Queensland

Parliamentary Debates [Hansard]

Legislative Assembly

TUESDAY, 27 AUGUST 1929

Electronic reproduction of original hardcopy

Address in Reply. [27 AUGl[ST.] Questions. 49

TUESDAY. 2'1' AUGUST, 1929.

The SPEAKER (Hon. C. 'Taylor. Wind.1or) took the chair at 2.30 p.m.

MEMBERS SWORX

Messrs. Edward Costello, Thomas Andrew Foley, and \Villiam Kelso, having taken the oath of allegiance and subscribed the roll, took their seats as members for the electoral district' of Carnarvon, Leichhardt, and Nnndah respectively.

QUESTIO="JS.

SuGGESTLu E)!MRGO ON ExPORT OF STUD SHEEP.

Mr. BRASSI"iGTON (llulonne) asked tho Premier~-

" 1. In view of the decline in wool r>rices, n•sulting in a serious setback to the pastoral industry, will he inform tll':' I-lon:)C as to what action the Gover!"lH ment ha;:;; taken, or intends to take, to TllCet the position in an endeavour t.o protect the welfare of thou.ands of Jl ''- r Je r10pcr:c1ing on the p,,stori!l industry?

"2. R~alising the possibility of South .L\Jrica and other coutttrH~~, Gecorning serious competitors with Australia in the wool trad,•, will he state the attitude of his Covcrnnwnt towards the export 0r our stud ~herp ·?

"3. \Yill he give an undertaking to this House that his GoYermuent will m·<;·o upon the Comm011nvealth Government the nof'cssity of instituting an i1nmcdig,to embargo on the export of stud sheep?"

The PREMIER (Hon. A. E. Moore, .-lubiunp) replied-

' 1. The Opening Speech of His Excel­lencv the Governor discloses the Govern· rnont's intention to tak0 action towards decreasing production costs in the wool indn;;;tn The Government has no means of r~g1~lating wool prices. ,

'· 2 n,nd 3. The Federal Government is acquainted with all the facts of this matter, and ;,. giYing tllf'm the fullest con:;;:jdcration."

Drs;.assALS BY RAILWAY DEPARTMEXT.

~ T r. l'.l£ASE (Ii erb ert) asked the Secretary tor Raihvays-

'' 1. -How n1any men "\YCrc disn1issed by the R11ilway D,;·partmcnt between 20th l\lay, 1929, and 31st July, 1929-(a) from construction works; (b) from other loan funds work; (r) from Consolidatecl Revenue Fund employment?

"2. How n1an:,~ employees were ~~n­gaged by the Ihilway Department for the period stated under the respective hP tclings mentioned ? ''

The SECRETARY FOR ILI.ILWAYS (Hon. G. Morgan, Jlurilla) replied-

" 1 and 2. The information is being obtained."

50 Questions, [ASSE11BLY.]

Co)nnssrox OF b:qmm: r;o;;TO \YomG;->;G o,• RA!LW .• Y DE~.\RDIEXT.

?.1r. DASH (Jlundi·u;l· rm) asked t.hJ Secretary for Railwa: ~~

"L \Yho are tLe person- appointed 1tS

a c-nnnli::;sion to inquire into the work­ing of the Queenoland Railwoys?

"2. \Yhat are their qualiGcations for such Cornn1is ion?

" 3. Do"S h-: con:,id(_•r that there U 1:1~ not t"\yo ( lpa}Jle p0rsons in quccnslrrud qnalifit d for snch a Corruni~,sioll ?"

The SECRETARY FOR KULWA YS (Hon. G. :'ciorgan, Jiur 'U •) rep lit cl-

" 1. 1\Ir. ~. C. Han·is. Chief 1Icchanieal EIJ.ainC'cr. \·-il'torian Ra_il­'r tys. and l\Ir. Donal_cl c~ll11CrOll: chu.n·­man, Stall' Board, 'hctonan Rallwa ys.

" 2. Proved abilit:T and ~·cner_,l experi­ence.

"3. :\o."

Re XXl:\G ST.\H' FOR sm·nr BRISB.\KE-KYOGLE lL\lLW.\.Y.

Mr. DASH (lfunrli.>ulJUrru) a'h d the Secretary for Railways-

" h it the intention of the Raih\ ay Dcn<trtn1Cllt to crnp]o:, the runn.ing staff fro7n thn Xcw South \YaL~ R111l' ay on the South _Bris.,;~nc-I:_:_yo~lt} . Haih~;·,Y when ~:: 1ch l'<:ulwa.v l' opC¥1 for traffic.

The SECRET.\RY FOR R-\JL\YAYS (:Hon. G. J\Torgan, JiuriU11) replied--

" The uH•tlJod of op''rnting· this scctiO'l1 hr;; 110b b···t_'ll dc>cidPd. It \Yill be dl~­cn. "cd \Yit.h th2 ro.ihYLty autl"Jr1tjc of ='T t ,. Sout.:1 \Yale;,;. dw rollin~; do .k of tl1:1t State being I·cquirL~cl for the scrv fL,-.. ~'

\Yo~n.;:El~;·~ l..'XL1~H ltcR\L \YOHKEHS. AwARD.

Mr. DASH (.111. ;dill'tburca) asked ·,he Secrctar~,- for Lal.Jour and Industry-

" 1. \Vh,:t ~.'<as the ·wage paid to tho o rural \\'orkers \Yho w0:;_·e E'lnplo~.-ccl and came within the jurisdiction of the Rural \\ or;ccrs' .L\ \vanl in 1928 season?

"2. \Yhat was th-, numl'"r cmploycJ nndcl' the Rural \Yorkrl'S 1 Award ln 192f 'I

"3. \V.lw.t "'"' the nnnbcr om'ploy(j in adclition to t.hvsc that would have be0n employed under the Rural \Vorkers' Award in 1929?

"4. \Yhat v:agc -were they paid 1~ 1E29 sea~on ?

" 5. \Vh Lt hours were they v·orkecl y.tT day or per week?"

The SECRETARY FOR LABO'CR A~D IND'CS'TRY (Hon. H. E. Sizcr, Sandgate) replied-

A sr Lrd r<Ltc::. Idorm ,,tion not '"·ailablo.

"3. Inforn1atio:1 not available. "4. A\1·ard rate~.

" 5. As far as is knov n---a vvard hours.''

PRICE PAID FOll CATTLE BY JvlEA'fWORK~.

Mr. COLLI:<S (flowen) asked the Secre­tary for Labour and Industry-

" 1. \Vhat has bec:1 the avetage price paid for cattle by mcatworks during

c>ach of the YC1li 1924-25 to 1923-29, bo·'r inclu:3h-e '? .,

" 2. "'hat is the price at preser,t pr,c· yai]ing- '?"

The SECRETARY FOR L \.BOLJR AND II'\:qLTRTR Y (IIon. II. E. Sizcr, Sandlfat~ )~ r<·phed--

,, 1 nnd 2. The approximat=' avcrags p:cicP paid per lrtl) lb. by Northern and :Southern meat\yorks during- each of the yc<1rs 1924 to 192:3~ inclusive, 1s as follm s :-

Xorth~rn. Southern.

8. d. s. rl. 1924 17 G 24 (j 1925 20 6 24 (; 1926 19 6 25 () 1927 17 G 2G () 1928 25 0 28 G 1929 ') 25 0 to l_: 31 0 i'l 26 0 .f! ----------·-·---- -------' ----

lx:sTJH c·rro:--;s Df RE Cr~K\.RIXG OF E.,\R'I'II\\'ORKS ox IXGLBWOOU-TEX:\S HAILWAY.

l\Ir. DRASSINGTON (Baionn,,) asked the Sec-retary for RaihYays-

" 1. Is the report 1orrcct !hat he has g·in~u i11strncti0ns to the Ucsident EEginecr on the Inglewood-Texas rail­

,1,~' con_~truction lo l'C'(luce t.ho clearing lrv 2 feet?

"2. Did he al .) inslrnct that the c.Lrth­works be reduced by 1 foot·:"

The SECHETAHY FOR P.AlLWAYS (Hon. G. }lorgan, .ll uri''") replied-

.. 1. The instru::-·tiolls arc to co:nstruct t!Jc raih,.l)' as n lighL line, nnd as chehply as po:<.~ible, i11 ordcl' to rf'duce c.~_pita] exp"~:ditnn; -v;;t}Jont irnp iring safety. ~\·- the liuc is uot to be fcnc-._d, the 2 feet of PXtJ _t c le~ riug u2ually providvl is HlllH'( (';-:'- ;ry.

"2. There i~. 11othing tnnlslutl in tho fornHltiGn width Lc>ing rc(lucC'd by 1 foot,

Jllfl11Y liHc'., lwvc br!t~n Guilt to th]~, f·::rnn.tlic~ll--for instn c -, the Du.chc.;·­~\lonnl I~n. Ilail•.yay ... '

~\_LIY' U1 F. ~-PLOY .iL_XT OF F.\R:11LRS (J~ H '.ILWAY H:~GEHH:\:G \YORK.

Mr. BRASSlNGTON w,..z,,,w) asked the. Se('retary for Railwaj~-

,, 1. le it a fact that numbel'. of fanners ttrC' vrnp1o,-.-<'cl as cor1strw:tio~1 workerB on tlw rcgrnchng work betwec11 Caboolture alld G;:. In pie and on other cons:ruction nnd rnaintenanco works thronghont the State?

"2. \Vhnt is the numbr'r er,plc>yed:

"3. Is hn aY. are ih11t thcso men, \Yhile rr:rciviug 1 he aVi'a.rd rate fo:... construction York, arc employing farm lo,bour at 15s. per \Y<'ck now that the rural worker:.' a\\ arcl has been abolished?

"4. \Yill he nsme the Houcc that ho iut0ncls to remoYC the men referred to, so as to n1ake cn111loynncnt for unerriploycd eon~truction \\ ork0r . .l ?''

The SECRETARY FOR RAIL\VAYS (Hon. G. !\Iorgnn, Jli'll'i/lrz) replied-

" 1 to 4. Tho information is being obtained."

(Ju -,~tions. [27 AUGUST.] Questions. 51

LO.\.X A1>'.".\XCE" TO J,()C:\L ~:\\"THORI1IES l"KDER

GOVFHi'\-:\lF.\ .t' SCHE1[E FOR TH2 RELIEF OF [; XL~l~-LOY :'.IEN1'.

Mr. J3JUJCE (T(, nnttfy) a' ked the Trea­surer-

" 1. \Yh, t is the total amount of loan n1oncy advanced b_y the rrrcasury to d:•te to loeal rtuthorities under the Govern­nwn1's rcli<'f 0£ unornplo~·ed schern~­(tt) Total ammmt of Go;-ernment subsidy on sarnn: (h) detail;:) of locul authoritir-s conccrnf'rt ? ; '

"2. \\'hat is the tohl amonnt of Go­vcnnnent ~ub-.idv nndcr the san1e scheme granted to local ;.~utfl0i'itir'7l. or moneys providc:d out of their own fun.~;~ or by loans raised othcrwis• than from the Trc::tsur:v, detailing tlh:: locn l authori­ties concerned?"

The TRF..\SlJRER (Hon. \V. H. J3arnes, 1Vynrmm) re. plied-

"1. Gladstono Town Council-Loan, £5,000; subsidy, £2.500. Dong-las Shiro Co,mcil-Loan, £333: subsidv. £167. Gavndah S1•ire Courocil·-·Lo1n. "£16.000; suhsidy, £8.000; Prof;CqJinc Shin' Coun­cil-Loan, £5,400; subcidy. £2,600."

'' 2. Bri· h1t1o City Council-£20,000; Ipswich City Council-£5.000; Too->voomba City Conucil-£1.000.

" All amounh aro npproxi1natc only. "A1)plic.1ii ,ns for loan, and ~ubsidy,

amouniing in the o to £58,479, are unclrr consid<:•nd iOll.

IKTE:'\TIO~ OP LA~Ds DEP.\R'r TE:-\'l' I)T RE BI-RE~').\ P.L,TOH.\L l--IOLDI~G.

:\Ir. DEDFORD IH'url'l uo) , -k rl the Sccrctar,, for Public Lctnds-

" 1. II rt\'C' tho le~ CF,,· of Burf'llcla pas­toral hvlcling made a]lpl:e. tion f01· exten­sion of lea so, 1 h.~ a::.:ca hoing duo for ru mnpiion in 1831?

"2. Seeing that the L -:nck Dcrmrtment ha:;; nJrcad,v lllan:.- app1ieations from intending sclcrt::>r fnr ne,-:· areas ;nd from holders of ex i~ting c:elc:_:tions COJl­

tignou:;; t"L Burc·1rla for sufficient land to bi:illg" their se] np to lJyjno· arra

ill ho e-•ure Hnn~c th:tt lho J3urench rPsntnption be rnadc on its due date?"

The PRE'\!riEH (Hon. \. E. '\Ioor<e, A.ul1irm.u), fm the SECHET"\RY FOR PUBLIC LA~DR (Hon. I'" A. Deacon, C/twninuluun), replied-

" Durcnda ho1din~t wi11 ('xpire 011 31st December. 1 ~33. Tho Go,-crnment hus

rcfu~cd a rcquc-..t b;- the lessees for an exh1 nsion of the Iea~o of the holding.

"2. S('0 U11'3"'i" C't to ::\o. 1."

J\Ir. BEDFORD (ll arrcuo) ,,,ked tho Secr:tary for Pnblic Lanch-

" In the 1nattc-r of Gowrio rosuuipbon, wjll he i'copon the granting of an exten­sion of lease OV'cr 70,000 acres to Hakc·r Brothers, as prop·} .od b;· tho Lnnds AclYisor" Board, ',hi eh proposition prac­tir a.lly nulliiles the rcsurnption ':'"

The PRE:VHER (Hon. A. E. JYloore, .!ubim>y), for the SECRETARY FOR PUBLIC LA:-i'DS (Hon. \V. A. Deacon, Cunninuham), replied-

" 1\o. In satisfaction of two statutory priority rights, and in consideration of t·he SLE"rcndcr of NiYc Junction holding for seHlPment pnrposes eight years before the expiry of the leo"e, the late lessees of Go-..vrie nre being granted a p:,storal deveJornrwnt lease over an area of approximately 70,000 acres, with a carrv­ii;g capacitv of 8,500 sheep. The ne~v le .1 JO \vill cant 1in certain devcloprnental conditioP: involvin_:·: substantial expendi­ture. An area of 96,00J acre,_,, COl1l]Jrised 1n t}c balanc,::! of G-O\Yrie nnd 1\ive Junction hoJdinr·,, 'vill br: nutde aYail­abl: for settlement."

H.AILW.\Y C-JXCE?SIO::\S TO STOCKOWl\EHB BY

WAY OF DROl:GHT H~LIEF.

:1Ir. COLLI:'\fS ( lJo, for 1\Ir. \\-.EI R (Jiar•. uorouqh), ask. l Sr•crcta.ry for H:lilway::.-

' 1. \Vhat was the c•timntod ye lne of the drought reli<'f in eac.h of the fcn.,ncial years 1924-25 to 1928-23, boti1 inclusive, afforded by the GoYcrnmcnt to (t · cattle­growers. and to (b) shccpgro',' Cl :• 1 in the forrn of railwav concl':::-~ions in reba.tcs for travclEng sfo('k aud the c8rriagc of fodder or other,visc?

"2. \Vhat is the nature of the eonceo· sions at pn"sent being af-for:l0d to r:as­toralists by the Raihvay Dcp"'"rbYcC'llt '?''

The SECRETARY FOH H.\IL\Y.'I.YS (Hon. G. 2\lorgan, J/ urillrt) replied-

" 1. The value of 1ailwo,y dronght relief measures allowed by the Government during tho financial years specified is shown on the following table;-

I

Percentage Rebate.

----~-- ·-1 --------~--- ----·

1925·1926. I 1926-1927. I 1927-1928. 1928-1929. I .

Sheep and breedin~ } i cattle for restocking : 25 per c :nt. dronght losses j

£ £ £

5,731 G 8 4,134 12 3

17,600 8 4 Starving stock to anrl') ! 20 per cent. '1..

from relief country I I to 1st August, J. . 9,600 19 11 I' 21,699 5 3 • 24,796 3 )-! 1926, and

Fodder for starving j : 27·27 per cent. '\. .1

115,640 l8 1o .i. 50,630 11 10 .', 21,684 10 7 20,305 15 10

stock 1 thereafter 1 J · ·

___ T_o_tal ___ ·. I ___ 1:~·=~8 9172,329 17 1 52,232 0 4 _4:040 16 5

A separate record has not been kept of the extent of these concessions to cattle­gro\YCrs and shcepgrovvcrs.

" 2. Drought relief concessions, as shown above, arc still in operation. Although the a bovem<•ntioned rebates

02 Questions. [ASSEMBLY.] Questions.

have been allowed, freights on live stock and wool haYe increa-,cJ approxin1atcly 100 per cent. dnring the regime of the late Govel'ld11cnt. Immediately this Go­vernnwnt assu1ned 110\Vcr, it realised practic' l rdief should be giwn tlw in<! us­try, and rcdtH"c'd freig·ht", on store cattle by 20 per cent."

Loss ox STATE CA'l'TLE S1.'}riON,7:!.

l'!Ir BUTLER (l'ort C'mtis) asked the Secreta"ry for La bonr and Industry-

" \Vhat is the total loss on State cattle statio.J "' to COth .T uno, 1929 ?"

The SEC'RETARY FOR LABOUR AND INDUSTRY (l-Ion. H. E. Sizer, Sandgat!) replied-

" Ac\'umulated loss to 30th June, 1928, £1,375.030. Thn result of the operations for tho past limmeioJ year (1928-29) has not yet been deL rmined. but will be disclosed in tlw Trade Commissioner's annual report, to be presc ntod to Parlia­ment later."

PROSECUT!O'S OF E'li'LOYERS BY L<\BOUR DRP.\R1':1fENT-

Mr. POLLOGK ((/r. uorp) asked the Secre­tary for Labour and Indu try-

"1. I-Io\Y many peo,;;.x•utions have bcrn recommended by the Labour Department, or by inspectors of that department, agalm·:.t ernploycrs for brc2.ches of award-;; during the prc~ent Government's term of office'

"2. 1-Iow n1any rocornn1enc1atlons for proe,cution ha, he refused to 8"nction?

" 3. \Vhat are the names of the e per­sons, if any, >\ham ho has thus refused to prosecute?"

The SECRETARY FOR LABOUR AND INDUSTRY (Hon. H. E. Sizer, Sandgate) replied-

'' 1. Eleven. "2. T\YO.

' 3. It is ,,ot de•-irable to "publish the narne-, of either cn1ployers or employee~ in ansvvering a question of this nature, for obvious reasons."

ALLEGED PREFERE~CE IN RE SALE OF STATE BUTCHER SHOW.

Mr. POLLOCK (Grcgory) asked the Secre­tary for Labour and Industry-

" 1. Is it a fact that preference, with one exception, was given to rnanagers of State butcher shops to enable them to purchase the shops they ''ore managing on terms?

" 2. Is that exception tlw South Bris­bane State shop?

"3. \V ere not South Brisbane and two other shops the best paying concerns of all the State shops?

" 4. \V as this shop for sa le on a strictly cash basis, and, if so, \vhy the discrimina~ tion ?"

The SECRETARY FOR LABOUR AND INDUSTRY (Hon. I-I. E. Sizer, Sandgute) replied-

" 1. Ko. "2. ~0. "3. No. "4. There ha' hN•n no discrimination

whatever. 'fhe basis of sale was free-

hold and leasehold over three years tcnurc-altcrnativclv ca~h or terms. Leasehold thrC'e ,~Cars tonnre or less­cash only. South Bri,bane (Victoria Bridge) shop comes under the latter ea to gory. There ha vc alread v been three lNsehold, in the metropolitan area 'old to Rtate butchery n1a.nagers for cash."

JuKIORS A"'D APPHE}lTTCr'. I' E:.!PLODfE::\T.

Mr. HANLO:\T (lt1wl'a) asked the Secretary for Labour and Indusir.,--

" Ilonr 1nany juniors ar:d apprentices, rcspcctiyr;l~·. \\~ere in Pnlployment through~ out the State as at 31st l\lny, 1929 ?"

The SECRETARY FOR LABOUR Al\'D INDUSTRY llion. H. E. Sizer, Sun·lgatc) replied-

" The nun1b0r of juniors-Yiz., p0rsons under t\Yenty-one years of age-employed in factories and shops as at the 31st ::\1ay, 1929, "'as 21.036. Th"' number of appren­tices employed in skilled trades coyered by the \ pprcnticcship Acts, 1924 to 1927, was 4.466."

ALLEGED l~RR\KGTOJEN'f "\YlTH L\YCOCK A;.;D LrTTLEDJKE vou SUPPLY OF Govr;R~~\IEXT IxhiiTU1'IOXS.

:\Ir. HA:'\SON (Bumnda) aqk~d tho Home Rccretar_·7~

'' Is it a fact that his department has ('ntcred into an arrangcrnf'Jlt v;;ith l\i!o~Sl'S. Lavcock and Littledikc for th0 'uppl"',· of c0rtain articles to Government institutions at a rate higher than the Blind, Deaf and Dumb Institution y, "" prcpr.rod to supply then1 ?"

The HOME SECRETARY (I-Ion. J. C. Pderson, Xor:nnnb,1;) replied-

" I a1n not a'.\ arc of an:;~ such arrangc­mf'nt.''

ARRANGEMENTS BY LATE GovEmnm::-;r I~ RE SALE OF COAL FRO)! STATE MINES.

Mr. KENXY (rook) asked the Secretary for Mines-

" 1. VVhat arrangements were made bv the late Gon·rnmcnt in respect of the sale of coal produced at State coalmines?

"2. \V ere agents paid by salary or com­Inissjon?

" 3. VI' hat are the names of the agents, the quantity of coal sold by each, and the rate and total earnings, r£':,pectively, stating periods?

'' 4. Has action bc('n taken towards tern1inating any of such contracts or appointmcnt'3 ?"

The SECRETAHY FOR J\II:\'RS (Hon. E. A. Athcrtnn, Chilia(Jol} rcpli0d-

" 1 to 4. (a} The late Government ap11ointed an ngcnt nan1cd F. Byrne to attend to local -ales at Bowen and TownsYillc at a sa la,17 of £7 per week and <xponscs. Ht' is also provided with office accommodation. Action is being taken to tcrn1inatc t.hi, nppo~ntm0nt as nnncce3'ary; (I;) for n term of th<·ce veara from 24th 1\T"~''· 1927, Herald Crofton Sleirrh. of ~If']bourflc, v.,tt<;:; bH n;rrccment with th0 8rcr0tary for Mines appointed the sole and exclusi,,o a;rcnt of the Oue0n~lancl Go,-cr: 1mC'nt for cord pro­dncod at tho State co,lmincs at Collins­ville, near Bowcn, required for bunkering

Que.stion.s. [27 AUGUST.) Quc,tion.s. 53

overseas ve~sels and for c:xvort, saving onlv contracts then existing. Uwlcr thi" agr~eLment 1Ir. Sleigh is cn1powcred to demand 500 lor" of the usual merchant­able q ualitv of coal every twenty-four hours, delivered on trucks at Collinsvilk. at the following price':-

Best screened coal, per ton Hun-of-minc coal, per ton Screened small coal, per ton

s. d. 14 0 12 0 11 0

The obligations under the a~.:_,l'Penlcnt arc all on the Government, the ag·cut merely being called upon to 'use !Jis bci'it endea­vours to extend the sale of the said coal.' The 1·atos charged to the Railway Department for coal obtained from the 1nincs in question arc the ,.an1e as those charged lo shipping companies and others, bnt the agent got a <·once,ssion \Yhich has a Yeragccl 5s.. per ton, and for the past year was of a toLd value of £6.884, although Ire pnrcha,ccl only 27,402 tons. as ag.,irlst 62.290 tons pur­chased bv the Hailway JieJHtdmont. The average price to the aget~t ''"'" 11s. 5d. per ton. whilst cost of production for the F:H' 1927-28 aYeragcd 13,. JOd. [JCl' ton. Comparing tho sale price to the agent with the umal selling price, the conces­Sion t.o . the agPnt ·~;as really a ~cUing eomnus:::uOn of 3'].6 per cent. r_fho agrec­ll1f'Dt contains nn proy1;;;;ion fOl' its cnn­c~llation. other than at the e11d of the first twelve n1onths if citht'r parr~- should then, frorn any cause what ... ocn:r con­,.;;idcr that it vnt's not sufficientb,' nrofitable to continue. The canceHatiOr: of thi.-; contract is at present Lei 11g COll:-'idercd. as any action taken to that end \Yill require parliamentary confinnatio11 .. ,

AGREnTExT FOR :-\ALE OF Bo\\"'~x Co \L TO Mn. H. C. SLEIGH.

l\Ir. KEN:'i"Y (('oak), withoui notice. '"'·eel the Secretary for J\II ill os-

"\Vas t1le a'!TE'C'lllPnt for the ~tJ.L· <·f BmY<>ll eoal to "'lr. H. C. Sleigh formn­lated Hl af'co~·dance v: ith the rccmn­lnendations of any rcspon5ihle offiria 1 of the Department of Mines'"

The SECEl<:TARY FOR :\IIi\ES illon. E. A. Athcrton, Chillauoe) n•plied-

" The tcrn1s of this <U.!.Tt~Pnlcllt w~...:re r~portccl upon by Mr. J. S~taffol'lL Supcr­Yisor, State coahuin(~. I-Iis repolt, d~~ted 19th JYinrch, 1927, coe~tains· the folLJ' il'". pns3<Jgc~, :-

Propo~al 4 deal v~-ith pri ~lJJd fro1n prc·>ent CO'-ts it i~ intnn, ro .::ell ~.crr:'ncd cocd or n111-of-n~ine cnal at the prir·('-; nlcntiouPJ. For fhe twelve months ending JUlJC, 1926, the avcr,(ge co.-i of prod:1cing \Vtt appro>.:i­mately 14s. 6d., and the !owes' coet was 12s. 8d. per ton. Tho rnain rea~0!1 for this is go' ·:rned by the a1nount of unsaleable eo"! (duff or slack), and th1s ha . .; to L0 chnrg0cl agaln:,t cot-t of production. This quantitv vari0s acrording to the urnount of" 8cr:"cncd coal sold, and an,- in,.re'l~t' in screened con I order,; (export coal would be rnainlv scr:~encd) increases the amount of s1,;·ck that has to bo put to graos, and :necessarilv inueu:::t."s the cost of production. ·

It is impocoib!o to rocluce preount prices of 203. ''"'coned coal and 16;o.

Ulle"crrcnf'd coal u.nlcss an outlet is found for slack. and tlw pr<ocnt posi­tion does not ]('nd itself to favour the enco:.:.rare1ncnt of screen' cl coal sales."

EVENTIDE H01IE -\T c. 'ARTCRS TOWERS

Mr. WIN'STANLEY (Quccnton) asked the Homo Secretary-

" 1. Has the Eventide Home at Char-ters rrowers brr:n completed?

"2. Has same been furnished? "3. Has the sLff been appoin:~d? "4. Has the work of forming- roads,

pathc. and kerbing boon f1nished 9

" 5. \'\That was the cost of roads, etc.? " 6. What number of inmates wili it

accommodate? "7. When does he propoec to l: ''· e

sarnc opened 'f)'

The HOME SEGHETARY (Ho". J. C. P('terson, 1Vormcwby) replied-

" 1. Y os, excepting the roads. "2. It is being furnished. " 3. A manag-er and n1atron have been

appoiniccl; others will he appointed at an earl--:.- date.

'' 4. ?\o. Difficulties have arisen with the contractors.

· 5. The contract ,,·as £1.276. "6. One hunclrod and fifty-fonr. "7. As soon us arran{~emcnts can be

n1adc." -

FoREc~T Coc:xnY HELD UXJJEH GR.\ZIXG TE::\"CB.E.

:\h. \VIKSTA:'\LEY (Queen/on) asked the Secretary for Public Lands-

" 1. \'\That area d opr n fore et countr.)· is hdd under grazing tenuro '?

" 2. \Vhat area has bc<'ll ringba rkct1? "3. ·what is thr' opmwn ot th<'

ForPsb7 Dcpa.rtH'lC'nt rtlJout tho country being denuded of tirnber ?"

The PRE:VIIER (Hon. A. E. J'.loOt·e, .-iubiun.IJ), for the SECllETARY FOE PUBLIC LAKDS (lion. \Y. A. Deacon, Cunninuham), replied-

" 1 and 2. Definite flg-urcs under the'e hl!adings are not available, and to obtain alll)ro"Xim.atc c"-'tlnl8tcs ·would entail a. ·"lH ~~ial inYc~"tigatiun.

".3. The Forestn- Department recog­nise<;;. the Rdvanta-!Y\;j th1t accrue from ringb .rLinf(. Onl,/' timberR of no c.om· nl(, '- iq l \-aluc arc allowed to bo nng­bru·k<:d, anr1 the condjtions in1poscd in t1w p0rn1it to ringbark an1pl•.~ pi·otect pn1;lir interest~."

RAILWAY E1iPLOYEES AXD Rl 'lREXCID!EXT.

Mr. GREviSTOKE (Sfa,>lcy) rskcd tho Secretary for R.ailway;;c-

" 1. What \Vas the number of rcYcnuo employees of th0 HaihY.ty Department on 30th J uno of the election year 1926?

" 2. VVhat \\·as the mnnbcr on 30th J unc, 1927?

"3 .. How 1nanv 1verc rpt.ren··hcd follo,,-~ ing the general ~elections of 1926?"

'l'ho SECRETARY FOH EAIL\'L\YS (Hon. G. l\Iorgan, Jlurilla) ,·epliecl-

" 1 to 3. The information is in course of preparation.''

Pupers. [ASSE::YIBLY.] Suoj)' ;;sion of Stand·ing Orders.

Lo1x. CoxsoLTD.\TED REVEKFE. .\xn Tuusr FUNDS BALAKCL

:lb-. PEASE (H crbert) asked the Trc;• urer-

.. \Vhat were the b.··lan-c at 3bt .July, 1929, of (a) Loan Funds; (b) Cnnoolidatod Revcnu ·; (c) Trust FulH· ? .,

The TREASURER (Hon. W. H. Barnes, H'."ili.'r.n) replied-

" Tbis infonuation cnnnot Le made "vailable until after the Buclgd has been ddivcred."

J)JSBl.RSE~IEXTS FRO~,[ liXf~)IPI.OY:\IENT Ixsc:RAKCE Fc;:,n.

l.Ir. .JA:\riESOX (Locky. ) acked the Secretary for Labour and Inclustr,·--

" What were the disbur::ernonts each : 1onth fron1 January to Juiy, inclusive, of 1928 and 1929, respcctivcly, on eus­t,,nancc payable under the 'Cnemployed \Vorkers Insurance Act'"

The SECRETARY FOR LABOLTR AND INDUSTRY (Hon. II. E. Sizer, Sun,i-Jatc) replied-

------------~------~·--------

llfonth. _____ j ___ 19~2~8~. ~

January February March April May .Tune July

I

I r I

£ 38,139 47,144 52,0D2 41,80;:; 38,413 28,33~ 29,21ii

1929.

£ 50,519 51,590 50.919 47,994 30,378 24,217 :!.7,060

DATE OF PRESEKTATrox OF An>ITOR-GE·a:RAL' l-tEPORT ON PcPLIC Accot·~,I:·.

:VIr. B'C"LCOCK (Hurc·;o), \\·ithout notico, il'kod the Spc :tkcr-

"C'~n h0 iufo1 1h ihc Ilnu .' s to tlw data of prcscntatiou of tlH~~ ~\uclitor­General's report on lhc publi.• acc·ounts ?''

Tha SPEAKER (Hon. C. TR,lor, 1i indso) n•plicJ- ·

" I f'hall nut~<-; 1nqutrH'- rt." to the probable daic-: o£ lH'C·~'llJ -~t-1-)n of the report.''

PAPEH.S.

fie,,;.

Tho follo· ing p cpe:rJ \H ~·c' laid on the 'nl'c :-

OnlinaJlC:P 11nder the C'i~\ of BI'i:-:lJ<l!lC' Ac t of 1924- .

Park datc:d the 22nd Angu~t. 1929.

of ccrtniu lL ·u.ran ·e co:m-

Un>rs in Cou·-~cil r!'lCl _r ihc Suprrm C, urt Act of l .21.

in Co:tncil 1UH1'T the• )l:tgi tn<te::. Act of 1 D2l.

CJr1Jcrs in Council undnr t.1H? (~tH •~nslrrnd Lnw 81ci('l-y _-\et of 1927.

Order m Council and proclamation urder the Guardianship and Cus­tody of Infants and : taniag-e oE J\Iinors Amendment Act of 1928.

Rcoulatio_l under tho Elertion'- _._\cts, 1915 to 1925.

Regulation under tho AuctionePrs and Commis.cion Agents c\.cL, 1922 to 1924.

Proclamation unde1· the Ju>ticcs );et of 1836.

[3 p.m.]

STA"'DING ORDER Ko. 17. ExTExsrox OF DcRA1'IO:.r OF DEBATE ox

ADDRESS IN REPLY.

The PREMIER (Hon. A. E. Moore, .1ubigny): I beg to move--

" T.hat, during tho present session, the period allotted to tho discussion of the Address in R.eply, under Standing OrJer K o. 17, shall be extended to eight full sitting days, exclusive of the day upon which it is moved and seconded, and aJl other provision& of that Standing Order shall. mutatis mutandi', continue to apply."

Que .. tion put and passed.

St;SPE2\JSIO?\ OF STAJ\DING ORDERS APPROPRlATION BtLL, Xa. 1.

The PHKZIHER (Hon. A. E. Moore, .1; l;ir;nJ!) : I b;eg to move-

" That so much of the Standing Orders b_ :u--lJcndcd as IYoukl other\visc prevent th~:- jmrnedlate con~titution of Com­mittees of Suppl:· a12d \Va_ys and ?deans, the receiving of resolutions on the same day as t 1w:. shall have passed in those Comrrtitt-:'cs, and the pa.-:;sing of an ~'tJ1lll'Opriation Bill through all its staves in one day."

The L0ader of rh~ Opposi:ion c~lled " :.fot fonnal" to this n1otion. I do not know l'i'all:,· why, b<,causo thi.3 is quit, tho usual pioccclnrc' h follow. It i, asking- only for th._~ appropriation \Yhirh i~ ref1uired for orclinc-ry c~r::.·.c ing on of ih0 Govcrn-ll1C1lt f:ervice~ for thf' 11cxt bc:o rnonths. Th0rc i:- no n cc~!:lity for Hln to speak on

bcca.nsc eve~· sinrc I have been Hon'o it h·,s been canicd quite

··r. y-- LORG.\N S!.:TTn: Yoa al·.\-ays fullD',\-('d ih;_; r"nrse I cun novv taking.

