at03 who have contravened the Jll"OYi ions of the Dental Acts by practising Ofh'rative denti&try, does he intend to institut<e prosecu­tions? "

The SECRETARY FOR HEALTH AND H01\1E AFFAIRS •)Ion. E. M. Hanlon, ltlwca) replied-

" 1. The cxarnination is being con­ducted b:• the Dental Board as provided in section 8 of ' The Dental Acts Amend­ment }\.et of 1935.'

"2. I would sugge.st to tho hon. mem­ber that he address this question to Mr. Heifer an.

" 3. (i.) Patrick Francis Vincent Crowe L.L.M., R.C.P., and S., Ireland; L..\!l. Hotunda Hospital, Dublin; a r~g 1stered n1cdical practitioner ; Pre­f>IUent of tne Dental l)oard and a mcmuot of the 1• acuity of JJentlstry at the University ot t,luoensland;

(ii.) Charles OctaYins Yidgen, regis­tered dentrst, supenntendent of the Dental hoop I tal, Urisbane, and a memocr or tJ1c .!!'acuity of J)entistry at the University uf Queensland;

(lil.) J<;dward \\'alter .uaenke, re­grotcrod dentist, and chrof dental mspector of schools.

" ~, JJr. P. F. V. Crowe is a qualified medical practitioner and a memb ,r of the b acuny ot Deuti,try of the Unrverotry of Queensland. Dr. Crowe has been a mem­ber of tlle Dental board ior neariy thir· teen years, and dunng tHat period was a rne111lJer of tho board of oxa~nnwrs in dentistry.

"5. 'lhrs is a matter for consideration bv tlw lJental Board, as rs also the ques­tion of inst1tutmg proceedings agamst certa.in practisn1g dont1sts who rnay have contravened the provisions of the Dental Acts by permitting unregistered persons in their ernploy carrying out anv dental operations entrusted to or in charge of such denti,-;ts."

RE>IU~ERATION OF DR. DRADF!ELD.

Mr. DA:i'\IEL (11 cppcl) asked the Premier­

" l. What was the amount of (a.) salary; (b) expenses and allowances paid to Dr. Bradfield in 1935-1936! "

The SECRETARY FOR PffBLlO LANDS (Hon. P, Pease H erbert), for the l'REMllt;R (Hon. W. Forgan Smith, Mackay), replied-

" (a) £3,000; (b) nil."

118 Sawmills Licensing Bill. [ASSEMBLY.] Sawmills Licensing Bill.

SAWMILLS LICENSING BILL.

IJSITIATroo; ro; Co~n!ITTEE.

(,lfr. Hanson, Buranda, in the chair.)

The SECRETARY FOR PUBLIC LANDS (Hon. P. Pease, He1·bert) [10.39 a.m.]: I rnove-

" That it is desirable that a Bill be introduced to make provision for the stabilisation of the timber industry bv the licensing of sawmills and veneer an;! plywood mills, and for other purposes."

'l'here is only one principle in the Bill that is, the licensing of sawmills. Its puqJ~se is to help towards the stabilisation of sawmil:s and the veneer and plywood industry.

T'he Bill provides that if a person desires to carry on the business of sawmiller or n1akor of venea· and plywood he must first apply to the Crown for a license and it will be within the discretion of th~ Crown whether such a license is issued. The object of the BJ!l IS to prevent the establishment of more mills than are w·arranted, having regard to the demand for sawn timber and the log:s available. The system of issuing these licenses Will be somewhat similar to the system of issuing licenses to dain fac­tories, with this exception that in the c'ase of the timber industry virtua'lly the whole of the raw material is held by the Crown. The Crown will be more concerned about the issue of these licenses than it is about the issue of other license' throughout the State owing v.ery largely to the fact that it controls prac­tiCally the whole of the raw material. Most hon. members are aware that our timber resources are gradually diminishing, and that IS why. all sections of the industry are m accord With the view of the Sub-Depart­ment of Forestry that the time has arrived when. this important supervision should be exercised over the sawmilling industry so as to pr,vent the over-capitalisation that th,reatens It. There are twice as many saw­mills m Queensland as are required to meet the dernaHd for sawn timber or are war­ranted by the log timber available.

J\fr. BR\);'D: Do you propose to cut some out?

The SECRETARY FOR PUBLIC LANDS: We do not propose to do that. We do not propose to interfere in any way with the existing mills other than to grant them licenses if they so desire.

Mr. MAHER: \Vhat about minimum prices?

The SECRETARY FOR PUBLIC LANDS: That will be dealt with in another Bill. This Bill deals solelv with the issue of licenses to sawmilling "businesses. Later on an'?ther Bill will be introduced to givP legis­lative effect to many of the recommendations by the rcc''ntly appointPd Timber Industrv Advi,ory Committee. The timber iHdustr~­ccnsidcr _U~~~ it i~" absolutely n~e0~sary th;t son1c , upen l~ton :::nonld be Pxerc1scd o...-er tlJe industry. at least to prevent waste of capital by th" erecbon of plants th"t are not justi­fled either b:; the demand for sawn timber or by the quantity of log tiwbcr a\'a:lablc.

Mr. KDBJO: Another monopoly?

The SECRET _\RY FOR PUBLIC LANDS· 1\'o. not a monopoly. Anvono mav apph: for a license. but the Sub-Deparhnent of Forestry, which will control this matter will have power either to grant or reject the app:ication. The Bill does not inYo!ve

[Hon. P. Pease.

any monopo:y, but it does provide for the proper organisation of the business. Prac­ticaUy the whole of the trade is in accord with the view of the department. The Ti1nb0r Industry Advisory Conunittce con~ sisL of representatives of the industn:. the Corrnui"ioncr of Prices, the DcpartmcHt of ~\gricultum and Stock, the Sub-Departmei•t of Fore··try. and the Amtralian Workers' Cnion, and after touring the State and hear­ing evidence in important centres it unani­mously reported that the time had arrived when proper control should be exercised ove1· the sawmill, plywood, and yeneer industry.

Mr. M.mER: Why not make that report a,·ailable to Parliament?

The SECRETARY FOR PUBLIC LANDS: It will be made available to Parliament as soon as Cabinet has considered its l'ocom­Incndations and arriyed at its decision. Th& report was reallv a departmental report and it should be' remembered that the eYi: dence was not taken in camera. Its sittings were open to the public, and invitations were extender! to all interested persons to sub­mit their views to it. This Bill deals only with the proposal to issue licenses to saw­millers and others engaged in the ply and veneer >Yood trade. The need for this pro­vision will be apparent to hon. members when I point out to them that some time ago a .,awmill was established at Canungra that to-day it is believed can carry on onlv if it is permitted to use the timber resource's of an aclj a cent national park. 'I'he question then arises as to whether the continuation of the mill is of paramount importance or ,,.hether the Canungra district should be consiclc-rPd ae one offering greater possi­bilities from the point of Yiew of tourist traffic. Queensland offers wonderful attrac­tions to tourists, and it would be a shame to decide that this sawmill should be permitted to continue operations by drawing its log timber supplies from an attractive national park. The Canungra sawmill is also making .-enen, and a large number of people are dependent on it for their livelihood. It 'an only continue by obtaining log timber from a national park. The proposed licens­mg of sawmills will prevent that in the future because the Forestry Board will naturally take into consideration the supply of timber that is available in the district for which the application is made. 'l'hos<> of us who know something about the tim­ber industry are aware that supplies of hard­wood, particularly in Queensland are aradu­ally diminishing. This Bill .,;ill h;lp to conserYe present supplies by means of a systcn1 of regulation by liccHsing sa ''"n1ilh.

Any cawmill that ha' !won operating in Qneensbll!cl during the last six years will ha Ye the right to ha> e a license is··LWcl to it antomatically.

1Ir. BRAXD: Tt n1v..~t have b"cn ope,·at­ing fo~· ;;;ix :n~".rs?

The SECREL\RY FOR PUBLIC LAKDS: Xo, for any period up to six years. It may haYe been operating only two rnonths prior to making application for a licens<'. The Timuer li:dustrv Aclv:"n·v Committ'e in its report euggr>o,ts' that the' period should be limited to twc' yean.

Mr. i\IAHER: Who is going to issue the licenses?

The SECRETARY FOR PUBLIC LANDS: For the present the Forestry Board, but the-

Sawmills Licensing Bill. [26 AUGUST.) Sawmills Licensing Bill. 119

Timber IndL1stry Advisory Committee in its report suggests that these licenses should be ;,_, ued by a board composed of reprc­sentfLtives of the mill owners and other intcrestc, and the Fore,try Board. This is not a revenue-producing b: ll. 'V e do not prc1posc to rnako s~twrnillers pay heavy fees. The fee~ pro\·ided for arp: 1naxirnun1 £5, and minimum Ss. In the meantime the Forestry Board wOJI decide the quantum after taking into consideration the output of the mill.

Mr. Jii.UlER: \V hat is the main object of the Bill'! Is it to increase the tmce of timber to the public?

The SECRET.,\HY FOR PCBI.IU LAJ'\DS: That is uot so. Surely the hon. gentleman does not think that the Commissioner of Prices, \Vho 'vas represented on tho Tin1bcr Indmtry Advisory Committee by ono of his officers, will stand for that sort of thing! Th" cbject, as I have said, is to protect the induc.try, and to go further ahead with the rehabilitation of the sa,nnilling indus­try. Every hon. member will egree that the steps taken by the Forestry BorLrd during the past few years have had a good effect. vYe haYe rehabilitated the timber industry. That is pro;·en by the sales of timber, y, hich during this period have increased from about £250,000 to £600,000.

Mr. EDWARDS: That is owing to the increased demand.

The SECRETARY FOR PUBLIC LANDS: That may be so. but it is largely owing to proper organisation between the saw­millers and Government. That has mainly arisen from the appo'ntment of the Timber Industry Advisory Committee.

The Sub-Department of Forestry is really f1ghting the battle of the sawmillers of Australia. In a few davs the chairman of the T:mber hdustry A·d'visory Committee, Mr. G. A. Duffy, will, in company with an official of the timber interests, leave for l'\ ew Zealand for the purpose of making inquiries as to what trade we can deYelop between Queensland and the rest of Aus­tralia and New Zealand in respect of timber. IV c are taking care of the timber industry not only in Queensland, but also at the sellir:g end of it. Everyone inter­ested in the indu. try is aware that we have initiated good relations with New South Wales and \Vestcrn Australia, and other States that ha,-e supplies of timber. \Ye have not sat down and m''rely sol-d our log timber. \Ve h'lve t-nken care of the interests of the man who purchases log timber. The people in the t'mber industry, who know more about the po-ition than hon. members opposite. know that the administ- at ion of the Sub-Department of Forestry has been beneficial, and that the timber in this St"te i3 the l'ect that can be procured in Aus­trolia. Th"y give us credit for it. Tlns is but a further step in the co-orrlination of the inductry as between the Sub-Department of Forestry and the timber people. Hon. members oppo<ite, therefore, need not worry about the people purchasing the timber because the Commissioner of Prices will see that pries are not unduly inflated.

I was told qu'te recently by one of the le1 ding men engo gcd in the industry that the price of tirPber is cheaper to-d1y than it was vcars ago, and that the quality of the timber has improved. That is because

the timber industry h1s been properly organised.

This Bill does not apply to people who arc not offeting tirr1her for sale. Kor cl< 1 furn)turc mrtkers ancl persons cutt·ing tirnber for their OIYll use con1e under this Bill. It applies to people cutting timber for sale. Firewood plants are not included.

Mr. RcSSELL: ·wonlcl it apply to imported logs'?

The SECRETARY FOR P1;BLIC LA:'\DS: \Ye have not got that far yet. \Ye can only control imported logs '"hen they come to tlw sawmilling plants in Queensland. The one principle contained in the Bill is the licensing of sawn1ills.

MR. GoDFREY :i\iORGAN: It is the thin end of the wedge.

The SECHETARY FOR PUBLIC LA:\'DS: Tho best end. The thin end of t.he wedge does all the work. This measure is in con­formity with the unanimous report of the present Timber Industry Advioory Com­mittee, who have just concluded a very thorough examination of the industry in QueenslanJ, and this measure was asked for a couple of years ag·o by the sawmilling interc,ts. which considered it would be a good thing for the purpose of co-ordinating the industry. It is the only industry in which the Government really control the raw material, and we are therefore vitally con­cerned. If too many mills were competing, naturally there would be a fall of price of the raw material.

An OPPOSITION ME}IBER interjected.

The SECHETARY FOR PL'BLIC LAJ','DS: How can I stand here as one who supports the sugar industry, which has a fixed price at higher than world parity, and say I believe in low prices? I do not believe in low wages and I do not believe in low prices. How can the sawmiller pay fair wages if he is not getting a fair price for his output? How can the State pay a fair price to the haulers of timber if it does not get a fair price for the logs? .Hon. members opposite would be the first people to object if I asked for an appropriation to hclp to get logs out of the forcst.s. They would say, " \Vhy don't you make the logs pay for the labour? "

I do not, I repeat, belim·e in low prices. I think that if world price leYels were stabilised it would go a long way towards bringing about recovery. That is the first step in the solution of the LUl('mployment probkm. Hon. members opposite realiso that if the commodities their constituents produce arc sold at a good rate, they are able to get a fair return. As Secretary for Public Lands I have to deal with land rents and I therefore know that in every instance the value of the laPd is onlv a fraction of production costs. Many persons say, " Reduce your rents and give us a chance." They are wrong. Other costs are the important costs. and the most vital thing of all is the price of the product. The object of this measme. then, is to give the timber interests a stable price level.

Every existing mill will be able to apoly for its license and it will be granted. Any person who desires to start another mill will also apply for a license and the board will consider the matter, bearing in mind, of course, the question of additional supplies.

Hon. P. Pease.]

120 Sau·mills Licensing Bill. [ASSEMBLY.] Sau·mills Licensing Bill.

Licenses 'vill be issued as soon as this 1neasure is passed. A certain time will be allowed the existing millers in which to obtain their licenses as of right, and, after that, anyone who \vants a licensE.', or anyone \vho ha~ been operating in the past and has dis­continued, will be able to apply to the board, which will hold its sittings probably in ,September each year.

Mr. BRAND: You definitely say the farmer can cut his own timber if he wishes?

The SECRETARY FOR Pl:BLIC LA::'\DS: Yes.

Mr. MAHER (Wc"'t Jfor• ton) [10.55 a.m.]: It is very c·Yident from what the Minister said. that the Bill is the thin end of the wedge. Other legislation is being prepared, basc)d on the report of the Timber Advisory Conunittce, that will give greater po\vers to the sawmilling· industry. It seems clear that the industry de,ircs to secure powers much similar in principle to those contained ia the Coal Production Regulation Acts.

The Opposition are not in a position to oppose the Bill until they have a fuller understanding of its contents, but it appears clear to me that it is in line with many similar Bills that have come before the Assembly during the past four years, and showed a distinctly monopolistic trend in the Government's legislation. At one time in this Chamber Labour took up the cudgels on behalf of the workers and the gre,at masses of people who had to pay the prices demanded by the men who con­trolled industry, but the position is reversed, and wo see here the Tory tre~d of this Labour Government; a trend m favour of the rig·hts and interests of the large industrial concerns in this State. To-day, the Labour GO\·e"nment. by their legislation, is providing way, and rnt-ans whereby those engaged in the sawmilling industry will be able to secure a b:gher level of prices for their products.

A GovERXMEXT ME1IBER: Who told you that?

Mr. MAHER : That is the object of the Bill, and the complementary legislation that will shortly be before this Chamber.

The Minister admitted it himself this. morning. He said he desired to see increased prices being paid.

The SECRFTARY FOR PUBLIC LAXDS: did not say that. I desire to establish price levels, but not increased prices.

Mr. MAHER : The Secretary for Public Lands desires to establish increased price lf,\'Ols. Undoubtedh· that is the effect of the Bill. Why did the sawmillers go out of their wa" to get such a Bill? 'rhey did it for two' reasons: the first being their do,ire to create a. monopoly, eliminating competition by having the industry con­fined to· the privileged few. \Vel!, I cannot blame the sawmillers for endeavouring to get to that favourable position. I have not the slightest doubt that the demand for this le"'islation has come, not from country sawmillors, but from cmtain highly capital­ised and powerful sawmilling interests in this city of Brisbane and elsewhere. and. as time gees on the smaller country mrlls throughout the State will be possibly squeezed out. The Minister stated that there were too many mills in the industry to-day, therefore the legislation mmt

[Hon. 1'. Pease.

be designed to help the powerful and highly capitalised sawmilling concerns of Brisbane and elsewhere throughout the State by eliminating the smaller men, and enabling the former to get a stronger hold on the industry.

But who is to be offered as the sacrifice for all this? The homo builder, the struggling \vorkcr \vho is endeavouring to buil.d a home. Katurally, ho wants to build his own home at a rcl1sonable cost. ft is ho who is being offered up as the sacrifice to theqe important interests­and not by a Tory Government, but by a Labour GoYenunent, the \Vorkers' O\Y'll party. As the level of costs in building increase tho workers who are called upon to pay rent for their habitations will have t .> find increased rentals.. This is the natu­ral corollary of legislation of this kind. Increase-d building costs must mean increased rentals. They must mean that homo builders will find it more difficult to build homes. Is it not extraordinary that we have here a Labour Government who at one time boldly in this Chamber took up the cudgels in the interests of the worker and vigorously fought his battle to kcer; down the level of his costs expendi­ture-to keep down rents, to keep down building costs, and to give employment wherever possible-is it not extraordinary, I say, that we should have them n'?w, although still allegedly representmg workers in this State, abandoning those principles and standing up for the larger capita.listic interest;? What a reversal of form ! The Labour Go,-ernmont that pro­claimed their right to represent the wage· earners of this country, abandon that stand, abandon the home builder, abandon the worker who pays rent, and take their stand for these people who are well able to look after themselves, I have not heard o~ ':ny recent bankruptcies in the sawmrllmg industrv. The Government are out to help those l)('ople, who are aim.in(' at. two objects; to hold a monopohstw gnp on the sawmilling industry and to increase the ]eye] of prices in it. That is the nbJect of this Dill, and by it the Government are giving those people the opportumty to secure the two thmgs they seek.

If the Government concede the right to sawmillcrs that thoy did to the coal indus­try what is to ·prevent the brick manu­fa'cturcrs. the cement producers, and the men cne(aged in simil":r industries ~ro'?' askino· for similar legrslatron? If rt rs right o in one case, it is right in ar:other. Where yyj]] it end? If I wore manufactnr­iug bricks I should lose no time in >vaiting upon the Minister and bringing to boar all the influence I could to get the same facilities for the brick manufacturing industry a.s have been conccdtld. to. the saw­millers. There must be some hm1t to that sort of thing.

I noticed that the Minister and the Government to which ho belongs wore not so eager to give the same facilities to the cattle men of this State when they asked for a pool or the establishment of a com­modit': board in aceordance wrth the prm­ciple of orderly markct"ng. and a fair pr:ce for beef. The GoYornment gave the pro­posa.ls of the cattle men a Yery cold recep­tion; indeed, they turned them down. flat. Cw anybody say that the small pnmary producers, such as the frmtvrower. and .-ogetablo grower, arc not entitled to the

Sawmills L1'censing Bill. [26 AUGUST.] Sazcmills Licensing Bill. 121

same privileges? The Government do not think that they are. According to the Government they have not the same right as these ,powerful sawmilling concerns to protecti,·e leg-islation of this kind. What would be their reception if they came to the Minister? They are not large enough or powerful enough to command a favour­able reply. They lack the influence with the present Govf'rnment that these influen­tial sawmilling people have m Brisbane to-day.