The i he h ·t fc''' years i he t!Ct1on or' tlH)

re·-pcct, l;;-causu I r[·cog· u:-.ual proC(~durc \V<·" b(~ing

,1 out and it ·w, -; 11ec. ;;;~::~.r:.- for tho to g·:o throng-h.

:;\'Yr. \Y. FCRCAI\' s::~JITH t_lic:rl:-!11): I c tllcd " i hi~ 1110hoj1 for rPrb.in re. -.-YllS. Tho l 1r0rnicr. in Iuovin(!' nrotion) ~'C>ug;ht to indicate tlwt t-his w'~s nsnal n1otion ; t 1hi pc•rioll of Parlian1cnt. I

-am furllwr to c1ll nto to ;J,-, [act tLat l )nditio~ls arc son1ev- hai e-;.:_' t·no~·dlnal'y, ~nas-rduch a'· - -c b:ing asked to agTcc to the nspcn,~io 1_l of Order::; to ·rct nrgcn:

SupJll;.r for Gon:rnn1ent at thi8 stage. The GoYf'nnnC'lli.. \V('l'O rctur!wd lO p'nvcr at

end of ).f? In this s-ession Pnrlianwnt opened than it has clone for many

Supply. [27 AuausT.] Supply. 55

~:ea1, lHL' t. 1 haYt' n'Jtit·L'd also in the \T urutnous ;;:I atr'mcnts nutdc hv a cr:rtaiu n:''.nlJPr of tl1(' :}lini~try that fL'gislation j:3 rcqui.:.:cd to deal \\'Jth ctJrtain thiHgs~l~gi,-.;­lcltion, of cour~''. ).1r. SpL•akPr, involv~n.,. the (':Xpenditul't_' of 1noncy, for \VhiclJ) r• :·­hal'-3, f?Orrlc of thi:3 e1ppropl'iahon 1s rccp1ircd. I wonld like a.·1 cxphnation from 1he Prcmi,~r r1s to ~why he delayed so long in Hlccting l'orliamcnt. (GoYermnent l:tnghter.)

The SPEAKl£R: Order'

i\lr. W. FUH.GAN S:\IITH: \Yhy '· ao it 11eccs:;ary for ~uch a lengthy period to rlap'~ · Letwecn the accU•>sion of the Go,·cmment to offi• o and the bringing do\\ n of this Appro· priation Bill? Th 1t calls for 'ome cxplano.­tion. Tho position i.s extraordinary, a.nr1 tb~· :--ituation is extraordinarY. I-Icrc is a l ~overnment acquiring n1on8y to spend on a f'l'rtajn line of activity. rrhoy sa:v the:· C1li-

1JOt spend that money until i hey r::t•cur: parliarnentary sanction and anth(Jril.Y: yet thoy delay for an extraordinary period in meeting Parliament. So far ns tl10 prrr, ,. 1lwt I r~'rn·csf'nt i.:; concerncJ. lf the Go\· ·n:. ntcnt desire lEgislation to earr;.- out ~_.,_··rt~ju of their plr'dgrs, we conr.Sider H·at Parli:1-ment should have been callet1 ro~·edwr ruud1 t·nrlier than has boPn tllC' ca~L'.'

::\Tr. FRY: Yon u:-ed to sp011cl the morky and then ask for penni"sion a ftc::··.\ ards.

)fr. \Y. FOHGAN S:\UTH: Thai· is ·,i~:lt y()lll' Governnwnt arc doing.

Qn0stion (J/r. J[oart',<.!. Jfi')'l) r-!t ill:d

pa <3c•d.

SUPPLY.

Vm,; ox AccocxT~£3.900,000. ~IE~,,~ 'iGE FU0:\1 TE-. GO·:Ei~XOH.

Tho SPEAI(ER announced the l'l'Ceint fron1 Ili~ Excr1lcncv the (;()\ ,_,l·nor ~ tncs::-,_·~e recni:nnlf'lJding that the provision bo rnadc on acronn: of tlu~ ,f 1 he year cndjng 30th .J unf'. 193'): --

Frorn the Cou;:;olid:J.ted Ho\·enuc FnnJ ot (ne~'n:::-1ancl { -.;:clq-,i\"' of th,_, nFnH'\.

stantling to tht' cn•(1 lt of th1• L0a't Fun cl Accounl) ft"' slnll of £2J'- 1}-

Fronl tl1e Tru--t nPd S}lP{'ial Fu~~d tl·c snm of £LOOO,OC:J: nnd

Frorn the rnonc:;:.s ;--trlnding io Lll'._' ct·r·ljt of the Loan Fund ~\c;;ount the ~nrn of £900,000.

0PEXIXG OF ~ "O_DIJ '2'TE...::.

Tl:e r"I'TIE:\StJil."B~ll (I-Ion. y;- 11. rarnP~. lr.'/'7 ,u,n): ~lr. 8p~akcr, I beg to 1110- \'-

"That ou do HO\" 1en\·c and the re ·'11 \'C' it• 1f

ihP \YlL,Jt. t.J bo :~TarJ, ~ ro :U>

q~ -,~_ion ___ .. Th ·r

:\It-.\\'. FOB.G,\N SFITII (.lf,z,' ·.'i: :,J:·. ~pcakc1·. I do not think thPI'P i; mn· 1·c 1 >a \ .. ·.h,,· yon slwulrl undul.\· l11Ury to ll~avr~ tlu C

1

1air. \Ye on this side of ihC> I-fou~c dL•:;irc to give cxprc:slon to 2 f1 \Y o~1inion, before ~~-on k·nvc th0 cl1[lir anf1 an:- l" !lt•, ,'rl ot' O''l'

rather re~']""!On,ible dntiP-. \Ye 11kt tD" '3Ct'

,':ou in the chair, J\Ir. SpPakcr, a·1c1 t~ int<''JHl TO 'l~k you t-o rcnutin thc1·0 for :-:nrnr- ti11H'.

The PHE:\TU<;R (Hon. "'· K :\loon'. .l'lthiony): I rise io a po1r:t of ordc•r. IB it in or·dcr at this stage to di~ ·n~_., •: C:ricT­,<.ncc ,''?

Th" SPEAKER: T was 'niting- lo he <.r 1vhr•t:her the hon. n~mnber proposed to doni •,·iih ~tny grievances. Of late yc::trs it h-<, Uc·c·n tho practic,~ in thj IIouso -;,y.hen a tcln­l'orary Supply Bill has been brou~;·ht fon,·ard J, · the Goycrnmcnt in power le>>' no dJs· (; ._,.ion to take plac _ in conuc~tion 1?1th tlu" 1u roduction of that Dill. ln 191.3 Mr. :·,pPttk:·r Annstrong gaYo a ruling svc.:~fic ,'11:: -..\ 1ting that, so far as he vvn.s concernr-d, h(' ·.· ould not all:)\v anv di~cu "'ion on n n1otion th et "The Speaker "do now Lave the chair'' i.' conncc:iou with a Bill for tf'mporar:; :----uj:ply. I-Ic gav-e very gcocl rcaso:1~ for tlwt rnl ncr; thcv arc 1vhat I nug-nt tenn .. lOU~lllOl1 soDsc" rca~:on~. I-ie f.lai'd that, if L.,('rP '.\( l'f' an~ gri \~anccs to be discussed ll.\. the Opposition in connection w·ith such a,

t·tnt.ion a~ we are considering at the present tiJ:H', any delay in the discussion of thosP ~ ri, vances \vould only atnonnt to a fe\Y noinutcs. lie rneant, of cour:-;c, that the ~:)JH'nker ,T.-onld leave the chair, and th0 clis­C1~-5s1nn of the grievaw.r-:::;; v:hich hon. n1en1~ L ,,. thought the}' had--and \Yhich they ha Ye a rir~·ht to discuss~\vo-uld conH~ before tile ( ·omtDittcP, ~nd could be discns-.ed ,'11rnost idil:H'diaidy. In order to get an order~~d and ,, qncnt debate-, something of that kind is r. rdly llf'CC~~an·. \Ye ha'\·c had one day's disCl;"ion on the J\.ddrpss in Reply. The .-\ddrf .;:~ in lteply givE"-. all the oppol'tunity that hon. members on both sides of the Hons~ rPIJUirc for a di~c·ussion of thr·ir grievances. l: i certainly my opinion, tL,rcforl', that the L< .der of the Oppositiou j,; out o£ ort.ler_ in (li",cu~,iug at the lH'f'~Pnt ll!Otncut the qurst1 o:l ''"to whctlwr or not I should lraYc the chair. The qm'stion is that I do now lcav,, the c-hair, and the Houh; n'soh-c it~clf iEto a C\lmmittee of the \Vholc to consider the Snpply to be granted to His J\Iajcst~·.

Q ne j ion put a ncl )lUSSPtl.

Cm1·.rTTE>:.

(J:-t. Rolu,·ts, J;;rud Too1c 'Omlw) in the chair.)

The CIL\.IICIAY, on takin: the chair, s id: Ik~oro Ollf'llii:g this co~~nnitteP. lllHY I lH' pcnnittcd tCJ ~ ;y that I fullv <lpprcciatc llt2 action of the in suLtnittlng rny ~~~,1no to hon. n: Chairman nf C-:->Dl-uoittoc·" l alw thank hon. rnp~cberJ foe c•icrting IHC to that p( ition. 1\vt ·)tv--hvo ,':t ''ll"~' pcd·lianL ntar.v expcrienc. l_-rings ·l~om~

>rue the full re;-,pnn_,jbiljty of FV /)O"iHnn. anf1 1 fl'rl tll ;t I shnll not n1 ,opl ,ce tlJC

mJJdC.1C't ·,-h1ch ltn been p1at :d in 1nc. 1 fc=;cn-r..~N.:;-: 1'.Tl;.Jn;.l r~s: J-L nr. ('ill'!

£1o:-:Ol.'R\I:",E :tir.:.mv::s: 1-Icar,

The TRE~\SliTtEI.S: I l1eg- t-, "That tlw c h.,

l\Iaje::'ty, on nccount, tbo Year 1929-30, ;, excee"ding £3 9"0.000 the oxpcn .c, of the and services of the St to.

;IJr. \Y. FORC~A "J SHITH

slnn not clcfrn, jn~,

clcll(lrtrncnt:~

n!Tt ,<.:urpri.-;ed ;.t t]H~ Trc>. lll'c·· ~) rr·tiring and 1noclcst th]s afternoon. l

.1fr. Suith.]

56 Supply. [ASSEMBLY.] Supply.

in1agined fron1 previous cxp0rienco of the bon. gentleman "·hon introducing resolutions of this kind that he "ould have been auxions to take the Committc0 more into hie conft­Jen<Je than he has done. There arc quito a Iturnber of things in regard to 'vhid1 VYl~ on this side desire information. First of "IL the 1Trf'n.><urer i,, asking for a sum of money amounting to practicJl!y £4,00D.ODO. Ho has not. indicated for what puq1os' he requires that n10ll0\-, nor haH he indicated the din~c­tions in whidt he prOJlOS s that it shall be w'pc·lld0d. I should like some information frmn the Trofi.S~lrOl' as to ho\v he IJrOlJ03eR

to disburse this n1one\T. l 1"'urthr'rmorc. it \vill be interesting to knovY what proportion of thio sum is going to be expendpd to Hnd jobs for the unemployed. Are any of those lO,COO men thnt are looking for the pledg-e of the Uoverruncnt to bo carri0d out i1nn1edi­<l tch going to fin:l n ny ernp1oynlr'11t und~n~ thi' 'proposal befo,'c the Cmmnitt0e?

The hon. crentlcm._'n might al~o give us SOlYL·

iliforrnation in regard to tlw future volicy of the Govcnnnont tovvarch local authoritic· l-:IaYing l'Cf[ard to a reply he gave to a qu('S­tion this afternoon, I undcr,tand that certain local authorities have 1 '""' given suhsidies on certain appr;~· l·d loan:-;, The Treasurer know.;;; the rondjtions un,~(~r which loans ln.:-tv be grant··'d to loc1l authorit~e-;. I wonlJ 11k0 to ack him whether he iLteJ:ds to ask Parlirr­Incnt to give thP Go\Trliment anthoritv to -li.tlsitlis~ cxywnditure for and on bchaff of loc 11 ~o\·er!Inlcnt arhviUcs. \Y 0 kno\·V t.l1at at ono p::-riod-it ~till exist.; in ~ornc of th ~ Rtatc•s-it was t1w pl'nctic,• for the cc'ntral Govcnnncnt io ~u1Jsidisc; soLtP of tht; nci1Yi­tir,_, of laced nuthoritic". Purtic-Jlarlv hr1.-5 tLat bt"' n the case '':horc lo: l authOritie·B hg,o uncierL1ke11 works v·hich rnav be' <t""UinC'd to bt~ of natio~1cd oe SLtt~-·v:id0 in1rwrtance. Qu1t.e ~\, 1~umlwr of lo( .tl n.nthori­tiL do carr3~ out work of that kind. wh0n n a cL are built through a local aui.l10ritv Hl'Cct \vhich "<CTVC' citizens of the Stuto othe.r than tho··e in iho particular area. Quit.r) a .~~oc J c;lS""3 in :-o1nc rlircetion ean be put fm_·­" arc! for that svstom of sal1sid1· to loeal authorities: . but 'the whole s~'stem r2quircs to be co-ordmfltcd and put on u better lmsis than a n1cre discn~ ·.ion bctwc'cn a fe\v r<Jnre­scn(ative., of the local authoriti<s and · th,· Trc·JSlll'-':i' unU a Il1C'Hlh;'r of ParlianlPnt who forms a dej1Utation in th~li regarcl. I ':.·.tnt to l..::·ow ·wb tlu•r it is part of the deB:IJiie policy of the U<?~::l~l11l1Cilt to subsidise lot :d goverll­Illl'Jlt w..::~l·ni·.H~~ If so, on ,,~hat grm_IIH~:-; do ~hr-: prorosf' t.o ( :-trr:· thi,: our. and do thcv 1rtnr:cl to a--.!·c pndiarne.Jt. rv a•tthoritv fo'r sue~1 a 1-·rovis~oll? I quite Under -.. tan cl' that, nt~u(~r _ cert.ain extrnordinn.r;- condit-ions ubi uu:r:g. Uo,·rrnlnc·nt, c tn ~lncl do :rnake :·,rrangc:nlt·nt~ .\Yith l_ocal authorities. ~-:.nd the ~-xovorntl}0llt. 111 thl'H dc~irc to u~sist pco'ple 111 cerf::ttn aro:ts of tht~ f!tatr. ha-...·e, I under­stand. decided to snl idi,c th" v, !tges cost of a pp ·o-. cd jobs to thP exteEt of £1 for every £2 expended bv the local authoritie<. That 1.~ n n_ucstion that rf'qulrcs vn1· full con­siJc·t '~t1on, both on the part of 'Par]iamPnt and on the pn rt of the local a uthorit ·: that 1na:v :S~f'k such snb~idy. LndPr cxtraor~1inary conditions, I adn1it that t]H~ Govcrnn1crit 1na:v be justified _in entering into ton1poi·ary ~n::1!gcn1?nt:" ·which nJay appear good; but. If '~ 1s gomg to l.w pu rt of the geJCera 1 public polwy of ti1c State. thPu it r:ennirr.;; to be s.,.~trr:uiti~c~ci an_d placcll on a footinp- thnt wtll tle unas,u tlablc, and from which the ~tatc- genl'rally ~.\_ill g-et an advantage. Local

rJir. Smith.

authoriLit~~ han: tlH'ir re:::ronsibiliti(_;, ju!:.t. FJs havo other forn1s of public activit:,T; and. if lho GoYcrnnwnt c:1n sccuro the co-operation of local authorities in unernployL·d relief \Vorks, thnt i ~ !::O Iuueh to the gcocl. I ha Ye

ab-ays t<1kc•n the Yiew that the strict co­Mclination of all forms of public activit: ,, ould icncl 1o reg-ularise tho probl· m of find­ing c-Inployiuf'nt at the tirnc it was nwst required.

Tlw TUEisl·rc,_H: \Yas that 'arried out while ~·ou were OYer hc1·c?

Mr. \Y. F\1HGA:'\ S:\IITH: Yes: I c·rtlTied it ont whilt.~ T was there. I do not propc .. c to entct· into 1....112. di t:u-ssion on that, except to "": tr. ·t I have nothing to a pole_}~ is(~ for. 'Jf the rrrc,~urcr a-t the end of thre,·· vears ea 'l fe<el asmr rl !hat he hac; ""I'YC'd, the f:ita1c its faithf<tllv aud ]ovallY ;;s I hrrve dr•1e he~ will lLt:n 11othin'g t~} con1plain of. tn an:· ea''', I wish hln1 \':e-lL I haYf' alwavs rrg;-~rr~ ~d the Trea·,urcr as bc·7ng one of th;.. feY\'~ llF~n on th0 Gov0rn­n1cnt sicle of 1hc Fiou<::c -.,yhos2 cc,:tributions to debate \-\'Cl'(} ·well ·worth li:.;tcning to; and, while I an1 noL goi1.1g' 10 con:,Tatulato Lin1 on his clt1 Y~t1,)1.!_ to the: J10~ition of r_rrcasul·cr, I feel <lHn' that ]J, '.'iil "'C]llit himself in tlu.t }JO:,ltion as \\ell ;1..; he i'3 cap3,hl0 of doing-. (l;O\'Pl'fllllC'l1t lang-htcr.J I \Yi~h to saJ that hi~ cnll(tgues hDYe placed n110JJ

his shoulders a 1nost on0rous burden. The Tn:c.\s~..__-nLt: ?\-c-lhe prcYlous Goyt_··, n­

rnont.

C\Ir. \Y. FOHfL\:"J SI\IITH: The positioll tJi Tr0rc~l:l'01" i1~ n Go.ernnH~nt w,hich ha, Jn<td(~ ·o nw1,y y;j;\1 promi'3('3 \Yhich it iil ha~, c diffirultir·.~ ~Jl -can·~~ing on:- is not a \·cry GllYiaL \ ot:o .. aJ the hon. g ·ntlr~Inai.:. will ]HLYC' to fi~ld th} lDOil0V tn do iho ~· things. 1-To\Y('Yer, I Lopo the· Treac;:urer will giYc thP infonnation 011 tho line of nciiYit_--' which I ha\·~; d1~clJ~scd, particularly )yjrJr n•L_'f!:.1 llC'L to 1-J~ al allihoritie-~.

\Yith regard to the general pmitioll of iht.1 public fnnrl.:; of 1hc S1,th:>, l considrr the• Stttc ParlianJent is cntitlPcl to ,oJu< informotion on th't S< •re. \Ve know lhar there is ~~onte t~ifficult-. h:•ing experienced at !-he present tln1o b\ Yarions Gov(·rnnlf'llis in tlt Corrnnornv:~<dth~ in n1n.ki~1g pr~_.,yision for 1-lH'jr Ilf'Ct'S~ar2. loatl Pxp3tditnre; but ~ontl~ diffjcultv hrrs been cust;; ined b-; other SL1 i<'< In obtalning Jnow~:l to carry on the ordin~u·5 nublic JevclopiJLllt of the State. I woulll liko to kno fro1u the T'rc:.1.surer ~-h .. 1· arra11gcrncnt he· i3 goiP'." to n1ah>• with '!'( ~ard to EC\\ loan funds; 11ow n1uch IH1

i, cxprcting L0 SllP1H1 dPrin'{ 1he cour:::0 of the prc~ 'nt financiP1 J: n r; and hoy;; lw­antlcjptttC\'3 gcttir g on \\~ith rrp::trd to i hC'sC' thill8''

The TRE'..SCHFR i1Ji rjcc;cd

::\lr. IY. FOHCL\ '\ S~IITH: Th.-, Trr 'UI'<'l'

111 ty be in on of his flippant n1oods this aftcrnoOIJ. There i:5 nothin_; so ridiculous as the Trca.surcr cndcnsouring to be faretiou~. I-Ic sl1inrs much b0ttcr. vdwn he eiJdcavonrs to bG s:·rions and appliP..; his rniud to Lig quc.:Jtio~H'3 il! a big 1nly. How­{'Yc-r. I have: asked these quc>ti{'JlS, and I look to . the GoYPrnllH·nt to iYc us the.,_ inforn1ation d.t a later dat--o·.

The TREAf'CRER (Hon. W. H. Bnrne,, ll~ JJ711?UlJl) : 1f1Jc hon gcntlen1fll1 ·who has jn~t reslnnccl his ~'=''t 1nade one or i\VO con1-nu:nts ,,.,.h~rh I think arc worth r0plying io. H0 said !hat !"' trusted that I would ,,crve

Supply. [27 AUGUST.) Supply.

the State as ;vel! as it was sene:l by the late Government. All I say to that is that in one respect the taok will be one of the rasjcst in my life; but in another sen«c­and the hon. gen:Jcman will s0·mpathise with me in my occupancy of the office of Treasurer-the· adminiotration of the late U-overnn1ent llas rnado the cluiv of ,_•nvone accepting the position of rrrca~'l!l'('l' _,a ;nost. difficult and trying one.

GOVER:<i)!ENT :\IE)!BERS: licar, hear'

[3.30 jl.lll.]

The THEASURER: And no one knows it better than the hon. member himself.

Mr. \V. FORGAN S)l!TH interjected.

The TREAS"CTlER: I hope il11• hon. gcn+lcman '"ill not lose his t0rnpcr. I repeat that noboth knov.s better than the hon. mcm-lH, that the si atcmcnt I ha ye ' is true. and before I sit down l shall _, able to proye sorno fh·-·ts v:hich go t.o Phow ho,,· badly the State was son'cd under the late GoYcrn­nwnL Did you bear, :\Ir. Holwrts. the ans\Ycrs to Romoc~ of the quo tlons t1wt ,,ere askerl of Ministers to-rluv? Did thcv not i11clic[J lo pPrfc>ct ~inks->;:, hen~ n1onc~·" had lH_'Cil thrown iuto Ycnturcs \Ylthout an~~7

return-" Spend: Spend l Spl'tHl ~ It ~.~-ill bn all right: smncthing \Yill hnn UlJ later on." Th ·t was t.lw attitude of hem. members oppo-.itc during tlwir Gceupancy of these· [,enches.

)fl-. POLLOC'K: You arc livino· in 11"' past. (Govcrnn1cnt laughtc·r.)

Tlw THEASUHER: Would not hon. rw·•n­bers oppo:-;i Le Iiko i o fillll so~nc 11l''ans of "\Yip­ing out the past '1 \You!<! not the' late Sccre­tar:- for ~lines like to ('c' tho past -wiped out? But it is intpossibl0. rrhe hon. 1ne1nb0r, in tho~e few rernarks of his, nroff ,~,lecl to haxe v~·ondcrful synlpat-JJy for· the uncJn­ploycd.

~\il'. )J•x\\TLL: The-y c1id 11ot proYe it \T.·hrn they \v-cre in offic{'.

The TRE.\SL:HEH: \Vhat Govcrmnent f'\·er created Ull('lnployn1cnt as they did'!

:Vlr. PoLLOCK: Your Governnl('nt.

The TREASCRER: What Government PYCr created in the rninds cf the con1munit.=,T ~u('h a fcP1ing of unl·cst as did the late GoYCl'lltllt>nt ·: Flap;}lly, let tnc sny, the atti­tudt' of tlL· l_)rr:-;.rnt Gcrn rnrncnt h~,s rrcau~cl l'CJ1('WC'd C HlflJCllC'C ln the C'Oll11l1U1Tit~T· (Loud Ol:})(J it ion It i ·, quitn true. ~O'. I \Y<Hlt to f'-(1:V rr · 'l'f)l'cL:; in n:garcl to tho qu0~1ions put L~: 1!10. hon. I-If' .. ;;:aid that appan!ntl~.,: "\Ya:-: lllOOd.

:VIr. W. FoRGAN S:llJTJJ : Fa' '.'tion.

rrho TRE..:-\SlJRER: You knew, ~Ir. Robcrts, that I a1n llCYL'l' in a Hippnnt lllO·Jd. Tho _\.pprop·i&tion riil is fer exactly the same amount as the Bill introduced ar this time last year by the iate Treasurer, thr, hon. Incinbor for Cairns-the SJll1f" to every penny in connection with each yotc-no alteration. So it c Hl11Dt be wrong. (Gov-ernment laughter.) If it were right bsi .crrr, it must be right this year, because it is for exactly the san1e stun.

l'\ow I ,,-ant to say, standing here to-day as 'rrca~uror. that molJC\ rnust in futuro be wisely spent. Tlw countr7y is demanding that money shall be wisely spent, and I desire to say ver,· emphatically, as Treasurer, that I ha\TO no objection 1vha":ever to money bejng

spent fro1n Loan ~\ccount, provided that it i-; going to earn interest--provided that it is not going to be put into ventures such as the late Goven11nent entered upon. GoYER~~JEX'r }1K:_\IBERS: I--Icar, heLu!

The TREASUREH: It must not be spellt like those millions which ap)lCM on our books. and which indicate that the late Government had a sink for money, with the result that to­clay \YC arc asking the taxpaye-r outside to pay an added amount in order to try to meet Uw interest bilL Not in that way must rnoncy he: ~pent in tho future. \VhereYcl· there Ctll !"' found something which will, at any 'ratC', r0turn intcrt"'-t on the money spent. th(n the Gon,mmcnt will be found reld,­and ,yj]Jing to provide money for that pui·­posC'. Our position, a.s I have already indi~

has been due to the unwise undertak-of the late Goycl'nrnc·nt. 'l>l e are a5 ked

to come in here aft0r a financial jazz and rctt·;,.,-c the position. l do not know-the hon. nH.'Inbe· hg,s not, at any rate, said so ~o 1nc-,, hethcr, apart fron1 a feeling of n~t.( 1~\_;c sorrow at losing lriR scat over here) in hts mmost heart he does not feel gr:1td11l thut hu has not got to tackle my job,

I can quite imagine what is pa8sing throngh his mind. He is sayim··, '' \Yould it not L"' a good thing to allow d1c Jll'C'CJJt Govern­ment to clean up ever0·thing- and then ]Pt "' come back by and by, when the yard i• S\Ycpt clean and everyrhi•lg- is beautiful. unrler the improved co:Jd1tions that th(c prc~c·nt Go,·crnmcnt will !n·irg fl bout?" \Vn ban• been loaded, and wo arc loadpd to-day, with a n;ry heavy int•,,.c,t bill. Last yt•ar, when speaking from tho other side of ilw Ch.unber when the present Prcmio extended to n1c the honour of beln~ the first to speak from that side in connectiOn with the Finan­cial Statement, I as',crted that the L,lhonr GovNnmci,t had got the country into a. m0ss: and there wae no doubt about that. lT o-,,­had they g·ot the country into a n1e:s~ ·: In 1914-15 taxation amounted to £954,457: in 1923-29 the ftgurc hod jumped to £4,671.752, ancl that is ono of the things that the hon. member for Grcgory woulcl like us to forget. Bvry the past !

::Vlt-. l:-IYNES: Give us the incrc•ase in taxa­tion in Gn:at Britain, where there "\YUS no Labour Government.

Tho TREASURER: The hon. g·entleman invitf'"' n1e to go to l+reat Brj1 .:tin. 'fhere are so~_lc hon. n101nbcrs oppo::-itc who (,~ne· time do not. likr (~rcat Britain; but, wh8:~ it is conrcnic 1t, Great Brit·-:in ls loY(ly. and the> invit-0 us to go OYer to that counrr,v . l arh·iso tlw hon. gentleman to f!O llte•rP: but Le "\;ill hurry back t_J Queensland.

~1r. BTILCOC_~.{: Gi-v<: the percentagt 111( l't -~ f':) in the other States.

Jtfr. C'oLLI'i'~: \Vo tc:Jk it from tho weahhy class.

The TREASURER: The \Ycalthy clas.; are 0'1 the other side of the Chamber.

Mr. COLL!NB: :c\o.

The TRF:"\SUHER: Lot me nrovo it to the hon. member. l do not speak' disrespect­fully of the hon. member for Gair,ls and the hon·. m em bor for Flinders; but I 'vonlcl remiml the hon. member for Bowen that those two gentlemen arc at present touring­Groat Britain, and their a hsenco from thif' Parliament is felt here. The wealthy mcl\ arc on the other side of the Chamber.

I:lon. TV. H. Bw·nes.]

58 Supply. [ ASSE:il-IBL Y.] Supp:y.

:Mr. POLLOCK: Your party i.i the we<tltbiest party that has cvor (}:'Cnpic{1 iJu: Trea~ury br·nchcs.

The CHAIRMAN: Order !

The TREASURER: I am sorry, Mr. Robcrts, that I have upset hon. members opposite. I did not desire to upc" t them in any way, but I merely ished to tell tllem the truth. I wish to cl raw attention to the fact that during the vcriod 1914-15 to 1928-29 tho 1ncrease in taxation was no le,.:; a sun1 than £3.717,195.

.Mr. PEASE: ·what was the iucreaso in wealth production?

Tho TREASURER: I lean• the hou. gcn­tlcnutn to try to rake up sonw fi.u;urus to auswcr that later. Probablv he will.

~\lr. PEASE: I will giyo ;·ou bOUlU flgure~. The TREASURER: The figures showcu

at> annual increase oi about £265.530 taken from the pockets of the people.

=\lr. COLLINS: From the vvealthv. 'l'11e PREMIEH: From all the pe.oplc•.

Tho TREA:-~uRER: Page 1614 of "Han­'·ar<l" for 1915 will show that, prior to the Labour GoYcrnmcnt taking: office. the amount standing to the credit of the Goyn·nmeut \Yas £2,157,757, and at tho em! of April, 1915, shortly before the Liberal GoYernmcnt "enr out of office, the amount of money he id '·as £:.336,J32. The in ten l on the public tlc,bt was-

1914-15 1928 29

£ 1.975,531 5.170 948

:\Ir. CoLLIX0 : \Yo had to r('llC\\ the lonH' floated by your Gm·crnment.

The TREASURER: I ha,-c nen·r b.£on: hearcl the hon. member for n--,,_ .:n lllakc '!rch a silly interjection.

::\:Ir. CoLLI>IS: Thal is 110t l'l'ply to tHy interje~tion.

The TREr\SUHElt: l1atl tO l'f'ilCW OITlC' loans, ElEd lLtYI'

ht" 1 a sn1all incr, <!.:-'iC iu inL'r< t occ t:-1oncd L\' d1o rene\Yal · but that \\uulU lH t- account for th) a<1cl:tionul fln'l!Jcial b~p·cJc · thuiJ v a:, thrn~t upon this Stato under their adn1inL-;~ !ration. Tlw hem. m• ·11b.r fer BoY.

oL: -J of y:j dor'1 j n _,m or oth, ·· he ha' ·li thi_.; af1 'l'noon. I El

T IYJ1,t

a;.;

JnC'lllL'-Pl';:; Ot,po­fricl.c1s of tho

1nonoy frou1 the' eycry turn; and \Yhmn

[Hon. W. !1. Bw'n~s.

deprive? XGt (]JC,ir rich hi 'nd,,, but the ''otkcr~ 1d1on1 the~~ said the'·-· werl' "O fond of hPlping. ThesC figure, ;how t.hat they bjH..>llt o£13,000 lL·~s on public \\-arks froin. the J'cvcnuo 1:.ceu~-nt in 1928 :-:9 than the pn•....-Ious Go....-crnnH nt ·pent in 11J ': -15.

The LL :tdcr of the Opposit:on remarkeu that it would Le as \ve11 for the TrC<l!;qrcr to take the Corn1nittc~L int0 his conficl1 nco in COHJH'ction ·with loan rnattcr~. Tlwt was a Yer_v propt:r :;;ugg( ...;tion to ntakC'. Loan bor­ro,YilJg by thu States in gt'ueral . is not a pprcciatcd by the lending authOl'itJcs. It i~. not a nice thing for a Trea:5l1l'cr to get on his feet and say that 'onw!Jow or other lcuders of monev do not at the present moment favour A-~stralia, .,-hich in my judg­ment is the best country in tlw world, so far as lending rnoncy is conccrucJ.

Mr. llRASSl:-!GTm;: That is due to the propaganda of yuur party.

The TREASL.:REH: ThPr·e h <YC been tn o recent n1eetings of the Loan Couueil, ono tL Canberra and ono more recently in Syd­nev. \Vhen we met at Canberra certain :;u~s of money were apportioned to the Yarions States to be spent from loan account during the current year; but later, ,,·hen we were summoned to Sydney, the TreCLsurers of the Yarious States were asked to go mto the matter ag·ain, because, unfortnnntel;r, the Loan Council did not anticipate _being able to raise the money they had prevwusly forecast \voulcl be raised, on account of the rnouey rnarkct generally not being faY?Ur­ablc. I do not know "·hcther you notrced the otlPcr dav, 1\Ir. Robcrts, as confll'lnation <if an indjr.1tion w·hich as given to Aus­tralia, that a firm of brokers in the old C'ountry wcro adYising clicnf"' holding sceun­tiL'S in the voa) of .Au~traliau scrip t.o sell aud inYc:>t in other securities. That Is not a good thing for Ausb alia. Th~t iu m~ juclgnl81H·, was partly brought about ~"l::s a ;.c,nlt of Labour rule in Queensland.

l\11' IL:-;Lo~: It is th'' outcome of tho ohtnd~rs maue by ti10 \Vahh dcl''gation which v . .,, sent from Quoens!mJcl to London.

Tlw TREASURER: I ,-o;dd not like to . 'nd the hon. 1nernbor on any dPlE'gation. I-le '"onld spoil the cooking and be of no 3N­Yice to th0 community. (Opposition inter­it ·tion.) lion. rne1nbor~ oppo .. ite t dl ntako a ~wise, but noise doe, not ahr" y _) count.

The CHAIRM.l,X: Order , ould a k l1on. n.F ,·nbers of the to refrain froill rnakinrr intrrjcctioHs T1·c,tsurcir ;:ut to enco nag·~ t:1cnL

rrnEA.SUHER: T ~wll bOIY io \ Olll' ~\[!·. Hobl·l'i:o:, aiHl pl'O( · uJ ·,, i• h rn:v \Yll.·t :1ro the r<' ~on~ wh~~ . .l\.usb·c·t1·.·1

i . ..; jn its ? OnP .. rcfl:-:on i.-:, }JI>· ibly, ~,1uki.lo' fllnrls, IYhirh

• Eow crratc 1. 'Ilw' FcdPr::tl Go-YC'l''. lJ~'nt nn cxt :nt l'• "llor.~ible for th ·t. "nd · ·c 1n u rnc:1. ure lu~vc {__ ;11tribu.ted.

_)uH<-hcr n d ·~on ]:-) tl10 inclu tri;ll unre~t iLronQ,·hout An:-:t-rulirr~t-hc rn•r-rcrurring t rmrblr bctwcr 11 ('!nplo;·c nnd r1nplovPo. I tllJl not- h('l'C' to-da-u to ~ :-; v..-ho is to blan:V'; b~1t I do Clnphas1so th ·t' 1njnrcs a

"o n1·:eh n~ con~inual h''twe?n of capital anC: labour. Tho h:st

Jn~rr.;sts of ihc St :tc nrP not served under tho· .~ cirrunl''tnnres. Tl1c prrs" nt Go, Prn~ J.llt'Dt arc intPnt on brintring pPO~l1D tn ret1::'!',

that they may roa~:on out th0u d;flLnltlC'' l' thcr than r('~.8rt to thf) nerniciuuc; in::-tru­lncnt uf a sh·ikt'. 1\lay the cla~~ soon coinC

Supply. [27 AUGUST.] Supply. 5!)

wh?n better conditions will cxi~t; v,:hcn Aus­tralia, which has so n1urh to comrncnd it, 1Yill be in the foremost nosibon; and when lWoplc will rea liso that there is no pla- o like . .:\nsLalia in \Yhich to invest their n1oney. I !wliove the adYont to po-., er of this Govern­InPnt will mean that privot0 ontc~prisc-and v. • ,t-:.nd for pr]va a cnterpri:::.e-·-

::\lr. BucCE: -\ ou do, all rig':!t !

Tho Tl1EASL:REH: The hon, mom!>er "\Yho ha8 lntPrjectPd, '·You do, all right," ,-;n probably remember that his party, when

jn puwcl', did " all 1vrong" 1virh sorne of their enteqni· .. es. At a1~y rate, -\\0 believe ti-tJ.t, S:) long as thoro iE' proper c~nt·rol, pri­' ate enterprise cannot be bettorccL The Govcrn!l' 'nt will see that it is properly con­trollccl, and thrt the people g-et a fair dnal. \Yhat should be the aim of a State? To-clay the load of taxation which is being carried is very largely contributing to unemploy­ment. It i, all very well to say that it does 11ot 1nnttcr. I can rcn1ernbcr hon. n1embers oppo~itc sayinr "Tax tho wealthy J" but t·verv time taxation is incrpa-~crl it :tnaans that less omonoy is m-ailablo for developmental pu eposes ; and, after all, t • xa tion eo n bccorno ;o he'Lvy that it completely _<tif!Ps enterprise, The a;m of ovorv Government should be to uplift the Stat,,, and to let people rc1lise that u11lmown burdens shall not be thrust upon them frJm time to time. beC'au·e that will only r:.ake people with morwy to invest :- ~nsitivc nhout h1Ycsting that rrlOJH"':~ in the ;.\rate.

Tlw prc::::0nt Govcrnmc11t arP out t0 f'llCoura~l' e-nter 1 rise'; th21r a .-1 im;s will stirrnd1te the f'nlployntcnt of capital in fresh f'nterpri~P. That ''Till rn:,nn le~, UIH~Utploy­lnC'nt. nncl, g0nernlly spoaking-, \vill be for the brttcnncnt of the St,tc, There ,-ill be a determined effort to prot0ct Stat- funcl lH:>e cll.:'iC i~, j our dutv tn Sf''' that 1noncv i~ not \vasiL'd. At the :::·~n1c tirne. WC' f.hall not 1li? nig_r nll:'\~ i11 <:'onncct.ion "·it-h tho thing's \Yhirh arP -o e"-rniial to the ]H'O':!TC':.s of thn Stai;:. At this junrtur.P I shon]d l•kc to quote ·1Je fo1lu-win;r 'l'CDl ·: rkf: b·- ::\Ir. E. G. TheoJo1·-·. 1.Yhich -~_·c qudt 0 r1 fron1 " ~Iansard" !or the ; ·oar 1918, at pn~·c 1555-

" It will be seen that tl1o net [lrofit on nll cPtPrpri~Ps for tlw year \\·a,, £82,1C:J.

'lrl for the v;holc l"'riocl £128,978, The r~·s1tlts cru:no: be c.:m::-i-t1Pn'rl other­wi5u than r1ti~factory, and jt is quite C!C'rt:•_in thnt. the undert..., h-ing:::; hich have ~) Lr •ho .11 ...... le."'~ ill n1ake a nrofit \ hrJJ tlH' 1lB~I1C3S 1 'CElJ ft;rfH::l' (~>!Y\ ~Opf'd.''

\Ye haYc d~Yoloped it for a fc\v si1tce then, a1 cl, if look th~·onQ,"h f'if".:"u:·c--,, YOU -ill t~l~~ SJ li-•' ( nirrpn ha\'C made a of 1Fhn'cn £4,000,('00 <end £5.000.000, we to go on do;w, that? FurthC'r entc~rnl'~ ~P~! Ftu·;_::. r cL v--:lc}1-n1·cnt to hf'lp this great. eouni:r~~ to 1·ni1J! \Ye ccrtr~inly nrc n )i g-o~n~ io tlo t-hat. Ont of the past thc,re ,\·ill co:--itt: b~'tt __ l' th~ng.". '\Ye e1.n do it and IYU will c~o jt: n1d o,yn shall ~~e that the gon:rn:mcnt of ihc eonntry is

alon!.r honc"t lines, \Yhieh ''"ill mean YCl'Y 'bv .t- fur the con11nunit, gcnC'n,ll~:.

The Lcndf of the Oppo·,ition asked another question 10 1vhich I ~>hall reply.

1'-IL POLLOCI:: You prob ,t too much,

The TRKAS'GRER: 1\o, The hon, n1f'mb_'r \\'antod to know ho,-· n1uch n1onc: ·vi·as ~roinr~ t:) be ~rJent, rtnd v:l1cthcr our 1:lcC'tion rJl,,dgc·; ~.;·itl be c~rricJ onL An:·

pron1ise ihat has bc011 rn, de bv the Pr~rnicr \Yill be faifhft,ll~, curried out: uud nlrr:'ady rnonc\ ~ have bt'Cll advanced to local ;mthoritie, on that account, I want to say, tvo, that, in order to giYo a fillip to fho building- !mcle, the Secretary fOi- Public \Yorks h 1s already Ina.dc arrangonents for tl:c o:xpt~udihuc nf a con .idl~raL\.: sun1 of 1non0~,- -in conn0r1-i'Yll '"i1h bulld.in.c;:3. \Yt-.:: haYe only berm in orRcc thrt'c mouth~, and

lrr_:ncly \'. 0 hLr,VC giYf'E ( \~i.)('JlCD Of ·what \n~ have done, of wh;tt. \Ye arc capt~1)le of doina:, and of what we i,,tend to do in the futur-e.

:VIr, PEJ,SE (H r/;r:rt) : I db ire to con­gr.~tulate you; Iv'Ir. Rvbcrts, on YGLH election to the position of Chairman of Committees of thia House, Katnra lly, I a11 \cry sorry for the occnrrcncP that 1nakr-s it noco~sary. I am sorry indeed that onr fric'tcl the hon, 1nembcr for Grcgory is ne~~ dill Chainnan of Cornmittccs. r arn quite satisfied Vlith the sdection that th._, GovernP1ent havo made, Thoy haYe sr:l~~c~c,d a. n1011J. v.'ith a Jong e"\:pcricnc"' jn this Honse. and rr n1an in whom hotL members no doubt haYC confidence,

I also desire to pay a tribulo to thos'' tru•rnbors of thu Labour Party \Yho are no lo11ger with us. Anyone who hfL:-.. sat in Parli ·~.mcnt for n1ar:v Years 1nust rE':lJi€0 tl-.at hon. mcn1bcrs giYo ~a lot of their timo to the affairs of the conntrv_ ThC' fact that the electors ha Ye cho·-,c._'ll ~ to rc·lcgate to po~itions unL.itlo Parlirtincnt crrhcin mc11 --,. ho sat arnoug·:t l:s dnring t.ho last Padia­Hicnt I~ to hP rcgreitod, becaus1\ as tho rjcw ltl2r:nb-·r:;:; \\'-ill realise aftC'J' ~<'''Ying OlllC cirno itl J?arlimnent. iho period iho~o lato n.cmbcrs ~crvc'd gEtYC thc~n considerable fl"Xpcricnc-·. For instancP, in li::::lening to th2 debate ou this yn-opo'a-1 rwd to the

- -~l'Jh'.'\ of thosL ncv: 1ncwb ·i'S who have ~pokcn on the Addrc.;s in Reply, I that ihev hn.\'O not s1ndlcc1 the position 0£ Qnt "'ll',,l,lutl. T1lH'Y .., .. -_ r~_!

{-()0 prone to L.kc for granted Hv fi~~urc_;; q, 'iJ V,'Pl'C giYcn out as elec1jonc,·r~ng

opa '];and a and b the pap0r:; ...:uppo. lng prc3t~·nt Coycrnn10nt? Th· v did not

t rqr,inc fach for tlicnlsr·l\-L,, ar:d I nn1 Ycry 1 llc-w. ~'d irdt: {'ll that Olll' L(' .... dL·r l1as c(tnsccl ih...:: Trcru~rr•r to g--ive ,tktai~.-; jn con-n' ..-.+,ion ··,·ith the fiJwnc .... .J Qucc'lr:J.hnd. I

-to :o;av that th,_· T£ert'"n~·Pl' r!id not trt;ilt. He di-d not tell HS that

Labo~tl' Go\ Cl'l""lCnt h:•d left Otv '-J~lf!'1d 111 a, Yl:!<' ~ood posit](; 1. __,-\1:-) h~~ did not icll l-110 ne\'i.T D -'mbe:rs of 'lJ 1-Io"sv 1·-.n,i­cnlLrh· that, v;lH a he loc.,t th\· conLro1 of th,~ nfiai! of this conntrv ~:ru 15 "'lC.tl ,,, ,)~hP v,;ls ·,\-ho hrrlldcd' over --h0 l(' [t a. o\\ ing in i_]Jr~ -.,T ,1 ~- of

The THL\i::>C"Rr n: l ~t tYC the ('"':nci fiu·urc~.

; r. :\IAx:;·y;:LL: The 11~1~1li c1 'l ~ a only ;;s6,ooo,'loo_

;•-rr. PB.\STJ:: The i\nd1tOJ-Ccnrral'":l fl!..~:nn.~c.; ho·,-,_- that the arnonnt was nearly £6c,OOO,OOO, It is tlY ro 011 record fo.r .. n·,on~---. to.~-". C'crt.aln fund~ \Yhjcll tho

,urcr h8d user1 111 (_ C'!'h ln c~irPc:tions L to 1Jc " 1ded to the o, rli:1ar7 nnblic dc•ht of the State, \Yhich broug-ht the t'oto.l pnl lie drbt of Qncrndand wher: Labonr achieved

in 1915 to £53,000,00J,

I lt~vr> notieod tha1' t h::• acldi' 1on;:; to GoYorrunE~llt rartv are nH.•n of ' h )n. ..::~ll'lnbc r ou ihi3 j l o 1H1 -3

60 Supply. [ASSEMBLY.] Supply.

since I liaYo fiat in the IIouso ha,~c I seen so nutny 1.vealthy n1cmbers as arc now on the opposite side." (Government lo.ughter.) The Government of Queensland to.dav is the greatest aggregation of wealth that UI have ever known since I have sat in Parliament. The hon. member for Wvnnum desires to adopt certain methods fo'r the welfare of the people; but he will fmd thr.t the bat­talions of wealth now sitting behind the Governrnent will make it yerv hrrrd indeed for him to put them inlo p;aciicc. I am pleased t! :1t our Leader promptc<l tho Treas~tPr to _rise ~n his p]a('O to [-~'ive us sorno Infornlation 11'Ith regard to the finances of the State.

I also \Vant to draw tho attention of ne1v n1embol's ou the Govcnunent side to the fact that Labour took office in 1915. The Tr.casurer forgot to tell u, that Labour hac! tn take charge of the affair::; of this couutrv at a n1ust critical period in the histor~; ~£ the State. The war was on, ltnd the; \wre faced ,,·ith an irnmenso de~t. Thefe ·,·as no sinking fund thovided-no provi:5ion for repayment, as the. ' is to-da ,., \Y o had to face the v a1 period ancl thl resulting di~­location of nfl'airs. \Ye had the SJWCtaclo of the Opposition of that dav SPmlinQ· dc\eo·,,. tiono to Eng-land to upset· our t\na~Jec. {\·:, had to gei oYer all that, anJ~ i11 SlJjt ~ of that., we_ kl pt Qut •n:·dancl afloat, and to-day, when th1s change takes place, the Treasurer -tho gcntle111Ull Vi·-ho '"'~fLl at the rrrea:ury when affair~': ·were handed oyer to Labuur_::_ l'C"urnes offl~:c; and it a crp<~it tu biu1 that he jg in ihl' TW!';ition. a:-: it ~how_) that the pPoplo of Qucr•n:-:lan(l tliink lHIH tbin~~· of him. \Ye hnnd over io him to-dav a .. full TreD..!:lur.~::- 1 '' i1h a propt>d:. c·qt~ir 1 )C'tl ·iHking fu11d, Y. Jt~ the debt~ of th! State prof.h'l'ly loohd aHer b:,- the Commc.n'.\Talrh. Ile 'poke ubonic the sinkinp; fpnd: but h0 did not give thC' 1:-tto Labour GoYCLHllC'nt. tho crrdit. du0 to tlH'nl. 0 1Jr prt "cnt and nrcYions 1c1ders were the l11C'll J·c~<po:.1:ilJlc ·for the LC...!,ll c·ouncil's alT:lU[CllH'ni.s. \YP had 1

fight the Federal UovcnEnr>nL which i.u int,-rfcn~' with th0 per c ;pit l r ~n llldliS

and not g·ive us a fair tleal: but tlw t~1_ 1J0lH~ Govcrnrnt·llt of QlJ.:ccn~1aLcl fouJ?ht the Loan Council, and arranged that the' !iJLinf'<'S of the Stat~ should lw put into a fair po,ition. that the n1anagernrnt of our loan~ ~houltl he taken ovN by the Common· ·calth and n proper sinking fund providl·d. I ~un ::·_;rry the rrrr .!.Sur:er \:V a l not :mn ll C'llOH_gh to p;ive ll· tl1o cr.:d~t ~ue to u~. I a.<1Yi·"' the y~nng nlP'nh ___ T"\ Ot tnc- GvYrrnnlC''lt PArt"'.~ rot, to tnkr thinq-s for grnnt~J. hnt tn n1~k" tbt~ir leaders g'lYO thcn1 informntio_L PtlpPr~ nrc hid on the t· ble of llw JTon,l'. ,Jl<l. if thcv will take timo to pcnFn them, the, will fmd out for thomsoh-n that YCl'v ofl;,n the 1n0mb~rs of the Cabin0t nrc i l'_ying to 1nis~ lee.rl them. If i-h.,, add tht interest on £63,000.C~O fr~nn 1916 to date. they will find that the loan md0htod]]( ·S whifh the GoYcrn­mPnt aro no:v taking over ha~ b00n pra< tic­ally very little added to hv the Labour Governrocnt ,,·hen th0y "\YC'l'C ·in pow:.r. If ihe;· add t? ih<' :tmonPt m' ing in 1915 the mtereet paHl on the debt since then. they \YJ!l find tho.t tlw n, u1t. i,; practicallY the t-otal of the public debt to da:-·.

I expect:..d th~ 'Trert'"lrf'r "\Yonld h 11 us sor:r:e+1nng ~,Lout that. n1o"t trnFic }:>,udC?;et •vh1ch has JUSt been F'llf cl bv th nrc.',_;nt Federal G01·ernment. I expected hi;n clso to say ~hat his task in i1nanriug- Qucen,,laiJd was going to be yr-.ry 1nuch interfered with

!Jlr·. Pease.

bv tl~e terribly tragic n1i~takr;; that haYo b;~cn made-nOt bv a Labour Govcrnn1cnt, but by the Bruee-Pago Government.

[4 p.m.]

The CHAIRMAX: Order ! ::\Ir. PEA <E remained standing.

The CHATR"-1A~: Order! \Yill the hou. n-t'n:ber r('SlllllC his r, .at? I just \YU.nt to voint ont that I ,Jo not propose at this stage to allow a debate on FcdPral finance.

Mr. PEASE: I just want to point out the burden that >Yill fall on tho p oplo of Queensbnd.

Tho CHAIRMAN : I cannot vermit sLJch a discussion at thi stage.

:Mr. PEASE: I want to point out that thr burden wh;ch \Yill be cast on tho people of Australia by this trag,ic Fcdual Govern~ lTJcnt Budget is going to an1ount to £4.500.000. and the Treasurer of Queon;land will llaturally haYO tO find rt method o( getting over the difficulty when dealing 1>ith the finances of this State', I understand that tbc Prcrnier on Snnc:ny, when askt'd to o,pi'c~s an opinion, sa!d be ·", :'S indifferent­he dld not think jt would make anv d1ffer­cnct'. I nn1 snrprisoJ to knO\V tb~1t the Trp~~'u'e:r to~day al,-o seems to he indifferent. I-:I>~ did not tell us bo·w tLc_~ position if' going to be met lJ\~ the ( ~OYPl'TiffiOllt of Queen~ land -bo'T they 'propo'c to finance the State, in Yic\v of the trL'lUOlldous ta-xation vvhich i8 going to fall ou tho people of Queensland as >cell as on the pc;opk of tho other States. Those l.vlth iucun1' s of OYCT £2,000 a year are going to pay extT~"!. The \Vorker is going to pa~ extra fo1: h·s tcbLcco and his beer.

The CHATR:\IA:\: OnJ,~r 1 Will the hou. n:crnber t·1ke tis ~c-~-t '? I ha Ye ru1C'd thn t· he cam Jot procoecl in that manner. IY e ea n­not have a dd) to on Federal fina.r:cc.

1\Ir. PEASE: \Yell, what about the finanCe'S of Qm'Cll'land ,, I just wanted to show ho'­it i,, going to be difficult for the T:, «Slll'Cl'

tu i\Hance lho Stnt:'. Do new members on tlw Governn1cnt sifL:::- know that we haYe three n1endicant States in _.__\ustralia? Sonth Au:::trali ,, \YcstPrn AuAra1ia, and Tasmania are n1cndicant Statt~, which arc never able to pny their \Yrt.Y out of revenue, and which havo to corr:0 ro thr nommon,vealt~l and ask the Federal UoYernrn>nt for loan::--or, rather, net for ]o.ln~ bnt fot _.__\.:-: a n1attcr of

at t~H: prc<··nt Sonth AnstrnJia a op"cial gr 'nt of £360,000.

TLe C'l:L\lR' 1A:\: Order! I \vQnt the hon. Llll'IJJ ber to 11ndcrsta.nd tlu1t there js p·oing to L(' no sidc-stcppiug \Yhilc I :nn in tlti:-: chair. 1 h:lYt' rnlc l th,,t hon. ll1Pmber& cn:l:not di Ll.~, Fc·Jc·ral :fi.ranco, and I am not going to allow the hon. n1.en1ber to get iu rc1nark . .; on th~1t cpH··st1on by n1can..;; oi a, side i---,uc--h,v aitentpt'ing to f.'h<n; ho' · it afft.~cL ot:Jf·r States. I-1on. Inrn1bcrs l.vill nJt be in on1(!l' in di~cllS5ing that qu· ·tion on an ~\ppropriation Dill.

:\lr. \\'. FORGA:\ S)IlT'H (JI('(·( ".'!): I ric.e ·t J a point of order. I subn1it that the finance:, of Queeu"lami and the ftn .11 'ini con­clition of c;'uecnsla•<d arc vital!:;· affected b,, any linnncial pohcy irtrodurcd by t!;e ~mY!~ m?n\"':c:dth _GO\"_crnr.wrct, \Vh~ch pror;~; ,..., to rat::P tilxation 111 Queensland.

0PPO~r ... Io~ ~IEMBERS : Hear, hear !

Supply. [27 AuGUST.] Supply. 61

Mr. \Y. FOUGA'< SHITH: It reduces the area of taxation available to H.·J State Trea­..,;urer, and, ·with due re>~',pcct, I submit that ,,,embers of this Committee arc entitled to view the question from the standpoint of the cfi'• et which a I'ew form of taxatiOn b~· cJJOthcr authority "·ill have on the State's

hnanres. 'The CHAIRMA:'<: Mr. Pease!

}Ir. PEASE: I submit that in this Cham­j,..,. we must compare the conditions of Queensland with the conditions in the other Statc;3, for the si1nplc reason that grants lJayo boon made to thc'e other Statn by tlv' Federal Go· <'rnmcnt, >vhich Queensland all(:. tile Treasurer cf Queensland, a1nong:,t other5,

ill have to flnd 1ncthod.~ of paying. QuCens­hml has to !1nd its quota of these> amounts. The present TrQasurcr \vill go to a Inccting of the Loan Council, and, as a member of that Loan Council, will hear the Treasurer" rJ the different Statl~S subruit certain pro­po .. als. He has to comider this State's posi­tion, and agree O'r other1.vise. The Treasurer knows that he must bear this in mind. He know·. that he has to commit Qrwcnsland to an arnount of lllOllC:V to 1nako good the gra11b' made hv the Conunon''Tt alth GoYernrncnt to other StRtn of Australia, and we, tlw pcoplP of Queensland, ha ye tO fi ud that mono) . That c:early indicates that the Labom G'J­Y(cnncnt itl Queen~land handled the financC:5 of this State in a n1oro {.Oinpctcnt nnd judicious rnanncr than did the GoY(1 rnrncnt in some of the other States. That is the point that I wish to dri.-e homt'. I am endeavour­ing to point out tll'lt tho late Go.-ernment .did not mim<anage the fmances of this State. Surely to voodnees I am permitted to point out that in two of the hi(.{ States, 1.vhich \Vere frequently compared with Queensland when the present Govcrnm~nt 1.vero in opposition, the l1nancial management falls sh ,,.t of tlw .tbility displayed in Queemland ! I refer to IV estern Australia and South Australia. They rrre compelkd to go to the Common­\Yoalth Governrncnt as n1endicant States, and this "car th<· Commonwealth Government is providing £360,000 for South \ustralia, £300.000 for \Yestern Australia, and 'rasmania is to sccun> £250.000 for fho vea rs-not as loans. but as grants from the Commonwealth Government. The Queensland Treasurer has to see to it that the quota from Queensland for thc•e amounts is made up. How is it to be made up? By taxation. That proves conc]usivelv that the Lahour Government in Queemlond ·die! handle the finances of this State in a nruclent manner. \Ve cannot with fairness mUke a comparison by contrasting Victoria and N c~Y South \Vales "'Nith Queen;;,­land. but we can compare ·western Australia and South Australia on a sound basis, as did members of the Government when they >vcre in onposition. They inforr.wd ns of the >vonderful things that \YCre being· done by the latter States; but it is no wonder that those Sta:cs can do wonderful things when each vra·r thev are subsidised bv the Com­momv:,alth Go~crnmrcnt to the e,;,trnt that I han' mentioned. I shall give the Chamber a tribute rqrarding the l1nancial position of QueeP.•1cmd from a man >vho \vas deputed h:· the editor of J obsnn's "Inve ·tmcnt Dige .(. of Australi<1 a.nd 0J0w Zr~aland" to reYicw the report of the British Economic Commission. \Ye all know the "Big Four" who < :nne to Qu<'ensland to examine affairs in all tlw Stat·•s of Ausiralia. They came to Ou0cmland and made their report~ which no doubt hon. mcmbe·rs haye read. If newly-

elected members lm.-c not read tho report, then I tarncstly suggest that they do so. Mr. Pooley, noi.A., the assistant editor of Jubson's '' Investrn"'nt Digest," no doubt well kno\vn as a financial expert, says in ono of his latest articles to the n1agazinc~

" The editor has asked mo to say some­thing in special reference to the recom­mendations in the report dealing with Queensland. I am very glad to t'ry to do that, because, except for an appendix dealing with the pastoral industry, there is nothing specil1cally about Queensland in the report. If you in Queensland take time to think that oYer, it must come ao rnthe:;_· a surpri~p, ! Of course, reference to Queensland is implied as to other States, also, in the general ·recommenda­tion~ in regard to loanf:, etc. But Quecnslalld, >Yhich has been held up as a rnost n1isgo'"~crned Statf' 1 does not get a paragraph to ibolf in the main report, nor is there any sp0cific undertaking in Quecmland singl-·d out for reproach as thero is ill rcga rd to ,:\[ cw South Vi' ales, South .Australia, Victoria, and vVestorn Austra Jia."

Mt·. Hoberts, you haY~ there the opinion c·xpre.3'od by one of the l1nancial experts of ,\ustralia on a report b:- the British Eco­nomi{' (\)nmlis-.ion. He says, "If you in Ouccnslancl tnke ti1ne to think that over, it 1nnst cmnc as ~rather a surprise." because, of all the Strrtr>s, the State of Queensland is 1wr sin~·led out hv that Commission for anv 1inanrial reproaci1. EYerybody knows tha·t t hc La hour GoYcrnnwnt handl0d the affairs of Q.ue0nslrrnd is such a way t.hat the people h IH' clone yery ''·ell. In 1915, when the pres'-•nt Treasurer ''"as an orrupant of the Trrasnrv bench, the taxabJ.e income in Q'I~rnslancl rrnwunted roughly to £16,250,000, hut in 1926 the taxahlo income of Queensland had arh·ancecl to nearly £23,000,000. Those fi'1.U:i'C'~ ·.hot\· th(• 1nnnbeT of taxnaYcrs in the State-· • •

1914-15 22,396 1928-29 48,317

The Labour GoYornment handed over to the present Treasurer a source of income in the slL'lle of 48,000 taxpayers instead of 22.000 hr:q)[tycrs, and at a tirne 'vhen wealth produc­tion had increas0d considerably. Last year constituted practically a record in wealth producl ion. the flge:re being £70.000.000, >Yhieh is the total gross income of tlw people of Queensland, according to the latest report of the Commission<>r of Taxes. It is " record for Queensland. The Treasurer takes over the affairs of Quc0nsland to-day with an a bEiolut0 reet}rU product-Ton year, as compared >Yith when he handed them oYer in 1915-a production of £70;000,000.

The TREAScllER: Did you hear \\hat your own l cad er said this afte.rnoon?

Mr. PEASE: I was absolutelv astonished h find that the hon. gentlema;1 should be '0 alarmed of l1nancing the State when this is 80. '"'

vYe hc,ye heard a good deal about, and many sneers haYe been hurled at, State f'nterprise. Labour has nHtde son1c mistakes in connection ,,Tith son1e Stnto enterprises. I admit; but there is one Shte enterprise for which Labour wa< responsible which proved a sheet anchor to Australia in times of stre" when the war was on, and that is the Commonwealth Bank. \Yhcre would the !1nances of Australia haYC been during the war but for the Commonwealth Bank;

111r. Pease.]

G2 [ASSEl\IBLY.] Supply.

and ,,vlwre vYonld tho CoinniOll\VCalth Ba.nk bu but for Labour'? Labour -,,as the onlv po1ver in AnRtrnlia which could allcl Jid initiate that b 111k. \,'hen the grrat \Y<" r \Vas 011 a:nd t 1.e financt~s of the orlJ wero upsidL~ do·dl and in ·~he rn_•ltiug po~, wh :t came tD th·.' rf::c.tc of _._..\.tc.trrlia? It -\as the ConlnlOll\Yc··lth Hank, ,_,.bich \VUS 1uiti&tecl by L.'l 1)T"r--thc 1vho alone d~crcd to do it. If ho·1. m will turn up the debate ili th -~ CoinnlOl1\\·calth Parlian1~nt 1vhcn the tbcll Prin1c ~Iini:3t0r of Anstralia, the l\':r. Fi-·.hPr, initiat( d that bank. they find thc;t it n•ceiYed with sncl re. \Yhet h . happened' At the end of 1928 t 1

J'· ·CdiTIUlPll" -·en lth Bank, 1vhich h,~s been fin'tu~·illg <)uc r::;Ll!lll as y •11 as Aus-tntlia. b-ul n.!:!_~rc·:~~·cct }Jl'ofi:: of OYer £7.000,COO. Its profit; lasc y<'rrr \VCre £750.0LC. Ilo·L rne1nlJC'rs 1nav haYC' ~._en the nthcr day a J1Hr<·:..:raph in ih0 I!C'IY:..:,Htpers stating' that th0 ConllllOll\~·ca1th Bank ·,·:as abl0 to cc•ml owr £1.0JO.OOO in gold to London io ennble the ILtnk of England to stabili~~' the• ("old rp::i~l''"CS.

:vir. KEr.so: \Yl·at does that prove?

}fr. PE.\SE: It proYf'S that I 'lbour's idud i-, ~ound.

1\Ir. I\E.~o: \.,..on do not ntcntion tho as:-3ociut0(1 h Lnks nt all.

::.\lr. PEASE: I-Ion. rne1nl•crs opposite pick out a fp St~t te Put rpri:::cs fur critici--tn bcc<lll' 0 tht•y han~ lK'Cll failure·•; but con­Ycnicutl!~ forgc·t to nH'rtion the succc'~~-; of ibis 0Jltl•rpr18e, y·hich, after tnkintr all tho failnrl'S into rntion, ~hovV:-)

0

11 YO'V llandsomf' .\ bn ;-:inc ~ rna i1 in r:l<tking up a llt of Lis :-ffair

e;·_lld p:lt an the on nn' :::.:idc and all the crc'·lit..:; on th0 othrr. Jf hon. 11lC1Tib' rs oppo::iL} pnt all th' l~1Jt('l'PJ'i'"' \Vhich do J~Ot ~hov.~ profits on c1(1rit id··, ar:c1 tht'n nht' on the <T< clit all tho")e f'ntPr-

. ·-:trh as th~ ('omulonwr ·llth B:-t11k rrnd In.;;ura n<·c DP!la rhncnt, \"ih1ch show

t1H'V ,, ill flnd that tlto surrc 'ul cntl'l'fn·1f'r.-:; ont-~·· .•ig.-h 1.hc uns1H C>cs~ful

one· The• ]•rHit10i1 of f.!.~ .. 1to· C'Htcrprist is g-ood. Here in n time of di·-tn o;s "·hen the mother CGur h_~'""- ls looking for financi,1l a id, thjs dcS)JisC'cl St<.•h' Plltcrprise of _.:\ustra}ia­iho C'omn101H\0 -1th B-qJk~s, nds to Londnn £l,OOO.COO i·• g·olcl-not. to finance ~\nstl'alia. but the mother country.

'VJ:r. Knso: The motherLwd 1s rot tll8 controll{'r of tlw 11otc i:· "ll" tht re.

J\Jr. PE~\SE: I '.Yi, :1 to noint out anothc1· State t•ntprpri~·· I.Ybi, h ,,~a-s vcrv usPfrd to QuPCP''.bnd rercntlv. I rnfcr t(~ the State coalminC's. -~

~-fr. ;'cJ.n~; F.I.L: Did you IE•ar the exposure thi" aftprnoon?

l'.h. PEASE: Owinc; to the distreo,ful ~tate of the coa1n1ini1-1g indush·:-.- in tho So!Jth. tbc priY::tt"' eo hnltlC' <n. ners iu (Ju~'CnSlrtiH1 f1·j( d io P''{f)}oit the Qu. nns]and r<lihv·1_· s and th . .-... pconfe of Chl"f'rtf'htnd bv m1.kinp; th<•n1 pa~.~ miJrC for th('lr coal. \Vha't -. tood j.n thci r _wa:'-·? The dc-;pi~, •cl St. at • ClltPI"pl'FP-tJH• ~,t,•tp C<"llnlill(''· If it had not hPcn for ihr: St.tt0 coDlminc , :initintcd by Labeur. the coal hll"ons of QncPnslaml would h<1ve forc·d th" Railway J)cpartn1cnt of Quc<•nslancl to pay tv·ice as much for coal as the,· are nO\Y doing-.

Ylr. KELSO: vVlwt about the commis,ion of 30 pc~r c~nt. paid by your Goyer11mcnt

[ Jlr. !'rase.

to the agent for f'-o St.lte coahninc at Bowc;n?

Jl.lr. PEASE: The hon. mf'Inl>er · on the front UoY.:orninent hcnchc-; do not knO:V\"' ;chat they arc talking- boctt. I would ask the UC'·.~· lllCinbcro: of the GoYcnnnent not iu he misled by the tactic adO]Jtod in tho election ean1pa1gn, b~1t to seek out the truth for tlwmsolves. Their leader has told them not io ha,-e nnythiug to do \Yith StJtc cntor­pri.'3c,s, yet \vlwt would tht' Hnil,,ay l)cpart­nJC•nt be peying for cool if it had not been for the Statu coahnines initiated on1y by Labour?

In conclusior, I '.Yould like to ~av to the Tr::usnr·:r that there i;;; 110 oc,::asion ~to be a pessirnist. I hopo 1 hAt the I: on. gc•utlcrnan \Yill take on the m<:Lnt'c of tll,· lntc Sccre­i nry for :\linP.o.;-(GoYcrrnncnt. laughtf'<')-and

0rnc !he chcc•dul optimi t of th··c othel'

GovEm;:~rEXT :\IEMnEns: Oh!

Mr. PEASE: To~chy i,~ not the time to rweach retn~ t~chment. It i- a n1o::.t f·crious thing·. There should bo no pn'aching of retrenchment or reductioll of c:·agc:,.

The 1'HE.\SUHER: I :ncYer s. tid a \vord about it.

~·Ir. Pl~~ \SE: rro-day production i.i at the l2igltc,t P-')jnt it hrs ever L en in Queen-,land. \\Tc han~ the n101H~Y in Cucen-31 11'd, anc1 I c fh-1:-e thC' TrC'a:snl'Cl: to ',""~~-to it that ho does r~ot tl'_(: tJ reduce ne try cxpc!ndiLnre. I ant conCLl'HCd that Qucf'nsland :dwu1d not snfl\•r frorn rc•trcnchnH, t, b('CYt!:c, if the p rclw-ing }-lo··-<'r of tlJc people i~ n .1uccd, it ,,-ill do n1orc darnagc to c;'ueenshuH1 thc<n any­thl~lg cLw The t,,xatiml flgurcs r:tnntC'd by

opl·c po,~ible because the 1 "orie of cl ::• cnjoyinc~- a FOOd iu-·ome. If

you do a11ythin~.z; to rcduc the purcf-lc;.~in{?; llO\H'r nf the people, if you di·.nn],s 111cn and bring about a rcductioJJ of y_ agc.o---~

r:ehe TIC\SPE::n.: I r;evCl' ~:Jid ft. y;·r d about \\~age :::T'l~action.