The MECRETARY FOR PGBLIC LAXDS: This Bill applies to the whole State, not to Brisbane alone.

Mr. MAHER: Of course it does, but the genesis d the legislation undoubtedly comes from the sawmilling interests in this city, and in the bigger provincial areas of the State. TherB is not the slightest doubt that the Govc>rmnent have in mind the introduction here of the extraordinary prin­ciplB contained in the Coal Production Regulation Acts for a minimum price. The Minister admitted in rBply to my interjec­tion that that principle will be emJ,odied in complementary legislation. Therefore, the industry will be given a board that will have the effect of enforcing its rBquire­ments. From that we can see the mono­polistic trend of the present Government in fa.vour of trusts and monopolies and against the old-time spirit of the Labour movBment. At one time they were opposed to the aggregation of capital in this vv.;ay, they liked to see fair competition, they realised the advantage of it. Now they give concessions to capital and abandon the principle of free competition.

The effect of this legislation will be a gradual rise in the wage scale to one or more sections of the community. Y cars ago ra ''way workers applied to the industrial con• t [md obtained a 20 per cent. increase in "'ages. The effect was a jump in freights and fares. So grocers, builders' labourers, and others got commensurate increases in their wagf's, and the vicious circle was com­plete. Nobody was any the better off, because the cost of living had risen in the same ratio as \VJtge"'. The san1e \V ill occur here; there will naturally be a rise in prices. The inevitable result will be that the wage­earner \vill ask for an incr~aso in \Vagcs to set off the higher costs he will have to bear. with the inBvitable result that in the final analvsis the burden will be cast on our

I;rimary industrie-., althongh the men eugaged 1n them carry on at the prosel!t time only with the gTeatest difficulty.

I should like to make one reference to the Coal Production Act. which was recentlv before this Chamber. The Minister in chari>;O of the Bill gave an assurance that if the legislation went through there would be no increase in the price o£ coal. That was a Bill. W<' were told, for the proteetion rend rehabilitation of the ·industry, and an assur­ance was given that there would be no increaee in the price of coal to the con­-sunwr, but overyhoU~v knows there has l.(~f:m nn 'increase in the price, despite the as~,tu~ ance given by the Secretary for Mines.

The SECRETARY FOR MI);ES : I did nothing of the sort.

Mr. J\'L.\HER: It is reported in " Han· sard " that the Minister made it clear that there would be no increase in the price of

coal if effect was g-iven to the Bill that was then before the House.

The SERETARY FOR MINES : Why don't you be fair and quote my speech?

Mr. MAHER : I will have it turned up. The same thing will happen here. The Secretary for Public Lands is introducing a Bill that must increase the price of SB\Vll

timber, plywoods, and veneers; and the public will be called upon to meet incrcas0d costs. The manager of the Brisbane Gas Company recently complained that he could have decreased tha price of gas to th" genc~·al public, hut for the increased price he had to pay for coal. He also objected to having to acc<'pt coal unsuitable for his purpooe from whatever mine the coal board selected.

The SECREURY FOR MDIES : You know thev condemned coal and wanted other coal. I prosecuted the man who owned the coal mine, because he was f\fty yards into a mine that had been condemned.

Mr. MAHER: I am only quoting the remarks of the manager of the Brisbane Gas Company.

The CHAIRMAN: Order! The hon. gentle­man has departed from the principle con­tained in the resolution before the Com­mittee. I ask him to confine his remarks to the resolution.

Mr. MAI-IER: I was merely endeavouring to point out that when this legislation is approYed its effects may be similar to those that followed the passing of the Coal Pro­duction Regulation Act. I should like to say. in conclusion, that we shall examine the Bill verv carciullv before determining our attitude· towards it at the second read­ing stage.

Mr. GODFREY MORGAN (Dalb1f) lll.ll a.m.]: Evidently this Bill is the first instal­ment of a series of legislation that is to be introduced with a view to creating mono­polies in eyery industry in this State like that created in the cmilmining industry by the Coal Production Regulation Act.

The SECRETARY FOR PuBLIC LANDS : And in the dairying indmtry in connection w1th the licensing of butter factories.

Mr. GODFREY M ORGAN: They are on a different footing. This is but the first instalment of monopoly leg-islation, and little by littlf', bit by bit--

The SECRETARY FOR PuBLIC LANDS: " St9p by step 1"

Mr. GODFREY :i\IORGAN: Yes. Per­haps the Minister is of the opinon that if he introduced one Bill containing the whole of the legisltttivo programme that he has in mind it would be rejected-the dme would he too seycro. Perhaps he has decided to administer this little pill and gradm11l;<· to increase the dose until the lot has been conwmed. \Vhat "·ill it all mean'! Even­tually it will lead to the restriction of labour and the cessation of operations on the part of small mills. Huge, up-to-date concerns equipped with the late3t machinery will be established in certain centres of the State. and these highly-mechanised under­takings will be respon,iblc for displacing a large number of employees. Many of the present nun1ber of workers engaged in coun­try towns, here, there, and everywhere, will be displaced by machinery, and will thus be

Mr. M organ.)

122 Sawmills Licensing Bill. [ASSEMBLY.] Sawmills Licensing Bill;

deprived of the opportunity of earning the very good living that some of them now enjoy.

l think ihat this Bill, so far as I can <Ciis­cover at the present time, should be called-

" A Bill to make an agreement between the sa wmillers, the State, and the Australian \Vorkers' Union to create a monopoly in the timber industry in order to increase the prices of timber and provide excess profits for the employer, the employee, and the State, to the detri­ment of the public generally."

The SECRETARY FOR P<:BLIC LANDS : There is nothing wrong with that, if they divide the profits equally with the men.

Mr. GODFREY M ORGAN: The people who will pay the excess profit will be the workers generally, the very people who have helped to put the hon. gentleman in his ministerial position. A few will benefit, but the Minister can see nothing wrong with the passage of a Bill for the a vowed pur­pose of increasing prices so that profits may be divided between the employer, the employee, and the State. But. the general public, poor " old dummy," w1ll be made to pay the piper. (Government dissent.)

Mr. JESSO:«: J-Iow do you know?

Mr. GODFREY MORGAN: They are the very people who have helped to return the hon. member for Kennedy to Parliament. and he should be the very last to support a Bill of this description. I do not believe in the creation of monopolies. In the early days of the Labour movement, during the time of the late David Bowman, who was respected by all classes of the community, Labour stalwarts would have resisted vio­lently any attempt to introduce a Bill like this. They were against the creation of monopolies and combines, but the present Government arc favourably disposed towards the creation of huge economic units-provided the employees are allowed to participate in the profits. The rest of the people can " go ha.ng.''

The Bill will mean an increase in the cost of building construction. It will affect married men especially. A married man starting out in life always wants to build a home, whether a workers' dwelling Ol'

otherwise. This Bill may make it very diffi­cult for him to get that home. It will also make it more co··tly to erect other buildings >and have a tendency to increase rcntals. Therefore, the very people that the present. Government are alleged to be out to help will have their position made more difficult. 'fhc Minister himself admitted that this Bill will mean increased costs.

The SECRETARY FOR P<:BLTC LA!\DS: I did not admit anything of the sort.

Mr. GODFREY MORGAN: The Minister stated definitely when introducing the Bill, that it would increase the cost of timber. If not, there is no reason for its introduc­tion ! The Minister evidently considers that timber is too cheap, and the public should pay more for it. If the price of timber is increased three sections will benefit-the Gm-ernmei_J-t, who will exact more royalty for log tJmber; the sawmiller, who will make increased prices for sawn timber; and the employee, who like the employees in the coalmining industry will get increased wages. All these increases must come out of tho pocket of " dummy."

[Mr. Morgan.

The Minister stated that better timber was now being supplied to the public than previously. He knows that the great bulk of the timber in our State fore· ts and else­where has been felled, and that now more or lcs.s immature timber is being out. When I built my home thirty years ago in the Condamine district I bought the timber from the Toowoomba district. Similar timber cannot be purchased in Queensland to-day. It was all matured and seasoned timber of exceptional quality. In fact, visitors to my home remark that it is impossible to obtain timber of similar quality to-day.

The Minister also said that the price of timber to-day "as cheaper than ever be for<: He kn•)WS that is not so. Timber is ever so much dearer than it once was, although it is cheaper than it was a f£'w vears ago. Hon. members know that timber 'is ever so much dearcr, .and this Bill will hctve the tendency to increase its cost still further.

I shall await with very great pleasure the introduction of the Bill itself. The Minister makes believe that it is an innocent measure, and is only designed to bring a bout the registration of existing sawmills but he also stated that it is likely to be 'followed by further legislation affecting fon•stry matters, First of all, he wants all existing sawmills registered so that he can have control. Thell anyone who desires to build a sawmill must make application to a board which will most likely turn the applicatioC: down because, .as the Minister stated. there are twice the number of sawmills in the State than are required. If there are manv sawmills in the State it must be rememb,;red that thov are giving employment in some degree o"r other, and if the Minister closes four or fin-; some employees wjjl be thrown on the labour market.

Mr. DcC'<STAN: All existing mills will be licensed.

Mr. GODFREY M ORGAN: That is, fm­the time being, just as all existing coal mines were licensed on the introduction ot legislation to control the coal industry. Undoubtedly, the idea is eventually to con­centrate sawmills in giYen centres in order to cheapen the cost of milling timber by the introduction of further machinery.

The SECRETARY FOR PUBLIC) LANDS: That is where the cheapncs.s will come in.

Mr. GODFREY MORGAN: What is going to happen to the men emplovcd in those mills to-day? '

Mr. DuNST.\N : You are not concerned about them.

Mr. GODFREY MORGAN: I am con­cerned about them, There are a g-reat number of men employed in that industry in my electorate. I visualise a state of things in which any mill that works perhaps only three or four months in the year and closes up for eight months will be refused a liconso.

Mr. CoC'<ROY: You cannot see anything.

Mr. GODFREY MORGAN: I can see that, and so can the hon. member for l'l1aranoa. The hon. member must know that there are manv mills that cannot work all the vear round, but employ teams of men for varying periods. The board will say thd l a mill working that time is not economically sound and should not be allowed to carry on. Thus more men will be unemployed and will have to rely on the Government dole.

Sa;wmills Licensing Hill. [26 AuousT.] Sawmills Licensing BW. 123

Although the Minister woulu have us believe that the measure is a very innocent one, I intenu to watch the Bill carefully. It is apparently the thin end of the weuge. It is to be followe.d by further legislation, and the timber industry of the State ''"ill no doubt be placed in the same position as the coal industry has been placed in ns the result of legislation that is a disgrace to the Labour Party. No Labour man can honestly Eupport the Coal Production Regulation Act or deny that it is not a disgrncdul piece of legislation to emanate fro:m ti.w Labonr Party. A monopoly has been cr"ated in the coal inuustry. Supplies haYo :eo be pur­chased from certain centres. ;\'o douLt. the same principle will be made to apply to the timber industry, and consumers will be com­pelled to Luy supplies from the mill closest to their works, because that is considered more economical. That will mean that a monopoly will be created, and the purchasers of timber will be charged a hig-h rat8, and the people who will suffer most ,vill be those who suffered as a result of the legislation creating a monopoly in the coal industry­the general public. A few coal m;ncrs got an increase and the n1ine \J\vners £tn~atc~1· profits. The very people the hem. r:;,mber is supposed to represent, and whom he does represent to the best of his ability ~>re the people who will suffer as a r'lsult ,;f lf,gisla­tion of this kind. I am surprisecl that the rank and file of the Labour Party slcould allow the Government or che Minister to introduce a Bill that will have the pffoct of creating monopolies and trusts.

Mr. COLLINS (Cook) [11.24 a.m.]: As a repreoontative of an electorate in which the timber industry is a very important fe,etor, I desire to support the Bill in the most wholehearted way.

I recognise that, of all industrieo. the timber industrv needs to inNeasc its effi­ciency. Hon. "members opposit,, who have criticise-d the Bill, the Leader of tlw Opposi­tiOn and the hon. member for Dalby, see many pjtfalls ~n it that do not exi~t. They are basmg therr arguments on the rdea that the result of the Bill will be an increase in the price of timber to the worker who wants to build a home. That is not the purpose of the Bill. Its object is to make the industry very much more efficient than it is. In the process, the whole of the people will be the main benefactors, especially as the State owns most of the raw supplies of timber. Is it not better to have six hundred mills-Cl' whatever the number may be­working efficiently, paying a decent rate of pay, and showing reasonable profits, than to m·er-capitalise the inclustrv with seven hundred mills, and cause a considerable num­ber of bankruptcies?

In the past the timber industrv has been one of the principal industries on the Atherton Tableland, and I doubt if there is any section of Queensland that has pro­duced a greater wcacth of timber than that part of North Queensland. I also doubt if there is in the State any single industry that has seen a greater nun1ber o£ bankruptcies than the timber industry has seen amongst the sawmillers. One can trace the historv of the industry on the Atherton Tableland back to the early days and find that the great majority of those who pioneered it were compelled from time to time to become insolvent or pass through serious financial

straits because of lack of organisation. 'I'he measure is designed to conserve enough sup­plies of timber to keep the mills working m the various areas. In doing that it will give encouragement to the management of a mill to install an efficient plant, seeing that the mill is assured of longevity. This efficiency will enable the timber to be dealt with at the minimum of cost, and enable the miller to pay the maximum price to the Government. It will thus be seen that the whole of the people in the State will benefit, for, in turn, the miller will vend the timber to the public at the lowest possible margin of profit. In other words, the timber indus­try will become an efficient one.

Will anybody say that the organisation of the sugar industry has been wrong? Any­one who realises what organisation has done for that industry must recognise what a wonderful boon organisation can be when effectively used. 'fhe sugar industry has been able through efficient organisation to reduce the price recei vecl for its sugar by the farmer from £30 6'. Bd. to an average of £16 ls. 2d., and still carry on with a reason­able profit. This efficient organis2t.on came about by way of profitable farming, profit­able growing, and good wages. The sugar industry has been able to cut the costs of production in two because of efficient organi­sation. Will anybody say that the limitation of tho indiscriminate building of butter fac­tories has been wrong? It has certainly redounded to the benefit of those engaged in the dairying industry. Will anybody say that the organisation of the primary industries generally has been wrong? But the whole of such legislation was criticised by hon. members opposite in just as vicious a man­ner as they are attempting to criticise this measure. The members of the Opposition are endea.vouring to create myths, cause dis­trust in the public, and mislead them to believe that the price of timber will be greatlv increased as the result of this Bill. It wifl be a. very great surprise to me if it does not lead to a reduction in the price of timber to the consumer and an increase in the price to the Government.

Mr. MooRE: You will get a surprise all right.

Mr. COLLINS: .\ne! so will you.

The CHAIRMAN : Order !

Mr. COLLINS: Hon. members opposite recognise, as ·do we, that the Bill will have beneficial results. They believe it to be their vocation to criticise whatever is clone by the Government destructiYely-not con­structively. They do not help by trying to suggest something better. They criticise for tho sake of criticism. I do not consider that should be the policy of an Opposition. They should endeavour to show some better way of doing the job than that proposed by the Government.

At 11.30 a.m.,

The CHAIRMA]';: Order ! In accordance with Standing Order No. 17 and Sessiona.l Urder agreed to hy the H0use on 12th August last, I shall now leave the chair and make my report to the House.

The House resumed. The CHAIRnfAX reported progress and asked

leave to sit again. R''sumption of Committee made an Order

of the Day for to-morrow.

kl1·. Collin:s.]

124 Address in Reply. [ASSEMBLY.] Address in Reply.

ADDRESS IN REPLY.

RESUMPTION OF DEBATE-THIRD ALLOTTED DAY.

Question stated:-" That the following Address be pre­

sented to the Governor in reply to the Speech delivered by His Excellency in opening this, the second session of the twenty-seventh Parliament of Queens­land:-

' May it please Your Excellency,-' We, His Majesty's loyal and dutiful

subjects, the members of the Legisla­tive Assembly of Queensland, in Parlia­ment assembled, desire to assure Your Excellency of our continued loyalty and affection towards the Throne a1id Person of Our Most Gracious Sovereign, and to tender our thanks to Your Excellency for the Speech with which you have been pleased to open the present session.

'The various mc•ctsures to which Your Excellency has referred, and all other matte!·s that may be brought befor<" us, ·w1ll rece1vc our n1ost careful con­sideration, and it shall be our eo rnest endeavour so to deal with them that our labours may tend to the advance­ment and prosperity of the State.' "

Mr. WATERS (I1 elvin Grove) [11.31 a.m.]: At the outset I desire to congratulate the mover and ,seconder of the Address in Reply upon their very fine contributions to the debate, and to congratulate also the hon. mem?er for_ Toowoomba who, in my opinion, acquitted himself very creuita bly.

The Government's record since their return to power in 1935 has been one of which the people generally and the Govemment them­selves in particular may well be proud. desp-ite what critics opposite may say. They have prov1dcd employment for those people who would have been out of work if the Nationalist Party had been returned to power. They have, by their loan policv stea~icd the drift downward of the Stat~: a dnft that would never have been arrested had the Nationalists, United _\ustralia Party, or Country Party been returned to office.

Hon. members opposite have argued that one of the principal deterrents to the develon­ment of i!ldustry,_ secondary industry pa~-­ticularly, IS taxatiOn. It is interesting to note, therefore. that a commission appointed by the Bruce-Pagc Government, and com­posed of noted economists, including Pro­fessor Copland, !o investigate nne:nploy­:nent ::nd business conditions, reported th;t. m then- opmwn, taxa twn was not one of the major causes of unemplovment. That commission went into the matter thoronghly, and analysed the vanous conditions that precipitated the trade cris'is. Their findiniT shoul? carry some weight, and if it i~ exammed carefully ancl analvsed impartially must be upheld, - '

MoreO\·er, it is a well-known fact that in new countries, such as America th<e secondary industries tend to grow in' places as near as possible to the source of supply of raw materials, and in the large centres of population. Sydney has a population of som"­thing like 1,500,000, and Melbourne of over 1,000,000, and the secondary indcntries in New South ·wales and Victoria J-,ave

[Mr. Waters.

developed to a greater degree than they have done in Queensland, bec>tuse the pur­chasing power of the people in those States is g-reater. Secondary industries will come to Queensland in the near future, and will develop here as the population increases. Brisbane, with its population of something like 300,000, has not got the sam,, coHsump­tion power as Sydney and Melbourne. Even so-and that de,pite the Jeremiahs opposite and the wails of woe we hear from time to time from men who probably knew some­thing about farming away back in 1903, but who know nothing about the economic problems of to-day, and whose chief endeavour seems to be to damage the credit of this State-factories are being built in Queens­land. J ames Hardio and Company Limited recently started a factory at N ewstead for the manufacture of fibrolite-cement and other building materials. Wunderlich's have extended their operations in this State. It is obvious that other industries will be established here when there is a demand for their products in the shape of a greatc'r population.

It is interesting also to note the remarks of hon. members opposite about the neces­sity for a reduction in taxation. They prob­.ably ha v0 in mind the fact that to give effect to this would moan that social services would have to bo cut down. It is impossible under the existing form of society, and in the pre,,ent abnormal times that social ser­vices, and unemployment relief should be reduced. If hon. members' wish wore granted, the educ-ation vote and the health vote, as cxamplm, would have to be cut down and

unemployment relief would have to be reduced below the present standard. There is no alternative to the reduction in taxation than tho cut,ting down of social services that are necessary in the present statn of the world, and I emphatieally srty that so long as that statn continues taxation should not be reduced. In this respect I welcome the declaration of Mr. Cm·tin, the Federal Labour loader, that if he were Prime Minis­tPr of the Commonwealth he would not givc the remissions of taxation that the present Lyons Government are giving', Ho pointed out the increasing- demands for social ser­vices in the near futuro . .and said that those demanclc would absorb any surplus any Governnwnt might be likely to have. I belim"c that to reduce unemployment is of greater urgencv than to rf'ducc the taxa­tion of people-who arc well able to carry the burden.

Thorn j, another ph a se of the question that Parliament must considn1·. Everv­onc knO\YS that for years past. Governnlen.ts haYe been called upon to provide for people who. throug-h no fault of their own. have been displaced from industrv bv the r:wa<res of the machine. If the employer decides that he can increase his returns bY the intro­duction of labour-saving- machinerv. he does not hesitate to avail himself of 'it, and I therefore haYe logic on mv side when I say that the people .,-ho loudly complain that, the burden of taxation is too heavv should direct their criticism towards thei1: fellows. wl10 thus displace men from industrv. If in order to earn a higher percentaf(e of profit an employer introduces machinery and thus displaces a number of men from indus­try, thm1 that industry should make some provision for their maintenance whilst they are out of work. If that were clone, those

Address in Reply. [26 AUGUST.] Address in Reply. 125

men would not be a charge on the Govern­me!lt, and taxation c_ould be rcclucecl, but, whde the present sacral order remains the existing scale of taxation must continu~.

Everyone knows that the standards laid d_own for the relief worker arc just suffi­crent to enable him and his family to live. ~hat would the Opposition do if they were m power'? They would probably do what their political confrercs in New South Wales are doing at the present time. Thev would endeavour to rccluc.c the number of full-time relief 'vorkers, throw the bulk of them on to the dole, as is being clone in New South IV ales, and so undermine existing standards. There can be no half nwasures so far as unemployment and the relief of taxation arc concerned. Hon. member~ opposite have repeatccllv said that thcv arc in favour of a wholesale reduction in "taxa­tion. hut people who advance those views must have in mind the impai1·ment of the alrf'aclv low standard of the relief worker. Therefore. it is obvious that while the pre­sent. socia 1 order ~xists, and while the profit m_otn·e rs the basts of modern society, there wrll be um'mployment. I do not. sav that an employer deliberately sacks men for the sheer love or pleasure of doing- it. Most of thPm arc human beings and have the orclinarv human feeling .. , but competition fo~ 1narkets and the strug'gle for an econo1nic ·exHtcnce undt·r tho cxiRting socia1 o1·der compels them to take aclvanta~e that may accrue from the introduction~ of modern machincr:t, even though it result.s in the dis))lacement of emplo~·ec'. If tlw oppor­tumtv presents it,elf to them thev will grasn it with both hands. · '

Our experience during the past six or seven years suggests that we must face the fnct-not. of course, with anv pleasure-that if industry continues to expand at the pre­sent rate without any reduction in the weekly working hours more men will be thrown on to the labour markPt. Some mem­bers of this party have urged the necessity for a 40-hour v;eek. I ai\Tee with them. It is interesting to note that the Premiers of the States have this subject listed for discussion at the Premiers' Conference that is being held at the present time. I trust that as a result of their r!Pliberations thev will sec the need for reclncing the hours to some extent. I believe that in view of thte rapid development of inc1ustrv a much greater reduction than to fortv' hours will be neces,ary to absorb the unemp!ovecl. \Ve shall have to go much further than ;, 40-hour week in order to share i·he work available Pou;t tl-·h·. The question of working- hours and that of unemployment are certainly bound v0ry doee toocthcr. I trust the dav is not very far distant when the working v."~eek will be very substantially reduced.

Since Parliament opened we have heard two voices from the Opposition benches. The new Leader of the Countrv Partv with his follmvers, adopts the attitude tl~at it i~ pn re waste t<;> spen cl loan money on pub­he work<, especially the Jubilee Bridge and the Stanley River Dam, whilr-' tlw new Leader of the United _\ustralia Party has appar­ently taken up the attitude that there is some merit. in the policy of the Government to borrow m order to absorb some of the unemployed. It is not unlikely that at the next election two different policies will be presented to the electors-one for the con­snmption of the electors in the metropolitan area and the other of the electors in the

countrv. I wish to warn the people of Bris­bane and Queensland generally to bear in mind that in New South Wales the influ­ence of the Country Party section of the Government, though in the minority, has been so strong that they have been able to secure the elimination of full-time relief works and thereby displace something like 30,000 men from normal employment. The Government of New South \Va1es are speak­ing with two voices, but neither of the two parties it represents is strong enough to form a Government. 'l'hat being so, they must coalesce, and the terms of that coali­tion arc evident in the direction of the Country Party's ability to exert its will to the detriment of the unemployed through­out that State.

Yec,terday the hon. member for Fortitude Valley dealt with the responsibility of the Federal Government towards unemployment. There is no question that up to the present the Federal Government have dodged their responsibility. As that hon. member pointed out, in the United States of America, Canada, and other countries where the federal system of government obtains. unem­ployment re1ief has been in the forefront of the central Government's programme. The American magazine " Time " states that the United States of America have made available £400,000,000 for unemployment relief projects. Every State in that nation participated in that large amount. But that is not the only amount that is being made available for the relief of distress in that country, because, by means of the Agricul­tural Adjmtment~ Acts and similar legis­lation. the farmers have been relieved to a considerable extent. So that. whereas other Federal Governments have been active the Fed!'ral Government in Australia have lain down on the job and done nothing in a prac­tical manner to solve the problem. They lHlVP been too busv wiH1 tax n'rni~sions to the wealthy-to those people who can well afford to pay the taxation impo~cc1 unon them-and the unemployed have been left to suffer.

Another maiter to which 1 desire to rh·aw public attention is the stringent regulations f'nforcecl by l he Federal 11overnment in rf'gard to 'applicant~ for invalid pmurions. Thoro are hundreds of pPonle at thP nresent tinH: in Q11eensland in rccoi11t of rations or doing a little intPrmittent relid wnrk \\hO

sl1ould be rC'ceiYing inYalid pcn'-ions, but the definition of a prrson entitled to :•n im·o lid pemion is so stringPnt that it is virtually on1v thos0 \rithont lca·s or arm.s vJ1o are eligible. So again the. Federal Government have dodg-ed their rcsponsibilitv to a number· of unPmployed. and it has falkn to the State Gnvornrncnt to maintain them. The action of the Federal Government in making thP'e regulations more stringent JnGrit:=; the seYcrest censure possible. It behoves the Federal GO\·ernment to awaken to lheir responsibilities, and give rnore considcra:ion to these unfortunate people.

I belicYc that tho time has aaind for ft

rooastiug of the finanoial relationship l•etween the States and the Commonwealth. At the Pren1iors' Conference that is sitting at the pr0sent tj111o the States are ondeav.Juring to obtain moncv from the Commonweo,~th to help tho hca.lth and wluoatinn activities of the various States. and that is a go,d that should bo pursued relentless!:;' until tlwy

lb. Waters.]

126 Address in Reply. [ASSEMBLY.] Address in Reply.

succeed ir, obtaining credits for those essen­tial social sen-ices. The States should also be insistent in demanding from the Federal Government that they should do something tangible in the relief of unemployment and if the Commonwealth Government are f~rced to do something in this regard, the con­ference will have accomplished somcthino­that is highly creditable. a

I believe, however, that it is only with the return of a Federal Labour Government that the people of this country will get that measure of justice to which thov arc entitle-d. It is only a Federal Labom: Government that will pursue a policy calculated to give the greatest amount of relief to the unem­·ployed, and the greateet amount of social justice to those to \Yhom the necessities of life are clcniocl at the present time.

I am glad that the Queensland Director of Education and the Chief Inspector of Schoob had the opportunity of going overseas to study the latest developments in education. Much good would accrue if the Government made provision for responsible officers of the department to go overseas at intervals to study the educational systems of the various countries, \V hi eh ha vc changed very greatly in recent years. After the return -of the Director of Education from abroad there was much criticism of the present ~ueensland scholarship system. It certainly should be reviewed. The psychological effect -of failing upon a child at the impressionable .age at which it sits for the scholarship examination or entrance to the secondary educational field must cause a great deal of harm in after life.

I am pleased that the Government have <engaged the services of a well-known archi­tect, Mr. Hennessy, in connection with the -erection of the new University buildings, but the fact recalls to my mind that I ha.vP long been of opinion that the whole field of <•ur University educational facilities should be reviewed. At the present time our edu­{;ational system grants thousands of scholar­.ohips to primary school pupils to enable them to carry on their secondary education, but this large number dwindles to a mere twenty to the University-eighteen of which go to students of ordinary secondary schools. and two t0 students at the Queensland Agri­cultural College-when it is a question of their completing their education. The -children of the workers are certainly enabled to pursue their studies for the different professions catered for by the QLteensland University, b!lt l!ndcr the exist'ng state of affairs it is almost an impo.•s "bility for them to proceed to the L"'niversity unless they are fortunate enough to secure -one of the small number of University scholarships available. The number of University scholarships should be increased. '?~" there should bo some income qualifications JUst as there is in connection with the pre­sent scholarship s.,-stem. If the latter i' justified in secondary education it is even more justified in University education. How­ever. I should prefer the Government to be mo1·e generous in re.spect of the numb<:!' -of University scholarships.

Sorne time ago repres(•ntation was made by the \Yorkcrs' Educational Association for the restoration of the Uovcrnment grant P""·wusly made to that organisation. Undoubtedly there has been a marke<l improvement in adult education throughout the world. I had the privilege of reading

[lli1·. Waters.

a report by lVIr. B. H. Molesworth, th•' Director of \Vorkers Tutorial Classes, upon the systems obtaining in America and Eng­land. and his cxperiencps and ob.-.crYation8 in those countries. After reading that report, and knowing that the \Vorkers' Educational Association in Brisbane is not able to cater for all the people who are seeking to improye their education, I think the Government would be \Veil ach-ised to consider Yery fully the question of granting the amount asked for bv that association. It has done wonderful \vork in improYing adult education, and is a Yaluablc organisa­tion to the .State. It should be encouraged. llnd have c\·crv facilitv to continue its bene-ficial career. · ·

Some time ago various employer::;· organi­sations criticised the increase in the worker.s" comperu;ation premiums, but I am pleased to see that the Uovernment will be bringing clown a Dill which presumably will deal with the question of benefits to injured workers. The Govcrrnnent, or the department con­trolling '\vorkers' con1pensation 1natters, would be well advised to employ inspectoro or frame regulations for the greater safety of ihe employee". I am informed that there is urgent need for this. especially in the Rhipping indmtry on, the waterfront. Although waterside workers arc employed under Federal awards, compensation pay­ments come under the jurisdiction of the State. For the four-year period ended June 1928, between 1,600 and 1. 700 men wer~ engaged in the industry. Din·ing that time the_ number of .accidents for which compen­satiOn payments were made was 1,973. For the four years ended June, 1935, the number of men engaged in the industry had decreased to between 1,200 and 1,300, but the number of accidents during that time for which compensation was paid increased to 2 379. Those figures lend colour to the sugge;tion that there should be more adequate safe­g-uards for employees on the waterfront. I am given to understand that the employers on the waterfront are not providing safe­guards up to the ordinary standard, and the department should investigate the matter with a view to reducing risks, and laying down a standard that will make f<'r fewer accidents.

Another matter to which I should like to rder is the reappointment of Sir Lcslie Orme Wilson, as Governor of this State. '\Yhilst we have to accept the decision of the Dominions Office, I believe the time is not far distant when Australian citizens wili be appointed as State Governors. ThC're is no reason ni· all why a local citizen should not be able to fill the position. Some peoph· nre under the impression that it is purelv a norninal one and a sinecure, but a nyon8 who has road the book of Mr. Justice Jhat~; on the qn··~tion of the I~ing and Dmninioll Goyernor:;; n1ust con10 to thC conclusion that i·he Go\"oJ·nor of a Rtate wields enormous powers. I-I~.~ Cilfl disn1iss a l\linistry, aud he r lH affect the course of kgislation to a considPrablo degTce. I bclicYe the position 0f GoYcrnor cannot be ~Pparrti.c'C_-l fron1 pol:i. tics. Any Governor, local or imported, must have sotno pnlitical leaning~ or conYictions, and a man who has rendered son-ice to th•· State should be giy-on the opportunitv of filling the post. c

1\fr. GODFREY ::\IORGAX: In other words. you \Yant a man appointed with leanings towards the Labour GoYernmcnt.

Address in Reply. [26 AUGUST.] AddTess in Reply. 127

Mr. \VA'l'ERS: I should not have the member for Dalby in mind. He would not have a chance of getting the job, because it takes him all his time to sign his own na1nc.

Mr. SPEAKER : Order! Mr. \VA'l'ERS: I believe a man who has

rendl'red service to his ,State 1s a suitable reci picnt of that honour.

I should like to refer to the law as to garnishee. ~Iany workers, who are now in employment after many years of unemploy­ment, because of unsettled economic condi­tions, have had their wages garnisheed. Such a raan rnay O\VC 1noney to three or four crcditor3 and make arrangen1ents to pay three of them so much a week. The fonrth creditor, however, seeks a garnishee order upon the worker, and his st>tndard of living is reduced to a •tage very much below that laid down bv the Industrial Court. Accord­ing to the p'rc.':lent la\v, the court, in rnaking a garnishee order, can take anything in excess of £2 a week. I am informed that in tho n1ain, 1nagistra tcs are not going so far as that. but at one time. a magistrate newly appointed to Brisbane was awarding everything OYer £2 a week. This is a matter that should command the attention of thP Government. A more liberal amount should be allowed to the worker. Thc' Industrial Court has fixed th<o basic wage at £3 14s. a week, and that standard should not be decreased. That is a reamnable proposal. It should also haYe the effpct of protecting thP worker from the unscrupulous agent. l\fan~­a worker) who has had a surnn1ons serYed upon him fo•: debt. pays a Yisit to the agent who has ertcctcd the service, and the agent is able to lull him into a 'ensc of false security, so that, before he reo liscs it, a jud[rn1Pnt j:' given against hin1. 'rho nlagis­tratc then has no option but to make an order stipul>tting that weekly amounts shall be rPtainod h·orn the \Vages of the worln'r, despite the fact that he has otlwr commit­ments to meet. The time has arriYcd when we should consider the position in relation to the standards that exist in the other Btatcs of ih8 Commonwealth. I believE' that if that was done, it •muld provide a general measure of cor.tentment and satis­faction from every point of Yiew.

I am satisfied that the other measures mentioned in the GoYernor's epcech will give entire satisfaction, and will redound to i.he credit of the GoYernment.

Mr. COLLINS (Conk) [12.12 p.m.]: I take this opportunity to compliment the four new members upon the capable manner in which they delivered their maidcn sp<'eches in this Parliament. I know full well the ordeal that a new nwmber has to undergo in deliver­ing his maiden speech, but I am satisfied that all four of them acquitted themselves creditably. and that they will prove worthy reprcsent.at.ivm of the peoplA. A. member who is well equipped with knowledge con­cerning- the conditions under which people live and work is well fitted to consider legis­lation that is designed for their benefit.

I also desire to compliment the Premier on the splendid results achieved by him on behalf of the sugar industry during; his recent visit to England. The industry cer­tainly paid him a very high compliment in asking him to represent it overseas, but there is no doubt that it could not have selected a more capable rcpresPntative m

Australia. That is borne out bv the fact that he won a greater measure ~f security for the industry than otherwise would have been obtained. His inquiries in connection with other primary industries, particularly the cattle industry and the prospects of placing chilled beef on the English market, were of vital concern to almost the whole of the people of the State. ~\!though the beef cattle industry is a very old 0110 in this State, it has not bv anv means come into its own. Much wiil depend upon the production of the type acceptable to the markeh abroad, but it is pleasing to know that the Premier conducted overseas verv important and successful inquiries in co~­noction with this industry.

It is also pleasing to know that the general economic position of the people of this State is gradually improving. Recently I returned from a visit to North Queensland, where the outlook of the people to-day is considerably bnghter than it has been for many years past. I do not claim that is entirely duo to the actions of the Govern­ment .. Donefi~ial seasonal conditions play a \'C'l'Y. big part m the prosperity of the people, but 1t can be considcmbly helped by good governn1ent.

Improved seasonal conditions coupled with tho policy pursued in the' last four years by th!s Government, has made the outlook consJC!erably better than it other­wise would be. That conclusion is the stronger on comparing the position of the people of Queensland with that of those in other States of the Commonwealth. This is a subject which has been much laboured and I do not pmposc to make anv fur·the{· comments on it. Suffice it to say that it is pleasing to know that Queensland has the lowest number of unemployed of the States, and her industrial conditions seem to be in adYance of theirs.

\Ye have been a.nd still are subjected to very considerable eriticism regarding the taxation that people in this Sta.te are com­pelled to pay. I a.m not going- to argue that taxation is light: it is. indeed. a sub­it•ct that must be faced. J\'o Government impose taxation for the pleasure of it. but only from sheer necessitv. The condit;ons facing the Government are the compelling motive. But whatever the taxation burdon it is not so much what the people pay that counts as what they get for the taxation they pa)'. On this point the Opposition are singularly silent. One w'ould think from their arguments that all would be well if taxa­tion in this State was reduced. One would al.so deduce from their arg;uments and the propaganda in the Press that this was the only Government that taxed the people. Every Government must levy taxes, and Queensland does not do so to a greater ex­tent than the other St11tes. 'l'he " A B C of Quecnsl11nd and Australian Statistics" shows QnePnsland to be the lowest taxed State. The figures are-

Per Head of Population.

£ s. rl. Queensland 3 12 5 New South Wales 5 6 0 Victoria 4 17 11 South Australia 5 10 5 Western Australia 4 5 10 Tasmania 5 7 1

The "rcnracy of these figures is unques­tionable. I do not want to misrepresent

Mr. Oollins.]

128 Address in Reply. [ASSElVIBLY.] Ad,LTess in Reply.

the position. but to present it as fairly as possible in order that the people can see it in its proper perspective. They have had issued to them a considerable quantity of what I call clouded information, and their view has been distorted accordmgly. The figures I have quoted do not so far as Queensland is concerned take into con­sideration taxation paid into trust funds, including motor vehicle taxation and the unemployment relief tax, because, for ex­ample, the unemployment relief tax is paid out in grants to local authorities and other 'emi-governmental bodies with the object of reduciug unr•mployrnent. In some of the other States this tax is paid into consoli­dated revenue, and then distributed to local authorities by way of int<>n·st-be-,ring loans. In Quecuslancl it is given as a grant. That is a fact that must be remembered vd1en C'xanuning· taxation figures. The motor vehicles tax, although £250,0:0 Is

;paid to consolidated revenue, goes to the :'<.1ain Roads Commission, and is spent in the building of motor roads. The amount collected from motor vehicles tax last year was £583.302, and the amount received from the unemployment reli<:'f tax £2,414,167.

Mr. MAHER : vVhy do you want all that relief tax.

Mr. COLLINS : To find work for those people who are unfortunately situated owing to the depression, which was partly caused by the Government supported by the hon. mem'­ber, and from which this State has not yet .completely recovered. We have done more than any other State for the relief of unemployment, and we are using the money to the best advantage, very largely to help local authorities in countrv districts. ·

The Leader of the Opposition the other dav quoted figures to support an argument that this is the highest taxed State in the Commonwealth. He based all his conclu· ~ions on that premise. The hon. gentleman did not tell the House that the Federal Government took considerably more in taxa­tion from the people of Queensland than tho :'\tate Government did.