:- Ir. PEASE: I run 0·j, iPg' the Lor1. C"L'ntle-· n~an a \Yard of \\ -~ rnin7J:·. ((; cl\"(•rl1n1ent b 'i{ht r.) If eYer ~:1r>r•~ '--' a til ,c in the hi~ton· of (htt'\l ~lanr1 a Trca.·--urer shonlci fC'~ to' it that llO :'llempt is m.nde to l'PduC'e or to i ·:rea se u _cmplo~ n1cnt, ULtt tiulC the prcs'-- nt.

Mr. POLLOCK ((!NrJOI'!): I cL uo to congratulate you, ?\fr. Robcrt .. , on you1~ a ppointn1CL> as Chairman of Comn1ittces of thi, AssPmhlv. I think '"OU are more to be yJit-~~-'cl than c'ongrutulatcc( bectU>::·P, after all, the job is a n•ry arduous one, and on the scycnicf'n daY:) dnvotcd to a consiclcrrrUon of the Estirnatf-.-, in Conunittl ~ the~ position bPcomes exceptionally tirc.,,_Jmo. I fil!Pd the office of Chairman for Jl,-o vo:u·, ar:d I think I ougl·t to ha,·c snrnc idc<t 0£ ho\v ,i, csomo i~ can l--"~COl1lf', and of ho v tirrsotne )fl1C hon. Ht('lr:.her:: can become ,,hen ono has listened to thPm for hours r.t a strdch. ~I:: opinion of the Jl'1"ition is that it. is an lwn }Ural>le onp, and that tho hon. n1cn1bcr v.·ho does his job thoroughly in that position earns his s<:tlary. 1Io has to lwsc as ~\·~d .. 1 a knowledge of th_o Standing Ord01::l ~ the SpcakPr, if not a Wider kno<-;lerlc:rt'; <HJd no doubt. he is placed in all sorts of trving poeitione by rune ndmPnts bPing mo\·ccl frorn tin1e io time. If, 11r. Robcrts, during vour occupancy of the office yon rnnkc it .vo;1r ain1 to- sc.·e 'that eY<?l";l" hon. nwmbcr of this A 'rmbly is able to put the case for his constituency in a

Supp/ff. [27 AuausT.] Supplj. G3

fail' n1n.llllCl', ihcn I mn ~nr·~ you will rcceiYc C'Ycrv a~~',i~tanrP, ai ]cast fr(JD1 this side of the Cha(nbrr. I can •3ay no more than that.

\Yii h n ;rant to the ~t-atetncnts n1adc hy tlH' Treasurer, it ·would appear to 1110 that. th~ hen. gent1ctnan is living in the vast. He : en" to Le one of tho3c individmds who are Hnabl;, to brin•·· their thought .. , up to the prcs,cnt. QnePli·1nnd is not concprncd to-day ,.,ith y.hai I><·' 1 t'll s)wnt in the past.

The THEASt"HF:l1: Oh: J:..m't it?

)1r. POLLOC}~: The pnhlie art? looking io t hi~ UoYel'llHlCnt of n1a11:V pron1i·<~A for s<ule lnJ.icdtion as to thc\y propo.se to soh·c tlH• difl:ulliit•o th face thr St.tt.'. \Ye are not conccrllcd \Yith hParing- lton. rrH•Jnbcr.: on the Go·.-erunhn-it sid(~ tefliug th0 prop!.·. "Yon havP had fon>·wc·n ,.Pars of rott,~tl goYer11rnent." ancl ~ll that sort of stuff. \Yhat do the public want. to hear alJout that? The,- heard tha~ at elt•c+ion time, and made llp their m inch that thc;v \'.·oul(l trust hon. mcn1bcl's of ilv" pres;:;nt GoYe!·nnlcnt for a p0riod of i_ hree years.

:\fr. KE'\t-:Y: \Yi •ly, too~

: tr. POLLOCI:: \Yis0lv or unv-..,i~clv, tirnc alo11o y~-ill i-ell. thl11l~· unwi~cly; 'but in th.J rneantinw. '' hon tb people are looking for S0!1l0 :::tate . .;ulaHiike ntteran on the part of llw nc\Ylv-f lc-·t tl Jl10lnlY!'•! of the Govcrn­rnent, all t li~ :· c 111 P>'t i_; ; ~)nlC' abu~C' of ihe p~nh· t1wt ha:-:~ jusr- lF'Pll r0n10\ cd fron1 )"'"."''· Tha1 is ;wt. ·:·hat. till' public an·

aiting for. ThrY ., ar::t :-mnc constrnrtiYP 'polic>. Th_v \Ln:{ to knov.- v·hethcr the 11101

thc·y hoyc C'I11rn~tPd with ihc job of running Qupp ,~laud an~ <'3lHth1• of doing the job. 1~p to da' ' I 1nu~t. conft ""'~ that on ihc pGo·- pr~rfm·)n '11C0:'-i ~hnv;n the pub]ir haYC' no

to Q'l'a~iflcd \\'ith the tnt :t tltP"",· ha~-" ir~~ tl~(~Ill. ·

~·tl'. 1\.:ELSO: \...-nu ha Ye nnt n' c1 the Coycrno1·' s SpcC'ch.

::\Ir. POLLOCI\.:: Th:-ti; liternrv abortion that \\as put into the hvncls of ,i, \er:v fine ~r-11tleman like TTi3 ExcC'l!C11\V the Qoycrncr to read to 1iri'~banc'q -soci-l "Four H'mdrcd !'' Yet "" hon. nwmLcr on the other side wants to know if I have read the Go,~ernor's Spo' cCh ! EYerv Bill foreshadowed -is an rtn1tnf1ment of sot{1(' :rncasurc pas eel b:: the Labour Party, and there is not a constructiYc thoug-ht from members of the Go·. ·'::!rnn1ent. Ho-n. 1ne1nbers opposite want to know whether I ha"'' read it ! I looked do,Yn, and I f'U\V :-uncncln1ent .after amcnd­lnent rromised, anti not on. endeavour to do anything that would in any wav relieve the unemplo' ed, about which so ni:uch fuss wa• made prior to the elections.

GovER'\:\[R:\T JI.IE:I!BEH: You arc biassed.

\\!fr. PC!LLOCK : 1 am not biassed. I am only eriti< xl. and I am prepared to help ihf' GO\ 'rnnwnt if they \\'ill only do some~ thing; if tlwy will onh· realise that there 1s the trnmp. tl:anm, tranrp of the unemployed no1v thr sarno a~ there wa::; before the elec­tions. They hnYc not noticed that tramp, h·amp ,,]nee thev wr·re r€'turned to po\vcr, but the." made " mip-hty fuss about it before~ hand. Instca1l of the tramp, tramp of the unemplo:;cd, all we ean hear is the munch, munch. munch of the Ministerial molars as thev chew the oats of office. 'l'hat con~ timi.al munching- of the corn of office 1...:: dro1vning the tran1p. tramp, tramp of the unemployed, I want to know

hcnv n:uch of thi~ rnoncv is lJein:;:s :::opc'nt in relief o£ UIH0H11Jloyinont.~ I want to kno1v how much of this £3,900,000 is voiug to Lo spent in p1·oviding even 100 of those 10.000 jobs that \vu·c prornisecl. I want to k110"' 7

'

\Yhrthrr arp· of the £2,500,000 that the Labom• P:.rty left in the Treasury is going to bo SIH>nt to redeem the p;·omiecs that "·ere made by thee Go,·rmmcnt when they were before the c]r~.tors. I \Yant to know, ioo, whether any­thing 1~ heing done in connc·tion ·--::ith .'1J'1'ears of inc mne t<lx O\ving· Ly people o 't. 111~- way \Yho n r0 f:l!iff'r·ing scYercly from drought. T1hc-r-_· an~ quite a, nun1hcr of rnen in rny dis­trict suffcr1ng· ~~~Yere1v fron1 drour.·ht \Yho o 'e from £4.000 to x.S,OOO in iiL:JnW tax, awl in sonJe c 1ses e\·cn rnorc. f)~hL·~c RlllOunts 1 r>rc~ ns:-· "'sr•l <JS hPing clue to the 'l'axation DPpflrhncnt, hut the 111en 1<ho 1vere· nssee.;;ed ,, Pro 11nable to pay because the drought intervened, and sinn then they have had no opportunity of making t.hb nlOllc;y. They arc nnv blo to rai~o rnoney to buy n1oro sheep, to· ~onl€' cxlPnt owing- to the low price o£ wool; :lnd th<). arc nr:3.bl0 ~n any 'vay to get g.oing a:;f\ln hr•cu11~e. ·vhi!e they havn a Lurrlcn of .c .r ) on dlf .. il' properties, it c1n be readily uucl\'1' ,joocl that no iirn1 is going to g-ive an lllHlcrtd.:::ing- to carry them on. I ·want to, know 11hether the Treasurer-who I under .. :-~1 and, is in charge of rncav.,ures such rl;3 that --is rioing to p1 1Yide <)01110 roli' f 'vl· thn~e pc or le.

::\lr. :\l\XWELL: \Yhy .did you not a>k :\lr, ::\LcConnack to do .')Ol11Cthing 'I

\fr. POLLOCK: ::\1,·. :YlcCormack a:ckrd l!lP to k 1 n; thi:-J u1atter until rtftcr the elec­tion "·as ovc1·. ·ne said that if we clid any­thing- on the 'n' of the election it >Yonld Le (Oll truC'd as an election bribe. The present Co\rf'l'H!!H_'~tt had no SLiC'h scruplPs, p;:;,.:.·ticu-1 rl<1,; in n'~ 'trc1 to 1naking usG of the unon1-ploym 11t tllk..,t.ion. Ilo\veYcr, the question ' dS !h('r ·, nud it \ras to be raised again iuu1ledlah'!.Y the election ,~:as over; and l\IL \Jc.Corm:Jck promised mu that he would do ~mnL~thit:!£ in order to giY(~ these people a '-·haw ' to start a~ain. It i, an urgent

e1·. The wool indust·ry is our n1ost J]>Orlani- indu·tr:,·, and 1 \Yant to know if

t Lf' Go\ ~·nlllClJt ar~ seized of the in1portanrP of ihis f}Urstion. and whether they will clo ~omi'11Jlnr; to help H1c~e people to got another start, bf'f'.tusc uutil they get so1ne 1ndjration fron1 thr: Gw, cnuncnt t.h:~t they will not bo callrcl upcm to pa:· this m}nly out of their first ;>rofits-whenevcr the.1· aro able· to makr thcu~-thev will not be able to ,ecurc fmancc, and 'they will Le unable to c•rnploy an;, men on properties that arc at; pn~~0nt. fairly well provided with gras3 but \vlri, cl ]rave hardlv a hoof on them. This Gon!rn1ncnt is ~ho;, ing rnoro than a tendency to c.ndPavour to liYc for its fir',:t ses3ion on what it terms " tho maladministration of the pn~\·ions GoYennncnt." That cannot be done. r:rhe public are expecting son1ething ntore tlran that.

.A GO\ ERX:.\1 [·:XT :\lE:\IBJR: They arc ~·o1ng tn get it, too.

::VIr. POLLOC:K: That is what \W' lwve lH'nrd C'Ycr since election day; but so fa1· · r lu1vo had no indication of whnt it is they an going to get. The Govcrnor'e Speech is a collection of amending Bills. This old problem of unemnlovment-the thoucands of men who are admittedly un­(·mployc:] in Que0nsland-cannot he solved b:· an "mrncJm~nt of the Apprcniicc-,hip Art. It t'alinot I:· olYed by amendnwnL

JI1'. Pollock.]

S1<pply. [ASSEMBL Y.J Supply.

'''eh as are proposed to any of the Acts thot arc to be amended this session.

A GOVERNMENT lYlEMllER: Sec ,,-hat a change of Government ean do !

l'vlr. POLLOCK: A change of UoYcrnment i-. not g·oin~ to n1ake the woolbuycr pay any more for his wool. I think we ktYC noticed that already. His conficlence in Mr. Mooro has not induc.,;Q him to give nlOl'C> for his wool than it is worth. This idea that thoro is any confidence in the Govermncnt :-;corns to me t.o be largely 1noonshir.e---I ha\ e not notice cl any mv~,,~Jf. I have not noticed that anv of the men who were looking for fhcaJJco in ;,ny of th" l""toral areas in Queensland ha Ye ~;ot it bee ,use tlw then Leader of the Opposition he" now become Premier. V\'ill anybodv >oay that it hes? It has not made any difference.

A GovERNMENT MEMBER : It has c,tablishcd confidence in Queensland.

l\Ir. l11AXWELI,: You cannot expect it in three months.

:;i!J:r. POLLOCK: \¥here arc ally men \Jeing Pmployed because of it? Let mn retrace thL Government's attitude in con nee~ ion ''<th tmcmployment. First, the-;: went to the conntry 'vith a specific pledge-·' Y{e have £2,000,000 ready to spend to gi.'·,: 10,000 job~, and we arc going to g1ve ihcn1 quicldy."

Nlr. l{ELSO: \Y c nc\·cr ~<tid anythi11g about 10,000 jobs.

Mr. POLLOCK: Yes, thcv did, nnd they >aid they >\ould find those fobs at the wry earliest opportunity.

Mr. KELSO: You arc In1f3quoting.

Mr. POLLOCK: I am not misquotiw;. I will give it to the hon. member to read, if he has such a shol't memory. He is already trying to climb out of his resjlomibilitics; but he is not going to bn allowed. Fir,,t they said, "Don't vote Labour! Vot-e to give yourself one of these 10,000 jobs." As soon as the clec,tions were over the Premier went away to Bryn1aroo out "\Yest sorncwhcrc, where he has his farm, and, after recovering a little from the shock of being elected Premier when neither he nor any of his supporters expected it-- ,

J\Ir. MAXWELL: You ha Ye ne!· recoYercd from it yet.

li!Ir. POLLOCK: We ha Ye, but hon. mrm· bers on the other side have not recovered yet from the surpnse. (Government laughter.) I am sorr.v for the hon. member. It is nothing compared to the shock which the hon. member got when he was not dected to one of the high official positions. .\ell I wanted to say was that after the elections, when the Premier had recovered from the shock, he said that the Govern­ment would carry out its policy; that he '"'ould sec that the uncmplo:~ed were given work; hut that the public must not expect m.iraclcs. Then, when he saw that there was no chance of giving any effect to his policy, the Secretary for Labour and Industrv decided to introduce an amendment of the Appren­ticeship Act. Anything that may be done to make things better for apprentices is not going to carry out the promise to give 10,000 jobs and £2 000.000 to the unem­ployed in the form of relief. I admit that the Secretary for Public Instruction also had a brain wave. He decided that he could best wlve the problem by getting the poor little

[Mr. Pollock.

hu·_lf!r~- '' kiddi(~~ ') '.Yho l.Yt'ro nt school to salute· tho Ln)on J ac·k 0Ycr.v 1norning-. Perhaps he decided that that ·ould fill their little empty bellies,

The Sr~cREl'ARY FOR Pc:BLIC I~sTRcCTION: I am afraid you do not like it fer other reasons.

[4.30 p.m.J . Mr. PClLLOCK: Ye>, and ono of the

reasons I did not like it "as that the Australian flag was onL· to bo saluted if no t;nion Jack flag was" thtJre. I shall be perfectly frank abont it.

The SECRETARY FOH PcnLIC I~STI:UCTION : Don't say it!

1\fr. PClLLClCK: I ,, ill repeat it. I will say it until the hon. gentleman is so sick of hearing it that he will "ant to \Yalk out of the Chamber every time he does hear it. l\'one of the 'promise's that the Go;-ernrnent havo made in regard to uneinplo:;-nwnt have been given effect to.

Mr. MAXWELL: Did not the Treasurer read out a list this afternoon'!

Mr. l'OLLOCK: He said he had loaned £25.000 all told to local anthoritiPs, and had ginn a subsidy of about £8.000, I did not hear the hon. gentleman ""Y a!Jything when he was on his feet during this debate except in answer to '-~ flHCstjon a~kcd by an hon. mmnber on thi-{ side. \Yhon he y, as on his fe''t he onh· ende,tvoured to abuse this party and condcr;111 il on its past record. He ha.;:; not giYcn any indication of what ho is going to do; nor does there appear to be any­thing in the Gon:rnor's Speech as to what the Government provosc to do to solve the problem.

'l'hc SECRETARY FOR PrnLrc IxSTRcCTION : , '.. ou will know all about it in due course.

Mr. POLLOCK: That is poor consolation to the n1an vvho is walking about wearing ont the soles of his boots looking for employment.

The SECRETARY FOR p LBLIC INSTRUCTION again interjected.

Mr. POLLOCK: That is poor consolation to the man who voted for hon. members opposite thinking that he would get one of the jobs I have referred to.

The CHAIRJ\IAX: hon. n1ernbers on rr1y the back bench, to interj actions.

Order ! I must ask right, particularly on cease their continual

OPPOSITION l\:1EliiBERS : II(·'-1r, hear l

lVIr. POLLOCK: Thank you, Mr. Roberts, although I was enjoying it. It is a shame to stop them. If you read this morning's "Daily 1\1ail." you saw how the Government are ai1parently carrying out their pledge to give the boys and girls a chance.

'l'ho SECRETARY FOR PrBLIC lNSTRl'OTION : \Vhat about your election cry, "Give the child a chance!'' 1

Mr. POLLOCK : 'The present Government promised that, if the,- were returned to offico, all the bovs and" girls lcaYing school \Yould have a chance to get employment. I notice h-om the " Daih Mail" that yesterday fourteen church bovs arrived bv the " Hob,on's Bay,:' which berthed at Brisbane, where they haYG already been placed in employment, I am wondering how much of this money that is being voted is being Yolcd for the pm·pose of bringing those boys

Supply. [27 AUGUST.] Supply. 65

here to take the chances of employment that our own boys and girls "\vcre pl~omised.

Tho TREASCRER: You know that the state­rnc·nt vou are making is not correct. The money· comes from the Federal Government.

Mr. POLLOCK: I am glad to know that. I did not know it, because the Treasur~r appears to be so lac!;;ing in com:tesy to th1s Chamber as not to g1ve us the mformatwn. I am merely asking the question so that there will be some questions to answer when the Treasurer again gets upon his feet. There were ono hundred ilnd eighty immigrants on that boat. All this is not going to help us to solve the queqtion of unemployment. I would like to know what tho position of the Govern­ment is going to be with respect to the immigration of unskilled labou::, when there are already sufficient men in Queensland for the work we have. I want to know what the GoYernment's intentions are as to future immigration. I want to know what their intentions are in that respect with some of this £3,900,000 that is being set aside. Surely the Treasurer does not expect this party to sit down and calmly hand over nearly £4,000,000 without asking how he is going to spend it ! Surely he does not expect this party, which represents the men who are walking about looking for work, to do that?

Mr. MAXWELL: What did you do when you were i·n power?

Mr. POLLOCK: The public is not con­<:ernecl with what we clid-I would ask the hon. member to understand that. It is con­cerned with what the present Government are going to do. It wants to know what the Government a re going to do. The public insists that the Government shall not live w the past, but shall bring themselves up to d'lte t:nd decide to do something, or get out and let another Government in that will deal with this qu~stion. (Government la.ughter.)

Mr. BULCOCK (Barcoo): I take this opportunity, Mr. Hoberts, of congratulating you on your elevation to the Chairmanship of Committees, and I feel sure that under your able guidance we shall have impartial debate, and that you will extend to all members on both sides of the Chamber the privileges to which they are entitled under the forms of the House. Perhaps it is appropria to that the Treasurer should introduce the first Bill into this Parliament, when in the long, long ago when his party, of which he was the Minister, went into the political wilderness, it was he who intro­<luced the last Bill into that last Parlia­ment.

'A GoVERNMENT MEMBER: You are in the wilderne'o now.

Mr. B [JLCOCK : We are in ihe political wilderness now ; but we are good losers, unlike hon. members opposite, who are continually crying about their success. Arro!lance never brought any party into prommence except a party ihat was dominated by a.n insensate desire to parade before the people of Queensland their own importance; and that is the attitude that is being adopted by the present Government

GovERID!ENT MEMBERS: No.

Mr. BULCOCK: Hon. members opposite deny it, but one can feel the- arrogance of hon. members sitting opposite,

1929-F

The SECRETARY FOH PvBLIC I:,STRUCTION : You are fePling sore.

Mr. BULCOCK: HoweYcr. we ha Ye in this Chamber 20 new members who arc. not conversa.nt with Parliamontar!y practice­members w,hoso Parliamentary education is ju't commencing. Th~ Tr,efl(Surer . should afford the fullest possible mformatwn o_n this Bill, not only to hon. members on ~his side but also to hon. members supporting him: Perhaps one of our cli.fficulties to-day in regard to money matters. 1s the fact that we ar•J inclined to rE:gard m!lhons of pounds as a mere bag a tell e. Years age, thousan~s of pounds provoked a good deal of dis­cussion and were 1egardecl >1S a tremendous aggreg~tion of money; but,. as time went on we found th>tt we cl1d not regard thbusands of pounds as being· a big aggrega­tion· a.nd to-day there is some contempt even' for spending millions of money. That is one of the difficulties that Wf' have to face in Queensland to-clay. . Another diffi­culty that we have to face 1s that we are being asked to crive the Government a blank cheque for app';.oximately £4,000,090. T~at is a colossal sum of money; but th1s Parlia­ment is asked to vote the sum of £4,000,000 before we lcaye this Chamber to-night, and no reasons have been given for such an appropriation. That is essentially wrong.

The Treasurer takes t,he line of defence that this is a temporary appropriation; and that the sums he is asking are pr('cisely the same sums as the late Government a;;ked to have voted. at a similar stage of the session. I accept the assurance of the Treasurer on that point. I take it that he refers to the last session of the last Parliament; but every member was then perfectly conversant with the financial requirements of the State. We had passed the Estimates in previous sessions; and everv member of the Parliament had contribut~cl towar·ds the debate and knew the ramillcations of the expenditure in the State. 'That position, I submit, does not exist to-day. 'l'he Treasurer knows that there are m>mv new membec-s in this Chamber who haYe no knowledge of State finance. It is a matter of very grave importance that Parliament should control the financial destinies of the State. I believe the Treasurer was returned to Parliament on thH cry-mixed up with other cries-that Parliament should have the final say in regard to these things. \Vhat say is Parliament going to have in regard to this matter?

There is another matter which makes it infiuitelv more closira ble that we should haye hlrther information in regard to the manner in which it is proposed to spend this money. In the past we had a tried and seasoned Cabinet, as I shall endeavour to show. Now we have a Cabinet of novices. 1 am not s"ying that in any disrespectful seme. Ko doubt at the present juncture the Treasurer has to be guide, philosopher, and friend to his present Ministerial colleagues.

The 'fRl'ASURER: Ko, no !

Mr. BULCOCK: It is very obvious that the hon. gentleman has ministerial experi­ence, and that no other hon. gentleman in the C:<binet has that ministerial experience; and therefore the consolidation of the wis­dom' of Parlia~:nent should be applied to the problem of the expenditure of the £4,000,000 which we are asked to vote to-day.

Mr. Bulaock.]

66 Supply. [ASSEMBLY.] Supply.

There is yet another factor involved.· Included in the C~binet are two hon. gentle­men with no prevwus pa,rliamentary experi­ence, and we seasoned parliamentarians are bomg asked to agree to a decision which has been arrived at by a Cabinet of novices included in which are two hon. gAntleme~ who had no previous parliamentary experi­ence until they walked into this Chamber­much to the disgust of certain Government back benchers-and took up their position on the front bench.

Mr. KELSO: Don't whine over it. Mr. BULCOCK : There is yet another

matter arising out of the statement made by the TreasUl··er, that the temporary appropria­tion no\V asked for is precisely the same as the approp,riation which was asked for by Mr. McCormack on the last occasion that he m'?ved in thi,s Ho~se for a teJ?por<tr:y appro­pnabon. 'Ihe Treasurer Is askmrr for approximate!:; £900,000 from the Loan "Fund. That is similar to the amount which was voted by Parliament to the previous Govern­ment. Since £900,000 from the Loan Fund was not sufficient to cope with the unem­ployment situation in existence then it is ob:rious that _a greater sum is now required. It IS also obvwus that the Government intend to do nothing to relieve the unfortunate unemployment which undoubtedly exists at the present time.

The TREASURER: You are forgetting that there are fewer unemployed now.

Mr. BULCOCK: If the T,reasuror had asked for a sum greatly in excess of the am~mnt which he is now asking for, and :vluch was asked for on a previous occasion, It would have been some indication of a dE·nire on the part of the Government to redeem the promises made by them in the last election campaign. \V c arc therefore forced to the conclusion that the Government are prepared to do nothing more than was done b;y the late Administration so far as the expenditure of Loan Funds are concerned to relieve the unfortunate unemployment situa­tion which is facing the State at the present time.

By way of interjection, the Treasurer sug­gested that there is now a lesser volume of unemployment than whBn the Government which I sat behind were in office. Let us examine the facts. Some fi o-ures were intro­duced into this Chamber "indicating some ?iminution in the volumB of unemployment m. certam centres and certain industries in this . State. What ~s the position? These specwus figures, wh1eh prove nothing when they are analysed, show that the pastoral mdustry, which is beginning to absorb sheare:s an~ shed hands in the shearing operatwns, Is absorbing men· the suo-ar industry is also beginning to ~bsorb m:n · and agricultural activities on the Darling J?.ov.:ns ~ave also begun to absorb men. The mmmutwn of unemployment is always notice­able about this time of the year when cer­tain seasonal industries absorb s~me of the unemployed; but the diminution on this o~casion is less than it was on previous .occa­sions. In spite of the confidence that hon ;nembers opposite tell us has been engendered m the country because of the change of Go­vernment, and in spite of the magnificent confidence "hich has been inspired by those hon. members again occupying the Treasury benches, there is no noticeable diminution in t~e number of unemployed at the present time.

I h_ad a peculiar e:<perience only the othei .. day m this connectwn. A friend of mine had a daughter who worked in one of the big drapery firms in the city. When the Labour Government was in power she was in almost constant emplovment. Just before the elections this girl was put off. Her father went along to the principal and said "Why did you put my daughter ~ff ?" Th~ pri_ncipal of the firm said, "Well, you know, It IS because of the Government; but if the National Party are successful, we will re­employ her after the election." She was not re-employed ; and last week the father went along to ask why she had not been t·e-employed. The answer was, " This Go­vernment is no good to us." And that from the managing director of one of the biggest drapery firms in Brisbane !

Getting away from that particular view­point, we have established the fact that the present Government are prepared to incur no more expenditure than the past Govern­ment with respect to the financing of "·orlcs that would relieve unemployment in our midst. They are breaking clown on that particular promise. Nearly four months have elapsed since the election. When the elec­tion was over and the clouds of battle were cle,.:·ed away, and we discerned Mr. Moore's Cabmet, we found when the members of the Cabinet were in town, and not travelling round the country, and had time to make statements-and they appear to have quite a lot of time to do that-they said how the State V~<as going to progress. how the heavv load under which Queensland had laboured for many years had been thrmnt off, and how eager they were, like the Crusaders of old. to rush and join with us in the shock of battle. What do we find? Nearly four months have elapsed, in which nothing has been done-four months of laissez faire ! Four months, with the situation becoming worse and worse ! It is idle for Ministers and hon. members opposite to say that the unemployed situation is no more acute now than it was on the date of the election. One has only to go into the parks of the city and see the large numbers of unfortunate unemployed. \Vhv, I was talking to a man yesterday who for twenty-five years was engaged in the bacon industry. On the Mon­day after election day he was dismissed. He is a meat worker, and he registerf'd with his union at the Trades Hall. "

Mr. KENNY: Your Government sacked men and would not give them a chance to work.

Mr. BULCOCK: That man, who was in work for twenty-five years, was dismissed as soon as the elections were over. That looks like confidence in the present Govern· ment ! He registered with his union, believ­ing that in two or three days' time casual work would come his way; but only three men have been employed through tho office of the Trades Hall since that man regis­tered. and he is net in work vet. Does that look like a feeling of confidence in the present Government? It is a sure indication that to-day people are waiting to see what the present Government are prepared to do. When all is said and done, what have they done? A glorious policy of masterly inac­tivity ! A wonderful period of laissez faire !

The SECRETARY FOR PuBLIC WORKS: You ha>e left us practically helpless.

Mr. BULCOCK: The Treasurer has referred to a Micawber-like attitude. The present Government are waiting and praying

Supply. [27 AUGUST.) Supply. 67

for something to turn up to deliver them from the morass in which they are already more than half submerged. We heard much about the very desperate diseases in the body politic before the election ; and since the Government were successful in being returned, is it not reasonable to ask why Parliament was not assembled at the earliest possible moment to relieve the distress which hon. members on the Government side pro· fessed to be able to relieve industrially and in other specified directions? We have waited for nearly four months for the Go· vernment to disclose their intentions. The opportunity is afforded us now of asking the Government how they propose to over­come the difficulties under which the State is labouring; and the only reply we get _is that their policy will be disclosed to us m due course. The Government have talked quite a lot about relief of unemployment, and how they have stimulated confidence and brought about increased employment.

Let me give just one instanc.e to show that this is mere lip service. The commodities that are carried over the railways and the passengers who use our railways, indicating the general prosperity of the railways, give a fairly good basis upon which we can judge of the prosperity of Queensla!1d. The Pre­mier and others told the railwaymen that there would be no retrenchment. He as ,ured them that the natural wastage in the railway service would do a way with the necessity for any retrenchment. Yet hundreds of men have been sacked from the railway service since the present Governm<mt took office. If there was this boom, if there was this pros­perity that hon.' gentlemen opposite claim exists in this StatG, the railways would be working at full pr<''sure, and there would be no necessity to dispense with men who were obviously regarded by the present Gove,rn­ment as being surnlus men. The Govern­ment said, "We will do this, and we will do that."

Mr. MAXWELL: And they will do it.

Mr. BULCOCK: For four months we have waited for a concrete lead.

Mr. MAXWELL: We waited for fourteen years for your Government to do something.

Mr. BULCOCK: For four months we have been waiting for a concrete lead, and, as the re,ult of our four months' patience, we see the position becoming worse and worse instead of better. I would recommend the hon. member to go to the Home Department and see the unfmtunate people who call there. Let him go to the Government relief bureau and see the unfortunate people who are clamouring for relief; go to the parks and gardens: f!'O through the st,reets and to the Trades Hall; and then, if the hon. mem­ber has any conscience and examines the situation fairly and impartially, he will admit that the people of Queensland generally are the losers and not the gainers through the occupancv of the TrPasury benches b:v the present Ministers. What is going to relieve the position? Can anyone suggest that things are going to get bette,r with the present Government in power?

Mr. KERR: Why not?

Mr. BULCOCK: The hon. member for Enoggera suggests that things are getting better. I remember the hon. member and other hon. members, when they occupied positions on this side of the House last year, -rising in their places and issuing a very

definite challenge to the Government because, as they claimed, they were tying up certain loan funds that should have been expended. Had we spent that money in accordance with the desire of hon. members opposite, the hon. gentlemen who now occupy the Treasury benches would have been in an infinitely worse position financially than they are at the present time. I wonder if the hon. member for Enoggera now will voice the same sentiments from that side of the House that he voiced f,rom this side. We will not allow Ministers opposite to shirk their responsibilities and their share in agreeing to a reduction of loan money for the State; and I am wondering whether, if the unem­ployment becomes acute through the reduc· tion of loan expenditure, the hon. member for Enoggerra will rise in hi'-1. wrath and insist, as he insisted last year, that all loan money that is immediately available shall be imme­diately spent for the relief of unemployment. The Premier and the Treasurer have both indicated that it was "Hobson's choice" in regard to getting loan money for the present financial year.

The Premier, in answer lo an interjection across the Chamber last week, said we had no choice. That raises in my mind a very pertinent question. I take it that Queens· land has equal voting power and an equal say with other States on the Loan Council. As I understand the constitution of the Loan Council, every State and the Federal Go­vernment are represented on the Counc1l, and no State has greater power than any other State, except that the Commonwealth has three votes where the States have one vote each. Since the Commonwealth has only three votes and there are six States repre· sented on the Loan Council, is it conceivable that the Commonwealth could out-vote the States on the Council? I crwnot conceive that the Commonwealth can hold the big end of the stick in that particular regard. Sinco that is the position~and there is no beating a bout the bush in regard to it~ it becomes obvious that the PrPmier of Queens­land, in common with the Premiers of the other States, must voluntarily have agreed to a diminution of loan exnenditure in the State. It is probably going to wreck the Government, and, if it djd not entail unem· ployment, want, and misery, I would be glad to see the Government wrecked; but nobodv wants to see a Government defeated at the" price of the suJforing of the populace of our State. It is to me a most serious and sinister thing that at this juncture, when we are suffering great disabilities due to trade depression, disorganisation of financial conditions, and other economic factors over which we have but little control, our Pre· mier and Treasurer should agree to a volun­tary diminution of the loan expenditure of our State. The time to agree to that would have been when things were prosperous and the ordinary avenues of industry were absorb­ing the people of our State in useful endeavours-not a time like this, when there is depression stalking abroad and the, gaunt hand of want, even of starvation, is resting grimly on our people. I think the Treasurer has made a colossal mistake in this regard, apparently in consultation with the PrelJliers and Treasurers of the other States of the Commonwealth.

In conclusion, I want to appeal to the Treasurer to giv·e us some more information about the way in which it is propose? to expend this money. We are burdened w1th a

Mr. Buleock.]

68 Supply. [ASSEMBLY.] Supply.

desire to get this information. We believe that, if we had this information, we might be able to show how the money could be more "i.oly spent; and, after all, the wisdom of the whole of the House is necessary to help us to get out of the financial morass in which the pre6ent Government arc floundering.

Yrr. RIORDAN (Burke): The late Leader of the Opposition got a definite mandate from tho people in May last in regard to the policy put forward during the election campaign He was very definite in his propaganda, and one of the contributing factors towa.rds its success vvere his prmnises in regard to unemployment. I am sure that everyone in rhis ChfLmber realises that one of the greatest curses in Australia is unem­ployment, with the suffering to those who "re dependent on the unemployed. \Ve are asked this afternoon to vote for an appro­priation of £3,900,000. We have not got a. shock, as we were asked the same thing last year. I was then in the happy position of sitting behind the Government. The £3,900,000 that was appropriated last vear has gone, and, while it has been spent, 'men have been tramping the country looking for

work. Not only does the hardship [5 p.m.] fall on the man who is tramping

the country looking for work ; it falls also on those who depend upon him. I expected to hear from the Government this cYening some scheme for the relief of unemployment. One would naturally expect to h<'ar from the Gov<'rn­rnent a proposal io spend £2,000,000 in locking our rivers-up at Warwick and on the Burdekin in North Queensland-to settle people on the land. But what is nE>eded <Lt the present time in Australia, and in Queensland especially, is relief of this unemployment. Work is badly needed by those who were promised work on 11th May, and it is up to the Treasurer to let us know if any of this £3.900,000 is going to be spent in the relief of unemployment. Last year, after the late Government appropriated £3,900,000, the<re was no great activity in the Government depart­ments. Their £3,900.000 went into the ordinary channels. Will this £3,900,000 be spent in the same way? Where is the £2,000,000 that was promised, and where are the 10,000 jobs that were promised four months ago?