:Ylr. M.UIER: How much more? Mr. COLLINS : They take £8 15s. 4d. a

head against the hon. member's figure of £6 15s.

Mr. MAHEll: How much do they put back again?

Mr. COLLINS: The State puts the whole of its money back into the State, but the Commonwealth does not put the whole of the money it takes from the State back into the State.

:\1r. MAHER: The0 give you £2.000,000 of it.

Mr. SPEAKER: Order! The Leader of the Opposition must not take the liberty of converting a debate in this House into a duet. He must allow the hon. member to address the Chair without being subject to interruption.

Mr. COLLI::\"S : What concerns particularly the people who pay the taxes in any State is \Vhat they get from the taxes that they pay. Much has been said about the high rate of motor taxation in Queensland, but a review of the figures for the different States indicates that the amount of tax in Queens­land is not as high as it is in the two other States for which I have taken out statistics. The following table shows the amount of

[Mr. Collins.

motor taxation per motor vehicle in the three States:-

Taxation per :\fotor Vehicle.

£ s. d. Queensland 6 9 0 Victoria 6 18 0 New South Wale' 7 18 0

In the United States the amount is £10. That affords a good comparison between how onr people are taxed and how those of other States that are not goYernccl by Labour Governments arc taxed. It shows that the Government of Queensland fully recognise their re-lponsibility as a Goyerninent, and are scrYing tbcir people as well as it is possible to senc them at the present time.

One of the principal reasons for collecting taxation in this State is the need to defray the C'OSt of education. In round figures our educational faciliti(" cost £1.700,000 per anntnll. There is no direct return for thiB­oxpencliture, Lut there is an indirect 1:eturn in the superior education of our chddren that cannot be estimated. Queensland is leading all the other States in the amount it spends on the instruction of its youth. The following table of fig·uros provides an interesting comparison between Queensland and the other States in regard to the cost of education :

Cost of education per State. head of population.

£ s. d. Victoria 1 6 8 Westeru Australia 1 8 6 New South Wales 1 10 0 South Australia 1 10 0 Queensland 1 15 6

'I'hat is one of the channels for the expendi­ture of money collected in taxation. Then we come to the amount expended on the construction and maintenance of roads. In this connection we stand pre-eminent when compared with other States. From the latest figureB for New South Wales, Victoria. and Queensland that I have been able to obtain I find the expenditure to be as follows:-

Per head of i Jopulation.

s. d. Victoria 16 10 1\"cw SoutiJ \Yale< 20 3 Queensland 32 11

Hon. members will note the amount expended in Queensland on roads for the ~rs.e of motor­ists. vVhereas our motor vehicle tax>ttwa is the lowest of tho three States, the expendi­ture on road construction is the highest. In fact. the amount is almost double that of Victoria. I, therefore, contend th~t the motorists have not as much to complam of as ono would gather from Press pro­paganda. Ho-.,yovcr, ,yith a yicw to re..-icn.-­ing th<' whole situation the Governn~ei~t haYe wisely appointed a royal con1nuss1on !o inquire into our transport system. 1\o (~overnrncut dc~ire~ to n1aintain a fonn of transport that is inefficient. and if it caH be shown that tho transport offered by the motor industrv is the more efficient, and that the efficiency of our railway system cannot be raised as high then no one wants to stand in the way of progre'·S. However, one must take into consideration the indebtedness of our railway system, and not forget that that amount has yet to be repaid. Although £28,000,000 was written

Address in Reply. (26 AUGUST.] Address in Reply. 129

off the capital indebtedness of the Qucens­lancl railway system a few years ago, that does not enable us to evade the repayment of that money or the interest owing on it.

In considering rail versus motor traffic a very important factor must be kept in mind, that is, the subsidiary industries created and kept alive by these two forms of transport respectively. Our railway system directly employs 16,000 men, and then one must take into account the number of employees engaged in our coalmining industry, an industrc· very largely dependent on the railway~. Onr railway system aho uses very considerable quantities of timber, iron and steel in the manufacture of it" rolling stock. This is of very great import­ance not only to Queensland but also to the Commonwe.1lth. As against all this, the vehicles used in motor transport arc imported from abroad, very larg·ely from a countrv that takes little from us in return. Their· fuel is also imported. Considering this aspect no one should sp<>ak lightlv of discarding our railway svstem in favo'u'1· of motor transport lHo.t01·· transport has its place in the community. but the who!" matter should be carefully considN<'d in order that the people of ·Queensland may obtain the best and cheapest method of transport. and at the same time meet their commitments.

Queensland stands pre-eminent in service to the sick as well as in other forms of social services. In fact, it is in the van of the States in this respect. Victoria spends 10s. a head of population on hospital accom­modation and treatment, New South \Vales 10s. 3d., and Queensland 15s. I ask hon. members who criticise this Government severely on the indiscriminate wav in which they say we levy taxation what thcv would cut out if they had the opportLmity. · \Yould they reduce taxation and not cciucate our children up to the present high standard? \Vould thev reduce taxation and hand hos­pitals oYer' to private enterprise, as in other States, and make the people suffer? That is one method of 1·educing taxation. I ven­ture the opinion that not 5 per cent. of the people of Que<msland would sacrifice our hospital. service for the sake of giving relief to certam taxpayers.

Mr. l\LumR: Ha Ye you given any thonght to the questwn of the reduction of unemploy­Ilient relief tax '?

Mr. COLLI:\'S: V cry considerable thought, and ah·eadv a recluctioh has been made in that tax by this Government.

l\Ir. Xnnro: A penny in the pound !

Mr. COLLI:NS: \Yhich amounts to the very con·,iderablc reduction of £368.000. \Vould the hon. member reduce the unem­ployment relief tax and throw more people on to the scrap-heap of unemployment? Such an action would be in keeping with the attitude adopted by his Government when in office a few years ago. A better way of so:ving this problem is to cndoayou~ to increase the prosperity and productivity of tius country so that \\ e may maintain and even increase the services and beneflts we arc giving to the people.

From the comments of hon. member.' oppo­site one would imagine that people >Yould be very glad to kavc this State. Seeing that­they say-we tax our people out of exist­ence, do everything that is wrong and nothing of a, constructive nature, one would

1936-F

think that the natural flm> would be to the other States where, according to hon. mcn1bors opposite, there aro Governments that are much more beneficial to the people. It is intmesting, therefore, to follow statis­tical records of population of the various States. I quote from the " A B C of Queens­land and Australian Statistics" for the vcars 1921 to 1933, of the movement of population in the different States, as shown from the ]a,t census. The population of the Common­wealth increa,ed during that period by 21.97 per cent. The increase in Queensland was 25 per cent., New South \Vales 23 per cent., Victoria 18 per cent., and South Aus­tralia 14 per cent. Having regard to t·hose figures, there is little wonder that the Premier of South Australia was desirous of having the aeroplane factory that was referred to by the Leader of the Opposition the other day built in South Australia, in order to retain some of the population within his borders. The figures I have quoted are a further reply to much of the criticism that is levelled against this State.

:i'\ o Gm-8rnment in the ConunonwGalth tax peoplP on the basis of their ability to pay to a greater extent than ·we aro doing. It is evident that, as a result of that policy, Queeno!aud is increasing her popLJiation at a greater rate than auy of the other States of the Commonwealth. Thcrc, by the way, is a definite way of reducing the burden of taxation. \Ve should \Y(•Icome the influx of people from the other Slate·,, rathee than regard it as a burden, n~ v;e arc in dangl'r of dolng.

\Ye have considerable possibilities in tlje \vay of stinnllating our natural indudrie':l. To do so it is necu;sary to have very definite arrangen1ents so far as our access to loan 1noney for dcye]oprneutal purpos(;s is con­cerned. Everybod:;· realises the difficulty and tlw uncedainb that now Pxists from vca1· to vcar. and from month to month. a~ to the· amount of loan molH'V that is forthcom­ing fo1· the pnrpo..::e of ~carrying on thPse national worh. That uncertainty has a lot I·.; rlo \rith the continued need~ of k;:ying the unemployment relief tax; a lot to do also, with the lack of confidence in tackling ~.on1c of t~H· rEaior )Jrob1cnls that inYoh·e an outlay of considerable expenditure. It seems a tray~;f-,ty for the Pren1icrR of the States to 1ncct the Prirne l\1ini1'1ter of the Cornmon­wc·cdt h in f'onfcn'n<'('. TheY ~Lrn thn elf>-cted rqn·escntati.-rs of the pcoi)le of this c.)m­HlOtl\Yt'llth; they h.v do·wn schemPs of a developmental n·atur~, but, after all, their sclwnws fail. heLans' they haye to go to the af:~oriatl'rl h J_.nks, the financial instib1boru~. or Commonwealth Bauk to sec if thcv can c,orrv out their policy. I claim that one of the gTr 1test factors ill the recoyep· of thi• Commonwealth has been the rednction in the rate of interest on monev. No other thing has harl the sa!Ile far-re.iching effect. b, cause it affects almost cvervhodv. from the laTgPst businf'~'~ conc<'rn in the Con~monYi·,· alth trJ the sma!lcct individual vcho lm0·s his pro­Yisions. frol.l_l a 7tore. It was rlisqnlcting to· S(~fl qurte rccPntlv that tho Cornn1onwcalth l3ank had taken certain artion whjch had rauf<.f'd an incrPa~c in thf' rnt.cs on loan mon.cy. That is a movo in the 1vrong direc­tion, and it \YG~ ro11den1ned bv rr1ogt er ono­mi,h. \V ~l·e the L~bonr Pa.rtv in powee j!l the F'odcral sphere and able to ea IT~~ out t~1Pir policy in cm1n0ct-ion \Yith banking d1Jre y.-ould ,1ot be the same diffirnlty in raising n1oncv for necessary devolopn1ontal work as..

fllr. Collins.]

130 Address 1'n Reply. [ASSEMBLY.] Address in Reply.

"f·x!:-t-; <.:o-da v. 1-,hc La Lour Go\·crnn1cnt's. policy v:oulcf be n prime factor in ab~orbing lnJgration. finding work for the people. and doing a\\ay with the relief tax.

Mr. IVALKER: :Money as 2 per cent. .{_h_'a rcr \V hen ~1r. Scull in ·was in povver.

}Ir. COLLI:\"S: It was the action that ho took tlmt brought about its reduction. One of the· major problems that we still haYo to tacklt• is that of drought. Fortunately, to·rlay. that part of our State that carries most sheep. which ropresc>nt the industry that rPinrns the gt·catcst wealth to the State, is now enjoying a bountiful season after a long pPriod of drought and scmi·drought, During the last drought the sheep mortality amount •cl to <•YOl' 3,000,000 head. and it is hard to Pstirnate tilf' inrlirect loss in \\Ool and natural i11creasP.

Mr. MAHER: Do you propose to help the indu~try to restock?

}I,.. COLLIXS: It would be a greater benefit to the industry if a eomprehcnsive scheme could lw adopted to preYcnt the ravages of the drought. I bcliPve that io the only wa3 in which the grazier may be pcrman<'ntly assisted. Unfortunately, we know that many of the graziers are in a deplorable financial condition, and that most {)f them are in the hands of banks or other financial institutions. Thev are the verv in,titutions to which we sh<;uld have to go to borrow money to carry out the policy suggested by the Leader of the Opposition. There is a way of overcoming the difficulty­and I believe it could be done. Let us formulate. a scheme to provide against the m vages of the drought. Something along these lines should be attempted at the prcs<'nt time, while seasons are good. Y C'<ter­day I had the honour of speaking to on_e {)f our most progressive sheep1nen in the west, :Mr. Shannon, of Rodnev Downs. He has given a good deal of thought and intelli· gence to the drought problem, and he told me that during the last drought he had practically no losses, because he had been able to prevent them partly by the use of fodder that had been comened on his own muntry. I believe that he said that he lost two out of his stud flock. and that the losses in the general flor·k w·No not verv much more than normal. That shows what can be done.

Mr. MA HER: How did he conserve the fodder? Did he crop it?

Mr. COLLINS: No. He carried out irri­gation to a limited extent, and he was able -to conserve a considerab!.> amount of natural hay from his country. He uses a good deal of colntnonscnse, \vhieh will help any 1nan to get. over the problern.

:\h. MAHER: It will not feed the sheep.

Mr. COLLINS: Ho has fed the sheep and done it very succPssfully. I believe that it wonld bP rrn excellent gesture to the sheep· men to.day if we appointee! a royal rom· n1i~~ion to inquhe into the problen1, par­ticularly with a vimv to ascertaining >Yhat could be clone in the \Vest in wrrter conser· YaJion. There are tin1cs when the rain i'3 a curc:o to thct country. just as there are periods when the lack of it is a tragedv. f belioYC that if a Competent body WaS appom!ed to ascertain what could be done in this direction it would be able to formulate a scheme that wonld very materially help in 'Z'On~crYing Queensland's greatest asset. Pos-

[jlfr. Collins.

sibly the opening up of new country on the Darkly Tableland mig·ht be another way of making a,·ailablc, to the people on the inside areas, a re as for relief purposes in time of drought. hut it is a problem that no Govcmment has yet tackled. To my mind, not sufficient effort has been made by any Government to solYe whnt I regard as a 1najor problem.

I believe much can be done to improve the position of the cattle industry. It i; ''cry pleasing to note that cxpcrin1ents are now being carried out, on our uorthern coastal areas v:·ith a view to the transfer of young otock from the western cat,t,Je. gro\ving area~ and fattcning the1n there, the object being· i o n1ake young·er cattle avail­able iu greater nurnbers for treatment at the mcatworks. I do not consi-der that this task car:t be successfully accomplished on local grass"' alone. It is well known that the problem of our pastures, particularly on our northern areas revch-es around clover or local and artificial trefoils-in other words. f,he provision of legumes. This can only be supplied by growing lucerne as is done in the Argentina, which is regarded as the world's greate't producer of baby beef. Water is obtainable at a shallow depth on great areas of our coa,tal belt. They might be deYeloped to grow lucerne, and so become fattening areas for our western cattle. \Vhat a world of difference it woulrl make to our cattle industrv if we could market our cattle as two."year·olds, instead of waiting until they are five·year·old, as is the prac· tice to·day ! \V e should sa ye the grazing of more than half our cattle, and get increased supplic•s of beef, and so could double ot· treble the number of our breeders. The increase in the price obtain­able by owners for suitable baby beef would far more than compensate the owners and breeders for selling them at the younger age and lighter weight. Possibly, cattle a year old would be worth to the owner as much as four or five.year.old cattle are worth on the station to·d.ay. There is a great avenue for development in that direction. The Government might ask the Department of Agriculture and Stock to carry out experi. ments not only in the fattening of cattle but also in the growth of artificial grasses on our northern coastal areas, and lucerne in a great 1nany districts.

I believe that many of the matters men· tioned in the Governor's Speech will be very beneficial to the people of Queensland. I trust that as time goes on no effort will be spared to reduce the number of people who are unfortunately unemployed in this State, as that is still our major problem.

Mr. McLEAN (Bundaberg) [12.50 p.m.]: I desire to supplement the congratulatory remarks of preYious speakers respecting- the efforts of the mov<'r and seconder of the motion for the Address in Hcplv. I know that both arc imbued with high 'ideals, and haYP a. sincere rlc,siro to do only 1,;-vhat is jn the interests of the working--alas~ they rcpr<·· ,"Pnt. I also dc;,jn" to offer rr1y congratula­tions to 1·hc youthful nwmb0r for Too· ,,rnmnba.. I amv nre he \Yill provo an assf~t to !hi, House.

I rose in rnv place primarily to deal with the attack that had been made by the Leader of the Opposition on the Govern· ment and the statements he made concern· ing taxation and other disabilities that he

Address in Reply. [26 AuGUST.] Address in Reply. 131

claimed existed under the Labour Adminis­tration. It is very difficult to discern any difference between the two parties sitting on the Opposition benches. The ox-leader may be likened to Gideon, who found he had so many supporters of the same thought that he occasionally left their ranks. T'ho hon. member for Aubigny was absent when the motion of " no confidence " was launched against the Government. I am sure the hon. member felt he could not support it, and therefore remained away. It has been said he was sick, hut it seems remarkab:e that after the amendment was defeated the hon. member returned to this Chamber. At any rate, I wish the hon. member good health in the future.

The members of the Country Party have attempted to disparage the Government in cverv wav. They have endeaYourod to throw dust' in the eyes of the people by claiming • that they are separate from the United Aus­tralia Party. The hon. member for Dalby, who ·was the solo occupant of the Country Party benches during the last session of Parliament is now, like the Duke of Plaza. Toro, leading the party from behind. The hon. mcrnbcr has s;vallo,ved thmn all up ! He is wearing a very quiet smile that reminds me of the poem relating to the young lady of Riga--

" There was a young lady of Riga, \Vho went for a ride on a. tiger, Thev returned from the ride With the lady inside, And a smile on the face of the tiger."

(Laughter.) The hon. member wears a smile like the tiger's because he knows that. like one of his sheepdogs, he has them 8.11 in the pen.

JYir. CLAYTON: You seem concerned.

Mr. McLEAN: I have no need to be concerned with the speeches made bY hon. members opposite, because their efforts to deceive the people have boon futile.

The following appeared in the Bundaberg " Daily News and l\fail " of 25th August, 1936, relating to tho Queensland Country Party:-

•· Revic\ving the work of the Quec·ns­land Country I' a, ty cenfon nee. which concluded its de'iberatious at 12 o'clock (midnight), on Saturday last, Mr. John Lcahy, President of the Queensland Country Party, said-' The conference marks the bcginnjng of ncv;· orientation of political thought and the definite trans­fer of emmtry people's allegiance to a purely Country Party n1ovcn1cnt.'"

The follm,·ing statement appears in the same issue of the samo journal in telation to a statement made bv Mr. 'l'horby. the Federal Minister :- · ·

" }fr. rrhorby' s strong condmnnation of the State GoYernment's failure to fall into line with the rest of Australia in connection with the Federal rural rehabilitation schen1e v;.ras an illunlinat­ing interlude which gave delegates some­thing to ponder over. It was considered that the Queensland Government's excuses were weak a.nd untenable. 'l'ho important fact is that the Governments in all other States we;-e cognisant of the benefits under the Act, and had grasped the opportunity bf affording practiea.l monetary relief to their pro­ducers."

Such a statement amounts to a distortion of the facts.

In the Cormnonwealth Parliament in J uno last, Mr. Archic Cameron asked the e.anw Mr. Thorby-

" h the Commom.-<·Qlth Government saLisfied with the rate at which the State Governments are proceeding with the distribution of funds under the Farmers' Debts Adjustment Act."

And :VIr. Thorby replied-" Although the figures I have gin ll

are comparatively small compared with the total of £12,000,000 pro.-ided for under the Act, hon. members must under­stand that some of the States were unable to operate under their own legis. lation, because it did not conform ta the requirements of the Fed01·al Act, and that it was only during this scssro11 that the Commonwealth Act was amended to enable the States to come into line. It is hoped during the nen financial year large sums will be dish,i­buted through the agency of the States."

Mr. CLAYTOor: On what date did Mr. Thorby make that statement?

Mr. McLEAN: Mr. Thorby made that statement at the Country Party conference here, as reported in yesterday's issue of the Hundaberg ''Daily News and Mail." And this is the statement ho made in refutation of his remarks in the Federal House.

Mr. CLAYTON: On what date did he make the statement in the Federal House 1

Mr. McLEAK : vYill the hon. member allow me to continue in regard to the mor­ganatic maniage of the Country and. Kational Parties? The "Telegraph ,. of 17th April states-

" The moYemcnts for putting new life into the fighting machinery of the poh­tical forces representing ="iationalist ancl Country l'arty views would seem io be satisfactorily progrw·sing towards con­crete and well defined efforts. The Country Party, haYing dissociated itself from the Nationalists for elcctional pur­poses .....

" The Constitutional Club in Brisbane has been availed of as a useful medium for the bringing about of this deYelop­ment, and the hope is that under its aegis the Queensland branch of the United Australia Party will be called into being before many d,;ys have pctssed.

"Though tho Country Party_ has emphatically embarked upon a polrcy of separateness there will be no difficulty about sincere co-operation with th(' :\ationalists within Parliament."

\Ye ha,-c no cioubt as to their sincere co­operation, but it is a caso of the blind lead­ing· the blind. In hostility to Labour's hurnanc lrglslation Yd~ see thc-111 a-cdng 1n conc<'rt. 'They s)1eak with one voice, neveriholc" tlH''' haYe the audacity to dis­seminate infonnation such as I have road. T tell the people of Queensland that they arc both of ihc same kidney.

\Vith the formation of a new party " new leader '"as dc,;;;;irable. As the Prmnicr has remarked, if he had had the hand­picking of the members when selecting a leader he would haYe faYoured the hon ..

.!111', M cLean.]

132 Address in Reply. [ASSEMBLY.] Address in Reply.

mcrnbpr· for \Ye.<t Moreton. During the ·debate on the motion for the adoption of the Address in Heply the hon. gentleman said rnany things. I ndoecl, lH! is for ever lccturi11g in tbiP. 1-lon~e on the ills and vvrong·~doings of tl1e Labour Party in Queensland, and he often distorts facts. There wa.-. nnwh ju his argun1cnt that was sound­in fact. it was mostly sound, for, in the words of Macbeth.

,; it 1s a tale. . full of sound and fury.

Signifying nothiiJg.''

·The holl. geutlelllUil said--.. Do not t ho.;.;c figures constitute a

damning indictment of Government policy in Queensland with itc·, high taxa-tion[ It has had a tremendous detri-mental effect in restricting develop-ment in this State. On the cth er hand, the t'eYcrse obtains in Victoria a State tbat has enjoyed stable go'vernment practically throughout its history. Only one Labour Government have 'been in power in that State, and that was dur­ing the period of the depression. In 1915 Victoria had 113,834 factorv Pmployees, but in 1935 the number had increased to 169,691, or an increase of 55,857 in twenty years, which clearly shows that a policy of sound govern­ment and low taxation 'has attracted capital to that Sta.te. Although it is the -Smallest State on the mainland and is a poor State in comparison with Queensland, it has mainta ned a very large population, and is extending its commercia.] 0nterprise to a greater extent than any other State in Aus­tralia."

~1r. WALKER: Quite true.

Mr. McLEAN: Let us analyse the facts an<! see whether the hon. member's interjec­tion is correct. On the 8th July last Mr. A. W. Halph, the president of the Mel­bourne Chamber of Commerce, referred to .the subject of taxation as follows :-

''Kot only is their rmrrent expendi­ture being reduced, but many persons are being forced into debt in order to meet their taxes. They are, therefore, <'easing to finanC>e industry. In n1any ease~ the taxc,; arc actually !wing paid out of capita.!. 'These taxes arc being used bv the GoYernment for its own current' expenditure, for financing State deficits. for works for the unemployed, for creating new departments, and trans­ferring others to Canberra, and for imn1cnsc social and pensions schen1es. Therefore, money that otherwise would be supplying new capital for industry is practically being dissipated, for very little in the shape of capital or assets c'm be shown as a reoult of all this oxpenditure."

Th·'re 1:-: a eloar rDfutation of the sLltr~monts uttered bv the hon. the Leader of the Oppo­sition. Qu0C'nslaud has advanced so \Yon­

dPrfully under Labour Government that a jourmd t]J'lt can bP accepted as anti-Labour quotes the incr.easc in Queensland securities of from £35,967,483 in J uno, 1935, to £38,212.810 iu June, 1936.

In that same jonrnal reference is made to the balance sheet of the Queensland

[Jh. JicLean.

National Bank, follows:-

.June, 1934 ,/une, 1935 .J uno. 1936

giving the net profits as

£67,411 69,602 71,148

An absolute contradiction of the statement bv hon. members opposite that Queensland bankers ar,, in despair as a result of control bv a Labour Government.

,The report of the same bank is interest­ing, too. Let me quote the official docu­ment-

" Heport for presentation to the m·din­ary general meeting of the proprietors, to be held at Brisbane on 13th August, 1936:-

' The directors now beg to submit the lllth renort with the balance sheet and auclito;s' report attached. The net profit for the year ended 30th J uno last, after allowing for rebate on bills current, interest accrued on deposits, and interminable inscribed deposit stock, all assessments of m­come land and c•ther taxes payable cluri,{g th~t period, reducing bank premises, and furniture accounts £2,500, making provision for bad and doubtful debts and all known con­tingencies and including recoveries, amounts to £71,148 2s. Se!.' "

After paying all taxes and other expenses pertaining to business, they were able to show a net profit of £71,148.

Furthermore, it is stated in this journa 1-" The directors of the Commercial

Banking Company, of Sydney, haYe under consideration the replacement o~ ~he bank's present two-storiecl stone bUIIdmg at the corner of Queen and Creek street~; with modern and much larger premJ,es.

Mr. MAHER: What is the name of that journal?

Mr. McLEAN: 'The " Insurance and Bank­ing R.0conl." These people would not invest m0ney in this State and improYe. thetr premises if they had no confidence m th_c State. \Ve haye had members of the Opposi­tion and their propagandists-pacifists I !ward thcrn described ae yesterday--and Colonel Goldcnstedt running around thP country denouncing the GoYcrnment. \VP also had the spectaCle of a blo.wn-out N~tiona­list member of the VJCtonan Parhament denouncing the Goyernment. but. let me coutintw with the reading of these J!lust~·a­tions I haYe collected to proyc the prospcnt.' of the Str,fp-

" The butter expmt, from Queerl'land during the period from the 1st Juh to 14th Dcc<•mber, 1935, were 10.287 tons, compared with 16.355 tcms during the corrcspo11ding Jwriod of 1934. The dc<:rcasD i~ Rn indi{ atjon of the soYenty of the dry WPtthcr experienced in this Slate ·dut·~ng the past six rnonth:;."

Yet 1;c lutYC hon. Hlelnbcrs of the Opposition rlaniouring jn this Chamber that '~h~s State js going tO the dog-: uJH1cr Labour control. Again--

'· Th.-; Uf1\VCl~J cl trend iu bulld1ng opc_.ra­tions conhnues, nnd durina thP rnonth of Januarv. the City Architect's D,part­nwnt npproyecl of 219 ple1ns for lH''"

builcli ngs. alterations. and aclchi tons to cmt £158,644. eomparecl with 168 pla_ns, Yahwd at £85.917. for the correspondmg mouth of la>t year. Bank dearrn?;s for

Address in Reply. [26 AUGUST.] Address 1'n Reply. 133

the JlCl'iod from hi January to 24th February 'how an inn<:'asc of £1.996,008 to £27.878.271 wlwn compared with tlw fig-nn•s for the paralld period last yf'ar.

" 1.\trnovc-rs in city retail shops ~ho\Y an irnprov"nwnt over the b:~:elvo 1nonth~, but. with the conclusion of the summer sales. the l"ual quiet period can be oxpertc>d until "·inter rcquirt'lncnts are sought."

l\{1· desii'<' is to ,how to this Aos' mbly, a!ld to the people generally. that ther<' has been a lllall:ed in11HOYC;lncnt. The report gof':? on to ~.R~v~--

" Cih· lT,:u}e continue~ on a. sati:-;factorY basjs, "E~1s1 er basines::; was on a higi1 1P' C'l, nHt t.tn·novf\1':5 generally were highPr than fot.· the ]H'CYlOUS Ea6tcr sea~on. The improYelncnt in the n1otor tradP i, evidenced bv the; increased num her of vehicles reg:istered. On 31st ~lard1 this year. it was 106.386. which ~omparc-- with 98,468 on the correspond­Ing day of last year. 2\'Io.~t countr\' di.st.l·ict~ report cm1tinuanec of norrnal trade turnovers."

It goes on to review tho activities in the building trade. In its rssue of lOth August, 1936, it states-~

"'¥ith the conclusion of stocktaking. business in rnercantile and retail circk•,~ is reported to have settled clown. Soft­goods house:-5 are experiencing their usual quiet period, though winter trade to date has been up to average. The volume of countrv orders has shown improvemPnt since 'the break in the dry spell on the Darling Dmvns and nearer South-Western areas, while satisfactory trading conditions are reported in the Northern and Central districts."

It then goes on to deal with the building trade, setting out that whereas, in 1932, the cost _of building amounted to £362,140, it had mereasccl to £1,063,108 in 1936. It con­cludes with this very startling paragraph--

" Country centres also report brisk activity. in the building trade, but the t1rnber mdustry is less buoyant. There is, however, an improved demand for hardwood products both for local con­sumption and over'scas tra.de.''

The further we go the more we arc con­vinced that there has been a marked improvcnv•nt in economic conditions. Let me introduce another witness whose state­ments emphatically denv the contentions bv the Leader of the Opposition. Thi' is ;L report of the remarks bv tlw now Loader of the l~nitNl Australia' Partv, the hon. 1110/_:Jbcr for 11 a1nilton, speaking' on 1st ,July, 193(} __

··I think vve can u11 :•av that rondi­tions are better, genera1ly speaking, than thcv IYC'rc h;n~1ve 1nontl1" Hfl'O said Mr. H. JVL Russe1l, i\I.LA., a pr-~l;linent husine~"' nl<UJ. Tlwrp htlf' been furthrr progrc.,~, and a.t the rnotnent there is grea tcr confidence in bu~incss ci re lcs. A larg-e amount of Lun spPnding has caus0d a good deal of buoyancy, since it has led to a greater dcnutnd for commo­dities, rrnd wllilc that prop ic there bu-i­ru ,_, js fairly solid.

'' Co~JPETITIOx KEEX.

.. f1u;;;;.inc::·s llcusc ~ hnYl' not a ypro: much larger population to cater for tha11 they had a. yoar ago, and co1npctition is

very keen. Despite thio, a good man:> companies are shovving increased returns. purchasing pow<'r being better than at the beginning of 1935-36. due to the fact that a large arnount of loan money i::; being nscd for the creation of employ­ment and to the fact that spending by the public is more free to-clay because of greater confidence in the situation.'

" ::\fr. Rnssell recalled tl1at there was phenomenal trade last Christmas in this State, and said tbat it looked to him that- the same conditions would obtain thi~ vear. If cliinatiL· condition~ arn favon~·able we shou'd have a good year in 1936-37, he ad<kcl."

Despite those uttora11ces hon. members oppo­site arc endeavouring to create .a feeling of distrust in the Government on the par~ of the people outside. Any person who wishes to criticise the Government should be sure• of his fact', but I cmnhaticaily assert that the Leader of the Opposition was not au fa it \vith cot~ditions generally when llfl glibly ref,'rrecl to the many anoma­lies that he said ex:sted.

The LeadPr of the Opposition comendecl that the Government had done nothing to cop0 with the problem of unemplovment. On the one hand he argued that opportuni­ties for employment should be increased by the appointment of an increased number of Crown employees, but on the other hand he contended that the number of public servants should be reduced. The Queens:and Tax­payers' Association has recently issued a nun, ber of scurrilous circulars dealing with unemployment. This is mw of its despic-able circulars distributed in countrv centres- ,

"RELIEF V\'ORKERS WHO CALL FOR RATIONS

IN MoToR CARS.

" :Men of Means. " It seems incredible, but it is never­

theless true, that instances have occurred of men with means who have concealed their true financial condition and become relief workers."

This associati0n goes on to say-

" It is an astonishing fact that many relief 'vorkcrs haYe their own cars, some of them of costly makP, and quite openly drive in them to collect their rations. vVomcn ~ollcct their rations in the same n1anncr.''

cUr. :\LillER: That is a Yery serious indict­nlcnt

Mr. J\fcLlL'\l\: It is an indictment of the po-.;ition b:v· the friends of the Opposition. who are now clatnouring for tlw support of tl1c',e pcoplP.

\Yhile I am on thi; matter of unemploy· n1c11t, let nu' ~h(HV holY the :V1ooro-Barnc,, GoYC! ntll('nt directly created llllClnployu1cnt. Tfw tlwn Trcastner. the late Hon. ,V. H. Tial'nc,.;, in the course of the Financial Statc­lllf'llt ,·,hich he r0ad in iLi'· ClHunbcT on 1st Odob:T, 1931, said-

, 'The reduction in tile nn111bcr of f'lnnloYt- e, inc0 30th June. 1929, wa,;; thus 7.0Sl. , ... In the RaihYa,- Dcpartnwut and in the Printing- Offic'', hmn'I'Cr. pool­ing of >York ha' been adopted in pro­fnence to reduction of staffs at a time ,,1.·hcn ctnploy1ncnt is not available 111

Jlir.lllcLean.]

134 Address in Reply. [ASSEMBLY.] Address in Reply.

other dircctiom. At the 30th June last approximately 8, 730 employees in these services were working short tjme."

The total number of employees in the Govern­ment service at the 30th Jun<', 1929, was 36,743, but under the policy of the Moore­Barnes Government this number was reduced to 29,662 on 30th June. 1931, and of this number approximately 8, 730 were working short time.

The hon. rnembPr for KeiYin GroYe said this morning that unemplvyment would always exist whilst we had a system of society that tolerated profit mongering. When I was speaking in this House the other day on another mattEr, I mentioned seYeral questions that had a material bearing on the welfare of the ;;orking dass, and some members of the Opposition interjected t~omeihing about Comn1unis1n and a com­munistic speech. Let me call their attention to the following speech delivered by the Primate of Australia, Archbishop Le Fan:>:-

",\RcHmsHor LE FANU OuTSPOKEK.

'· Perth, 19th August. " The Primate of Australia (Archbishop

Le Farm), speaking at tho Perth Diocesan Synod, described the motive of profit­making in industry as a denial of the Christian religion. He attacked 'false patriotisrn and oxtren1c nationalism.'

'' I am certain that in many respects our present industrial system and our Christian profe-sion arc fundamentally opposed, said the primate. Our "·hole industrial organisation is built and worked for monetary prolit, and that the profit of a cornparati;-ely few. So long as profit is our aim we are bound to treat mc•n as hands or cannon fodder, and to make individual welfare subsen-i­cnt to the main end in .-iow.

"The economic situat.ion fonnd('d upon competition and the hope of profit has been the cause of most of the ms­picion and unrest which has jeopardised the welfare of the world. It is building up loftier walls than ever between natio11 and nation. L;ntil we can get somo higher aim than monetary profit in our dealings OJH) with another any solution ~CC'lli~ far off.

" r'\ second contributjng cause of world unrest is the continua,! growth of false patriotism and extreme national­ism. J-Icrc~, no doubt, 'vas one reason for the tnl~Cl'U1JUlou:-: ag;..!T('"','-<lon of I t::dy upon a follow member of the League of Nations, which has filled the civilised world 1vith sharne and di..,lna.Y. ''

It is well that on this point I should refer to another authority in the RcYerencl Mr. Hoog, who spoke at a confc<rence of relig-iou., heads who were considering social problems. :Ylr. Hoog addressed the conference on the first day, when it was open to the Press, but because of his ontspokcn remarks publicity to his utterances on thG second dav was stifled by a refusal to admit the Press." Why was the Press not admitted to report the deliberations of men whose dutv causes them to mingle amongst unfortunatP people who were suffering privations? Mr. Hoog said in the course of his address-

" Why attack the relief worker? \Yhy not go up higher" Why not attack the

[Mr. M cLean.

men at the top, who control the wheels of power in every country in the wor14? -the financial powers that be that w11l not face up to this problem? Let us attack the selfishness in human nature, which allows this state of affairs to con­tinue. Relief ,,,ork is caused by tho_se underlying un-Christian principles in the hearts of humanitv. \Ye sneer at a man who rolls about the street drunk, but what of the men clothed in respectability who Me big-ger sinners in the eyes of our Lord? Cant, humbug, and hypocrisy­whv don't we attack them, and not the poor rolie f worker? We have to try to com-ert the hearts of people, and we must do it first through the churches."

I join with the reverend gentleman. I agrc'c with him in his description of the funda­mental causes of the situation existing to-day.

niueh has been said during this debate regarding the probable overthrow of demo­cracy. There is no doubt that the !?resent hostilitY toward,s democracy and parhamell­tary government j, cngenclcrod by the treatmPnt meted out to the workmg-class by the profitmongers. \Yhon hor:. member"' on this side of the House castigate them· we arc attacked hv hon. members opposit<J because, of course, the profitmongcrs pa,Y into the political funds used by the Opposi­tion to fight the Lahour Gm·ernment. It Is

pleasing to know that there are heads of religious organisations in this country who realise that much of the sllfforing and the hostility towards democracy is duo to the actions of the profitmongers.

In regard to unemployment, the Govern­ment are carrying out a pohc:y, as far as finances will permit, that will tend to

diminish progressin•l_y the number of unem­ployed. As was pomtod o~t by the hen ..

.member for Toowoomba, wh1lst the _Govern­nlcnt aro 1naking every cndca.your to Improve the situation thoro is a section who ar;' en de a ;·curing to cut the ground fron: beneath their fed. Bishop Le Fanu has stated tho position very clearly_ for the information, and (I hope) the guidance, . of the people of this countr:·,. In de~lmg With unemplovmont lot me pomt out m passmg that WP Il!USt always remember that machines produce but do n~t consume.

I take the opnortunitv of dr:twing atten· tion to the exploitation" indulged in by the rnanufncturers of a con1n1onlv used coin­modity. I spoke in regard to this mat_ter last session, and J again desire to ment1oa it. I refer to the profits made by the Qnc,nsland Cement Company. I trust that jf the GoYornmcnt C'an oxPrcisc any control that they will do w. In a report by th"t company to the Tariff Board it i., stated that thr cmt of production of cement by this company is £2s 2d. 2d. a ton, and it is eold le the public for £4 12s. 9d. We also find that the shares were 27s. tw,,h·e rnonlh··' ago, and arc now 34s., and the di,·idend ha, been raised to 10 per cent.

Mr. BHAKD: \Yherc is it sold for £4 12s. 9d.?

Mr. McLEA::"i : In Brisbane. I repeat that whilst companies make such huge pro­fits this GoYernmcnt or any other Gon•rn­mcnt that ma_,, happen to be in . power shoCild '"" them and compel them to drs­gorgc [.hose profits, and use the monoy to emp:oy people profitably in the State. Of course, immediately a Labour Governrucn~

Add:ress in Reply, [26 AUGUST.] Address in Reply. 135

does such a thing and attempt to impose a tax we hear from the Opposition the ~ry. "You are taxing industry. You arc not allowing it to develop." I repeat that pri­vate enterprise in Queensland is not doing its job. That is ono of tho causes of unem­ployment. Labour·s policy is an embodi· ment of a return to happy conditions. After the Moore regime a Labour Government became a beacon-light to sho\\·, to load, and to guide. "l'he responsibility was thrown ·upon it of "taking up the slack," as it were! or, as the Americans saJ, "' priming .the truck," or the Gcr1nans~ '·cranking-up.'' Labour has achieved distinction by doing it, and will continue to do so.