\Ve are told that the Government have been in office only four months ; but can we get any a~surance that 5,000 of these unemployed will be plaecd by next Christ­mas? \V e have heard of a scheme to reopen Chillagoe and remodel ihe furnaces to deal with 500 tons a week. Why, a man with a camp oven on the bank of a creek would nmeit as much as that ! Hon. members know "-hat relief that is going to give to unem­ployment.

Subsidising industry was another strong plank in the National Part,'s platform. What industries have 'been subsidised, and what work has been created as a result of the subsidies?

The Treasurer ihis evening says that certain local authorities have been sub­sidised for the relief of unemployment to the extent of somo thousands of pounds. We have not noticed ver.v many men put on by the Brisbane City Council a' a result of the subsidy of something like £25.000 that it is supposed to havg got from the Government. Prior to getting the subsidy,

[1lfr. Bnlcock.

the Council adopted t.he same method as is adopted by business people when they know there is going to b,. an increase in tariff dutio-. Such persons generally dump a lot of stuff here po~t haste. The council know· ing that it was g?ing to get the ~ubsidy, dumped a lot of Its employees and re-em­l'loyed them-or employed new men-when it got the su.bsidy. This mOJiey may b2 wasted or mi"spent by the council; but snroly we can get son18 sch:Jme for the developm0nt of Queensland witnout leaving the question in the hands of shire councils! If the shire councils are to be responsible, if they are going to spend the money for Parliament, why not let them carry on the whole of the government? The Treasurer this dternoon got np in his usual fashion, and, as usual, he has a good excuse-for a good while he will be ab!tl to blame the other fe_llow. But nen if the past Govern­ment did double the loan expenditure, is that any excuse for th0 ina.ctivitv of the present Government? •

The present Government have been in office for only four months, but they were fully aware of the financial position of Queensland before the people of Queensland entrusted them with the reins of office. To-day they assert, as they have asserted for the past fourteen years, that the Labour Government reduced Queensland to a state of financial chaos. At last the people of Queensland have taken some notice of hon. members opposite, and undoubtedly have given them a mandate to enable them to "Find the bov a job !"; to provide £2,000,000 for the relief of unemployment, and make available 10,000 jobs for 10,000 workers. No effort has been made by the Government to carry out any of those promises. They have merely sus­pended the rural workers' award. To-day the pastoral industry is employing 5,000 to 6.000 men; the sugar industry is employing 5,000 to 6,000, and perhaps up to 10,000 men; and the meatwork-. are rtlso in opera­tion; but by the end of October these indus· tries will have ceased operating, and the employees will bP thrown on the unemployed market. vVhat steps have been taken by the Government to relieve unemployment from Christmas onwards? I remember an Economy Board being appointed by the Labour Government, which resulted in-what? The dismissal of 1,000 men. Now we have a Commission cf Inquiry into the Ipswich railway workshops. What will be the re,,,ult? The result will bo-as the Opposition always threatened it would be if thev were returned to power-the dismissal o{ 1.000 railway employees, or what is left of those of the 1,000 that they have not dismissed since their advent to office.

Then we have the suggestion put forward by the hen. m0mber for Oxley to relieve unemployment along the lines of organising garden fete's. Something alonC( the lines of " If you run a g-arden fete, this party will run a 'bun fight' somewhere else." The unemployed would secure greater benefit from a ''bun fight " than they would at a garden fete. Someone else has suggested that each person should contribute one shilling a week. The suggestions and off!'rs of help that our friends on the other side have received from their friends should have soh·ed the unemployed problem long ago. Whv ask the people to <'Ontribute 6d. per weei< to ·construct a bridge over the river at Indooroopilly? Why not immediately impose taxation to the extent of 26s. per

Supply. [27 AuGusT.] Supply. 69

capita, in place of the indirect tax of 6d. a week? 'l'he latter is a form of taxation adopted by a cowardly Government-a Go­vernment that is not game to do the fa.ir thing. I am pleased to say that our Govern­ment did not adopt those schemes. I do not believe the suspension of the rural workers' award was instrumental in placing an addi­tional 5 per cent. of workers in employment. Had the seasonal industries not bL·en in operation, the suspension of the award would not have placed one additional man in employment. Hon. members opposite claim that there aro not so many people now dra\Y­ing relief rations. That is due to the f;cct that they <'Lnnot get those rations.

The TREASURER: J'\onsense !

Mr. RIORDAN_: I invite the Treasurer to take a trip to conntry districts, to the far west, or to the far north, and meet the bagman who is looking for employment. He makes application at the police station for relief rations, and cannot get them.

The ATTORNEY-GE:SERAL: Shame!

:Nlr. RIORDAN: The Attorney-General interjects " Shame! " It is a shame, because \\"8 cannot all be Attorney-Generals. \Ve can­not all be member, of Parliament. Some rncn v hose scrv1cca arc necessary to carry along industry \V ill a! ways be unemployed at some time or other. tvlost employers engaged in farming at the conclusion of operations do not turn their plough horses loose and depend on the economic pressure to bring them back to work the following year. They house, stable, and rug them until they are required again. Yet they object to the con­tributions to the Unernplovrncnt Insurance Fund because they are con1pclled to contri­bute a few shillings tov, ards its objects. That is their objection to unemployment insurance. \Vhcn the Government sat in opposition they opposed the 'Cnernployed vVorkers Ineurance _\et, and deS{)ribccl it as the " Loafero' Para­disc Act." They had no sympathy with it. ThBy professed no sympathy with State enterprises, and declared that State enter­prises must go; but in that they are incon­sistent, because thev have decided that the State sawmill at YaN·aman and the State timber yard at Brisbane must not be sold. Thev have to be continued for a while. The Gov~rnrnent have e !so decided that the State Insurance Offic~, the Public Curator's Office, and i:hc railways are all good State enter­prises, and worth hanging on to. 'l'hey have also decided to continue the railway refresh­ment-rooms as a State enterprise. Yet hon. members sitting behind tho Government gave a definite pledge to the electors that, if returned to power, they would abolish all Sta to enterprises. Tbe;t arc too cowardly to go through with their policy, because they are aware that the State sawmills arc respon­sible for keeping down p·rices of materials to the hcu.-e builder. They are not game to abolish the Statn Insurance Office, because they know that this department was rc',,pon­sible for reduring the pron1iun1s for workers' co1npensation insurane8 and the rates on fire and life insuranre. They ar~ not ga1ne to aboJi,h the Public Curator's Office, because they arc cognisant that it gives beneficial st'l'vicc to the people. They are not game "·holly to abolish State enterprises, just as their party in the J<'ederal sphere were not game to abolish the Commonwealth Bank. Those State enterprises are popular with the people. and State enterprises, such as the State butchery, which were not popular with

the people went by the board. A few littlo enterprises have gone by the board. If the Government desire to carry out their declared policy on State enterprisu, they will abolish them in their entirety, and not adopt any half measures. The Government declared thei·r opposition to State enterprises during the election campaig·n, and gave a definite promise that they would abolish them when they assumed office. Their action is in strik­ing contrast to the action of the Ryan Go­vernment on their return to office in 1915. Thev showed an over-anxiety to r:ct their legislation on the statute-book. They could not pass the legislation quickly -enough. Yet this Government sat down idlv for four months. after saying they would. do-wh.tt' That they would find work for 10.000 unem­ployed by the expenditure of £2,000,000. Thev told thei-r friends that thov would abol~sh Stat~ enterprises; yet, "-hen .. the saw­millers waite-d upon thorn, they said, "No: Yarraman State <awmill and the BrisLane State timber y<nd must be continued for a time." \Vhen the insurance people outside tackled them, the Government decided that they could not abolish State insurance. They are not game to take th<rt on; but they will nse sabotage against that institution with the object of pointing out another failure of the La .. bour Government. I am su,ro the Trea­surer this afternoon ha,.. somethiP 5 up his : leevP in regard to a big employment or unerr1ployn1ent s-cheme, and lrter on we n1ay hear the Secretary for Labour and Induslry explode one of his' schemes on the Committee. Am· scheme fonnulated and any money req.ui·red for the relief of unemployment will have my "holeheartcd support and vote in this Committee.

Mr. COOPER (Brc1,' e.) : In congratulat­ing you upon ~ccnpying the chair as Chair­rna .. n of Cornmrttccs, Mr·. Robcrt'-, my one regret is that I shall not be associated with you in the next three years on the Pubhc \Yorks Committee-a position to which you f.':ave an amount of detailed attention that sho•' .s how careful you will be in your position as Chairman of Committees.

Something has been said about the fman­cial position of the Commonwealth, and the \vorst thin!! 't, as said by the Trensur~r, ';''ho, in u moment when his temper was mclmed to rise, spoke Yory strongly of tl:e shockmg conditions of the finances of thrs State-a condition which he said was brought about b .. the bad administration of the past four­teen years. I am not in any way inclined to dip into the past; but I do thmk that the Treasurer in his speeches upon the financral position of Queensland ought to be as accu­rate as it is possible for him to b0. for I am satisfied that a certain amount of the bad position in which Australia finds itself _to-day is due to what one hon. member on th1s erdc called "the exportation of slanders" w-ith reference to Queensland particularly. The Ti'casurer seems to infer that the bad state of the loan market was clue entirely to Queel'sland. quite, owrlooking the fact that the Loan Council covers the whole of the Cornrnonwea lth.

Mr. \V. FoRGAN Se~nTH: Queensland is the most solvent State in the Commonwealth.

Mr. COOPER: If any State should uphol_d the honour of Australia in the old land, 1t ought to be the Stoto of Queensland. I do not speak outside the book which is to be found on the table of this Chamber and rn the library. I refer to the Auditor-General's

Mr. Cooper.]

70 Supply. [ASSEMBLY.] Supply.

tables, which are prepared yearly for our information. The Labour Government came into power in 1915 jnst when the effect of the war was being felt. It is a very excellent starting point for a comparison of the finances of Queensland for the last fourteen vears with those of the other States of the Commonwealth. For comparative purposes ·n:; must have some State of equal standing; and there is no better comparison than the rest of the States of the Commonwealth, because they were in exactly the same posi­tion as Queensland, encountering the same circumsbmccs. If the finances of the Labour Government for a period of fourteen years compare favourably with the finances of the other States of the Commonwealth, then I :·ay that the charge made by the Treasurer that Que:•nsland is in an unfortunate posi­tion is not sustained. I intend to quote the figures •o that hon. members may study and verify them from the information compiled by the Auditor-General.

Another thing which will show the position of Queensland for that period is its deficits~ that is to say, the .1mouut of money spent in excess of reyenue receipts during the torn1 of its office. During the time that Labour \VJ.s in po'>ver, there "\Vcre seven years in whieh a deficit occurred, the deficits totalling £2,106,000. For the same period the other States of the Commonwealth also had deficits, the deficits for the period of seven years ;,, New South Wales totalling £6,728,000. \\'est.ern Australia over thirteen years had cl<>ficits amounting to £5,877,000.

Tho THEASURER: Don't forget that they pro­YidPd a sinking fund.

Hr. COOPER: What was the good of a sinking fund when thev •;;ere piling up their debt? The sinking fund that vYnt~rn Aus­tralia provided was like a man who, to provido a reserve pile of bricks, simply took bricks out of the kiln and put them on the pile and call"d them a reserve. \Vestern Australia si1npl:_v took thn n1onc:v out' of onP dep~xtmcnt and put it into another, and ,called it a s;nkir:g fund. \Vc,tcrn Australia's sinking fnnd \Yns not a sinking fund in tho tn•e sense of the word. \I estern Australia, in thir'oen years, piled up deficits totalling £5,877,000. South Australia had deficiL amountong to .£3.202,000 over a period of nirw vcars: 8nd Victoria had deficits amounting to £2.500.000 over a period of five years. Queensland, with £2,106.000 in deficits in seven yea•rs out of fourteen years, >haws the lowest total deficits of any of the States of Australia during that period.

Let me hrwe a look at the loan expenditure, as that is anothe•r thing that counts. It must be admitted that the loan expenditure increased. Naturally, it would increase dur­ing the war years by reason of the added costs. 'Wages doubled; the cost of material doubled; en•rything doubled; and so natur­ally where £2,000,000 would do before the war £4 000,000 v ould be necessary after­wards. Everybody knows that cost"· doubled, and consequently loan expenditure doubled. For that period of fourteen years the loan < "<nonditure in the different States increased m 'the following proportion:~

Queensland New South Wales Victoria ... South Australia Western Australia

[Mr. Cooper.

Per cent. 53

106 70

167 86

In all the other States of the Commonwealth there was a greater percentage of increase in loan expenditure than there was in Queens­land, showing that in the matter of loan expenditure Queensland ,·as the most careful State of the lot.

There is just another comparison worth putting on record, and that is the actual increased expenditure from the Loan Fund per head of population. During that period of fourteen years the expenditure per head of population from the Loan Fund was~

New South Vi'aks Yictoria South Australia ... \Vo,tern Australia Queensland

Per cent. 56 72 83 67 33

Thore was a hjgher pcrccmtago inerease in Victoria than in New South Wales, showing that the ponulation of Victoria was stagnat­irw somewh'at. The increased loan expendi­tu;e in Queensland per head of population during that period of fourtoBn years only just touched 33 per cent., and this notwith­standing the fact that people were coming to Queensland faster than they were going to any other State of the Commonwealth. The population of Queensland was increasing at a greater rate than the population of any other State of the Commonwealth, due to the fact t:hat QuoenslaHd was the best State of the lot. It was not attra·~ting people by laYishin!! loan expenditure; but it was attracli;{g people by wise administration, and this fact was proved by a statement~! hope T am not misquoting the hon. gentleman~ •rwdo bv the Sccretan- for Labour and Industry; who some little time after the election said something to this effect~

" Step, >I'Ould be taken~somo moans "·ould be found-to prevent people com­ing owr the bo-rders and profiting by the position of Quoen,land."

I think he made that statement in connection ,, ith the distribution of relief. If these fig-nres are true, then we ought to be honest vcith ouroelves, and throw as1de all party < rmsidorations and party feeling when it corn's to a matter of the welfare of our State. I think we ought to be patriotic enough to give Queensland its due so far as her finan­cial position is concerned. If we want to make Queensland better, if we want to pro­' ont disaster, thtn it is our bound en duty to lre honc"t to our State and give its position accurably to the worJ.d.

I would like the Treasurer to tell me how much of this money is likely to be expen.ded on the inquiry that is now being made mto the Ipswich railway workshops ar:d other railway worbhops of the State. It 1s a very important matter. I am as keen as the Trea­surer and the Secretary for Railways to see that that money is nroporly expended. I want that inquiry to "be as effective as it 1s possible for it to be.

Mr. MAXWELL: So do we with regard to Mungana.

Mr. COOPER: I have nothing to do with the Mungana affair, and, if you people want an inquiry into Mungana, Heaven knows vou have the power. You have the papers i:md everything that you desire. If the hon. member for Toowong pushes the matter, I have no doubt he will get it. I pushed the matter once and I got an inquiry, and, although that inquiry might not have been

Supply, [27 AUGUST.] Supply. 71

a< satisfactory to the general public as I would have liked it to be, it was as satis­factory to mo as I wante-d it to bo ; and now the opportunity comes I am satisfied that I sha)l be able to sl:ow, _when the proper time arnves, that that mqu1ry was fully justified e1 en if it did not get at the facts. '

But let me get to the present inquiry. Two gentlemen have been brought from the St~te of Victoria to inquire into the Ipswich railway workshops and the other railway workshops of the Strtto. I feel that when gentlemen with the qualifications of these men are broug-ht here, every possible oppor· tunitv should be given to them to get at the facts.

A GoVERN~IENT ME~IBER; Is not that being clone?

::ilr. COOPER: I am afraid that it is not. I am of the opinion that, if other methods were adopted, we might get at more facts than these gentlemen arc likelv to discover. and for that rea.;-on I arn go11;a 1:o make an appeal to the Secretarv for llail­:• ays to widen the scopo of the inquiry. It H not a h1debound thing which c:umot be altered. It is not something like a law passed b:;.· this House. He can say to these gentlmncn, "Do this," and I have no doubt they will do it.. If he will sa-,· to them. "Consul~ e)vcrybody i'1 the way in which they desire to be consulted--"

The SECRET.\HY FOR RAILWAYS: That instruc­tion has already been given.

Mr. COOPER: I am glad to hear tho :\Iinister say that that instruction has been given. Therefore, I take it that the request m~de by the combined unions at the Ipswich railway workshops that thev shall be given lepre,cntation at tho inquiry has been accrcled to. I do not want any politicians on the inquiry. I only ask that the two gentlemen making the inquiry shall be giyen dw full use of the m<'n employed in the Ipswich workshops in the wav in which the men want the inquiry to be· made. Ther<' are many ways in which men can be asked to help an inquiry; but, if they arc asked to ~n1ne along in their O\Vll vvay, send along then· own representatives to watch their interests. and see that they give all the wform::twn wanted, I am satisfied that more information will be obtained b" the Minister chan is pos"ible under the present method.

Mr. FRY: That is cxacily what is being done.

Mr. COOPER: The hon. member who interjects does not know. He does not know tha~ representation :'t the inquiry has been domed to roprcsentatl\'es of the unions. These are the days when a "hole lot of people ask that some further consideration shall he given in industry to the men who work in it. Some people say, " \Vhy not consult ihe employees? Whv not have a wider co-operation? Why not work hand in hand, the employee a.nd employer striving to get the _best out of industry?" Here is an oppor­tumty where the Government might have set ar: example in. this direction: where they might have sa1d to the emplovees in the Ipswich workshops, "Work h<u1d in hand 'Sith us; come along witl1 us· <;'.end vour representative; let him be there' to question, and to follow up and examine cvcn·thing that is said b:y the employers, thrtt they may be 111 a pos1l!on to contradict or to supple­ment their arguments." I am sorrv to sav that I believe the inquiry v: ill fail in a very

essential respect-and that is that it should l>e full-if the men in the Ipswich workshops and the other workshops in the Stato are not given every opportunity to put their own case in their own way. That cannot be put in any better way than through the representatives of their unions, who are in full accord with things connected with the workshops and trade. I am not gomg to ri1ake anv statement as to what tlH• Com­mittee of· Inquiry may find or do. In the Ipswich workshops 2,000 men arc employed, and there is an immense amount of machinery and a great amount of work done and to be done. I onlv ask that the inquiry shall be as full as possible, and that the men shall b'} given every opportunity to p_ut their c.tse in their own wav. It is one thmg to say to a n1an "You Can con1c forward and givo vour e~ridcnce: you ca.n giYr~ it in camera 1£ vou like" hu't there is nothing like the opc;n inqui1:y with the press the:·e. and with rcpresenhiives of the men there to see that the witne'•-es put their c.tse properly-to Eec that the yery things they want to say are said.

:Mr. ](EN;>;Y: Do you want somebody to hold their hands'!

l\h-. COOPER : I hear one hon. member asking whether I want somebody to hold their hands. I am going to say--knowing as litt.le of the hon. member as I do-that, if

son1c unfortunate condition aro~e [5.30 p.m.] -some trouble with a frier:d,

~ome quarrel on!r a financ1al agreement-and took him to court to;morrow. h0 would immcdiatclv rush to a sohc1tor, and sa~v. "'Fo1· God's sal{c, corne into court and hold mv hand !" Of course. everybody con­sults a' lawyer, and has the right to take into COJirt w1th him a man learned in the law -a man conversant with the whole subject­to hold his hand and to guidC' him, and to see that he gets justice. All that the men ir> the Ir~wich workshops ask 1s that the:, shall have the same right-the right to have some representative, a man who knows their ca,c. a man who is used to putting a cas"­a rn-an \'1 ho has son1e knowledge of eYidenco and o: the giving of evidence.

The ~.\TTORKEY-GEKER.\L: vVhere did he get it'!

Mr. COOPER: He probably got it_ in an arbitration court. I hear the voice of '' vP'itetl interests." The Secretary for Public In:-truction, who, of coursf', in a c9urt of law is a partisan. would put his client's. ea:-·,-\ and the Attorney-General would 'put h1s case for his client, and all I know is that the twion sccretarv or the union official is best rcble to put the case from the standpoint of the men. Thev know it. I believe that the Secreta rv for Raihva '"S and the Government ge::;nerall~- haxe 1nade ~ very grievous error in not allowing· this inquiry to be as full as it might be. Businecs men in Ipswich who bww the conditions hav•' said, not privately but quite openly to their friends, that there were men in the railway service of Queens­land who are just as capable of inquiring into the railway system as the gentlemen who haYe been brought here from the other State c.

A GovERXMENT lYfE)TBER : Do you think they are not competent?

l\Tr. COOPER: I believe they are com­ywtent, and I cannot sa:· anything against th<'m: hut I do believe that the Government would o;et a more searching inquiry and get

Mr. Oooper.l

72 Supply. [ASSEMBLY.] Supply.

better results if the men thcmsehes were represented. This inquiry is not an inquiry mto the conduct of the men. If it is an inquiry into the workshops of Queensland at ali, surely to goodness it is an inquiry into the management of them; and surely some­body else should be consulted than the management of the workshops! I have not t~e slightest doubt but that the management o! the work,hops of the State will make a desperate _effort to be as fair as they can be; but I tlunk the management are merelv human, and that they arc likely to leai:t to thcmsel vcs. and, if there are things that ~hey would be hkely to cover up-if there IS ono thmg they_ are likely to cover up­surely the men nught be able to uncover it !

The 'I'RE 1SCREll: The men are not being prevented.

J\1r. COOP_EE : They are being prevented from d~:nng It m _their own way. (Govern­ment dissent.) It Is all very well to say they are_ not. I know. They want to do this in thmr m·,·n way. If the Secretary for Rail­ways-and the time is not yet too late-will pve them that, I am sure he will get a much better inquiry.

The ATTORNEY-GENERAL: lf they want to put thmr ~wn case, why not let them do it themselves !

Mr. COOPER: I <.an sec the idea of the Attorney-Gcneral-t~at, if they have some­body cLe there, It will not bo their own wav -somebody sitting there with a big stick 1Yhippmg them up; but the1· ask to be :·,cpr:scnted_ in their own way. They say,

J u,t let t<s be represented bv the one man whc. kno\\ s our views and Our aspirations and tho way things are run." They want tho l'l!)hc to say to that one man, "You know all thrs. Y~m have the whole thing in vour hand:.,; go In and put the case." "

, The SECRETARY FOR PUBLIC IxsTRcCTION: \cry often they do not, and you know it.

Mr. COOPER: I cannot help that. I can qmte understand that there are failures in the matter of put~ing a ea'" within the ranks of u~Ion secretar1es as there are else·where; but rf the men :'re content to appoint some­J,odv. to put then case, why in the name of fortu11e have they not been allowed to do it?

The ATTORNEY-GENERAL interjected.

Mr. PoLLOCK: . You would not allow anybody els0 to hu·e vour attomey at law.

Mr. COOPER: I would be thankful to the h~n. member foy Gregory if he would not rahe these questions of vested interests I can -oe in the interjections of th~ Attorney-General the voice of the vested mterest.

The ATTORXEY-G: NERAL: What do the men ;;ay t.hemseh-e. '!

Mr COOPER: They have asked for this opportunity to put their c1.se ar,d not having- secured _it, they are incli;.,ed t~ stay away from the mqmry and give no evidence wh::ttever. I want them to give evidence. I want them to be ablo to tell the things that the.v know, and I want them to ln able to tell them in their own wav. I sm?erely hust tha~ the Recrdary" for R:nlw~ys will yet SCI7,e the opportunity of w_Iden;ng the scope of that inquiry in such duoc~rons a> to g-Ive the men in the Ipswich workshops at least an opportunity of

[..Mr. Cooper.

putting their own case in thei.c G"\Vn parti­cular ''ay.

I regret, as does everybody els<> that the Government &re still dilatory in the mattcl" of providing work for the unemployed. 1 wa.nt to remind the Committee of that pathetic appeal-I think it was by the chairman of the Chamber of Comrn<:rcc at Brisbane-to every employer throughout the State to give at least one job to an unem­plo: ~a person. The appeal fell upon stony ears. lt is IJot a bit of good the Council depending upon municipal c mncils, and it is not a bit of good the Government depending upon !Jl'ivate employers. I want to see the Governmf'nt themselves step out and do tho work; do something as quickly as it is possible to give to those 10,000 men the jobs that the:' were promised, and to give employment to the boys and girls of this State.

Mr. W. FORGAN SMITH (Mackay): I listened very attentively to the Treasurer when making his speech t,his afternoon. The Government have no-v<. bc<-~n in po···-7 cr 5inco 21st Mav last, and this P "Ilia.mGnt has >Omc right to a ,;tfttemont of public policy from the Government of the dqy. I asked certain d,Jfinite questions in re!'ard to the intentions of the l~overnment. hoping that the Trea~urer, Vitht..n h9 got up to speak, would give that information to the House. Quite evidently he e·ither has not the infom.ation at his disposal or he desires again to spar for a much longer time. All thn Treamrcr has clone in his inimitable style-a style that he has ,,]opted evoi' since he came into thi··t Charr1ber-is i:o raise his eyes heavenwards, a.ntl. jn reply to m~. 3pecch, state in effect, "Tbank God. I am not 'as other Trea:--urers were"" In his speech he dcnlt with the fin'l.ncinl position of Q~.;ccmland and Australia, and tried to make it appE<1r that, as a result of Labom· a·dministcation, the finances in Quconeland \vere \Yol·sc than in an\ otho!' Slate in the Commonwealth. No ono knows Lc·tter than the hon. gentleman that that is not a fact. The rrreasnrcr. sitting in his place at tlw present time, kno\Vd thr,t ho is in a better position than a.ny one of his co1loagucs in the- other States. whether controlled by Tories like himself or by Labour men a in Western "\ustralia. He knows that the Labour Gov-ernn1ent in Queensland waB the only Government that gave definite effect. and endeav-oured to give honc~st effect~ to the policy decided upon ::tt the financial con­ferences when we csVtblished the Loan Coun-cil. The Tronstucr has given no information on bohnlf of the Govcrnm<mt. and he and l,is colkagues both in theii· public speeches and in. their interjections this afternoon ha.vo ;howu a callous contempt end c.,·nical disregard for the solemn pledges !hat they made on the hustings. It might be very nico for a man like tlv~ Tre,tsurer and a man lik0 the Secrot~rv for Publir Instruction to attend "victorv u socials" u.nd afternoon tea parties with forr;a!e supporters. but governnlc'nt of the countr3 involves more than that. It involves a sense of personal responsibilit:, and it involves tlw princcple that, when men havp pledged themselves b a dofi:oite line of policy, i" is their dnty morally to follow !l1at responei­hility to its loginal conclusion by effectiw le~isla.tion and administration.

As a protest against that contemptibiP, cynical disrcga rcl of their election pledges,

Supply. [27 AUGUST.] Supply. 73

I intend to move an amendmont-(Govcrn­rnent laughtor)-on the motion of the Treasurer. I move-

" To ornit the y.rords-' not exceeding £3,900,000 '

ltnd insert in lieu thereof the words-' £3,899,999 only be granted.' "

That is, to reduce the vote by £ l. I move that reduction to draw public attention to the cynical and callous disregard of the election pledges of the Government and of the conditions of the people of this State. Here (producing a newspaper aclYertiscment) we have the pledges of the Treasurer, the Secretary for Public Instruction, and their colleagues. Hero we haw, the Treasurer turning his e_ves aloft and thanking the Lord that he is not as othE>r Treasurers were. 'l'he advertisement depicts an unemploved worker with his wife and two children pathetically gazing· towards the dawn of a nC'\V era with which the fiction writers of the Nationalist Party tempt them. As they arc looking towards the dawn of this new era the adver­ti~cment sa~vs-

" Is it a job? " Quecnslanders-,, 'Thousands of YOLlr fellow eitizem.

their wivP-; and <:hildrcn are looking to you to-morrow to ,·otc them a job.

" iYicCormack has nothing to offer them.

" Give ~1Ioore's scherne a chance ! " .£2,000,000 ~or 10,000 workers! "Change the GoYPrnnlCllt !"

If ~":er a dcfmi~e .Pledge was given by any pohtJCal party, It IS cont.ainecl in that adver­tisement.

Then we have another arlycrtisement Ucpicting the pr('scnt Prcrnier in his n1oo;;t Pnthusiastic mood. He is ~n1iting a table in front of him, and, '" ith his ovc-' 11iro with righteous enthusiasn1, dran1aticUlly exclaims--

" It can be done ! It will be done." (Government applause.)

" If my party is ···liCcee·'lful at the polls. we pledge our·.cl,-es t" arra.cg·c for the expenditure of '

.£2,000,000 to find earl.\ 'mployme:ot for 10,000 'vorkers.

"(Signed) A. E. MOORE.

" \Vorkers, Safeguard your jobs and your children's futLne! '

"•Change the Government!"' Again, we have another advcrtisen""~ent vvhich ohows great skill not onlv in the art of advertising but also on the part of the artist. He did his work well, and shonid have been well paid f01 it from the coffers of the Nationalist union.

Mr. NL\xWELL: He wae. not imported from Sydney, like your arliet.

Mr. W. FORGAN SMITH: The artist depicts a disconsolate boy with his elbow resting on his knees and his ehin resting on his hand. The advertisement states-

" He can't got a job. "Change the GovernmC'nt !"

(GoYernment applause.) What an appron.l to the parents of this

State ! Everyone knows that ono of the best attrilmtm of human character is the desire of all parents to give their children a better chance in life than thcv themselves had. Every man who 1s anything of a

1nan, and every~ n1other possessing the trait of a mother, desire to give their children a, better chance in life than they themscl vcs had. Workpeople slave hard day in and day out to keep their children longer at school in order to fit them educationally f01· a better position than is their own Jot. Because of those things this appeal had a ready response in rho minds of those parents. All parents who had a difficulty in finding a job con­sistent with the educational attainments of their boys were buoyed up by this pledge. They had the idea that the Government Wf'W

composed of honourable men. GovEn::-i~EN'r N1E)!BERS: They are.

Mr. W. FORGA~ SMITH : They had the idea that the Government were composed of men who were true to their pledges and faithful to the t-rust reposed in them. The:, c·onscqucntly supported the Government. They \VOll a phenomenal victory. In fact. they have not got over the dation of it yet. Y 0t. this Parliarncnt is a.sked to vote £3,900.000; and we cannot get [)ny informa­l ion from the Treasurer as to how the Go­\·,,nun~nt int0nd to n1cct thf'-:;e obligations. They are cynically and callously disregard­ing all their obligations. The cachinnations nf the back benchers indicnto that what I say i::: true. They a·re Inf'n 1vho merely regard this as a ;;;tunt which v .l.S successful in placing them on the Government benches. I protest against this conduc~. I claim the right v£ Parlimncnt to kno1Y '"hat the Governrncnt'.:; intention i.s a.-; to tho fnturo policy in regard to loan expenditure, and I demand to know \\hat the Gove·rnment intend to do to make good the pl<>dges that I have quoted here. As a protest, thercim·e. against the cynical callous disre(\·ard of their pledges, I move a reduction of the vote.

:-.Ir. POLLOCK (Oregory): I havB very much pleasure in supporting the amendment. (Government laughter.) This is not a laugh­ing matter. Hon. members, just fresh from their vic~o·rv, and gur-zling the wine of suc­cz·i'. mirrht be inclined to laugh; but it is not a langhing matter. I want to remind the hon. member for Bulimba, who grizzled her way around the Bulimba electorate on thi;; issue at election time, tha.t it is not a nw iter for laughter. \Ve arc demanding, and insioting, that the public shall know that the Government ha vc no unemployment policy. \Vc are insisting eithm- that the publie ehall recognise that, or that the Government shall <.amo forward with their policy, to show exactly what they are doing. We have raised this question before on the Address in Reply; we raise it again this afternoon. \Ve have gi,+en thP Govcnuncnt supporters sufficjent opportunities to rice and tell us if they have any policy for dealing with this question. This is a matter now of voting £3,900,000 for various purposes of the State. IV e arc ask­ing; that, \Yhen this mone0 is being Yoted, wo shall be given an indication of the Govern­ment',. policy in regard to those pledges that they so solemn!:. gave to the public. Can anything l>e fairer than that? The pledge '.tiel: "\Vo will spend £2,000,000 to proYide lO,OOC job immediately." We ask now that the public b<· told just what the Government are golng to do im1ncdiately in order to givf' effect to that promis<>. There is no indica­tion here to-dav. Nor is there any indica­tion in the Governor's Speech, or in any of the thousand and ono pronouncements that were madB by the Secretary for Labour and Industry bnforc someone told him he was

Mr·. Pollock.j

74 Supply. [ASSEMBLY.] Supply.

talking too much, and advised him that a Minister ought not to make a statement every three-quarters of an hour. Prior to that there was no indication in any of his state­ments or in the statement of anybody else <·onnected with the Government that the Government intended to regard seriously the pledges upon which they were returned to oflice. And if there were any pledges upon which the Government were returned to office, they were certainly the two pledges-firstly, to deal with unemployment; and secondly, to find a chance for every boy and girl to secure employm<mt. Hon. members of the Govern­ment cannot afford to sit there laughing at members of this party when this que,tion is raised. They cannot laugh it off; we arc not 3'0ing to let them do so. We insist that the Government show us what they intend to do, or that the public shall condemn the Govern­ment for the fakers and frauds that they are when the:" 1mt such a policy as that before the public.

The SECRETAHY FOR FCBLIC \YORKS (Hon. R. M. 'King, 'Logan): I ·rise to a point of order. Is the hon. member in order iu -cctlling members of the Government " fakers nntl frauds''?

Tho CHAIRMAN : u'ed those words, I unpadiamcntary, and withdraw.

If tho hon. member consider them mo't I would ask him to

'VIr. POLLOCK (Gregor:~): Certainlv I will, if 1t hurts the feelings of the hon. -g·r>ntle1nan.

GovEHX~IENT ME:IrBEI!.:l: \Vithdraw!

::Y1r. POLLOCK: It is naturally expected that a n1an w·ho comes frou1 a west.0rn con­'tituency should use the language and ,jnlilcs--GovEHX~IEX1' ME~IBERS: vVithdra'\'!

::Ylr. POLLOCK: I did withdraw. As I say, lt j:5 natural that a 111an ;,c-ho conws froru a vvL-stcrn constituency should use language ancl imilos that men will take notice of. Surely

you do not expect me to uso the ierrns U:3ecl Uv one of these '; ci:7 "5ificd " creature~ of &mbtfnl sex !