Mr. NDI1!0: Are you satisfied?

Mr. McLEAN: Thoroughly satisfied, as are the people of Queensland. Those that are not satisfied are the profitmongers, the 'big vested interests, and members of the Dpposition.

I am very pleased at the work of the 1\ilain Roads Commission for the past twehe months, and I pay tribute to the Secretary for Public Lands for his kindly considera­tion to the unfortunate people in the Good­night Scrub, in the electorate of the hon. member for Isis. I and they appreciate the fact that a large sum of money is to be expended on developmental roads in that district, thus allowing the producers to get their commodities to the nearest railway f!tation. Good roads giving access to the nearest markets act as a powerful stimu· !ant to our farmers.

Step by step, the Labour Government are doing these things in the interests of the uhemployed. By such work they are reduc­ing the number out of work who, unfor­tunately, cannot be engaged by private enterprise in full-time jobs. Labour is irnproving their conditions and bringing a ray of happiness into their homes. The dole cannot cure; it aggravates. It has a bane­ful effect upon its recipients, and the endeavour of the Labour GoYernment is to improve the conditions of these poor unfor­tunates and retreat as soon and as far as pos,ible from the dole system. As time goes on under Labour administration we hope to see a marked improvement. 'The policy of Labour, as has oft been said from the plat­form, the soap-box, and in this Chamber, stands for the uplifting of the conditions of the human race. The policy of the Labour Government in Queensland stands for the betterment of the conditions of every man. "·oman, and child of this great State. The\ arc progressing in this direction, clt-spitt' the 1·etarding forces. These force's would shc·ltor behind the moncv that thov hoardc•d against the interests o( c.ocicty. '

\Yhcn LaUour GoYcnnucnb attc1upt to brjng about a bQtter distribution of wea,lth hem. 1nernbcrs get up in their places and JJ.HCrt that taxation is too high and private indust.n· is being forced out of th,, Rtate. Clearly and logicallv haYr· l refuted ,thl' statement made by the Lead0r of the Oppo­sition. Ills first exhibit a-; reganls taxa­tion in Victoria wus refuted by quotillg frorn a we~l-kno\vn ~ationa1i._·t support('l', the president of the Chamba of Commerce in lVIL'lbonrnc, as to the arncuni of taxation impo.iccl by the Victorian Govcrmncnt.

Mr. SPEAKF.TI : Order: The hon. mem­ber has exhausted the time al\o\YCd him under the Standing Order,-.

i'dr. ::\r:YDIO (O.rlcy) [2.31 p.m.J: I have listened carefully to the speech delivered bv the hon. nlcrubc:r \vho has iust rcsumeJ his scat. in an endeavour to ·fathom what is rca!!'v at the back of his mind, and what he was driving at. He quoteJ from financial journals and reports of various boards of directol'S in an t:ndeavoui, to apologise for his Government, and to attempt to prove that conditions in thi> State arc satisfactory. There is no doubt that there has been an improvcrnent her(•, but it has been loss than in anv other State in the Commmmealth. Th~ reports of cliroctors quoted by the hon. member in his endeavour to show that the State had llll­

proYed enormously reveal the fact that those directors are not vcrv satrsfiod \nth thu improvr·menl that has Leen shown. I believe that this State has possibilities far beyond those of any other of the Commonwealth. It has been 'stated repeatedly in this debate that unemploymellt in Queensland is les., than in an v other State in Australia. That ha, been 'so right through the piece. It was the lowest in the Commonwealth even dur­ing the worst of the depre,.ssion.

It is not often that I agree with what the Government have done, but when the.v do something with which I do agree, 1 intend to say so. This afternoon. therefore, 1 express my hearty agreement with them in arranging for the appointment of His Excellency Sir Leslie \Vilson for a further term of five years as Governor of the State. I thought that the Govemment had done it because they thought it was the right thing, but the hon. member for Rockharnp­ton spoiled everything by saying that their advice had not been accepted, and they had to fall back on the best man available -His Excellency from overseas. His appoint· ment for another five year" is a great thing for this State. It shows that the people of Queensland and the Government have his confidence, and I am sure that the people, in my electorate at any rate, appreciate hi~ acceptance of the position for a further term. Thew is no doubt that during hi; stay in Queensland he has endeavoured to find out the rf'quircments of this State. Hl• has traYellcd extensively, and thereb) brought a great deal of happiness to many people in the outback portions of the State. Although the trip he made to the Easl r0cently was n•ally for a holiday it must be recognised that during that tir11o he acted as ambassador not on!,- for Queensland but also for Australia. The pnblication, "Japan To-day,·· whlrh was eirculatPd arnongst rn0rr1hPrs rr,ccntly~ contains several conunents ~h(nving thnt hP in1presscd even t.hp pC'or1P in .Japan with the potentialities of this Rtatc. That, no doubt. will h•ar a good deal of fruit. nlt.hough there mav be a little fri('tlo11 brt\vc-rn our- conntry arld ,Japan at the pre .. cnt time.

I i'Ftnnot og-ree altogcthrr \Yith manv of ih0 ~Pntin1f'J1t~ C'XiJl'C'ssrd bv ITi:-:; ExccllPnC\' durin,~ tlH• cour~e of i-hr' Speech that h~· d~>]in•rf'd in th1;.; Cl!C~n)hrr. A. a rnnitcr of far·t. of col!rsc the Specdt had been handed in him nnd 1~0 ~irnph~ read it. as one of l1i~ clnti0.;; as n con~'-itntinn 11 f:o,·crnor. at tlH· rcqn0c.t of hi~ ach·i~Pr . the (~o' crnnH'nt. Thf• vdwle sl)('f'('h i~ bri;;;tlin'r widl pra~o;(' of thy UoYcnlmf'nt \vho arC' to-rlwv in pO\\·C'r. It 1:-: prai~c. I sa:v·. that is totallv un\Yarranted. lu going· tllrough Uu-.. Speech 1 found por­tions wlwre intcrjc·ctlons \VCl'e justified. bnt

JJ1r. Nimmo.]

136 Address in Reply. [ASSEMBLY.] Address in Reply.

hon. members remained quiet and did not show their disapproval of its sentiment'.

The first portion of the Speech refened to the Prcrnier' s visit overseas~-

" My ach·isers considered it dHira.ble that during- the rec<:ss the Leader of the Government should ag-ree to the request made by all section" of the sug-ar indus­try_ t~at he ,~hould proceed to Grea1, Bntam .....

Now. why should the PromiH· of this State, at the expense of all the• taxpayers, pro­ceed to Great Britain at the request of the sugar-g-rowers? \Vhv oshould it not be for th•· dairy people a~1d other industries of the Stat~' The dairy interests sent their chairn1an oyerseas at their o\Yn ro.st. ~-'ho sugar-grov'. crs, at no cost to thcrn, could get the Premier sent overseas to attend a con­ferfmce. That conference did not take place and Yirtually the whole of the' rnone0 spent Yi·'as rnoncy throv;n away.

The S pr·ech g-oes on to say--" In conjunction "ith th<' Common­

wealth Government he asked for a five years' agreement. based on exist1ng rebates of sugar duty without lirr1itation as to quar1tity. This \vas not agree:! to by the Imperial GoYernmcnt, bnt, an undertaking was given that no rhangc in policy wotlld. take place unless eig-h­teen rnonths' notice '\vas given."

That could have been gin•n whether the Premier had gone OYCrsEo;ts Ol' not.

I wish to rder now to the transactiom of the Consolidav cl Re1•enue Fund for the last financial year, which resulted in a defteit of £741,815, or £420.558 l<>'s than the budget estimate. and £558,185 less than the deficit to which the Leader of the Government agrct·d at the Premiers' Conference last year. Anyone who understands fig-ures and who has gone throug-h the returns from the Trcasurv rnu,t adrnit th~~t there wa-: a seriou."' ~juggling 'rith the figure~ to arrjyc at that. rc .. ,ult. :Rev('llUC PXpC'nditurc was pnid over ont of loan funds. The sum of £500.000 extm 11as shown in the loan oxpcn­diLurv for J un0. as corn pared with that of an~v Other n1onth duri!lp; the san1c \·ear, which shmY; that the fund had be0n mH;lipu­latcd ill such a way as to bring out the deficit at rt lower amount than it actuallY ~Vas. This doe's not square with \Yhat the people 11·crc told at the last f'!cctions that GYerY effort would b!' made to continue the spt nding of n1onev to relieve all unemployment if pos-,ible. Ii1 fact. mnw nf the MinistNs went PO far as to sa'v that the relief workers would be put on the basic vvagc during the following :vear. For EXample. the Secretary for Health and 1-Innv:! .Affail'S at Bundaberg on the i~t 1\Iav. 1935. as ronortcd in the '· Conricr-:;\·Iail" of the following- day. said-

" During the next 1 \YelYe n1onths. <1 Labour Government would place all relief worker.·\ back on tho basi-c '"age. '\.Yhen works now in progTC'::'~ in Brif3hane and in the country were finalised. other pro­jects would be underhkcn."

From that no listener could have drawn any other conclusion than that it was the inten­tion of the Governmt•nt to place all workers in full-time employment on the basic wage. Tha.t was tl1c irnprossion soug"ht to be con­veyed by the Minister be· that d.atomonr, but immediately the cl£'ctions \Yore OYer expenditure from GoYernment funds dropped

[Mr. J.rirnmo.

considerably. Those fig-ures, showing: expenditure from loan fund, will give some idea of how expenditure was reduced dur­ing the months mentioned-

1934-35 1935-36 £ £

January 290.361 113,911 February 314,938 229,582 March 506,142 303,079 April 386,054 329,523 May 456,000 269,547

That clearly indicates that the Government did not have the be't interests of the worker;, at heart, as the Secretary for H< alth and Home Affairs intended to convey. They had no intention of giving the workers full­time employment by continuing loan expendi­ture at the then existing rate. Immediately the elections wore oYer loan expenditure was reduced by nearly 60 per cent.

Now let us consider the expenditure from the Main Roads Fund for the same periods-

.] anuar:v February March April May

1934-35 £

105,000 152.000 150,000 128.000 150,000

1935-36 £

82.000 75.000 64,000 58.000 79,000

The SECRETARY FOR P<:BLIC \Y ORKS : The year 1934-35 was a Yery dry year.

Mr. NIMMO: Any excuse is better than none.

The SECRETARY FOR PUBLIC WORKS: ln 1935-36 th~ State experienced its heaviest rainfall.

Mr. Nll\1:\IO: I ha,-e neYer heurd anyone bottnr ablo to make excuses than the hon. gentleman but no excuse that the 1\Iinister can make ~an wipe out the fact that expendi­ture from loan funds and the J',1ain Roads Fund was materially reduced immediately after the elections. I expect that the Govern· mcnt will speed up a little now wiih theit' expenditure to try to secure votes for their party in the coming municipal elections.

The Governor's Speech says-'· The activitiP·. of the Department of

Public Lands ha vc progressed most ~atis­factorilr during the past twelve monthc·."

During- that period practically no new settlers ha Ye been placed on the land in Que£'nsland. Althoug-h the Governor said in hi~ Speech tlwt so rnuny thousands. in fact millions. of acn•s had been settled. the greater, part was additional areas ~1nade a,-ailable to existing Sf,ttlerc~ who had less than living areas. :\cw settlers were entirely elirninated.

The SECHETARY FOH PUBLIC \VoRKS : The action by the Gon~rnmcnt was quite com­mendable.

Mr. ='JIMMO: Quite a g-ood idcci, but tho political manag-ers of the State over the past twenty years should be abso)utel,v ashamed of the slow growth of populatwn m this wondNbl State "c-:ith its g-r.'at pocsibili­tic-,. Rca.llv no effort has been mad0 to develop the 'state, especially when we n1alise that it has takPn thirtv-fivc ycaB to double our population. Is it, anv wonder that we ask why we h:l\-o tolerated the legislat:on

Address in Reply. [26 AUGUST.] Address in Reply. 137

that has been pa,·-ed? In fifteen years Labour Governments havr~ incrcast~d taxa­tion by 250 per cent .. it has taken thirt.--11\-e years to doubk the population. To-day we have a populat:0n of under one n1illion, notwithstanding that the ao ea of this State is twice that of ::\" ··-·w South \Vales!

'I'hc SErRETARY FOR PTmLic \VoRKS: Labour has not been in pml"er m Queensland for thirty-fil"c years.

Mr. :Kil\DIO: That is so, but Labour has been in power since 1914-15, and the most serious causes of our troubles have taken place ,ince. For instance, from 1904 to 1914 there wa,; a greater rate. of growth iu the nun1.ber of en1plo~ ces engaged in factories in Quoenslaud than in any other State in Aus­tralia, but from 1914 to 1935 the greatest decrease of all the Australian States oce;mTed in Quecns1and. Factory employment is a tragedy in Queensland. Unless our boys and girls can be found some way of enter­ing into industry I shudder to think of the result. Inevitably we must simply rear labourers.

There are many matters in connection with the Department of Public Lands that could be severely criticised, but most of that criti­-cism can await until its Estimates are being considered. The other day I asked a ques­twn respecting the imposition of a 10 per -cent. interest penalty rate on arrears of rents. 'l'hc Minister told me in the course of his reply that it was a very difficult matter to investigate, but the fact remains that the Government charge an interest rate of 10 per ceut. on all overdue rents.

The SECRETARY FOR PuBLIC INSTRUCTION: That was not the reply.

Mr. KIMMO : The hon. gentleman can look up the answer of the Minister and tell me exactly what was the reply. I do not remember exactly what it was, but I do remember the Minister saying that the infor­mation was very hard to obtain. His reply gave me no satisfaction at all. The hon. member for Toowong reminds me that although a 10 per cent. interest penalty is charged by the Government on all overdue rents private money-lenders who charge even ·6 per cont. interest are called " Shvlocks " by hon. members opposite. "

l\lr. DT"XSTAN: That penalty has obtained since 1910.

Mr. Nil\1:\10 :. That may be quite correct, but f1 om tune rmmemorial the _Minister in -charge has allowed the head of the depart­mcut or the Land Administration Board to reduce the pc;;alty to 5 per cent. provided a satidactcry exp.a.nation was forthcoming.

The SECRETARY FOR PuBLIC LANDS : \V e remit the whole of the penalty if the appli­cant C6tD b~1she:s a good case.

Mr. Nll\1:\iO: \Vait a moment! During the paot six or eight months the ::\Iinistcr himse:f ho,s issued an order to his depart­ment<tl officers to the effect that as the Loan Council is uot satisfied with the budgetary posrtrcn of Queensland all penalties must be insisted 011. ·

The SECRETARl. FOR PEBLIO LANDS : That is not t1 uc.

Mr. NIMMO: And that no application for rcm1s ·,on can be granted unless it is referred to and granted by the Minister him­self.

The SECRETARY FOR Penuc LANDS: I gave you a rcnli~,_:;jon the other day.

Mr. NIMJ\10: I thank the hon. gontle­llHtn foe doing so. That \VU~ the case of a young n1an who had just started on thf:~ land .. Prior to the Minister's doing so, I had mtcrnewod the oHiccrs of his depart­ment, and they told me that, unfortunately, they. ha? no po'>vel· noy,· to deal -vriih any apphcat1ons for rernissions. I give the J\Iini~tcr crL•dit for rmnittiug the whole of tho 1wualty in t!lC case r2fon.·ccl io. I belicYe that the action of the 1\iinistc;· \Yill bo bene­ficial to that y-:Jung .-ettlcr.

T'ho SECRETARY FOR P-cBLIC LAXDS: remitted three more last week.

Mr. NLYll\10: The Minister will sec the danger. He might not always be in charge of the departmout, and no one knows what will happc'n if that power is vested in a Minister. I consider that the departmental officers arc best able to receive and inquire into any application. If a case of hardship is established they shou:d be able to dea.l with it immediately. Now, when people on the land write aslung for a remisslOn of the penalty they are told they cannot get a remission unless they see the l\1inister.

The SECRETARY FOR PUBLIC LANDS: That IS

not true.

Mr. KIMMO : That practice should be altered bee a use no Government should be allowed to charge a 10 per cent. interest penalty when interest rates have been reduced, in some cases by Act of Parlia­ment.

_'I'he SECRETARY FOR PUBLIC LANDS: Why drd your Government not alter it when you were in power?

Mr. NIMMO: I am not responsible for what our Government did or what they did not do. As a matter of fact, we did not have the time to remedy all these small matters. 'I'he fact remains that during the trme of our Government-and the Minister can verify my statement by the depart­mental records-the penalty was reduced to 5 per cent. if a satisfactory explanation was tendered to the departmental officers. Five per cent. was a reasonable amount to charge on any arrears-if the tenants were not charged anything they would be getting an advantage at the expense of the rest of the community-bu' any Government who charge 10 per cent. to a poor, struggling lauul1\Jluer ue:~erv e the .::.eYen __ .,t couueu1na~ tion.

l wish nov,T to refer to a n1attcr intro­duced by the hon. member for Bundaherg -the profits made by the Queensland Cement Compauy. The hon. men,bc!' otated that the cem.nt could be produced for £2 2s. Od a ton, and the company was chargmg £4 12" 6d. a ton for it that it was making huge profits, that shar~s had gone up to i)4s., and a dividend of 10 per cent. was bemg paid. That statement is erro­neous, and I wish to correct it. In the first place cement cannot be produced in Queensland for £2 2s. Od. a ton. I may add that I do not own one share in the company. The cost of production quoted is at the works at Darra, and it costs a considerable sum, about 5s. a ton, to convey the cement from that centre to Brisbane.

Mr. Nirnmo.]

138 Address in Reply. rASSEJYIBLY.] Address in Reply.

The cement must be taken over the rail­waye, and the result i' the company has to pay a l1igher rat~ for haulage than it otherwise would. 'The company is paying taxa,tion in Queensland, amounting to a eum in the vicinity of £30,000 a year.

THE SECRETARY FOR Pc:BLIO INSTRC:CTION : ln taxation?

l\Ir. J\iiMl\IO: Yes. I suppose the hon. gentleman vvould like to have it as a State enterprise.

THE SECRETAEY FOR l'l:BLlC [X'' TlllTTIGX: It is making a decent profit.

. 11r. ::\'IMJ\10: It is paying railage from Uore to Darra to the H.a.il1vay Department, wluch a.monnts to a sum in the vicinity of £45,000 a year. It is a wonderful company for this State. God send ns a lot more of them ! Personally, I should like to see a thousand such companies in Brisbane. I know the Secretary for Public W arks would like to see them. It is companies like it that make for progress in a State, yet we have th•' spectacle of an hon. member a.ttempting to condemn it. 'That company is putting by a certain amount of reserves. \Vhat for? 'To expand an industry. It is now obtaining shell from Mud Island in :Moreton Bay, in o-rder to cheapen its 'pro­duct materially.

The other night on the invitation. of a welfare club associated with its works, I was at one of the most pleasant functions it has beAn my privilege to attend, the annual cli nncr of the club. The directors were present, and the members of the club presented an address to them in which they expressed their thanks for the wonderful way the directors had helped the employees to build up the club. 'The company gives the club an amount equal to that which it collects and I understand the club is very strong financially. Free medical attention and medicine are provided for the members and their families, and burial and other expens('S that may occur in connection with members of the club or their families are paid. The profits that are made by the company are attributable to the business acumen possessed by the managers.

A GovERNI>IENT l\1EMBER: Have they not preference on the Government works?

Mr. NIMMO : I do not think any prefer­ence is given to the company.

A GoVERN:\IENT MEAIBER: 'There is.

Mr. NIMMO : I am glad to hear it. It is a Queensland company, and the whole of that money is circulated in Queensland.

'The SECRETARY FOR PuBLIC I~STRl-CTION : And its best customer is the Queensland GovBrntnent.

l\lr. :'-JI:::Vl:I,IO: I am !Joi nrt'·orcd to say .hat. I do not know, bi.1t 'pusoibly the Queensland Government is a good customer. If w, it i'· with public money, of course, and naturally no great cr-edit can be given to them, because it is right for the GoYernment to end£'nvour to provide ernployrncmt.. I a1n vcr' plt•: sed to be able to pay this tribute to a company that is so efficientlv managed. It u~es large quantities of Queerlsland coal, and brings reYcnnc to the Hailway Depart­ment. It pavs its C'llployces W"ll. and looks after the m after their dav's work is clone. In "pite of all these things, we have the spectacle of an hon. member belonging to

r Jlr. 1\'immo.

the Labour Party getting up in this Ham<' and ondcaYouring to damn !hat company.

I come now to refer to the dastardly trcahnent 1netod out to sorno relief \Vorkers employed at the Breakfast Creek sc1Yerage works. l~lH1lW::itionably, to-day \Ye livD under a despotisrn, under a Go\¥ern1nent that is hand and glo,·e with that huge octopus, the ~\nstralian \l\Torkor~' Lnion. This organisa­tion i~ IL~,~ying tribute. with the consent of the Gon:-rnrrwnt, upon alrnost every bread­winner in this State. A poll tax is being col­lPcted fro1n the::e unfortunatC' relief \.Yorker~ \\:ho haYc been tuwn1ployecl for a Ycry con­sidc,rable period. They have been certainly on intPrmittent relief \York. but no n1an either in this House or outside can help feeling c.ympathy with a relief worker who has to lin' and provide food and clothing on an n.yprage rate of £1 61'. a week. Out of that sum he ha,; to buy the necessaries of life and pay rent. These men and their families must be hard put to it. The uuem­ploymPnt relid taxation of the Government provides rotational relief work for a period of eight or twelve weeks, but the first thing demanded of each Ol!e of them is 25s .. the cost of a union ticket. in other vvorck " noli tax. The men concerned met th~ Jemand fairly well. They eaicl, "vr e arc preparC'd to pay in order to cmnply with the agreement that has apparently been entered into, but we will pay only the co>t propo.~tionate to the time of our <'mploy­rnent.

)~ GO\'ERN}IE~T J\IIniBER: How did they sti('k to that agrePnlent, <-Lccording to youe argument'?

J\!Ir. 2'\IMMO: They stuck to that agree­ment by consenting to pay pro rata, accord­ing to the time they worked. But that did not satisfy this huge rich octopus, the Aus­tralian Workers' Lnion. This organisation demanded that these men pay 25s. before they were allowed to work.

The SECRET.\RY FOR PuBLIC LANDS : And so does the British Medical Association and all the clerical organisatons.

Mr. NIMMO: That is absurd.

Mr. SPEAKER: Order !

Mr. KIMMO: 'The fact remains that this Government have gone in league with the Anstralian Workers' Union, and created a dictatorship in Queensland.

The SECRETARY FOR PuBLIC LANDS : 'That lS

not a fa~t.

Mr. NINIMO: 'That organisation is now throwing its weight about, and there is no question but that it will bo a very serious matt~r to Quccmlancl, if every worker is to be treated in a similar n1anncr. This after­noon I say that it is up to every worker in this State to get behind these men. and see that the light is carried on to a fmish. There i.:; no question that if such a practice is allo\ved to continnc, tbc relief \Yorkers who follow the men in question will get similar treatment. This huge octopus has assets totalling· £168.000. But its a'sets have not lr,,•n ir)n,,tecl too wiselv. for we find that £82.000 of them was in, the Labour " Stan­dard." An annual payment of £10,000 is maclo to the "iVorkor.'' I suppose that is a Ycry good inYestnient, Eo far as the heads o£ th•e Australian Workers' Union arc con­cerned, bC'cause of the nutnbcr of ticket::.

Address in Reply. (26 AUGUST.] Address in Reply. 139

that go out. A sum of £11,000 is paid annually to organisers~politica)~and £800 to the Australian Labour Party. It also contribute, large donations for the election expenses of Labour members. It has an annual income of at least £50,000, yet with all this money pa,,sing through its hands, not ono penny is sho\Hl as ha Ying been spent for the benefit of its meml>ers. I am referring now to the balance-sheet as at 31st May, 1935. It has a membership of 38,00(), and its expen­diture was mainly political, for the benefit of the present Labour Party. Most of the rnembcrs of the GovcrnHtent '\Yere secretaries or organisers in it before they wore elected to Parliament, and naturally they are stand­ing behind it, because it was the Australian \Vorkcrs' Union that really put them into Parliament. The union could well have been a little more llllmane to the men at Break­fast Creek. It could ha vc accepted a smaller amount for the short period that these men were working. I have been discussing this matter with numbers of men who are good unionists, and have been strong Labour men for many years, and I tell the Government to-day that these men are absolutely dis­gusted with the treatment being meted out to those poor unfortunates.

The constitution of the Australian Workers' Union says its objective,; a.re, first, to endea­vour by political action to secure social jus­tice. It did not get s.ocial justice for the relief workers at Breakfast Creek~it did not give it. In many of the cases where men have gone on strike whilst on relief work, or have been suftermg disabilities that should have bpnn rectified, they have been accused of being Communists. I cannot see very much difference between the policy of some -Government m0mbers and Communism. The hon. member for Bundaberg this afternoon -quoted the Anglican Primate of Australia as saying that it was no use going on working for profit, for thus there would never be peace. He must agree with that reverend gentleman's remarks, which shows that he himself believes in Socialism.

The next objective of the Australian Workers' Union is to advocate gradually replacing the present competitive system by 'Collective ownership of the means of pro­duction, distribution, and exchange. So the Australian Workers' Union has the same objective as the present Labour Party. At Breakfast Creek 130 men were sacked. The Minister tells us that these wen are all right~they have been put back on intermittent relief work. To­<lav, when conditions should be flourishing because of the extra money coming into the S~- 1te throHgh higher prices for OUr guod:::. tho putting of man on intermittent relief \York is killing their incentiYe. There is ne douht that c thooe men have very little outlook in life.

The Am·tralinn vVorkers' "Cnion is being svpported by the Government at the expense of all the other unions. Why the other unions ullw~~- it is bc:vond nly con'lprf'hensinn. ,'\Jl Go' crnment departments and local v,utborit1e·" t'nforre tho payment of due-. to the Australian \Vorkcrs' Union, but the GoYernrnent j"';n1cd instructions that other unions must police the preference clauses themselves. There is a. clear example of differential treatment of Amtrnl'an Wcrkcrs' Union as compared with the other unions.

We find also that the political wing and the Australian vVorkers' Union dominate

Labour conventions. \Ve have to look only aL the names of those appointed to the Queensland Central Executive in February, 1935, for proof of thio. 'l'Ley w,,ro: \\. l!'. Smith, H. Brucc, J. Mullan, J. Dash, T. Foley, C. G. J''allon, L. l\lcDonald, v\'. H. Demaine, J. C. Lamont, S. J. Bryan. There were two reprceentatives from the ::;tato and Fedora! Labour Party, and one other union representatiYe only, :Ylr. R. Leggatt. Cnqucstionably, the Austi-alian ·workers' Union really dominates the Queensland Cen­tral Executi,-c of the Labour Party. At the last Federal elections the heads of the Qnponsland Central Executive were put up for the Senate seats. The other urnons must L>e proud to be associated with them.

I should also like to refer to the position of our secondary industries. The Govern­llH'nt should make a spacial effort to bring secondary industries to :Brisbane. There wero paragraphs in the :Press recently con­cerniug , this matter, and I have here an extract from the " Courier-Mail " of 20th August, which refers to a " Cotton Textile Factorv for Brisbane." 'There was also a paragraph in the same paper of the 24th August referring to " New Industries for Australia.'' I made a suggc,,tion to the Premier sorne tirne ago, and I mako it again now, that we should have a publicity or wel­fare officer who would go down South to meet representatives from all the concerns who are coming to Australia and bring them to Queensland. Let them see what we have to offer! \Ve have .a Premier of this State who, I am sorry to say, has an inferiority complex so far as manufactures are con­cerned. He has made public statements to the effect that Queensland is not a manu­facturing State, and it is only in the big centres of population that manufactures are ca,rried out profitably-a statement that is not borne out by experience of other coun­tries. In England there are not many fac­tories in and around Lond0n. They .are spread out all over the country in centres like Manchester, Leicester, :'\ottingham. and Le&ds, where natural facilities exist for their growth. The same fact applies to France and Germany. \Ye had the spectacle in Queensland before Labour came into office of Ipswich dm·eloping into a manu­facturing town. We have woollen mills established there now, but before the Govern­ment came into office we had a cotton mill. Through interference that industry did not progress. I venture to say that Ipswich, situated as it is on the coalfields, and similar districts round :Brisbane have oppor­tunities far ahead of many of the cities in the South. Although tramport might be a difficulty it is a minor one. As I have pointed out before, the cost of getting goods to Sydney is astonishingly small. In Western Australia there arc \Yoollen milb and tobacco factories that are selling their cornmoditio.; quite well in Sydney and :Ylolbourne. Efforts should be made to induce these people to come to Brisbane and inspect the sites that Brisbane has to offer them. If these people are prepared to establish now industries here they should haYe fr<eedorn from income tax and other burdens over a period of, say, fixe or ten years. lJnioss we get S(:'condal"V industrit~.s here we have no pos­sible hope of absorbing in pennancnt employ­ment the young people who are growing up in this country.

Mr. Nirnmo.]

140 Address in Reply. [ASSEMBLY.] Address in Reply.

:\Ir. T. L. \YILLIANIS (Port Cw·tis) [3.9 p.m.J: In accordonce with the 11ractico and in support of speakers >Yho have preceded me in this debate, I wish to offer my con· gratulations to the 1noYcr and seconder of the Address in Reply. I should like to

tPndcr my congratulations to the two other r:ew members in this Chamber, the hon. memlwr for TomYoomba and the hon. member for Keppel. It must be admitted bv all hou. members that tLr>y all acquitted them­selves very well.

I should like, also, to express my plea­sure at the cotnprcllensiYo nature of the Speech delivered in this Chamber a little ov~r a _fortnight ago by His Excellency. I JO!ll wrth others who haYe expressed their approyal of the reappointment of I-Iis Excel­lency for a further term of fiye Y<'ars. Although one may entertain certain \·ie>YS coucer11ing the appointnwnt of local resi­dents as Governor one, must feel pleased that . Sir Loslie Wilson has accepted the posrtron for a further torm. He has travelled extensiYely throughout the State, particularly during the past twelve months, bo has got_ to know the people, and has endeared hnnsclf to them and I am satis­fied . that when his sec~nd term expires Parliament and the people will be satisfied wrth the manner in which he has carried out his high and important duties.

On an occasion such as this one would like to deal with many of the important problems that confront us to-da v and to refer to such topics as the rrwchar~i:;:.ation of industrv, the use of n1odcn1 rnachinorv und its rcfatjon to uncn1ployrncut, CC''J;rornic n~t1ona1lsr~r, rnonetary and social rcforrn, clrctatorslnp and democracy, and so forth, but time does not permit of one's making more than passing mention of most of these important questions. One is compelled, too, to reply to the statements that have emanated from hon. members opposite, not only in one·s own interests but also in the interests of the State and the Government.

From a close perusal o.f His Excellencv's Speech it wi:l be seen by the majority "in this House and outside that the Government are gradually getting the State back to normal conditions in every respect. A good deal of progress has been made, although, probably, not so much as the GoYernment would have liked. But progress there has boon, and it is gratifying to know that both hon. members inside this Chamber and the people outside who closely follow the move­ments of their respective members are satis­fied that the Go,·ernment arc building up a better social and economic structure from year to year. It is to be regretted that despite that progress hon. members oppo­sito invariably endeavour to persuade the people into believing that this grand anLI laudable objectiYe of the GoYenmwnt is not being achieved. lJ nfmtunatolv Hncm. ployment is Etill with u,,, and pc~l;::~_ps \VO

han1 not done all that it >Yas possible to .],) for people \.vllo arc on relief 'York or out of regular employment. But the Yolnnw of r•rnploymont in Queensland to-dav is greater than it w.as tweh t' n1nnths ago,~ and t~e State might well be proud of the actiYi­tJes of the Government in that connection.

I am sorry that the Leader of the Oppo­sition started off on the \\Tong foot bv find­ing fault at the Yery outd with cYer'ything that the Govormnc•nt had done·-GoYcrnment expenditure, en1p:oymcnt, uncn1ployrncnt,

[Mr. T.L. Williams.

taxation. . \ccordin~· to the ucw Leader of the Opposition the :1ctivitic~ of the Gonr>J· ment in those 1nattcrs are entirely Vi.Yrong, but the public generally are satisfied ~hat­y,-e are 1naking progress ancl that our ceonornic standards have in1proved. 0£ course, it is the duty of the Loader of tho Opposition and his supporters to criticise the Govcrn:rnent. \Ye do not rninJ criticis1n ~o lollg as it is not of the carping, destruc­tive Yarietv. \V c welcon1e criticis1n of a. constructiYO nature, but unfortunately on Y0l'Y fc\v occasions has the Leader of the OpjJosition given us food for thought as to how the State should be managed, or what Parliament should do to improve the conditions of the people. Even the figures he has quoted concerning taxation and unernp1oyrncnt arc not quite in accordancf' with facts. It reminds me of the story ot a. pupil in an anatotny class at a high school "ho informed his master that thl'l'2 were thousands of people a:i,·c because of pins and needles, and when asked to explain his assertion replied that it was because they had not swallowed them. I believe that. thousands of people who previously voted for the Country-Nationalist Party will not swallow the pins and needles story told by that party to-day.

First. the Leader of the Opposition mmt know perwnal!y 1 hat there are more men and v:onlCll, as well as vouthR. in renlLinera­live employment in Quconclancl to-day than for years pa.!'t; :-:econdl:'.r, he rnuP.t also knovv that rriore n1en are DO\V engaged in variouF forms of relief employment; thirdly, lw must know that the better conditions pre­Yailing in this State, Pspecjally as regard::; relief of nncmployment, haYe attracted a greater influx of Southern unemployed men to Queensland; fourthly, he must know, and acknowledge in his heart, that the granting of further concc''sions would only perpetnate relief work. and encourage other unemployed to come from the Southern States to thi,, State, and thereby increase the amount of money that is being spent on unemployment, as well as inflate the number of registrations.

I regret that no reference was contained in the Speech of His Excellency to the cotton­growing industry. The hon. member for Normanby and I represent two of the largest cotton-growing districts in this State, whos2 people appreciate highly the fact that the GoYcrnment again regarded it as their dnty to make available enough money to enable more cotton-growers to plant seed and prepare fresh ground to embark in this important industry on a larger scale. If it had not been for this help, a number of cotton-growers would have dronpod out of the industry. It is estimated that the 1936 cotton crop will amount to 12.000 bales. It is further estimated that the amount of cotton requirf'd for honuc f'onsun1ption next year ,,-ill be 22.500 bales. There will, there­fore, be a deficienev of something like 10,000 bale. Any encouragement that the Govrrn­ll1Cnt can give to att.rart pcopln into the ir_H1ustry or to keep thrm there will be appre­cratcrl. Its importance to the Corumomvcalth and the State is rcf0rred to in an n:cdlent pnblication r<'contly issued by tl1e Queensland Cotton Board-

" Thrre is at leE~ :;;t ono prim.:lr~v indus­try in the State with no marketing pro­bl0m and no immcdi::de anx~ctv about pric.-s. Cotton is a crop in which them is under-product' on in spite of an assured

Address in Reply. [26 Auuus·.r.] Address in Reply. lH

honH' nHukct and a bountv. This is due to l he circurnstance that" the Cornruon~ wealth GoYcrnment's Cotlon Bounty Act, \Yh:rh t 'HllC into full opera Lion about Pight('C'n rnonths ago, has caused a con­eideral:>lc dPYelopment of spinning and 1nanufacturing in Australia, and tho yield has not ~-et caught up. Although there will be a reduction in the Com­monwealth bounty in 1937 equiYalPnt to one-soYenth of a penny per pound of seed cotton, the rate then remaining stable till the cncl of 1939, it is estimated that there ''"in be an ayerage net return of 4d per pound of seed cotton during the next three years."

The hou. nwrnber for Oxlcv referred to the possibility of the establishment of cotton textile factories in one or more of the larger centres of the Commonwealth. We hopo that' Queensland will be fol'tunate enoug·h to get one of them. It would give a decided impetus to cotton-growing. I am sure that the Premier will do his utmost to see that the representatiYe of the Lancashire concern who is coming to Australia. will visit Queensland, see the cotton growing in the fields, and decide to erect a factory here.

I desire in passing to refer to the departure from this State of Mr. R. J. Webster, the ex-manager of the Queensland Cotton Board. He filled that position ably and successfully. I feel quite sure that his successor. Mr. J. D. Young, an excellent officer, will worthily fill his shoes.

Once again I exprms my regret that the Opposition have complained of the Govern­ment's spending too much money on the relief of unemployment in the State. The Government must spend this money to keep tlre unemployed from want. Most of the State3 of the Commonwealth are presided over by anti-Labour Gm·ernments, and we find that they are all doing exactly the same. Take, for instance, New South \'{ales. Less than a week ago a statement was published in the Press, dated from Sydney on the 11th August, 1936, that a further £200,000 was being made available for the relief of unemployment in New South \V ales. The article stated-

" The State Cabinet has decided to make aYailable another £200,000 for unPmployment relief works. This will make £900,000 voted for this purpose since 1st July, and will raise the total number of men on relief works from nearly 14,000 at present to about 17,000, a record since the svstem was instituted in 1930. "

" Tho prcviou~ highest figure was about 14,000 in 1933."

Sirr1ilar fignrr.:; both in regard to the an1ount and the ntnnber of n1cn to be emplo:n~d, can be q noted in respect of the other States of the Commonwealth.

Oppo,ition mcmhcrs also complain that tho State is spending too much of the money rec'-•i,~ecJ frorn the Loan Council on ih pnbl1c work~ progran11ne! forgettinu that it is ?.tlvanccd hv the Loan Ccuncil for the Epccific purpo ,c "of the r0lid of unemploy­ment, as well as advancer! on the aso,ur­ance it VijlJ be spent on a publlc \York progran1me. Perhap3 it will interest hon. members opposite to know that every other State in the Commonwealth, itTcspectivc of the politics of its Government, is doing

t'xuctly thr~ sarnc thing and no faulr j~ found with 1t. Til~· Sont.h An ,tralian GoYCl'll·

mc!lt illtPnd.s to sp2nd £2,450,000 front lo:J,n fuucl on ]Jublic works this year. L\. lllC~sagc fron1 AdPlajclt~ a, fc,v days ago reads-

" The GoYernmcnt's intention to spend £2.450,()00 of loan money, chiefly on public works, and to assist fanners­and settlers between 1st .July and 30th Ju11e next vear, was anonunced Lv the Premier (;yi~·. 13utlerj in the Assembly.

' Of this amount £1.606,000 \\ill bCl new money borrowed through the Lean Council, £800,000, it is estimated, will bo r(~ceivcd in repayments of n1oney loaned to councils and other bodies bv the Government in the past, and £44,000 will come from the special grant made by the Commonwealth for distri­bution among all the States for work, purposes.''