The SECRETARY FOR PL'BLIC IX­;STRUCTIOJ\' (Hon. R. King, Loyan): With all due respect, ]\;[r. Roberts, I contend that tho hon. member for Gregory has not with­drawn. If ctnything, he hus aggravated the offence.

:'11r. \V. FORGAN SMITH (JTackay): Mr. Chairman, I wish to draw your attention to the fact that the hon. member for Greg-m·v ne.-er dealt with any member on the o]>po­site side individually. He said that. iu a -collective scnsf', the Governn1ent 1vcrc a •· gang of fakers."

The CH .\Ilr:\1AN : Order ! Order !

:\1r. W. FORGAC\J SMITH: The point of order I am making--

The CHAIRMAN: Order! Order~ There i·; no point of· order. I certainly accept the apology of the hon. member for Grogory.

='fr. POLLOfK: I did not apologise, Mr. lloberts; I withdrew.

The CHAIRMAN: I accept the hon. mem­ber's withdrawal.

Mr. H.\NLON \lthaca): Whon the change of Government took place in May last, a ,!:!TPat number of people who were ardent

f]vlr. Pollock.

supporters of the Labour Party in politics took the view that, if the new Government were going to solve the unemployment problem in Queensland, then they would have no complaint to make. In common with them, I should be very pleased indeed to see the present Government in power to-day if I could get any assurance from them that thev are going to solve a problem which tho" Labour Party admitted they could not immediately solve, and which no other _Go­vernment has vet solved. If I had any rdea that the prcser!t Government could solve this problem of unemployment, or if they had any method of affording relief to the unem­ployed, as thev promised the electors, then I should be very pleased at the defeat WO

Pxperionced in May last. But, notwith­standing tho fact that tho Government for lllonths Leforo meeting- the House were able tfl do quite a lot ot things to suit their political friends outside, and notwithstanding the fact that it was nece_JSary to meet the House to enable them to do many thing-s which suited their supporters; and notwith­f:'tn nding that tho " Courier" sought to jusLify thc·ir actions by arguing that the policy of the GoYernmc nt had received the endorsement of tho people of Queenslctnd, and that it was not necessary to meet Parlia­ment for authority to put that policy into operation-notwithstanding these things, the Premier and the Treasurer both stated that, r.-hen P.adiament met, some scheme would be put before Parliament in order to give effect to their prm.l iso to relieve unemployment. ::\ow. we ~rct no statement from the Govern­ment, citl1er in tho Go·. ornor's Speech or in the speech of an:· Minister since the opening of Parliament, as to what is going to be done. \Ye want to know what the Govern­ment are going to do. Are they prepared to make some endeavour to carry out their election pledg-es to solve the problem of unemployment? They promised 'that an extra £2,000,000 would be made: available for this purpo"'· Bear in mind that the words used ,,-ere that "£2,000,000 would be 1nunr,diatcly 1nade available"-" imincdi­atcly" wa~ the word used in their adver­tising propaganda-so that 10,000 men who wen' at the time unemployed would be found emplo:-ment.

Mr. VI. FonGAX t:1HTH: Found new jobs.

l\Ir. HA:\LO::\': Yes, 10,000 new jobs. If they have an:· unemployment policy, they should tell the people of Queensland what they are going to do. \V c are here to hear, and we shall give them all credit for it if they aro able to solve the problem. But, when the request by the working-class repre­~(~ntatives for sorne information about the unemployment situation is met with guffaws ,,,nd laughter from the front Treasury bench, and "hee-haws" from the back Treasury bcnchec., then it is time this party took some stand to draw public attention to the fact that the present Government have not a policy for dealing with unemployment.

The Treasurer finds himself, as the Leader of tho Opposition pointed out, in the mosj. fortunate position in Australia to-day. He is the most fortunately situated 'l'reaqlrer in the Commonwealth to-drrv as the result of the administration of th'8 previous Go­vernment. ::-Jo other Treasurer in Australia i' in such a healthy financial positiou to deal with unemployment, if the Government have any policy, as the present Treasurer. 'rho Treasury was not left denuded of loan

Supply. [27 AUGUST.] Supply. 75

money. No attempt was made by their pre· dece,sors to buy votes by splashing loan money prior to the election. The previous Government went honestly to the country without making any splash with regard to loan expenditure. They carried on the go­vernment of this State, and never attempted to bribe the people into voting for them at the election. J3ut the electors of Queensland have fallen to the offer of the preser.t Govern­ment that they would make £2,000,000 avail­able and provide 10,000 jobs. All we can get from hon. members opposite are g·uffaw> of laughter. They cannot help laughing at the joke they have put o'er the people of Queensland. It is a j ok'' to think that the enlightened workers of Queensland who for fourteen yeaf', in spite of everything the lnte Opposition could do, !Hwe supported the Labour Government, believed them when they made this bribe of 10,000 jobs and gave them a lease of power.

It would ill become the present Treasurer to cast reflections of his predec.oesor in offic<, I venture to say that it will not take an:-· L~tbour Treasurer who has ever occu­pied the po"ition of Treasurer of Queensland fourtern years to live down its past history. There is no Labour T'roasurer who has occu~ pied the position who would be hunted from pillar to post and be treated as a pariah b:r his old party. The present Treasurer, after ho left the Treasury on the ]act occasion, was hunted a>'ay b;- his own party. J'\o Ollfl wanted to have anything to do with him. His record as Treasurer was such that his own party would not be seen speaking to him. You will remember, :i\.11. Lober(s, as ,-ou were in the party at the time, that the prll'ty o~tracised him, and could get nowhere wlJile his record as a Treasurer 'vas hanging on to them. and it was onlv when the new generation of electors grew up in Queensland that the Treasurer and his party had an opportunity of again :;oettiug o!l to tho Treasury benches.

iYir. POLLOCK: Everv other member of the party was busy keeping him out.

Mr. HA::\"LON : No Cabinet :Mini,.ter in tho history of .'l.ustralia had such a record attached to him cluring his period of office a . ...; the pre;;;;ent Treasure1~. Hi:< ovvn party cstracised him, and ho was treated as a cat with a tin tied to its tail-everv other cat fkw at his approach. (Opposition interjec­tioJL.) The Treasurer spoke about the credit of Australia. He mentioned a political stock­broker \vho n1akcs a percentage on the stocks hu sells, and to whom it is an advanbtge to have sales as frc<Juently '" po,iblc. This man advised London stockholders to sell Australian stocb; and the Treasurer wished tlw people of Qu<·ensland to understand from 1 hat tha~ Queensland scrip was in bad odour j,, London. Now, that particular stockbroker never mentioned Queensland securities. He lTferred to Australian securitie', and advised hi., customers to sell Australian securities. The Queensland Labour Party did not govern Australia-it governed Queen eland; and, if anybody can point to any way in which they have injured the credit of Queensland, I

am not awaro of it, The great [7 p.m.] bulk of the doubt which exists

as to Australian credit in the old country can srrfely be put down to the propa­ganda which was carried on continuously by the party opposite when they were in opposition.

The TREASURER : To the action of your .leaders.

Mr. HANLON: During the years whC'n the present Government occupied the Opposition benches in this Chamber they carried on a policy of slandering this State. At every turn they endeavoured to slander the reputation and credit of the State in the eyes of the pe.ople overseas, and they tried to prevent investors in Great Britain from sub;;cribing to Queensland !oo.ns. No ,)ppor­tunity was too small, no action too politi­coJ!v mean for them to take 1f it would disc"redit this State when goVGrned by this party.

The TREASGRER: That is not correct.

Mr. HAl'\LON: Not content with carry­;,,g out that policy through the press and through the post, they even went to the length of shipping it overs<'1S 011 the hoof. A delegation of three of the members of that p·arty was sent to England .with spc•eific instructions to injure tlte cred1t of ihir~ State and prevent the 'rreasurer fron1 securing t.he rone1v tl of loans.

Mr. DASH: And the hon. member for Toowong was chairman of the corr,mittee that sent them.

Mr. HAKLON: As one hon. member interject:'. the hon. membe<~ :or Toowong was chairman of the committee that sent them. The Tre~•urer during the course of his remal'ks stated that I would not do much good if I were sent overseas.

GoVERXiiiENT l'vfE>IBERS: Hear, hear !

Mr. HA)JLO;.J: Let me tell tho hon. gontlenu~n iha~::. on any occ tsion when I ~\··nt overseas I did not go to the injury of mv countrv. \Yhenever I left this country it w1:s not to injure the State or the credit of the State. and eYery opportunity I have had to give Yoico to my opinion about this State has been used to do t h0 best I could for ;:he benefit of the State and the credit of the State. I venture to say that the credit of no other State in the Commonwealth is hi<rhe1· than that of Queensland, and it .• p~alm ~olumes for the intell,igence 'and careful man1gement of the preceding Governmont-notwit:hstanding the continued propaganda from the preqs and the plat­form of hon. members opposite-that the credit of Queensland is so good in tlw old countr::"·

So for as tho raising of money for the relief of unemployment is concerned, the present Government not only gave a defir.itc ploclgCJ to the people that they would make avrtilabl<> £2,000,000 more than the pre1·ions Government; they also caid that taxation \vould be reduced. T.hey distinctly pledged t!wmselvcs that the burden of taxrr tion on the people would be lightened. The Jleople of Queensland on reading the morninrs pre s this \Veek \vould, therefore, not be very pleased tD rea.d that the Trca>urer's Ka~ionalist colleague in the Federal Parlianwnt has ptor·osed an increase of taxation. Some hon. members opposite-in view of the fact t.hat they have been returned here to reduce taxation -must have had a very painful shock when thev read the proposal submitted in another pla~e by their friends. But as to the raising of additional moneY for the relief of unem­ployment in Quecn.sland, we would like to know whether this selling of State eni:er­prises at scrap prices-the assets of the Stat<' -has been clone with a view to raising mone:; for that purpose. If that is so,

Jl,Ir. Hanlon.]

76 Supply. [ASSEMBLY.] Supply.

then there is som0 case for the selling of State enterprisoo. If the Government arc prepared to relieve unemployment in that wav, why not tell the people• honestly that thO:t is what they intend to do? These assets of the Sta.te are being thrown away at any old price-the:; nro being wasted.

The SECRETARY FOR PcBLIC lKSTRDC1'IO~: Thu t is not correct.

::Ylr. HANLON: I beg to differ from the hon. gentleman. It is correct.

The SECRETARY FOR PUBLIC INSTRUCTION : Tenders were called.

Mr. HANLON: That may be. Neverthe· less, the assets of this State have been sold at much below their Yalue.

There is another old rn·occ·clure that the present Treasurer's party will no doubt rein· traduce, and that is the old dodge they had of se~uring revenue by selling Orown lands when things were bud in order to hide a deficit. I suppc.sc we shall have a reintro· duction of the ,ale of Crown lands. During the fourteen years that the Labour Govern­mnnt were in power in Queensland they did 110t dispose of the assets of the State. The assets of the State increased in value every­whe·re during that time, in direct contrast to the policy of the present Government, who always, wh·cn they overspent their vote and a deflcit '''as rather too dangerous to show to the public, sold a parcel of the people's hnd-CrO\t"n land-for bargain prices to their friends in order to secure •revenue to cover up the overspending of their depart­!nents.

I do net wish to delay the Committee much longer; but I wish to intimate to the Government that, while we are here, we are going to keep the promise of the Government before them and before the people. It is no use their cmning here and just giggling and laughing over their solemn promise and pledge tD the people of Queensland. That promise and pledge was an individual pro­mise from every hon. member opposite. Not only are the Government bound by that promise, but every individual member of the party sitting .behind the Government is uouncl by the p<ersonal pledge that, if they were returned to power, £2,000,000 would be spent and 10,000 jobs would immediately be made available. \Vhd we want to know is the policy of the Government in connection with the unemployed question-how they are going to make thnt money available, and when they are going to commence spending it. It is no use trying to shoulder the responsibility on to some other body on every ayailable occa .. ion. lion. members opposite try to unload the responsibility on to some outside body; but it was the Government of Queensland who made the promise that, if theY were returned as a Government, they would deal with the problem. The first and only way in which they endeavoured to deal with it was by that pathetic howl sent out by the president of the Chamber of Com­merce, asking the business people throughout the State, as a sort of self-denial offering in thanksgiving for the return of thei•r friends to power, each to emplov another man. Immrdiately the business people of Brisbane responded by reducing their staffs. Practi­cally every wholesale merchant has retrenched since this Government came into power. Ono of the biggest wholesale general merchants in Brisbane has felt the business slump so much since this Government came

[M'r. Hanlon.

into power that he has dispensed with one of his city travellers. Merchants do uo! gene· ntlly put ofi city tra.ve!lers when busme·'. 1s showing any si'"ns of improvement. A c1ty traveller-a ma~r with a connection in the city of Brisbane itself which has been m~in· tained for many years, who has been .bnnf;·­incr in business for a firm over that penod-1s not generally clispensecl with \vhen business is brisk. That man has been d1spensecl w1th since the election of hon. members oppos1te. The general tendency in B:isbane at. the prc;;:ent time is to reduce staffs, and busu.2,~·s has been worse since the Government came into nowcr. Unemployment has increased. vVe Ii:now that relief has been given, as north0rn and count1·y members ·have pomted out, by means of the activity of seasonal industries. A number of people have been removed from the sustenance register through the opening of the season for ~possur:' shoot­ing. That is the only way m wh1c~1 any relief whatever has been gn·en by this Go­nornment. I venture to say that the only possible relief, so far as the Gov:·rnment ar.c concerned. is by the natural rev1val of busi­ness in Queensland and the rcnval . of the mining industry, the foundatwn of. whiCh was laid before this Government came mto power, and bv natural improvement in the wool and agricU'ltural industries.

'The Treasurer also mentioned the boosting of private enterprises, and. stated that the Government believe in pnvate enterpnse. Private enterprise was going . to soh·e the whole thing. Private enterpnse has made a preth· pick!<> of the fortunes of some of our people. Only the other clay \ye had an illustration of the fact that people m Queen~­land growing wheat are at the mercy of pn­vate enterprise in Chic~go as to tJ:!e return thev are going to recmve for then wheat. \Yhen the slump in the wheat market La~w, the faces of the wheatgrowers were growm,g longer and longer w!;ile the "bulls" ami "bears" fought out the1r battle o~ the wheat exchange in Chicago. The slump m the p_rice of whrat was expected to have a. very senous off0ct indeed on the wheatqro\YITJg Industry, especially on the price growers \vcre g-oing to receive on the new season's crop. There is no doubt tliat certain members on the Government benche" ''ere clisoppointed at the upward tendency that wheat prices sue!· denlv took· and their minds on that O<"ca­sion "eortai~ly concentrated more on the dis­appointment for what they m1ssecl owmg !o the advance in the pric;; of wheat than m solving unemployment. It is Yery poor te,,tJ­mony 'to the efficieJCcy of private enterp1:ise a ne! the solution of our troubles to thmk that the wheatgrowers of this State are at the mere: of u little gang of market opera­tors in Chicago for the return they w1ll r<>ceive for their labours on the land. That is all private enterprise did for them, and that is all that private enterprise can do. Thev are the champions of the upholders of priv"ate enterprise; but immediately anything goes wrong with their pBrticular industry thev are on the doormat of either the State or "Feclcral Government seeking a sistance for their industry.

The opponents of State enterprise clo not tell us the whole truth. They never tell us of all the bad State enterpris,,s. For instance, they do not tell us of one little enterprise in the post office which ~appens to suit them, notwithstanding that It costs the country hundreds of thousands of pounds

Supply. [27 AUGUST.] Supply. 77

:per year. In the post o!lice there is a depart­ment called the Press Telegraph Depart­ment. That department is carried on at a loss of £200,000 a year. Its sole purpose is to supply news at a cheap-a losing-rate for the benefit mostly of the newspapers who support hon. members opposite. If those veopk were honest in their denunciation of State enterprise simply because they are losing propositions, then they would deiil,ltnd the abolition of that State enterprise, or that it should be placed on such a footing as to pay its way. vV e never hear a call for that, because it serves the friends of our friends opposite. If it had been established by the State Labour Party in order to serve the people of the State to cheapen the cost of living or to protect them from exploitation, then hon. members opposite and their friends would cry aloud, " Down with State enter­prises !" 'l'o be consistent they must also call upon the Federal Government to make that particular section of the post office pay its way, and make the daily press of Aus­tralia, which is really receiving a subsidy from the party it su.pports of £200,000 yearly, pay the full cost of the service rendered by the post office. When we hear them demand­ing the abolition of any losing State enter­prise which serves their friends or anv of their particular interc,ts we shall incline to the belief that they ar~ honest when they decry State enterprises which are showing a lo~, bu~ are at t~e same time fulfilling their obJect m satisfymg the necessities of the people of this State.

Mr. HYNES (1'ou'"sville) : I rise to sup­port the amendment moved by the Leader of the Opposition. His action in moving the amendment >yas necessary in order to duect the attention of this State to the 0allous indifference of the Government to the election pledges which they gave to the people. It was also necessary to direct the attention of the people to the fact that the Gove_rnment_ ~ame ~n~o office by exploiting the mdustnar conditwns of the people by proimsmg them work when they knew they did not intend to honour that pledge. Four months have elapsed since hon. members opposite took charge of the affairs of State and, :>otwithstanding that they pledged Immediately to make available £2,000,000 to relreve unemployment in Queensland, they have up to. the present taken no steps in that di_rection. . Their action is unprece­<:lented m the history of this or of any other country .. I cannot find any other instance of a pohtical party attempting to capture control . of the Government by making such a promrse as they made, knowing that they would not, or could not, keep it.

The S":CRETARY FOR PcBLIC WORKS: vYhat about chrl-dhood endowment?

_Mr. HYN~S: I ask hon. members to con­sider the att.rtu,de_ of the two parti0',· The Labour Party, with the Labour movement i" based on sound economic grounds. They told_ tho people that, so far ns definitely solvmg the unemployment problem in Queens­land was co':c!'rned, it was impossible to do that by polrtrcal actron. They knew that unerr:ployment '.'-o:'ld always occur under the existmg- capitalrstic system of society. Con­trast that plam statement of economic fact with ~he promises mad8 by hon. members opposite that they would relieve uncmplov· ment and would find lucrative employme;}t for 10,000 workless men in Queensland ! What have they contributed towards solving that

problem since taking office? Their press, which boosted them on to the Treasury hcnches and is boosting them now, is filled With accounts of their doings, their visits, their roysterings, as it were, in rural elec­torates. their attendances at dinners and banquets and show societies. The callousness of that political party in attempting to bribe their way on to the Treasury benches ! It is nothing new for the Nationalist Party, who were responsible for this propaganda that went out; they have on former occasions resorted to bribery in order to capture the Treasury benches.

·rh" SECRETARY FOR PUBLIC WORKS: (Hon. R. M. King, Logan): I rise to a point of order. Is the hon. member in order in making a statement that the Nationalist Party resorts to bribery?

The CHAIRMAN : The stntement is not in order. and I ask the hon. member to withdraw.

Mr. HYNES: I would like to point out that I made no reference to any member of this House.

The CHAIRMAN: Order ! A statement made by the hon. member applying to a political party applies to the individual members of that party I ask the hon. member to withdraw.

Mr. HYNES: I am not going to withdraw that statement. Surelv to goodness the Go­vernment are not going to protect the Nationalist Party in this House !

The CHAIRMAN : Order !

Mr. W. FORGAN SMITH (Mackay) : I rose to a point of order this afternoon, Mr. Roberts, and I would like you now to give a ruling on the matter I raised. It is a matter on which a ruling has been given by a previous Speaker. The previous Speaker of this House, in giving a ruling on a point of order I raised as a member of the Government when I complained of offensive statements made about the honour of the Government, ruled that a general reference to a political organisation was no reflection on the individual members of this House. I ask you, Mr. Roberts, as Chairman of Committees, to give a ruling on the question as to whether a reference to a political entity that may not be represented entirely by members of this Chamber is something that should be withdrawn.

The SECRETARY FOR PUBLIC vVORKS : The reference was to the members of this party.

Mr. W. FORGAN SMITH : I am asking the Chairman for his ruling-not the Deputy Leader of the Government.

The CHAIRMAN: I have already given a ruling that any statement applied to the Nationalist Party applies to the Government Party in this House, and I am not going to alter that ruling.

GovERN}iENT MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

Mr. STOPFORD (Mount JIIorgan): I rise to a point of order. Seeing that the Premier only leads one section of the Government. how can you rule that the National Party is the Government?

The CHAIRMAN : Order ! Order ! Mr. BRAND: Don't be stupid. Don't you

know you are an ex-Minister?

The CHAIRMAN: I again ask the hon. member for Townsville to withdraw.

Mr. Stopford.]

78 Supply. [ASSEMBLY.] Supply.

Mr. HYNES: What statement do you wish me to withdraw?

The CHAIRMAN: The statement that the Nationalist Party has been guilty of bribery.

Mr. HYNES: I withdraw, in deference to you in order to give me an opportunity to spe~k further in this House.

The CHAIRMAN: Will the hon. member resume his seat. As hon. members know, I am new to this position. This is the first time I have acted as Chairman of Com­mittees, and I want to lay it down quite definitely that I am not going to allow any hon. member in this Committee to qualify a withdrawal in the manner in which the hon. member for Townsville has done. He says that he is withdrawing the expression to enable him to continue his speech.

Mr. WrNSTANLEY: He said " in deference to you."

The CHAIRMAN: Quite so, in order that he may continue his speech. I am not going to take a withdrawal of that nature. The statement must be withdrawn uncondition­ally.

Mr. HYNES: I withdraw. I desire now to refer to the finding of a court in Queens­land when oertain people were charged with bribery. On that occasion the presiding judge said that in bribing a member of Parliament they were· striking at the very root of constitutional government, and he said further that there must be somebody higher up behind those men who approached a certain member, the present Justice Brennan, to induce him to leave his party and vote for the then Opposition in order to defeat the Labour Government. I am refer­ring to the finding of that court to prove that on a previous occasion the bribery method was applied in this State in order to defeat thB Labour Government. So we find that on the present occasion certain inducements were offered to the unemployed and to the mothers and fathers of unBmployed youths and girls in order to secure control of the Treasury benches in Queensland. I have looked in vain right down through history for a p1·ecedent where this was done, and I find that no other campaign has ever been fought on the same issue. Tho Labour Party recog­nise that we have an unemployed problem in Queensland the same as there is in other parts of the world; but we told the electors truthfully that the position was not as intens€ in this State as it was in the other States and in other countries of the world. We pointed out that, according to the Statis­tician's figures, when we assumed office in 1915 the number of unemployed workers in Queensland was approximately 17 per cent., and that when we relinquished office in May of the nresent year it was about 7 per cent. Those figurBs were irrefutable. Th<;Y .":ere compiled by the Commonwealth StatistiCian, and no one will say· that he is a Labour man.

I want to make some •reference to the work of the new Secretary for Public Works.

Mr. KERR: A good man.

Mr. HYNES : According to his party lights, I suppose h€ is. But he has been carrying this confidence trick further since he booame a member of the Government. He is endeavouring to get the pBople still to believe that the Government rure going to do something. A few weeks ago I was the representative of the Australian Workers'

[Mr. Hynes.

Union at a conference that met the Minister in order to hear what he had to say in con­nootion with his campaign to secure what he calls better and closer co-operation betweeP the employer and employee in industry.

On that occasion reference was made to the £2 000 000 which had been promised, and th~ Mi~1ist~r told them that he did not intend to discuss that. The Minister was asking for more harmonious conditions to oo brought about in industry, and at the same time· there were the workers of Queensland repre­sented bv their delegates at that conference. Those m-;,n went there knowing that the same Government had a few short weeks before that cancelled an award of the Board of Trade and Arbitration giving preference to unionists, and foreshadowed the smashing of the arbitration laws of this country and the bringing about of a reduction in the living standards of the peo pie of Queenslar:d. Still the now Ministrv had the tementy and audacity to insuit the intelligence of ~he unionists by asking them to co-operate w1th them in their nefarious ways. We might visualise the Minister standing there, asking for a peace conference, with an olive branch in one hand and an axe in the other; that is the spectacle we witnessed on that occasion. The Minister has done nothing tangible in order to help his colleagues and to pull them out of the mess they have got into in connection with tho promises they have made. The hon. gentleman has always made state­ments like that, even when in opposition. Hf' made statements when on this side that he could never substantiate, and latterly no one ever took him seriously; and that is the posi­tion in the industrial world to-day in regard to the Minister and his statements. There can be no peace in industry while we have Ministers going about the country saying how they are going to smash tbe Arbitration Court and lower the living standards of thB" people of Queensland. I would point out that the rural workers' award, which was cancelled--

The SECRETARY FOR PUBLIC INSTRUCTION : It was not-it wa'S suspended.

Mr. HYNES : The hon. gentleman says it was suspended. ·what is the differencE\" between its being suspended or cancel!ed so far as its effectiveness to protect the mdus­trial and economic conditions of the men engaged in rural industries is concerned? There is really no difference; and the rural workers are surely entitled as much as their employers-the farmers-to have their economic conditions protected ; but they arB" ruthlessly cast aside and allowed to be exploited by unscrupulous employers. Hon. members opposite say this is going to solve the unemployed difficulty in Queensland; _but I ;;ay it is going to intensify the position. If you reduce wages in the rural industry­and that is exactly the effect of the suspen­sion of the award-you take away the induce­ment for men to go into the rural districts and function in the rural industry; and the result is that there is an influx from the country districts to-day into the towns. The rural workers' award, so far as the employers were concerned, w;as one of the most generous awards ever made by any industrial court in the Commonwealth. The rate prescribed for a youth was 15s. per week and tucker; but that was ruining the indus­try, according to the statements of hon. members opposite. Adult workers were paid £2 13s. per week and tucker. There is no

Supply. [27 AUGUST.] Supply. 79

award in the Commonwealth which prescribes a lower rate of wages than those set out in the rural workers' a ward. Still, hon. members opposite got the people outside to believe that harassing conditions existed under the award.

The SECRETARY FOR PUBLIC INSTRUCTION : Why did you suspend the operation of the rural award for eleven year:~?

An OPPOSITION MEMBER: It was ,never done.

[7.30 p.m.]

Mr. HYNES : I would remind the Secre­tary for Public Instruction that the award was made after the fullest investigation had been made into the rural industry. As a matter of fact, I think no award was made where the investigations were more exhaus­tive than in the case of the rural workers. It was only after a good deal of inquiry that the three members of the board delivered their ?-ecision. Moreover, many of the big rural mdu~trres are exempt from its operation­for rnstance, the dairying industry, which employs a large number of persons. Again, a case was made in court that the award operated unfavourably to certain fruit­growers in the Stanthorpe district, and the Bo11rd of Trade amended its award to exempt fruitgrowers within a radius of 40 miles of Wallangarra-showing that, if it could be shown that 1t was operating harshly, then the persons complaining would be given redress. I remember that some years ago, when the present Treasurer was SecretarY for Public ·works, ho suspended an awar~l made by a wages board for the carting trade in Rockhampton, because in the opinion of the Government, the rat~ of wages fixed bv tbe chairman of the board was too high. I think it was something like £2 a week.

The attention of the people of QLieensland should be directed towardo this 'fact-that the present Government have no intention, and never had any intention, of carrying out their solemn pre-election pledge that they >~:o_Lild find work for 10,000 unemployed c1tizens of Queensland and make available £2,000,000 for that purpose. We say, and have always said, that the first concern of any Government is to find emplovment for the unemployed citizens of the State.

GOVERNMENT ME~IBERS: You did not do it.

Mr. HYNES: We say that we have done it. We were able to declare from the hust­ings during the recent election that Queens­land had less unemployed than any other State of the Commonwealth or any country of the world. That must be a clear indica­tion to hon. members opposite that we had done something in attending to the primary function of government of finding work for the citizens of the State. I venture to say that, if hon. m<'mher~ Clpposite are able to show the same record of achievement in the improvement of industry as the Labour Party when it went out of office after fourteen years of good service to the country, then they will have nothing to be ashamed of.

I notice in the Governor's Speech that it is the intention of the Government to amend the Apprenticeship Act so as to make is possible for more juniors to be absorbed into industry. We are told in one breath that industry has no room for anyone else, and in the next that thE> Government aro going to place more juniors at work in

industry. Only on Thursday last, in reply to a question asked by the hon. member for Mundingburra regarding about 200 boys who qualified at the apprenticeship examination for employment in the Railway Department, we were informed that the Government could not find work for them because their absorption in the Railway Department would mean the displacement of adult workers. Is it logical, then, to talk about absorbing more juniors in other indus­tries 1 If you are going to put boy labour into industry beyond its power to absorb labour, you can only substitute boy or 9heap labour for adult labour, to the detnment of the citizens of this country, and tnat is exactly what will take place. I can see that behind all this is a desire to reduce wages and increase the number out of employment. It must be obvious to anyone who has give!" any attention to the question that immedi­ately you increase hours you must create unemployment. That is well known by all economists throughout the world.

The only way to deal logically with the unemployed problem is to reduce the per capita production of the citi?.ens. It must be obvious that if vou employ a certam number of me~ on "a 44-hon~ basis, the eame number of men will not be required to function in the various indush·ies when workinQ: on a 48-hom· basis. The same thing applie;;· to boy labour controlled under the Induoltrial Arbitration Act and the Appren­ticeship Act. Ample provision is made to enable the whole of the boy labour that can be economically absorbed in industry to be so absorbed. The judg-e of the court can rlecide the proportion of juniors to journey­wen or adult workers tha.t can be employed, There is nothing very irrational about that. Hon. members opposite made their electior, promiseB to the mother> and fathers of the community in order to exploit their love of their children. T-here is ·an innate desire in every properly constituted parent to do something for his or her child. The Govern­ment were guilty of a despicable action in exploiting tha.t sentiment in order to secure control of the Treasnr; benches. N c one believes that hon. members oppositec will give effect to those pledges ; but the amendment moved by the Leader of the· Opposition will direct the attention of the industrialists nnd tho fairminded employers. outside of this Chamber to the fact that the pro-election pledges made by hon. members opposite were made for the purpose of securing control of the Treasury benches; and that they have not done any­thing, and will not do anything, to givc effect to those very definite pledges.

Mr. BRASSING'rON (Balonne): I rise to support the amendment rnoved by the Leader of the Opposition. Prior to the Treasurer delivering his speech this after­noon I was somewhat excited, as a young member new to this Chamber, in my antici­pation of hearing something wonderful from a man who had previously been Treasurer of Queensland and has a repubtion in Tory circles of being high up in the financial wodd and an authority on financial ma.tters. I listened to his attack on the Labour Party -it wa,. nothing more than an attack-and I am satisfied that, after nil, he has nothing to offer the people of Queensland by way of constructive legislation or wise adminis­tration in successfully handling these problems. Apart from quoting a few figures, the whole of his time was hken up in

Mr. Brassinqton.]

80 Supply. [ASSEMBLY.] Supply.

uondenl1ling the L..tbour Government. The people of Queensland do not want to hear repeated t,he miserable propaganda that has been indulged in for the past fourteen cears. That is dead a.nd gone. It does not matter what the Labour Partv has done. It is now a matter of what the Government are going to do ; and I call upon tho Treasurer and his colleagues to do something, instead of always talking. In the course of his remarks the Treasurer hinted that taxation would be reduced, and my interpretation of his contemplated action is a reduction of taxation so far a'l it affects the wealthy and more evenly distributing it over the people generally. In addition, as the State has to be placed on an even keel. thP Government certainly propose to give effect to their inten­tions to relieve industry by placing the burden of taxation on the shoulders of the working people.

As a member of this Chamber, I certainly oppose any move in that direction. The Government have no right to place a further burden upon the shoulders of those who are struggling along on tho basic wage. I can foresee the effect of tho policy of the Government upon the workers. I can see the cost of living increase, and a·dditional taxa­tion placed on the shoulders of the workers in the shape of a hospitals tax and other taxes. We shall probably find that the poll­tax will be reintroduced, and the working people of this State will be asked to carry a load of taxation that they will not be able to bear. It is all right talking about reliev­ing indust•ry, but in the process of relievin9; industry of taxation according to the method of the Government the poor grow poorer, and the rich grow richer.

The Treasurer had a lot to say about the credit of Queensland. He mentioned how Yery bad the credit of Queensland and Aus­tralia \vas overseas.

The TREASURER: Queensland is included m Australia, you know.

:Yir. BRASSINGTON: That is quite a serious statement for the hon. gentleman to make; but he forgot to inform this Com­mittee that that result has been brought about by the continuous propaganda indulged in by himself and other hon. members asso­ciated with him. I have been a member ot this Legislature for two years only, but I have heard the hon. gentleman continuously criticise the administration of the Labour Government to such an extent that I won­dered as to his patriotism for Australia or his desire to see this country progress at all. We hear much about the patriotic attitude of hon. members opposite, but as a result of their efforts in decrying Australia they now find themselves in the position of being in charge of the Government and discovering· that they have fouled their own nest, and that thev have tied up the credit of thB State to "such an extent that it will be diffi­cuit for them to carry on.

"\Ve have carefully listened for some state­ment from the Treasurer as to what will be done to relieve unemployment. Despite th.:> election promises of the Premier and hi,; colleagues prior to their great victory, th·, Treasuror has made no suggestion on the subject. Inetead of an offer of £2,000,000 to create 10,000 jobs being honour2d, the Govern­ment now propose to shelve the question and endeavour to place the responsibility ur;:>n the shoulders of others. We find that the Go-vernment are not· prepared to do anythin.s,

[]!Jr. Brassington.

end are asking the local authoritie, to fornlll­late some policy to rPlieve unemployment. In that connection the Treasurer has becOG18 quite g·enerous. He has made a proposi1iorr lo tho local authorities whereby he want> them to take ever the responsibility of relir;v. i ng unemployment, to accept loans from tiro Government, and to make themselves_ respo:r­siblc for the financial commitments.

The TREASURER: That is not so. We arc making donations to the local authorities.

Mr. BRASSI::'-JGTOI'\: The Government have also stated that any money spent fro'11 the Loan Fund will be spent on works whicl:t will be reproductive. I would like to be informed as to whether money spent on road· building and bridge-building will be rep~_o­ductive. I suggest that it will not. It wrll return neither interest nor principal. There· fore, on that very pledge alone, the Gove~n­ment have fallen. down badly, and are domg very little, if anything, to relieve unemploy­ment.

A very noticeable feature about the policy of the Government has been the staten:ent that every effort has been made to reheve unemployment. The newspapers, as well as the Government, are continually tellin_g the people that the unemployed army IS

d(:creasing, and that in a few months evero:­thing will be well. Let us cxamme the posi­tion. Figures submrtted by the Secret~ry for Labour and Industry show a reductH?n in the number of unemployed workers regis­tered at the labour bureaux throughout the State. The hon. gentleman failed to state that that was brought about as the result of seasonal industries commencing operat!ons­as, for example, t~e pastoral and su_g!lr mdus­tries. What is gomg to be the positron when those industries finish operations and a large number of men now employed are thrown on the labour market? Are the Governme~t making any provision for that event? D1d the Treasurer suggest anything to-day which would lead us to believe that his Government are prepared to provide for that great army of unemployed at the end of the yea1'? No; absolutely nothing! All he asked for was the same amount of loan money that was pre­viously received by the Labour Government; and he made no suggestion of the Govern­ment's intention to honour the promises made to the people o.f Queensland prior to the elec­tion. Despite the fact of the Government's claim that they are relieving unemploy­ment, it is a well-known fact that ~hey are dismissing men from the public serviCe. We have the example of the dismi50al of railway porters from the Central and Roma Street stations, and we also know that men have boen dismis2ed from the Ipswich railway workshops.

Mr. Vv. FoRGAN SMITH: The Government cancelled £100,{)00 worth of work at Ipswich.

Mr. BRASRINGTON: That is so. Only vesterday I was talking to a man with a family of eight children, who, after twenty­one years' faithful service in the Railway Department, has received notice to quit. In view of those things, can it be honestly argued that hon. members opposite are making any genuine attempt to relieve the position?

Mr. MAHER: What was that man working at in the Railway Department?

Mr. BRASSINGTON: He was a per­manent employee of the Railway Department,

Supply. [27 AUGUST.] Supply. !H

but, under thA rch·enchment system now in operation, he has received notice to quit.

Mr. MAXWELL: ·was he offered anything else to do?

Mr. BRASSIXGTOX: The hon. member for Toowong has interjected, " He probably had nothing to do," but this man had pro­bably more to do than the hon. mem_ber for Too>vong, who spends most of hts ttme attending afternoon tea parties.

Mt·. MAXWELL: I never •,aid that.

:\J:r. BRASSI~GTOX: I£ that is an example of how the Government are going to relieve the problem of unemployment m this State, then God help the State !

Mr. M.niER: V.'hat was the man's occu­pation 'c

Mr. BRASSINGTOX: He was a railway <-'mployee. I have it on good authority that the Government will shortly send an economy hoard through the public service when, no doubt, that board will carefully examine the public service, and every employee who can b~ done without will be dismissed. I have it on good authority also that, as an alternative, the Government intend to approach the Board of Trade and Arbitration for a reduction of wages. Is that an uxamplo of relieving the problem of unemployment in this State'!

Proceeding a little further with my argu­ml nt, I propose to refer to the suspemion of the rural workers' award-an award which hon. m em hors opposite told the people was most damaging to the agricultural industry.

:\I r. BOYD: So it was.

l\lr. BRASSI~GTOX: The Government told many unfair things to the people of Queensland. They made a defmito promise t.hat, if returned to po" er thev Ycould rescue the agricultural industry fl'Om" the damaging effects of that award. Although hon. mem­ber, opposite are continually beseeching the >mrkor to abide bv arbitration. thev had no scruples about uTidermining the Confidence of the working classes in thi,, Sbte by rcmov­mg at one stroke of the pen the rural workers from the benefit of the rural workers' award.

Mr. BRAND: The people of Queensland approved of it.

:\Ir. BRASSINGTOJ\": As the result of the su-pension of that award, wo find that sup­portPrs of the hon. member for Burrum and llis colleagues can no~.v engago fann labour ~t fro:r1 lOs. to 15s. per week, >vhilst they Iil thell' turn can go on to railway construc­tion work and receive atvard rates. It would he difficult to find a .more glaring example of btUer class logtslat10n than tbo suspension of the rural vvorkors' avvard.

1\Ir. BRA~D: You are wrong.

Mr. BRASSINGTOX: Let me strosG this point further. lVIost hon. n1Cn1bors opposite claim to represent the >~·orkinrr man, and it may be interesting for rno ~ point out that probably many of !hose hon. members are employers of labour in rural industrioc>. Many o~ them perhaps at the present time are payrng men 10s. or 15s. a week. It is quite all right for them. As a result of the suspension of the award, thev ar2 allowed to do that. while th ·:y sit b:lck in comfort and draw their Parliamentary salaries.

Mr. BRAND: Mention one case.

1929-o

Mr. BRASSINGTON: Another way in which the Government assisted employers in rural industries to exploit the working man is this: It is a well-known fact that for some time past numbers of immigrants from overst'as, particularly young boys, ha vo been brought into this State. On arrival here these bovs are sent to farms at various jobs and arc paid next to nothing; yet hon. members opposite continue to tell the people that they are desirous c-f r< 1ieving unem­ployment. What do they care about the working man with a large family who is out of work?

1\fr. BRAND: Have you ever employed a 1nan?

Mr. BRASSINGTON: I think I have employed more men than the hon. member for Burrum-(Government laughter)-and l employed them at award rates, which is probably more than he paid. What do hon. members opposite care for tho sufferings of the unemnloved and their families so long as they can-make cheap labour available to the rural industries? If thev were sincere in their desire to telievo uw?mployrrtcut, in this State, at least thov could h:we allowed that rural workers' a ,:arc! to stand so that rnen working in the rural 1ndu~tries would bo raised at least a little 'tbo.-c the common level. ·whilst hon. members opposite veer'' condemning the ru.1·:tl \YOrkers~ ~:wurd, it was interesting to know that manv p,·,wtical farmers \Ycre not aver.·"~ to paying thr-~ a\V~Lrd l'ates. The pro"Lest C[Lnlc frmn thcc.;r· mon on the land who did not know their job, or who wanted to earn l110ll(,_>y ou[· .. ide. rrho request for the abolition of the rural workers' award came from those people. In the \','an-, ick district I know a number of practical meu \Vorking on the land. I ha·\.o coclYcrsed with then1 on the subje<'t, and thc.v :-ay .. f~ry definitely that the rural workoc,-' award did not in any '"'ay inconvenience t.hern. and that it v, as an injustice to abolish or suspend it, as the Gon'rnment have clone.

In conclusion, I wish to know when the Government are going to honour their pro­mise to make aYailab1e £2,000,000 and create employment for 10,000 workers. In case the people oubide should forgot, and in case the Secretary for Labour and Industry should again try to sidestep hi3 lY.ponsibilities by tolling tho people of this State that no S'.wh promise >vas made, I intend to read the state­ment of the Prom.ier, ,-hich appeared in the " Brisbane Courier " of lOth May, 1929-

" FINAL .\PPEAL.

"COUKTRY-XATIOXAL VOTE.

" The main object of the now Govern­ment in Queensland will be to create c0nditions which will promote harmon· ions relationship in industry. In the. meantime I pledge my part,· to make "'· ailable £2,000,000 for the rdief of the present distressful conditions and the large army of unemployed <tnd their wivc::; and fa.milics."

That is a verv definite statement, and I notico the piOus n1ember for rrooyvong rubbing his hands Rnd trying to think of an interjection in rrnsw0r to that statement. It is up to the Gm·,,rnmcnt to do sornethinn: to honour this pron1ise, I repeat again what I said in this Chamber the other night, that t·hroughont my travels in and out of the city I see those poor pc'ople, hungry and desti­tute, <tnd looking for the opportunity and right to work.

Mr. MAXWELL: You croatc:,d them.

Mr. Bra,:si11gton.]

82 Supply. [ASSEl\1BLY.] Supply.

l\Ir. DRASSIXGTO:-.J: Ho:1. members opposite say that we created thon.

GoVERNMENT MEMBERS: Hear, hear !

Mr. BR_\SSINGTON: I would remind them of this important fact, aucl stress it home to them bcm.use they 'Ecm to be incapable of grasping plain facts-that the number of unemployed in this State was lower than that of the unemployed in anY other State of the Commonwealth. In addi­tion to that, hen. members opposite looc sight of the fact that in StalL'S like J'\ew South ·wales and South Australia, where a Labour Party did not goyern at the time of the Q11eensland election, the number of unem· played was greater than in this State. I challenge hc.n. members opposi to to contro­Yert that statement.

Mr. MAHER: Let us have the figures. :Mr. BRASSINGTON : If the hon.

member would be a little indu;trious and read "Hansard" reports and study the Commonwealth Statistician's figures, he could convince himself on that point.

I close my few remarks by appealing to hon. members opposite at least to honour their election promises; to remember that, after all, the people outside who are suffering should recmve some dcfimte atten­tion, and to remember that, for humanity's sake, something should be dono. I do not care what hon. n1embcrs opposite n1ay ~ay; I hor,estly believe that the fir,t duty of the State is to provide employment for its citizens, eo that they will have an oppor· tunitv to liYe.

A GoYERlDlENT :MEMBER: Your GoYern­ment did not do it.

::Hr. BRASSINGTON: My Govemment ahva::s did their best to give the workix;g classes mnployment; and I would again repeat that on many occasions, "hen the late Government 'vcro conten1plating \Vorks to absorb the unemployed, thoy were bitterly opposed by hon. members opposite.

A GovERX1IEXT ::\IEi\IBER : That is not true.

:\J:r. BRASSE\GTON : I will not say any 1nore concerning this -;ubject. 1 a.2.k ho11. members opposite "t least to rcmerr~L>r the suffering a·nd poYerty outsrde Ill the country, and to rcmen1ber also the principles of Christianity that most c.f them are ahvay·j pleased to ask others to act up to.

::\1r. FRY (Ilurilpa) : It is most intere,t!ng to hear Opposition membNs cxpoundmg matters which are mainly the figment of their own inspiration. It is certainly interesting to sit here behind the Govern­ment who haYe been in power for a few weeks. and hear men who have had the handling of the affairs of the State for 14 vcars-and failed to succf'.-<"'fullv cal'l'\< out their dutiee-calling upon the ;cw Govern­ment to show within a few weeks in what way they ha Y€' carried out the!l' promises. \Ye hoard the Labour Party s1ttmg on these benches year after :year telling us that they were going to lead the workers into a pa.ra­diso, and the late Premier, Mr. McCormack,

h"-ving- at last to confess to rs p.m.] the public that he had noth-

ing to offor--tha t his party had no remedy for unemplo:-'ment. They had to confess abjectly their a beolutc inability to deal with this question; but to a Govern­ment new to office and w.hich has been in offioe for a few weeks only they call out for their remedy. That is sheer hypocrisy. If

[Mr. Bmssh~gton.

all that hon. members opposite s~y wors• true, their speeches wonld be intere~tiug; but it is not true. In the first place their statements in regard to the quantum of unemployment are incorrect, and I have some figures from the Government Stati,ti­cian Yvhich I shall use to prove my sta.te­Inents

::\1r. POLLOCK: \Vhat r.re you doing about those 10,000 jobs?

Mr. FRY: I shall reply on that point to-night; hut, ftrst of all, r want to take exceptJon to the remarks of the hon. membe-r for Ithaca in relation to the Treasurer. He ;aiel that the Tre'lsuror \vas hounded about fro•11 piilar to post.

:ilr. I-IAXLOX: The Treasurer "aid he was.

:iir. FRY: The 'l'·reasurcr never said that. I haYe been associated with tho Treasurer for a good many years, and I would feel proude1· t0 be his colleague than the colleague of the­hen. member who has just interjected. 1\o­more honourable man ever sat in this Cham­ber than the Treasurer.

:C.Ir. H-\KLOK: You would cut his throat for a political advantage.

2Yir. FRY: 1\o 'Treasurer has ever sat on thrse benches who has been more honourable than he. He is such a man that he is strong enoug-h to stand alone and to pull through.

::Wr. Il\XLOK: Why did his political friends knife him?

:i\h. FRY: If he has been hounded from pillar to post during these years, why is h" now Trca~.urer? Sin1ply because he 13 a leader, anrl his worth is recognised. 'The trouble with hon. memhers on tho other side is tfw t he is following their Treasurers, and he knu\YS hie job. Hon. members opposite will learn that he is quite as capable a Treasurer n s any of their Ministers. It is true that tho P-remier did promise to make ·--er k for 10,000 men, and it is also true that lw made a promise to achieve that l'f':'ult by c•ycry n1ean:; ,-;·ithin his pow-er. Th. t \YU'> the mnndat~ upon vvhich the Go­\~C'n 'llCllt cm11o into office: and I say that it­is tl. c dut~· of the Government to do eyuy­thing \Yithin their po1Ycr to relieve tho unem­ployed f:iturrtion.

~lr. IL-\XLOX: That is all v;~e aro r:sking for-;;;onu: indiration of ,vhat you arc going to do.

:\Ir. FRY: Hon. members opposite had fourteen years in which to do this; and surely th{'s Governn1ent n1ust be given a little. time in which to deal with the qnestion t We know very well that many of the th!ngs that hon. members opposite say are thmgs they do not honestly believe; but for political purposes it is their policy to use them.

Hon. members opposite hope to secure th& publicity of the pres' rtnd to ere ate a bad influence outside. A plain elementftry prin· ciple of the Nationalist Partv is that every man or woman able to do 1iseful work has the right to work. We recognise that the only remedy for unemployment is work. Evidently hon. members opposite do not understand that, became by thL ir policy they haYc created uncrr1ployr,1ent. \Vhrn wo :vere sitting in opposition ·we were many tn~1es arnu~-ed at the position occupied by the Labour Party. First of all, thoro was the policy of the Government and there was the policy of the industri>tlists wol'king . hand in hand. having '" an objective the soClalrsa­tion of industry. Their plan was to destroy

Supply. [27 AUGUST.] Supply. 83

private control in industry by every mcnns within their power, and to set up in its stead the socialisation of industry. They dare not deny that. The method adopted was for the Government to control the reins of office and tax industrv to such an extent that it became unprofitable, whilst the indus­trial wing outside crl-.1ted a disturbance that made the organisation and n1anage1nent of industry impossible. Between the two sec­tions that evil work vvas carried out Yery effectively. So well was it carried out that. according to the figures supplied by the late Secretary for Labour and Inductry, there were 46,000 unemploytcd in Queensland an_d 69.000 partly unemployed. I accept !us figures as being the only figures available. and I a.m sure that gentleman would not have quoted those figuns if they were not true.

Mr. BuLCOCK: You know that the figures included the inn1ates of hospitals, asylums, and old-age and invalid pensioners.

Mr. FRY: The hon. member's statement is not correct, and, at a later date, I will give data to support my statement. \Ye must have a starting point. Jn 1919 we had it given out that there were no unemployed in Queensland. \Ye in oppo­sition pointed out that there were then 6,000 umemployed in Queensland. but during the period from 1919 to 1929 that number had grown to 46,000. solely as the result of the policy of the Labour Government.

1\Ir. BULCOCK: That is not true.

:Ylr. FRY: I am quoting vour own figures .. The Secretary for Railwa vs informed the Chamber that the railway Inquiry \\ould be givPn the widest poosible scope. The railway­men and workers generally are disturbed bv t 11e proposal to hold this inquiry; but the },finister has informed us that the man on the basic wage-in fact~ all wage-earners~ will have the privilege of a fair hearing in order that tlwir case mav be fairlv stated. Tho idea is. by meam ·of improved management and n1achiner~v. if that he needed. to create such a sbte of cfficienc:­as will enable the maximum amount of emplo:vment to be enjoyed. That is the policy of tho Government.

I \\'as vorv sorrv to he-ar the hon. 1nen1ber for Bremcr ··state this afternoon that the men engaged at thP Ipswich workshops would not come forward and give evidence at the inquiry now being held by experts into the workinl' of the workshops unless they could tender their evidence through the union secre­tarv. We all know that the easiest and best way for an impartial court to hear evidence is to obtain it from the people actu>lll,V engaged en the job. If the machinery and tools in the workshops are out of dare. then it is for the m0n who have to do with that machinery and those tools to say '0. They should be protected from am- ,-ictimisation. and they would not be vid imiserl by this Gm-crnment for giving evidence. \Ve know that \vorkf'rfl are afraid at timPs to speak because of ihe f0a-r that something will be done to them ><ubseqncntly. The men have the promise of the Govern;nont that thcv will not bo vietimisecl. The railways, which have cost the State £60.000.000, must be made effir·ient. I believe that motor road traffic will displace the railways eventually, and that the railwavs will become a dead letter. lt is up to the Minister to take notice of my view in-this matter. We must improve

the railways, make them more efficient, and control motor traffic until the ·rail ways are· put on a more efficient basis. Closely related to any inquiry into the running· of Govern­JTient works n1ust be a programn1o to assist to establish and control industry which will giYe employment. The 1nain industries in our State should bo encouraged and expanded, and whateYer can bo clone to revive mining should be done.

I view the expenditure of £2,000,000 to relieve unemployment as an obligation whi~h >hould be met at the earliest possible moment. \Ve must try to realise what it means to rhose people who have been out of work for many months, and, in fact, for years.

:'IIr. BvLCOCK: And are still out of work.

::VIr. FRY: The party on the other side had control of the Government fO'r fourteen years. :\Ianv workers were thrown out of work durii!g the regime of the Govermnent of which-the hon. member was a supporte1', and they remained out of work. It is very diffi. cult for those people to find employment to secure ordinary food and comforts. These people shoLJld be considered and money spent to relieve them as early as possible. Under the conditions under which these people are living at the present time it would be a god­send for the Gon·rnment immediately to spend some of that n1oncy on the encourage­ment of private industry which will provide employment all the year round. I certainly have more faith in the Government of to-day ~pending n1oney in the encouragement of industry than I had in their predecessors. The previous Government had no remed-''· The present Government say they have, and, what is more, they will put it into operation.

The hon. member for B.alonne, when addressing this Chamb,cr, sai·d he would give Jigures about unemployment, and that the_v \vonlcl be the figures of the Commonwealth Statistician.

:\fr. BHASSIXGTOX : I did not give any fi!'m·cs at all. r.~aicl that unemployment was as bad in any other Stat('.

::\Ir. FRY: I kno\Y the hon. member did not give figures; he was too shrewd to do so. He knew that once he gave figures he \Vas

g-one. I an1 going to give the figurt?s. At nw request, the Registrar-General supplied me with certain figures. I have also with me an election pamphlet isJued by thP Labour Party. stating that the percenta<;e of unem· ployed in Queensland \Yas 6.4.

::\lr. BRI~SIXGTOX: You just wrote those­figures dovo·n since I refC'rrcd to them.

Mr. FRY: Come and examine them for vourself. You will be able to see the letter from the Registrar-General.

Mr. HYXES: Tell us about those 10.000 jr1Js which you were going to find.

:\Ir. FRY: It is 9.11 verv wc·ll for hon. rnen1bcrs opposite, when thc~r are up again~t n. difficult position, to endeavour to sidetrack hon. m0mbers on this sirle oi the Committee: but I am too old at the game to be side­tracked by the Oppoeition. (Laughter.) In his letter, which is dated 26th April, 1929, the Registrar-General point,, out that allow· ance must be made in the table which he furnishes for the circumstancl,s that the industries included in the returns from trade unions are not quite identic;,.! in the various States. and also that the figures do not include persons wh" n •·e out of work through

ltfr. Fry.]

84 Supply. lASSEMBLY.] Supply,

strikes or lockouts. He proceeds to say that the return does not include such people as raib\·ay workers, tramway W'Orkcrs, and pub­lic servants ; and there is no record of a l1ig union like the Australian \Vorkers' L:nion supplying any record of it.s unem· played.

::\lr. BRASS!KGTOK: Then it, is of no use.

Mr. FRY: The information clearly shows that hon. members opposite are merely guessing when they give the percentage of unemployed. Further, we have Queensland compared with other States which supply greater returns, because the Registrar­General points out that the number of unions which report their unemployed figures to the statistical authorities are as follow:-

Now South Wales 103 Victoria 83 Queensland 43 South Australia 59 Western Australia 56 Tasmania 31

Again it must not be forgoHcn that in the other 'states the union books are not closed to the same extent as they have beea in Queensland for some time, because it is well knO"\\~n that almost eyery union's books aro closed. That virtually means that, when a 1nan bcconH~'" unemployed and is un~ble .to pay his union leYy, he beconH .. "·: an unfinanc1al member of the union and drops out.

:Mr. HYKE: Mention a union \V here that -condition prevails.

Mr. FRY: I can give a number of instances. Let. mo cite the butrhcrs' union, for example. Consider a C-'oC in point. Sup­posing the union starts with 100 members, of whom 50 become unemplo:- ed and 46 bec0me unfinancial, the, return furnished by that union to the Commonwealth Statistician would show only 4 unemployed members out of a membership of 54. But what about the 46 n1embcrs who were so poor as the result of unemployment that they could not. pay their union fees? rrho figures subtnJttcd hy the Opposition arc wrong, and I hesitate to credit them with such an absence of analytical ability that they are honc'•tly of oninlon that 6.4 per cent. is correct so far a~ the Gncmployed ar,3 concerned.

The very figures supplied by the Com­monwealth Statistici<m show that the calcu­lations of hon. members opposite were eutirelv wrong. The Labour Part:;· sub­mittecf to the electors figures which they knew were not correet. They knew that there were 46,000 unemployed and 69,000 partly unemployed, according· to the figures supplied by the late Secretary for Labour an l Industry and, when we look ''cross the ChnrnbPr, ~~~To' f'8L members oppositP smiling with thc1r tongues in thci1· chcPkr. Fourteen y< ar-:; of destructive governntellt l Fourteen vcars 111 incrca_sing the uncrnplo}_'"ed fro~n 6.000 to 46.000, and then confessmg the1r inabilit" to deal with the que,tion! The.v haYo confessed that it was hopeless to expect them c-) cko l with the subjreL They c,·ent to ;en election. and the people rctnrnecl a (_~o\ rrnmcnt that said they hnd a policy, and \Yithin fonr days of rnecting here we find hon. n1cmb~rs opposite asking, "\Yhat hase ym1 done to bring about prosperity in Que .'nsland ?" I(novving the part.v \vith which I am associated, I knm' that the Go­Ycrnment \vill be prepared to spend that £2,000,000 in order to create employment for those 10,000 people. What hon. members

[Jir. Fry.

opposite would like is for the Government not to do it. Their greatest sorrow and areatest regret would be for the Government to do what "as promised. \Ve are not such fools as not to know that hon. members 'pposite are anxious for the Government not to do it. Their jibes are intended only to induce the Government not to carry out their promise; but there is a party behind. the Government strong enough to support rt m everything it does to relieve the position. The Government are very comfortable to-night, and they will remain in power for rnany years to come.

Mr. bTOPFORD: You are whistling to keep your courage up.

The CHAIRMAN : Order !

Mr. FRY: I am quite able to hold my own, and I am quite able to take the part of the workers in this House. I have always fought their battles, and I am going to fight them still, whether it be on the floor of the House, in the party room, or anywhere else, be-cause I believe, as I ha Ye stated in this Chamber previously, that, unless the masses of the people arc kept working and the remuneration is such as to give them the li'P<Ins of providing a comfortable living for thomsch·es and their wives and families, then the stability of the State cannot be oound.

The SECRETARY FOR LABOUR A:-\D IC\DUSTRY (Hon. H. E. Sizer, Sand:;ate): Mr. Roberts. let me take this early oppor­tunity of congratulating you on your election "' Chairman of Committees. I have be'm e,S>ociatcd with you in Yarious places, and I am quite satisfied that you will acquit your­elf in the t>osition you occupy with .-cry

high honour.

I intend to say very little on the question of unemployment at this tim~, because I inJ< ud to take an early opportunity to go into the subject in detail when I am dealing with a specific Bill in this House.

H is time we toro the mask of hypocrisy from hon. members opposite. I have sat in this Chamber as a member of the Opposition ·when, as members of the then Government Party, those hon. members were as dumb as mice when the unemployed deputations came along, and not one of them would face them.

Mr. STOPFORD interjected.

The SECRETARY FOR LABOUR AND I="DUSTRY: Before I resume my seat I intend to remind the hon. member of many other promises which he made, and which he cl id not fulfil. It is .i ust as well for hon. members opposite to review the position. Uncmnlo·:ment is not new. It has been created i;; this State more bv the jate Govom­ment than by anyone else. The Labour Pa'l~t:;.~ c,~me into pO\Yc·r on the spce,•h 111ade by the late Hon. T. J. Ryan, in which ho saiU-

" The Labour Party com.'clcr it tho dutv of the Gol'ornment to sco that every citizen is given the opportunit,. to. w.ork and earn a livelihood, and that prmc1plo \Yi!l be kept in sight when the Labour Department is being established."

0PPOSl£IOK MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

The SECRET '\RY FOR LABOrR AND INDUSTRY: Thev sa,id they would keep it in sight. They ,:,ere in office for fourteen vcars; but, instead of being able to solve the question of unemployment, their action

Supply. [27 AUGUST.] Supply.

broug·ht unemployment about, until in the end it assumed such dimensions that the ··whole comn1unity was a welter of unernploy­ment, as this party found when they took office. Then, while they failed in fourteen years to accomplish anything, now, after the present Government has been in office for the short space of two or three months, they expect us to solve the problem in a week. Ali they can now say is, " What are the Government doing? " I "'7 frankly that during the short time this Government has been in powC"r it has -done more of a practical nature than the last two Go\ crnmcnts did in the whole tin1c they v, re in office.

\Yhcn '\Ve came into offiC,'1 after hon. members opposite had left it, we found a C'haotic situation. They carne into power after the speech from which I have just quoted, and the revenue of the State in those yt:nrs was in thC' region of £7,000,000 per annum. When they left offirn the revenue had reached £16.000,000 per annnm, so there had been no fmancial shortage during their timo of offico. ThPn they had £47,000,000 of loan money to handle, which they spent all over the country; 7et, with that amount of wealth, th<ey created the greatest army of uncm­p'oyed that Queensland ever saw. \Ve have got to the stagc~and this is very importc nt ~that 47 per cent. of that loan money is unproducthre, not earning interest. The actions of the late Govexnmcnt in connection with the J.lnp-roductive debt has J'C·rmancntly depres.,ed the basic wage in this State by lls. per week. That has been tl1e effect of their administration.

An 0PPOSITIOX MEMBER: Is this the Go­vernment's defence?

'l'h" SECRETARY FOR LABO'CR AND INDUSTRY: No. I want to show vou these things. because we hear something said about this Government not having been able to solve the question of unemployment in two or three months.

Mr. IIYNES: What is your panacea for solving unemployment?

Other OPPOSITION MEMBERS interjecting.

The CHAIRMAX : Order ! I cannot con­tinue to allow the interjections of the hon. member for Mount JYlorgan, the hon. member for Warre~o, and the hon. member for Gre­gory to <?ontinue. I ask them to contain themFclvcs and to respect the Chair.

[8.30 p.m.]

The SECRETARY FOR LABO'CR AXD INDUSTRY: To put the position in a more concrete form---because it is well that hon. members should remember the wreckage brought about by the late Governmcnt~tako the fact that in the financial vear 1914-15 the amount spent in relief was £5.870, whilst in the year that hon. members opposite left office it was no less than £460,925. Could anything speak more loudly than tho•e figures? Let me for a moment dPal with another aspect of this situation~that hon. members opposite could h>tve done something practical in their administration to makJ· work for the people in Queensland. When the opportunity presented itself to the lato Government to provide a large volume of work for Qncenslanders, they sent overseas a bout £200,000 to build twentv-five locomo­tives which could have been built in Aus­tralia. ·where then were the rank and file o£ the party? Not a word out of them!

Mr. BuLCOCK: Did not the present Trea­surer once purchase a German drPdgc?

The SECRETARY FOR LABO'CR AXD INDUSTRY: X or is that all. In their last year of office they authorised the purchase of a pilot steamer abroad. Again there \Yas silence in the camp. I say it is just as '':ell to remind hon. mm.1bers opp03ite of these things. In that sclf-sarnc speech on which they came into power there is the sLtemcnt that 20,000 men are continuously usefully employed working in the. mining indnstry. When hon. members opposite went out of office they had pract.icall;; killed the mining industry. Mount Morgan hrtd closed -down; Chillagoe had lost £1.000,000. .\ncl they ask us to solve the problem in a da:.-

Mr. STOPFOHD: Bunkum !

The SECRETARY FOR LABO'CH A);D INDUSTRY: It is not bunkum; it is fact. Where has all this wealth gone? (Opposition interjections.) In round i1gures, £5,000,000 has been lost in fantastic State enterpris ·;.

An OPPOSITION 1\'IEo!BEH: They arc being sold at scrap price,,

The SECRETARY FOR LABOCH. AND I:-.JDUSTRY: The enterprises are Lcing sold at tho highest price that cln be got, and they are all being sold open]) ·-(Opposition dissent)~and for the benefit of the State, as time will show. Furthermore, we have to hear this in mind~that before we had been many clays in office the CJovcrnment enun­ciated a policy, much of \1-hich is contained in the Governor's Speech. which will incn•aso land settlement, which will help to make the lands of this State, through ringbarbng., more productive. '\Ve are prepared at a! timcs to devote our energies to the sol ,-ing of the unemployment problem along line; which will lead to pr~dical r<:'sulh and increase the wealth production of tho State, and not on the lines which hon. mcmbcrs Ot1posite pnrsucd of throvying loan mone~7

about the countrv, 47 per cent. of which is -a permanent burden on the community.

An OPPOSITION ME'-rBEH: Is ringbarking going to employ anybody?

The SECRETARY FOR LABOUR A-:\D INDUSTRY: I say that our ringbarking policy will employ many men. This GovE'rn­ment very early carried out its pledge to the people by abolishing the rural workers' award.

Mr. DASH: You ringbarked that all rig·ht.

The SECRETARY FOR L.-\I30'CR AXD IND'CSTRY: As a body of rcspow;ib!e Ministers, we had to ringbark it.

Mr. Cor.r,rxs: The Secretary for Public Instruction says you suspended it. \Yhich is right?

The SECRETARY FOR LABOUR AND INDUSTRY: Hon. members opposite say in one breath that we arc not carrying out our pledges. and in the next breath they critici.'e us because we do. A definite stn t<'­ment was made in our policy speech tlnt, if we were returned to power, we would abolish the rural workcr:c.' au·ard, anrl \Ye

have done so. ·what hrcs been the effect" At the end of the regime of the late Gon•rn­ment, under the heading of " Pastoral and' A!!-riculturc," 1,067 were rcgistered as u.ncm­ployed.

1\Ir. B<:LCOOK: T.he pastoral industry ha& a separate "ward.

Hon. H. E. SizN.)

86 Supply.

The SECRETARY FOR LABOUR AND I:'\DlJSTRY: That is the only heading nnclcr which figures could be shown.

A11 0PPOSIT£OK ME1rBER : Tho figures are \HOng.

The SECRETARY FOR LABOUR AND !~Dt;STRY: The figure h \s no"-'' fallen t1 ::lb't.

1-lr. HY);ES: That includes tho sugar industry.

::.\Ir. BcLCUCK: Shearing has conunenccd ill the \Yestcrn country.

The SECRETARY FOR L ~BOL:"R AND I:\DTJSTRY: Let me- 1 frr ro the "l'olic ,Jonrnal')~an organ th.~t cloG·.s 110t rwrn1allv support this Government. ·

::\Ir. Hn:ES: Is it nn article by the "Polic'o Journal" or by }lr. Talty ·:

The SECRETARY FOR LABOUR A?\D INDUSTRY: By the ''L'olice Journal." It :3ays-

"On ~ sa-tisfactol'Y feature arising· out of the recent rlulnge of GoYernin'cnt i~ the notic tble (lf'crc:::t" c in tb urnount paid a way to n:Jelnbers of the unf'nl­plo:.·od by 'my of relief rations. The polic.-~ in country di.·,tricts a-<:;crt with eonfldenco that the number of persons who call for ~.·clief rations i-> not one­fourth of that which lli-'Yailcd p,·ior to :\Iay 11th, 1929." ·

.\n 0PPOSITIOK ::VIEc'B::rr: They know that they ca.nnot get them.

The SECRETARY FOR L\BOLT{ AND IXDT:STHY: The lll03l imcrcstir,o· put i' ,'ret eo come- - o

"They aitribute 1hc~ change to th• cancBllation of the rnra l ,,-orkcrs' ah-ard, whjch cancPllation has had the effect of n1any n1eu f:,ritlng employ­n1ent in agricnltural illld vastoral vursuits. ,,

:\lr I-In:ES: The pa,;torol indnolrY ''"'" not affected by that a\Yarcl. ·

The SECRETARY FOR LABOFR ~-\?\D I::\DFSTR1: The anicle contmlc,-

" If matters :-l1ovv n sin1ilar improYe­Incnt in othC'r dirc.;tious. not onlv \Yill the police be plcasccl. but llw wh-ole of the pooplo of Queensland will n .tural!,­rejDice." ~

The "Police Journal" has nol alwaye support<-.! thio GoYernm"nt.

:'\Jr. BRASSINGTOX: Jt supports you now.

The SECRETARY FOR LABOuR AXD I::\DFSTHY: I am .-er glad h know that the ''Police JournaL" in con1rno:1 ·with the rest of the peo1:Ie of _Qureno;lawi, is displa::· 1ng vnsdo1n. If notlHng- rs bC'ing- done, rhPn wh~· are the fi~urcs d'-~cl·c:L:>iug? ~ Thcl'e '\ere rcgBterorl at the burc tu, a.' a'_ 30th April la:'t, 9,437, but up t·? 14th Julc·-btcr figures wdl soon ho aya!lahl0--tho number had dropped to 7,592.

}Ir. BL~LCOCK: Seasorul illdustrie~!

The SECRETARY FOR LABOUR AND I::\DUSTRY: I could quoto at considerable leng-th to show that there h'" be ,n similar clecrun3o in tho amount 1Jaid frmn the 1_,"'7" ncm­ployn1cnt Insurance Ft1nd. rhere· can be no cionbt that the figures I ba fe quctocl rcall,· ::-how an in1provcn1cnt. u

:\lr. \YINSTAKLEY: Tl>c•v are not worth the -paper they are \Yl'itton On.

[Hon. H. E. 8iz(r.

Supply.

'T'he SECRETARY FOR LABOUE AND IXDUSTRY: The Government realise the position, and will honour their promise to the people. The hon. member for Bowen sat behind a Government for \'earo. He was promised an iron and steel Yvorks. and lYon two elections on that promise. \Yhere are those works to-day?

Mr. CoLLI:-<S: That is a deliberate lie.

The SECRETARY FOR PUBLIC IXSTRUCTION (Hon. R l\I. King, T-o~;an): I riso to a point of orc~er. Ie the hon. member for Bowen in order in stating that ,,-hat he.-, been said bv a. :ifinister is a deliberate lie? ·

C\lr. STOPFORD: lt is.

Tho f'HAIRMAN: I did not hear tbe Ii.on. nlcrnbPr for Bowcn mako the rt~mark, but, if he did so, then I ask him to withclra1> it.