In New South \Yales, according to an addrPss to the Shires Association conference on 20th M a v this ,·car by the SecrcLtrv for Labour ·and Industry· in that Srat0. £18,000.000 had been spc'nt on relief >vork 'incc 1932. In New Zealand thev arc enter­ing on a three-year plan, whereby it is intendPd to spend £17,500,000 on public works for the relief of unemplo)·rncnt; and before Mr. SteYens. the Premier and Treasurer of New South Wales, went to England, he made the statement that~

" a comprehensive progranune of vvOi'ks will be submitted to an early meeting of the State Cabinet for approval prior to its presentation to Parliament,"

in which an expcnrLture of £9,500,000 IS

involved.

Surely hon. members opposite agree with the words of Daniel ·w ebster-

" A well-employed and prosperous communit;· can buY and consume. An ill-employed cornmtmity cannot buy and consume. This is the solution of the whole matter; and the whole science of political economy has not one truth of half so much importance as this."

Hon. members must agree that if progress is to be made we must use the money at our disposal to the best advantage, in order to keep people in employment and cn.tte work for those who are without it !

The matter of taxation has receiYed pub­licity in the Press recently, and has also heen referred to by hon. memhPrs oppostte. One admits that taxation is a burden, that it is something we should all like to do without. Nobody desires to see taxation reduced more than J,he Premier of the State, n1en1b0rs of his party, or n1embl•l's of the Opposition. Taxa-tion' cannot bo done ;:tway with. but I should like to sec' a rc·duction 111ade in one or tv,·o dir,_ctlon3. It is intcr":--st­ing- to noV:, from a rc~turn rN~ently j~:::.ued by the Commissioner of Taxes that of the grC'at nun1b0r of persons vdw pr0pan: and ~nbrn1t inf'OTllP tax rPturns, b~relv 75 ODO aro a:3~os~ed on the ;r incmne-;. The Prcrnior, members cf the C l)t1et, ond l'on. membGrs on both sides c£ tl1e Hou:::o have been approached by people WhO hn 1·c been seek­ing extensive 1oan,: tG build new ra:lwq,ys, :chools, or ho:;p:tal..:;, and yet wo are a3ked why taxation could not be reduced!

Mr. T. L. Williams.]

142 Address in Reply. [ASSEMBLY.] Address in Reply.

No mention has been made by hon. members opposite of the cvPr-increasing taxation by the Common\\ calth Govern­ment. 8e,·eral members on this side of the Honsc ha.ve referred to it. The Leader of the Opposition must surely know the facts when he complains of the allegedly high taxation in Queensland. Such complaints deliberately ignore the fact that the Com­nwnwca.lth GoYPrnrnent's taxation collec­tions for the financial year, 1934-35, were the highest ever recorded for one year since the inception of federation, with perhaps the exception of 1926-27. \Vhy, Mr. Speaker, the Budget estimate of the Lyons Government for 1935-36 showed that the Commomvcalth taxation revenue for that period wa,s expected to reach a new rcoord for such collections, and, of course, it exceeded the estimate.

Comparisons have been made between Victoria and Queensland. Just why Vic­toria was picked out I o.m at a loss to understand. However, may I inform the Leader of the Opposihon and those who supported him that according to statistics the people of Victoria are taxed per hea,d at a higher amount than those in Queens­land? The statistics ir.dicate that-

" Vict0ria's income tax receipts for 1934-35 increased 26.29 per cent. com­pared with 1921-32. Queensland's income tax collections over the same period increa,sed only 9.04 per cent. On a 'per capita basis the income tax reve­nue of Victoria for last year was 24.08 per cent. higher than the year 1931-32, compared with 5.64 per cent. increase per capita in the case of Queensland."

As the hon. member for Cook has a,lready pointed out, Victoria,'s population is con­siderably more than ours, and its area considerably less.

When introducing the Appropriation Bill in this House a fortnight a,go the Premier said-

"The Commonwealth Government is undoubtedly evading its responsibilities. The States are being slowly bled to death financially by the Commonwealth. Either the Commonwealth must assume some of the responsibilities of the Sta,tes or it must share with them its revenue."

It affords me pleasure to see from this morning's Press that the other Premiers are more or less falling into line with this view. It was supported not only by mem­bers of the Tasmanian Government, but also by their political opponents, because in the Southern Press mes,age dnied 14th August and published in the Brisbane "Tele­graph" of that date there is this state­xneut-

" The complaint by the Premier of Queensland (Mr. W. Forgan Smith), in the Legislative Assembly yesterda,y that the States are being <·led to death by the Commonwealth as a, vesult of the presellt eystem of dual t'1.xation, is endorsed by 'Tasmanian memb,-•s of the Cabinet.

" The opinion is not confined t." the Labour Party, as a similar view ·as expressed by Sir \Yalter Lee when Pre­mier. It is felt that the extent to which the Commonwealth has invaded the field of ta~xation has compelled Tas­mania to appeal for Fedora,] assistance

[1Ilr. 1'. L. Williarns.

to a much greater extent than would otherwise have been necessary."

Thc Premier on the introdnction of tho Appropriation Bill also said-

.. By placing its surplus reYcnues in trust funds the Commonwealth was evad­ing its obligation to divide the money amongst tho Stat<s on a per capita basis. The Sta,tc.; were being bled to death under the present dual taxation, in which the Commonwealth had invaded State fields of revenue. The Commcnwc,a,lth must come to the aid of the States, either by sharing the cost of health and education services or by increased payments to the States from Federal reyenucs."

And one must ];ear in mind also that the present Prime Minister of Australia when Labour Premier of T.asrnania subscribed to that view himself.

Last session I brought forward in this House the matter of a guaranteed income to farmers. lYly electorate is composed of approximately 90 per cent of people engaged in the primary industries, and I have to a.ppeal on their behalf in much the same manner as the representatives of metropolitan electors appeal for aid for the city workers. I have discussed this matter with some of the ·leading farmers with whom I come in contact frequently, and I am still hopeful that the Secretary for Agriculture and Stock will give some favourable consideration to a scheme for a guaranteed income to farmers of at least £150, which is the minimum that can be regarded a.s enough -for the maintenance of a farmer and his dependants.

The Minister last year replied that it would be very difficult to legislate on the matter, owing to its many implications, and suggested that it be reviewed more closely with a view to suggesting means of over­coming the difficulties. Since then I have had a statement prepared, a few extracts from which I propose to read -during the time at my disposal-

" One of the most important things to be considered bv the man who takes up land is the qu~stion of maintaining himself, and, in the case of a married man with a fan1ily, of 1naintaining hjs wife and family, during the period before his farm has reached a produc­tiYe stage. As most men who take up land for agricultural or dairying pur­poses hctvc a limited amount of capital, they have to depend, particularly under the perpetual lease system of tenure, 0;1 the Ap;ricultural Bank for aRSistance. If they are lucky and strike a few p;ood seasons at the start, they can manage to pay their dues, and also be able to maintain themeelYcs in rea·sonable com­fort till their farms are establi,hed on a procluctiYe basis. Owing· to the erratic natnrc of the climate in this State, particularly in the Central district, these cases aro the exception and not the rule. Men haYe gone on the land. \vork0d hard, in most cases assisted by their families and just as they were on the point of ~chieYing success. haYC strurk a run of h~.d seasons. In nutTtbers of imtances. if it had only been a ques­tion of maintaining themselves and '.heir families, they could have pulle-d through till the climatic conditions altered in

Acldl'ess in Reply. [26 A1IGUST.] Acldnss in Reply.

their fayour (no doubt ''"ith a bit of assistance from their storekeepers), but, unluckily, owing to their inability to pq,y up their Crown dues during this period, the latter have mounted up and. with their penalties attached. hnYe rpach('d such a total that the s0tt lC'r fmrls it irnpossible to carry on, and thro·w~ awa,· vears of hard work, often when 'vitl;in ~an ace of succeeding.

'' 'Cnfortunatcly, the Acts dealing with such matters do not allow of snffiricnt rc,lief to nteet such f'ases, as vi-a:- pro-ved by the fact that the Govnmuent had to pass a special Act to allow of such r<'licf being g1·anted to tlw l' pp er Bur­nett and Callidc settlers.

" l\1r{,iutenancc is obYiouslv the 1nost important factor in the ca·se. ,, If a settln kno·ws that he can use the Inoney he ea,rns during a run of bad seasons, for the purchase of the nccessitiPs of life, without being harassed and penalised for not paying his Crown dues, he will be in a better position to meet his commit­ments with the return of better season,,

"If, after paying for necessities, sucl1 as food, rlothes, etc., he is in a position to pay something to the Crown towards keeping his dues from mounting too high. he will be in a still better position.

" Ob.-iously, in any scheme adopted for the grenting of relief. the Crown must be protected from exploitation. anu for that reason some ·statutory bodv might be appointed, to which ,; sctth;r requiring re1iof can apply."

This body could consist of the Secretary for Public Lands, the manager of the Agri­cultural Bank, perhaps an executive officer of the Queensland Producers' Association, and act through local bodies consisting of a police magistrate where available. and an official of the local producers' aesocia­tion of the area. Perhaps statutory power could be given to this body in the t•.>llowing terms:-

" L To go into the settler's affairs, and when satisfied that relief is required, to set aside, for the settler's use, a suffi­cient amount of his income to keep him and his familv in reasonable comfort during th0 per.iod his affairs are under the appeal body's control;

"2. To allow the balance to be paid, pro rata, to tho settler's creditors. C£'own and private;

"3. The ·settler not to be penalised, in any we,y, during the period his affairs are under the appeal body's control; and finally,

" 4. The settler. when he considers he is in a position to carry on without assis­tauce, to haYe his affairs released at his own requc,t from the appeal body's control."

Such a syBt ·m. if it could be adopted-and I am informed that there are obstacles in tbe wav--\Y<~uld ensure that the settler's mainten-~nce ,,.otdd be the first charge on tlH~ inco1ne. Tlu· schen1c outlined vvould not perhaps be limited to new settlers, but n1ight include the ~ettlcr who has been on the land for wme considerable time.

An 0PPOSITTOX MEliBER: "\Yould he have to return tha money?

~Ir. T. L. \YILLB.:vrs: That is a matter that could Le iuvc;;tigatt d by the ~tatutory body appointed am! the Minister in charge of the departmeut, to \\horn the man might be owing the money.

I atn sure eycrvune in tllls House will welcome the day ·when il1e relief worker~ <an be replaced by full-tilllo <•mployment at a.ward rates of pay. That is the aim of the­prPsellt Gorernrneur, and I a1n sure it is r he Jesiro of c\·pry mPmbcr of this House, ami of C\'orvbodv otthide. lf that can be done with little ;lislocabon in the co11tiuuitv of :·,ork I think t'Yer,·body will be pleibcd. Sornc tirnc a!lo the rnatter of relief laboLlr wa) cousidercd bv a conference of shire councils, most of ,~·hich agreed that if relief work could be abolished and replaced by full-time employm(•nt, so much the bettN.

I do not ,agree with son1e 11eoplc who ;;ay that t 1w party of which I am a member lirst comidero itself and then the workers, anJ the Illl'll engaged on the land have tO· take what is left. · That is an unjust con­tention. It is not fair for our criti<·' to declare that the other State.' of the Com­mon;"oalth are just as we!! off in the cost of living and employment as we are. Evny­body kuows that we are better <>ff iu those respects than the other States. .B'ortunatelv we have the lowest cost of Ji,-ing, w<> have·~ high standard of Jiying. and the lowest unemployment !ig-un'' of all the Auo;traliau States.

The Secretary for Labour and Ind ustrv will have brought under his notice shortly a resolution passed at tho recent Local Anthorities' conference to the following effect:-

:'That shire councils be permitted to utd1se rehef labour by camping men on the job, and subsidising them to the extent of full time; failing this, that sh1re counclls be permitted to adopt a system of rotatiOnal employment with rchef labour, other than subsidy-loan work; and to make representation to the Government to have further relief pa)r stations established throughout the State to cope with the unemployed in those centres.''

With the ~rst part of that resolution I agree, but not With the second part. The establish­ment of further relief stations would only tend to greater registrations and add to the administrative cost of the scheme generally.

Another suggestion emanating from the same conference might ue considered on its merits. That resolution is as follows:-

" That the relief tax money collected be _spent m the local authority ama in whiCh collected on road construction and for lho eradication of noxiou~ woods."

The adoption of that suggcction would prm·ide much useful work in many areas, and would meet some of the criticism that all the money collected was being spent in the city areas and none in the country.

Several paragraphs in His Excellency's Spcceh were cleYotecl to health matters, and I am p'eas•,d that further legislation on the mbject is to be brought in shortly. I want to congratulate the Government through the ~Iinister, upon their long: sJghtedncss. The proposal to build base hospitals in the West is, I belie,·e, a move

Mr. T. L. Williams.]

141 Address in Reply. [ASSEMBLY.] Address in Reply.

in the right direction. The money that is almost daily made available through mem­bers of Parliament for the constru~t,ion of new hospitals and the remodelling of exist­ing ones so as to bring them up to date' in every way is n1uch appreciated, and I taln~ this opportunity of thanking the ~\linistcr on behalf of the people of Gladstonc, who now are. provided with an up-to-date hos­pJtal buLdmg and for the fact that Monto, Mundubbera. and 1£idsvold ttrc well on the way to having rnon~ up-to-date and efllclent hospitals as a result of the genero,iiy of the Minister and the Government. Every­ono kno\YS that t!Je aim of every country is to have a healthy, virile people. The policy that has been adopted by the Minister and the Governrneut is favourably cou11ncnted upon not only by Qucenslanders but also by VISitors from the South. That policy is tc:Idmg ~o make the people more health-111Inded n1 every way, which is something that we should strive to foster. If we do that then we shall develop a people of the class that we so much desire. I have often said that ono wre way of keeping the people contented and mducing them to remain in <;onr:try. centres !s to make their public mstitutwns,· ,particularly hospitals, attrac­tlvB and up to elate, and I am pleased that the Government never turn a deaf ear to ,any reasonable rcqttest of that kind. I am happy to learn from the Minister that a medical school is to be established at the University, and that the scheme will cost approximately £35,000.

. I join with other hon. members in express­mg rny pleasure at the fact that the Sister Elizabeth Kenny Clinics have been so suc­cessful both in Brisbane and in other parts of the Cornmonwea~th. It is very pleasing to Quccnslanders in particular to know that the reports of her good work have already reached London, and that it is intended to establish a branch there. I understand that two nurses are to leave for England early m the new year to take over her work there and it is alco gratifying to know that th~ necessary finance foi· the establishment of the London clinic is to be provided by the pamnts of a child \vho attended her clinic in Brisbane and got more efficacious trcat­m€nt than it was able to cbtain In its home land.

I am ph a sed to see that there is a pro­posal to tighten up the regulations concern­ing r,edestrian and vehicular traffic in the main streets of the city. Speeding motorists and care:ess pedcctrians have contributed to quite a number of serious accidents thereby bringing the number during th~ past few months to considerably above the average. Personally, I believe in the imme­diate cancellation of a drunken motorist's license upon his first conviction. IJ:'e Rhould not have a second or third chance.

I should also like to see a tightening-up of the liquor laws m respect of social functions held not so much in the city, perhaps, as in d1ffenmt country centres. I do not wish to imply that the police are not doing their w~rk .. T~cy are endeavouring to. stamp out tlnF evil m many centres, but the ease with which strong drink can be obtained and the quantity that can be secured can have on:v one cll'oct, and that is to undermine th~ health and honour of most of the vouth who attend these gatherings. Only ._;;ithin recent weeks we learn that in Sydney an

[Mr. T. L. Williarns.

effort is being made to tighten up the laws lil this respect.

I v, ish to pass now on to the dingo mentce, vvluch 1s another rnattcr that was considered at the recent Local Authorities Conference. I have previously rcfenecl to it in this Ch 1n1bcr along ·with other hon. n1crnbers ,~,h~)1 r~p_rosc1~t couutry areas. The Lo~ '-Ll .:--\._utnontws ConferPncc passed a resolution to the oiYcct that the Go,·crnmerit be asked to incr0aso their 0xisting sub:Jidy fro1n 2s. 6d. to 5s., in which e\·ent it is felt that the local authorities would be \villing to increase their subsich to 10:3. The rnenacc is gro\ving_, and I understand that in some areas in \Vestern Australia the r·avagcs of the dingo are even worse than the tragic effects of drought.

The spread of noxious weeds also concerns coutitry mombc'I'S. I am quite sure that the f:lccrctary for Public Lane!,; is alive to the dangl'r, and that any help he can give to shire councils to stamp out their spread will be forthcoming. It has been decided by the New South .\Vales GoYernment to print pamphlets With coloured illustrations of \'ai'ious noxious weeds and distribute them amongst shire councils and country schools. Probably the Department of Agriculture and Stock m Queensland might go a little further than it does~ancl it does verv fine work now in helping to keep dOVI"'Il noxious weeds--a.nd follow in the footsteps of New South Wales.

The Mimster in charge of main roads is to be approached in regard to a matter that concerns country centres. At the recent annual conference of the Local Authorities' ..._1\.>::,sociation a resolution was passed seeking an amendment of the Main Roads Act with the object of reducing repayments of interest on loans for main roads works by 1 •per cfmt. A request is also to be made for relief from interest and redemption payments on main roads that were originally built under the pro\'isions of the Mam Roads Act and the .B'ederal Aid Hoacl Schemes, and subse­quently were declared State hio·hways, because the majority of traffic on th~m "as n.ot of local origin. There is some justifica­tiOn for redress of that nature, and I am sure that when the matter is brought before the .Minister he will be pleased to give it consideratiOn.

I am pleased to see that it is intended to bring do·wn a rncasure, which has been a::;ked for by the timber industry, to ratiOnalise and ctabilise the great forestry industry. General control mf•asurcs will be put into effect bmh as to sa wmiils and forest '"sets. I hope that the intere,sts of the emplc'yees of these milb, together with those of men engaged in the tran.oport of log timber~both the men engaged with bullock and horse teams as well as the more modern methods of transport~will be conserved. The Govern­ment are to be commendcd for their atten­tion to the training of ,ouths in forestry. 'The :\linister appears to be intent on seeing that the right type of boy IS chosen for this important work. . Those boys are making good, and I am quite sure that most of them will become assets to the State.

I regret to notice that my time is getting Yery short, and I shall therefore be forced to deal with education and railway matters at a later date.

Amongst the various works advocated by me when I haYe spoken from time

Questions. [27 AuGusT.]

t~ t1me is that of the irrigation of farm lhnds in the more favour<'<l districts. The hun. member for Isis and I discussed this ma<:ter last vear in th1s House. \Ve have maLy stream~ throughout Queensland suitable for ,ocking for irrigation pm·poces. I should like to sec the institution of water supply sch~._ r~cs for country township3 in order to minimise losses by f1re. There arc many such ~entres in the State, and rnoney spent in tlns direct'on will be money well spent. In conclu~non, I feel constrained to cxp1·css regret that it has been found nccessarv to reduce subsidies on loans for such scheines. I suggest that an improved type of scheme be drawn up and placed before shire councils, and that the Government, if pos.,ible, give a greater suLsid0 in proportion to the loan than has been the case in the past.

Mr. :\lOORE (.4ubigny): I move the adjournment of the debate.

Qt:estion put and passed.

Resumption of the debate made an Order of the Day for to-morrow.

The House adjourned at 3.50 p.m.

Address in Reply. 145