:\Jr. COLLINS (Ron·en): The hon. nwm· Lcr for Sandgate, who Js Secretary for I.abonr and Industry--GOVEB"~IEKT MEoiBEHS: \Yithdraw ~

l\Ir. COLLI:\"S: l\1adc a sUltcment which ''"" not in aceordance with the truth. He said that the hon. member for Bowen won l ''"o elections on tho pwmise of the establish·

of iron and steel works. To put him I said, "That is a de1ibe_ra.te lie.''

am I to defend myself ag.unst si 1te· mcnt- iikc that if I do nGt dP.JY them on tlw spur of the moment?

The CHAIR::.IA::\ : Order ! As the hon. n1'. mbcr fo1· Bowen has adn1itted having uade i·lw ~tab::mcnt attribntc~U to hi1n, I mud a::.k hin1 to withdraw it.

::>.Ir. COLLI:'-;S: I will withdrav. on ono cemlition-that is, that the Secretary for

Lonr and Industry be mado to withdraw statement he made, as it v, as not in

acconhnce with fact. The SECRETAHY FOB PLBLIC I:-<STRUCTIO:>;:

It rnmt be an unqualiJied ,vithdrawal.

The CHAIRMAN; Order! I must ask th,, hon. member for Bowen to withdraw the ~t<.~,tl'r.tH'nt ur.conditionally.

:\Ir. COLLI::\S: I withdraw, but I ask ilut the fiecretary for Labour and Industry iJe hskul to withdraw the statement that I non two <•lections on the promise of iron and ;led \rorks.

The SECRETARY FOR LABOUR AXD 1:\JJL.""STHY (Hon. H. K Sizer, S•mrlyate): I accent the denial of the hon. member for BmYcn- that he did not win two elections on thC' prmni.,c of the c•:-:tablishmcnt of iron and reel '·>'ork:'l.

IIIr. COLLI:\S (Ilon·en) : I ri,,c to a point of orc1Pr. I ask you, ~Ir. Hobcrts, to give ;·ocu ruling. I do not v;ant the ruling of the Secretary for Labour and Indu-.tl':Y.

The CHAIRMAN : Order !

The SECRETARY FOR LABOUR AXD I:\DUSTHY (Hon. H. E. Sizer, Sanrlyate): I am very sorry that I have upset tho hon. rnen1ber for Bowen. I kr:ovv that he mtnt be disappointed L>ocauso the iron ancl steel works >Yere not built at Bowen.

:Mr. STOPFORIJ : You must obcv the Chair as we have to do, and do as th"e Chairman <.J.Sk "·

Mr. COLLI'\TS (Ilowcn): I rise to a point ot order. Is .there one law for me and one

Supply, [27 AuGusT.] Supply. 87

law foe the Secretary for Labour and Ir.dustry?

The CHAIRMAN : Order !

:\Ir. COLLI:"JS: The hon. gentleman has repeated a statement that is not true.

Th0 CEAIIU1A='f: Order. vYill the hon. gcntl~num do the decent thing"?

The SECRETARY FOR LABUGH A:'\D Ii'\Dl!STRY (Hon. H. E. Sizer, San'liJatc): 1 >Yithdraw the remark objected to by the hon. member for Dowen, but the fact remains that .~ definite statement was made in thi, CL lrnhcr, and it, '1as contained in the policy of the Gnverurncnt, and ,,--~<q L1arlc nn issue at -~,he f ~cction, that iron and steel '.York~ y,-onld be rstabli_,hcd nt 12ov,"en. Bnt we found that it was only in the air.

For the rest of rny speech I shall deal with and remind the Leader of the i Jpposi­hon of st ·tements made by himself. Let me dui v.ith his attitude on the gum·ant e of a p·ieo for cotton. Prior to the l92ii c 1r -et ion ill'- late GoYcrnrnent offered to gna1·anteo an additional ~d. per lb. on the then cxi't· ing price of seed cotton. Jn 1925 the then Lon. rnembcr for Burnett, ::\1r. Cor.s::-r, wanted to discuss the question in this House, but the Le JCler of the Opposition. >Yho >Yas .then Sccreturv for Agriculturp sa{cl-

:, The p"roposal) i£ carrie~1. vvill inYolve the State of Queensland in' "ll C'Xpcndi­tnro of approxl1nately £30.000 per ~1nnun1. Therefore, it is a contravention of sect_ion 18 of our Constitution. seeing there IS no me-.sagc fron1 the Governor _t'f<JOlnincnding the appropriation; and. :-ccondly, the CornniOfl\Ycalth Constiiutioa provides that they, a,Qcl they only, shall be the authonty to gr,·nt a bount·.· from ,·onsolidatec1 revenue. On tbt :-. ~o:ounds ~Ir. J?eput}· . Speaker, you will be jnsti: ncd m rulmg the resolution out of order."

I-~r· \Vas not concerned aLout the constitu­tional aspect when an election \Vas loorriing-

Let us go a bit further. The Leader ~~f the present Government definitelv told t!Jo cotton-growers prior to the last el.:ction that, m order to infuse new life into that indus­try, his Go.-ernment, if returned. v:ould guarantee a price for cotton. He did gua1:antce a price for cotton in order tho t the commg season may be a bountiful one, and l1l order that tho cotton-picker,, farm la hourers, and farmers engaged in the cotton mclustry w1ll haYe emplo·cment which other­wise would not he avail~ble tb thPm. Had he rmsed a constitutional difficult,-. I expect that would haYo gone to the discredit of the 1\Ioore Government.

One point mor0 with which I wish to deal 'refers to the burning question of childhood c_nci<J\;·ment. I think this ought to he nwn-1 IoncG, be,: a use the Leader of the Opposition !Ja~ surely. not forgotten one cunspicuou8 [llncard whrch was featured in the 1920 el;'c­tion can1p<1ign, FhO>.Ying t-he picture of- n beantiful little child and the >Yords " Let Labour give this child a chance:'· Smelv the hon. member v.-ho is 110\V objeetino· to oui· advertisement has not forgotten th~t- one~ What about the hon. member's callous inclif­ference, although his Go.-ernm< nt had been in office for vears \vhen rPY('nucs \YCl'l' lar,:·e and ample l~an funds were a.-ailable' Ho 1Yaits until his Governme11t are dcfPated and within a day of the ach·ent of the p;esent {iovernment he attempts to dC'nounce them

because thev hav·c not done all the thing.s lhe.r promised to do. Let mr refer to ~Ir. Theodorr's policy speech of 1C;h September, 1920, when he made the follo-· .. ing statcmeut in regard to childhood endowment:-

" In ord01· to establish a thoroughly Cfjuitabk system and to cncCJurage the rearing of fan1ilics. the wifo or each worker who has a familv should receive fron1 a central fund ~. subsidy with respect to each child dependent upon her. It is hopNl that a Bill embodying this schcn1e will be sub1nittcd to Parliarnc11t at an early date,"

The present Loader of the Oppo· ition had this to say on 25th May, 1925-

" Lt<1dl11g thinker j of the State nf Quccn.'dand . . . arc u1L,ni1nous that the tin10 is opportune fer the introduc­tion of such a schen1c in this Statt·. \Vho is rash enough to dispute that the tiwe is long o\·erduc for the recognition of the nationnl "•'ork performed by n1cthers in the rearing of th.-ir f::11nilics?"

Labour bccanlC the Goycrnrncnt rgain; tht.'; ',··on tho eJection on th pron1ise of childhood c-ndoYnnent. The present Loac1P·r of ihe Ollj)O­sition represented Queensland at a confer­ence in 1ticlbonrn0, at \Yhich he had full pov:r:l', and which he attt'nc1ed with a rccog·­nition of the obligation \vh1rh b·c. had undcr­~J.ken. This is. vvhat tho htn. genU~ man sald ;:t the c-onference of Conn1l01l"\·L·alth and St.~tc ~lfinistcrs in ::'vlelbom·m' in Jun0. 192i-

" It ;yould be fatal if. at this stng;c. \YG n1adc anv n1istakc ns to the mannz_·r of dealing ,\-ith this i1nportant subjc<>t, which is 1itt1c undf'r'tnod throughout th0 Commonwcnlth. Before anv cLfin't" scheme of such a fa·r-rcaching ·nature can be agreed upon, it is ll('CCSsary that IY8

should ha ye rnorc infonnat 'on th:1n \YC

po~s9ss at prc:scnt. I ~ugg-cst th~1t the Conunonmealth GovPrnnwnt should ap­noint a Roval (\11nn1i::c.;ion to rnakc :1.­

Conlplete cc:Onomic inYc:3tigaticn of the whole subject."

Hrokcn prmnises ! Lf't me also r0n1ind the hon. gPnilc1nan that his prornise of pensions for widovn "ere in Yain, although Labour won an elr-:tion on that pron1isf'. In con­r1u8ion, let rnc remind hon. n1mnbers oppo­site that thev will be eonstanlh· ·reminder! of t:rcir brok('t; nrOP1i~l:-<. he-al{sp the ·who]o pathwav of Queensland is bestrev n with broken V prmuif:(~--J ancl YFrc('kLd hon':S of L.:<.botu·. Th0 pn :-:0nt Go\"(:rnmcnt ·will carry rwt their policy.

0PPOSITI0Co< YlE:IlBERS : \Vhen?

The SECRETAHY FOR LABO'CR AC\D 1:"\DUSTRY: They will do it as expeditiously as possible. The .. ~ .,-ill not perpctu. 'c the action of the Lo.liour Gov0rn•n<•nt in sp"ml­ing loan H1011ey ur1proclue:tivcl:v and deprc'>:-<­jng the basic wage of the worker: nor '~si!l t hPv find y,·ork rner·cb: by diggir:_g boles in thee road and fillinc,· 'thci11 up a•cain. The (iovcnnncnt propos0 to forrnulatc L le1isla­tivc prog-ramm€. whic-h will make for a better State. Moreo.-er, before the Gove·mmcnt have been in office half as long- as the Labonr GoYernnwnt held power. the State will be in a rnuch better nosltion than that in 'I hich it was left by hm;. members OIJposite.

Mr. BHUCE (Krnn,.rly): After fomteen >:car~ of critiC'isnJ bv n1ernbc-rs of the fornH"r Opposition, it is interesting to hear their defence now as members of the Government.

]Jr. Bruce,]

88 Supply. [ASSEMBLY.] Supply.

For four or five hours they said nothing· but at Ia~t they have got two hon. membe~s to stand _up-the hem. member for Kurilpa, whose maccurato figures I do not attempt to um~,n·el, and the Secretary for Labour and Incmstry, who has been the rnoloclramatic tragedy of the present Government during the last four months.

. He has !1uotecl figures relating to the fall­tng_ oft or unemployment relief and police r,atw;ls clurmg the time th»t they have been !ne Cxovornmcut. Apparently he knows noth­mg of the fact that tho sugar industry at the

1 present _time is. at its 'l)lPX; that. the

' oo.L Iudu~tly also L3 In n·:t1ve operation· tl:at the meatwo.rks until the last few week~ also were In actlyo operation. The last few mouths h,we been the peak point with Qnecnsl~nd in dust rie ''· Year after vcar tho sarno thing operates. Year after YcU:r uiwln­ployment relief falL at that pet:iocl of the Ye. ··.r, aud theu later on, ·whe-n these indus­trl('S l~axo ceased for the st~ason, uncmnlov­lilL.lt Incrf ::tscs. I regret it because 0 { the t~~a2;·edy 1ve are going to haYo in Queensland. v\ h1le wo figh~ J_hP matter out as a political !.';m. I am satisfied that m March and ~\pril 01 n~xt :'-7 ear \Ve shall see want and n1i~crv stct!kmg throug-h the lane! snch as we hav;, TIL Y ..:-r seen previously in th0 his tor ,• of Quccmlancl. :Members of tho preson( Go­\erninent have found on their return to the 'I reasury benches that Toryi~m will not meet ,t,ho ~1rcumstanrcs and rnnditions of to-dav. ~ury1s1n has bcconJO a hi~torif'al curio .. ii v m Queensland for. fourteen ,·cars. and ha·s JtcY:r been seen 1n operation during that prerJO~. To-clay they have come back to the 'Irca~ury_ benches, and thP result vill be tragedy m Queenslnnd Alreaclv thcv haTe star~ecl tl~e vicious circle. As pol;tician's one! as mdtvJclua.ls with a kn,,w]eclge of ~conom1c facts, they should know that the c.1sm1ssal of rr~en will increase the unemplov­mcnt that extsts throughout the State. If 111 o~Ir GoverniTI('nt S(_~n·ice we disini· . .;; a corta1n _number ?f n1en, in1n1ediatcly their purchasing capacity as units in socictv ceases or drops to a very considerable exter1t. Th~ re ·t of the community must sun port these men who are unemployed. and that becomes a further tnx on the orilployecl in the com­r,umty. Not only that, but the workers who arc employed. fearful of becoming unem­ployed, cease spcnclmg- money on those small "~l'ro~ements in t)wi:· own. homes that they a1 t~. ab1e to carry out 111 a hme of prosperitv. Tlns stoppago of the expcndit.urC> of a fe·w pounds each by ihousa!•ds of people bring-s allout furthn nn;•mploymcnt. which Jr,s its }'f flex 111 the bn.-.n;es~ or!{~rfi,tinn-~ throughout the State. The bq:o; b:mn0ss pconle, finding that money 1;, no~ _bernp: spent in the pur­C'~Ia~o of COlnmoditH:s, du~ to this Yicious f'IrCJe of uncn1ploymeni:, haYn to dismiss fm·thcr cmp)o>·c:es. which adds to the chaotic stdo of affan·s m the Sbte. Brisb,,n<' people to-claY, aftet' the .short fonr montlB that the Jll"f''~.ent Govrrnr~:1ent hflYC h•Pn in pow·cr. are flnclmg t~at. mstead of the anticinatecl :nr''f'fl~P . nr en1ployment. in~tu1d of' th0 !;>r>ff'f!Re In bu,sinf'ss th8t t]H):V thought \vould ,nke place wh0n the Torirs \Yf't'f' r0tur:nccl tn powPr. bn·_inf'~S i" b0r0n1ing mor0 dcpres~ecl_clay h:' dav. Alr•·arlv somec··hat of

ranlf' JR t~alnne-_ nlr~ : arnong"-t busine~s ! Oi11o here m Bnsbane.

Tonching- on tlte question of thi' railways, t~1_(' Gc;,vPrnment have gent for P.Yo mrm frOm 'i Jctona-strange_ly. two m<'n who. whilP thev earned out theu positions aclcqurttely in

[2J.fr. Bnwe.

Victoria, showed no great outstanding ability. The Government hrtve deprived two of our men in Queensland of employment by bringing these men hero to go into the question of the railways. As a Labour Governn1ent, 1ve knc"\v that we \Vere employ­ing probably more men than were absolutely necessary to carry on the rail·way services; but we knew that by doing that we were doing better for the State than we would be doing by disn1is:-ing sorno of the ",C 111011 and throwing them on the unemployed rr1arkct.

If the Government continue the clismiss:tls which they haYo bLgun, tlH'D the position will c~rtainly be one of gra vit' . I say defi­nitely that in Jl,la rr h and April of the forth­coming year we shall sec a st~tc of _unc'nploy­ment that has never yet e>:tst< cl m Queens­land. I regret it, because up to the pre-.cnt, vvlJi]o thcrB has been cxten:-3ive unernplovrn~nt, y,·c ha Ye not seen "\'\"ant and rni ~cry sUch as PXi:,ts in other countries outside Australia; but I am afraid that ev·en in this country~ \Yie't its wonderfully productiv~3 powcr3, \Ye 8rc goin:; to ·"ee a state of vYallt <1nd n1isery that has never been ·witnessed lwforc.

I was abwlutoly surprised when the Trea­snrer spoke this ovC'ning in a <·old, callous, cvnic:tl manner that one wou!:l not ha~, e cspcctocl of any hon. member. During the election campaign it was stated definitely by the then Opposition members, when wooing tho suffragcs of the elcctoro, that they would spend £2,000,000 and would c tablish 10,000 jobs. I clicluot blame all the mnnbers of the Opposition at that time. That was propaganda produced by the innol' circle in order to s0curc Pe'l.ts on the Go­vernment benchu. I know that the propa­ganda was put forth by the :\ ational Council, and not by the present Premier of Queens­land. I believe that nobody feels his posi­tion so much to-day as the Premier does, having those promises tied on to him, and knowing vcr:; well that he cannot improve tho unemployed position in the State unless he takes up a svmpathetic attitude towards the worker'', and an attitude which is strictly opposed to the polic:~ on which he "as elected to this Parliament. 'l'he promises given to the people have been reiterated bore this evening·. An appeal was made to the \:omanhoocl of Qucensland-the very centre of our social life-an appeal to the mothee for the protection of her children. A promise was made that on the return of the then Opposition to power their children would be found employment. They know definitely that this cannot be done.

Mr. KEBR: How do vou know that?

l\lr. BRUCE: I moan the generally intelli­gent members of the GoYernment. I do. not include the hon. member. (Laughter.) I say that the generally intelligent members of the Government know that this cannot be done. I do not include in that category the hon. member who once found a beer pump in milk. (Laughter.) Those promises were made, and; in ans\Ycr to a qu0stion giYcn here since the House met, a definite state­ment was made by the SccrcLtry for Rail­wnys that not one extra man had been employed since the present GoYernment werf'

returned. The Sccretarv fm· [9 p.m.] Labour and Industry Lhis" after-

noon ~aid, in answer to a qnes­tion, that there was no informatio,-, regard­ing the rural workers' aware! that he could give the Hcuse; yet this evening he tells us

Supply [27 AUGUST.] Supply. 89

that there has been a great amount of employment as a result of the Government's action.

Some reference has been nut.do to the numng industry of Queensland. Some employment will bo gin•n as a result of the operations of the :Mount Isa mines. Some hundreds of men are already employed, ftllcl probablv the number ill be increased bv some hm1drcds more in the near future; but I would like to point out to the members of this Chamber and to the people of Queens­land that the greatest asc;is<·ance was given by the Labour Governrncut to th'l company operating at l\Iount Isa. L\. railway lino was built to the mill( , in order thht it could get n1aterial ou the r:pot and cn1ploy rnen as quickly as posJible. So far as Chillagoe and J\ilount ::\Iorg·an arc conc•Jrned, I wfmt to say definitely that their reopening will only ha~o the effect of dragging rncn back then~ 111

the hope of g-etting work, and will end in trao-odY. There is no ore in those plrtcc~, and ,vhoe\'er ch·ags the 111011 back there will be doing an injus:ticc tD thc1n. Chillagoc ncYer did pay. There never v.:ns tho ore there to make it pay. vVhcn pr1Yato enter­prise had control-that privatn cntcrprrso so much lauded bv :i\[alion diet members­'" hen the ricbest o;C' was on ihc snrfacc, it never paid. rrhe Labour Govcrnn1ont never rnade it pa:v; and, when hon. rnembers oppo­site take control and reopen it, I that they will be dragging men back thct·e hope­lessly to fabour for a time and be thrm:n hark ao-am on the mwmplovc·d m<trket m a wars~ position than if they left the place alone and allo\ved those men to work che­where. That, then, is the position as, to employment in the 1nining indtu~try dunng the next twelve months, and the additional employment to which we ma;v look fo:·ward would never have been posstble had rt 1 ot been for the facilities offered by the Labour Government in allowing; the con1r~any at Mount Isa to commence it • operatwns. I intend to deal with that fluestion later on. because there is much to bP said ab?ut Mount Isa and tho opening- of that minm_g Held before the question is finished in thts Chamber. EmploymPnt is JJOt the only fact<;>l' that affects the interests of the w01·kers m Queensland.

A good deal has been said about the promise that 'vas 1nacl_e by hon. me1nbers opposite before thP electwn. How have thoc;e hon. members spoken of it to-clay 9 Probably it is because of the fact that thev an' .a little excitPcl, a littl0 overjoyed at the.rr return to power. At all events the manner m which these qnPstions have been approached bv them. and, first of nil, hy th0 Treasurer. has absolntelv astounded nw. He did not deal with serious questions. He made one of those old slippPl'y spc0clws that he usNl to rnalw in opposition-a little chaffing of hon. members on the other side, as when in op]10-sition he used to do with the Government, \\'hat did he care about the worker> 9 He is a modern sat~vr, RO far as they arc con­cerned. He is one of those men who will g-d up in public placrs and proclaim that thev ar0 something better than ordinarv men -that he has not feet of clav. Yet the hrtrayal of Judas Iscariot-a crovn1ing piecf' of betra,·al-is as nothing to the bPtrayal of the present Treasurer so far as the unem­ployed worke;·s of this State are concerned.

In his speech this afternoon the present Treasurer showed bv his smoothness and oiliness that he has betrayed the workers of

Queensland who supported him. They will be his final judg-e. He was dragged out of the dead past of the last 1\fteen years of good old Toryisra wbe:n tho people \vould stn:nd f01· am·thing, and had to stand for anythmg in the "wav of wages and conditions, and has been placed upon the Treasury bench. The hon. member for Enog-gera is still suffering­fl'Oln the disappointment in receiving no invi­tation to accept a position in the Cabinet. The remarks that I have been compelled to make concerning the Treasurer this evening are mild in comparison with what the hen. gentleman would have clone to the Treasurer four months ag-o when he knew that he was not going- to be elected to the Cabinet. He has been appointed "\Vhip" of the party. He has a splendid hide which should make a flne y,-hip. That is all his usefulness amounts to. He is naturally attenuated, but there is no substance in him.

:VIr. KERR interjected.

:VIr. BRUCE: I did not hear the interjec­tion of the hon. member.

The TREASuRER: A " wren " is a g-ood bi·rd.

Mr. DRUCE: I understand that the g·entleman, an old £1·iencl of mine, to whom the hon. g-entleman refers is concerned, an1ong~t other activitic~. with racing to son1e extent, the same as our Treasurer. Our Tre-a­surer visited the races-not because he was interested in racing, but because the King has presented a cup, and out of his loyalty to His ~Iajrsty and his patriotism he would not stay a way. Of cours<>, ho does not sell hay ancl corn to feed the attenuated " neddies " that gallop down the straig-ht. I am sorry that the hon. nwmber for Enoggera, by his interjection, has associated gentlemen who have diametrically opposed ideas-1\i[r. Wren and the Treasurer.

1\1r. KERR: I have not clone that.

c\lr. DRCCB: I thought the hen. member aiel. V cry shortly the Government will be called upon to show their bona fides. The Secretary for Labonr and Industry claimed that they have not yet had time, but they have had at least four months to show that something should be done, and that they int<'nd to carry out the promises they made at election time.

l>Ir. DASH (JfundingbuTra): I listened very attentively this afternoon to the speech cleliverc·d bv the Treasurer-a remarkable speech in view of his request to the Com­mittc,o that a sum approximating £4,000.000 should be voted. He gave no indication as to how the money was to be spent, and made no reference whatever ac; to how the finances of Queensland would he affected by the Budg-et of tho Federal Treasurer, based on the statement of that g-entleman during the past few days in relation to additional taxation.

One would think tha,t the Premier and Treacurer of a State would have been the first to make stittements as to how the increased taxation would affect the finances of this State. Statements have been made b-,, the presidents of the Chambers of Cnmn1crce and various business nten to the effect that the proposed Federal Budget would not onlv affect the finances of the State, but wo~1ld also increv;;e unemploy­ment. One would naturally expect a state· ment from the head uf tho Government under those circumstances, and, seeing that

Mr. Dash.l

90 Supply. [ASSEMBLY.] Supply.

this important matter has been treated so md1fferently by tho Governr.Hm<, it was up to the Le<tdcr o£ the Opposition to move his a1nencllnent thi"" afternoon. I Dupport the amendment. Il• my electorate, as in every electorate in Southern Queensland, promises wtere made from the hus<ings by Nationalist candidates and \Yhispercr~ going fron1 house to house in the interesb of tha Nationalist Party eandidatce that, if the J'\ationalisb were returned to offlce, work would be found for tbc bo:,'s and girls, and rnoro \vork \YOtllcl be DrO<lted in the raihvay work~hops for apprentices. I took the iint opportunity in this Chamber ~o ask the Sl c:·etary for RaihYu.ys how n1any apprent_i_r,~s ~1ad pa~~etl the e.,amination fo,· U[Jprenticeship in th' railv. Lly v,Torkshop,s, \lnJ ho\v n1any had been admitted thereto. His reply was that, nlthough 199 had pas,cd the o:\atninati~)n, none l1ad been eruploycd, bccnuse to g1vo cn1pJoyrncnt to .::tpprentices weulcl mean putting men out of 1 ork. \Vhcn the Govern­ment went to the countr," with their policy of iinding \vork for Lwys a.nd gir]s, thf· . .r' rnust IHlYO had sorn0 schcm1e in mind to justif} th&t statement. Thev have booa in oflicc do'O on fonr month , 'but ha1·e done nothing ro rclicn) Ulll'lnployrnent, 110r l1avo they put for,·nu·.U any scheulc 1vhereb:· nnen1ploycc1 1:crke1',, can be g·iyen c1nployu1ont. \Vo v,-allt to kno-v, and, as an Oppo3itioll, ha Ye a 1·ight to know, ".Yhn,t tha-t ::~f'hcrno is, in view of the facL that the Go,·ernn·lent \vorc f'lcci?d on tht,~lc 11rornis'" .,_ The Governn1ent rcceiYed a 1nandate frorn tho people on thi::; rn ttcr when the;· received, as they now clnirn, a l11i1ndate fron1 the people to abolish the award for rural worker>. Another nLtndate whieh the-; clair11 to haYl' received \Yas ono to sdl State f;ntorp!.·ises.

The PRE~IIER: ~\nothcr '"a a nduction in n1en1bcrs' salaries.

:\lr. DASH: That is so, ;,ne] I shall have something to say on thc·t "·bcu the question comes before the Chamber. ·wu v·ant to know how the Govorr..mont propose to expend the £4,000,000 appwpria1ion no·v asked for. They have given no informatimr as to what they intend t.o do with the money. \V e are simplv askecl to pt< oent a ]Jlank ehcque to 1h0 Treasurer. I asked t.he Secretary for Labour .1nd InduBtr,· a certaiE quc,tion con­cerning the rura.l -~vorkcrs' a wrln1, but his memory must be Ycry elusive, fo1 he does not now remember the Cjuestion I asked or ihe reply he gave. First of all, the hon. gentlen1an n1ade the statement that he was the 1n0ans of issuing an Ordel~ in Council for the c·ancellation of the award applying to rural worker:;:. Tho Sccrctarv for Public Instruction said that the aw..trd had beea msponded; but the Secretary for Labour nnd Industry w..ts definih in st,lting that he had cancelled the award.

:l1r. KERR: He said '· suspended."

:\Ir. DASH: The Sccretarv for Labour and Industry said he cancelled the award.

:\[r. HYNES: The effect is the same.

:\[r. DASH: The Secr·etan for Labour and Industry also stated that since the cancellation of the award a larg'' number of workers ha.ve been given employment in the rural industric>. 'I'hat statement was made by him not only in this Chambc:· but in the J"''''" several weeks ago. At th~t particular time he also quoted from the "Police ,Journal," as he did to-night, to support his statement. I asked him a quebtion as to

[}fr. Dash.

how xnany extra 1nen had been cnlployed in the rural indU'Jiry Eincc the cancellation of the award. Ho s;cid it was difficult to ascertain the number; but at the same time ho n1akr)S the stab,ment that a large number of men h~d b2en employed who would not otherwise have bee11 employed had the rural worker! award not heen s:uspendcd.

:•Ir. EDW.\RDS interjected.

Mr. DASH : I do not take any notice o£ the numbc•r that the hon. member hJ.s just stated. I alw asked the :\1inistcr what \\age~ - cere h. :ng paid in th.__ rural jndustry, ztnd Y:lv1t hours -;;yerc being y~·orked by rJJral "orkcrs. to which he rcnlied that tbe award hours '':ere being worl(ccl and the rt\Yard wages paid. \\'here is the benefit to thE rural industry if lo-du.y iho ."aine wages and bours arc operati ,-o as v··as the f"J.Se prior to the cancellation of the award?

DcaJing- vvith the rural workers' a,\vard, a board v-as appointed ,,·hich spent seycral weeks in taking QYidence fron1 frrrmcrs 1 many o£ whom welcomed tho operation of a r·ural av: a.rd, becccusc they ea id it would place their indu'ltr~· on the' san1c basis as anv other jndustr.~' operating in the ::,,amc rallin~g. rrhe chairman of that board was :VIr. P. l\1. Iiishon, a police rnagi:3trHte. and in his judg­n~ent, -r,· hi eh was quoted in " I-I an:::ard " for 1928 c',t page 481, ho s:tid-

" In our jnclgmcnt of the 2bt April laRt v;e ~::1id ~,-·.'c believed tL<Jt the 'vages and conclTtjons rccornn1cndcd bv the chair­man of the Farn1 \Yorkc>rs' Board, l\:Ir. P. M., H\~hon, P.:':I., were fair and reason a ''Jle.

The wagecJ were £3 18.:. per week without keep for plouglnnen, including tractor drivers. The a \Yard appl1ed only to a L 'N 1ncn engag0d in the rural indu2'tr"-, and £3 18s. \\ ithOut kePp ]s the rnaximun1 \";ecidy wage fixed by tlta t a ;nHd.

1\lr. BRIXTl: \Yhy did your Government cv-pend the award at Stanthor[JO '!

Mr. DASH: The Govcrnmcn~ had no right t0 do what thev have done in cancelling an a ward for this -coiling. They may say that thcv had a mnnclate from the people to do· ~o; thcv also had a ma,dato to find 10,000 new jobs for workless men. They have rtot done so however. On the contrary, railwaymen arc being displaced at the Con· tral and Roma Street stations, and men haYe been asked to do the 'vork for nothing, or for \Yhateycr they can get fron1 paE cngers by way of remuneration. Tho::-e aro the ncv, jobs tlwy ha ye found fo:· .some of the y,orkcn. ·what a sbtte of affairs! I want to know from thB rrrcasurcr what amount of rnoney is going to be f:pcnt on new ·works; how m:~ny mwmployed will be absorbed; whcth('r the ,,hole money w1ll be expended on n1achincry for vrork::.:hops or foe road­making: or· 1Vh0ther the n1oncy will be uti!icNl to pay off previous debts.

'The 'TRE.\SPHER: You arc baYing a hard pa,c,.tgc! (Laughter.)

Mr. DASH: I think i1· is the hon. gentl?­man who j" havlng ihc hard l1as::::t:;e. I--Irs GO\·ermncnt promised to find work for the bovs and rrirls of the State: ::et the Secretary fo; Rail";'av'. savs there arc no jobs in th0 Railwav Depar·t,:;,cnt for bo,·s. \Yhcre, then, arc all· those job-' going to come in? \Vhat are the Gon)rnment intending to do 1nth

Supply. [27 AUGURT.] Supply. 91

the 19J boys who have passed thPir examina­tions and have been callously left to their DWn resources?

Mr. WARRE;.i: ·what did vou do with them? You threw them on the st'reet.

:1;1r. DASH : We did something for them. Dealin·~ also >Yith the que-tion of a>\ :uds, >Ye haYe rertson to Lclie.-e that the amend­tnents to be brought in by th0 Govc~·nmcut \Yill br of a far-reaching clw ractcr so far as the \-vorkcrs arc concerned. From statements a.lreadv macle, and from the attitude of the Go,·ernment, it ':ould appear thnt they intend tC> prevent union reprcseHtat.iYes from repre­senting the employees.

They arc going back to the oid syctem of wao·c, board· which onerated when the pre­sfr~~ Trcasur'cr ",.'a:::; Secretary for Public \Yorks in da~s gone Ly, and when he sus­pcr;ded any a-.,·ard that did not snit him. The carting av;,rard at Rockharupton -..vas sus­p0ndcd on three occasio11s until it 1'vas whitded down to such an extent that the c-hairman was disgusted. and he brought in an award that he thought the prc~ent Treasurer would gazette. He did gazette it, but it was considerably le'5 liberal than the first award m,!de for the trade.

\Ye a]so want to kno1.v ,_.,hat i:3 gain::;- to be the position "\v)th n~gard to tbo relief of the unernnloved vvorkcrs. T'he Secrctal'v for Labollr ~nd Indnstrv rnade Q st:_ .. tf'n1cuf deal­ing ~\ ith sust{'nanco ~a llo1Yanc0" a.nd pn,Ymcnts to the rnral workers. I-Ic kno\Ys as ·well as I do-I dare 'a v ho krw·.cs it better, because he ha 'i hecn gi~·ing n1orc con~ddcration to it rr·CC'2ttl~v-that. unles:; an employee has con­tributed to the fund, he ha~ no right to receive anv sustenance allowance from the fund, an•1

,, if he is not bronght in under tl1e Ac~ or under an a\vard of the court. he is not Pntlt1ecl to any suster1nncc \YhatcYcr, ami all this bosh about the wstonancc allmY­anre being paid until 3Gth June is all moon­~hine. It cannot be done, and I am anxiously r:nntiting his a.nswcr to n1y quc~tlon to-morro1v to RhO\Y hov,· it can he done without a breach of the Act.

The SECRENRY FOR L\BOCR .\C.:D l;;m:STRY: Don't yot< think we can amend the Act?

Mr. DASH: The hon. gentleman has g·i,-en no intimation about amending the Act. \.\" r know the GoYernrnent >Yant to get back to the old system >Yhen the >Yorkcr had to r;hc.uldcr hi3 swAg nnd travel fron1 station to station and accept. an:Y o1d ·wage offered. Then they say they are relie,-ing unem­ployment ! I know from statements made to me that there haYe been cerLin offers made to '' orkers. If they were preparPd to work for less than the award rates in the pastoral i11dustr~·, they could get cn1pk1Yment.

:\1r. KERR: 1-Yhere did you get that from?

:\fr. DASH: I got it, and I am going to giYe the inforn1<1tion in the House at the proper time. :\lake no mistake abont that.

l\Ir. KERR: Be honest.

The CHAIRMAN: Order !

l\Ir. DASH: I ha Ye got the information. untl the information will be presented when the amendment to the Act comes up for cor.sideration. I want to knov. EOW what the Government are going to do with regard to the unemployed.

:\fr. KERR again interjected.

Mr. DASH: You stated you were going to find 10,000 jobs. \Vhen you were on this

side, you championed the nnemplo:·ed; but nO\\ you are sitting over there behind the Government you arc dumb-you h:1Ye no say whatever.

J\1r. KERR again intorj ccted.

The CHAIR!\IA::"<f : Order ! I >wuld ask the hon. member to oLey my call to order.

C\fr. DASH : Government members ha.-e been very silent on this n. solution. The hon. member for Kurilpa v,ot up to apologise for the TrcaJurer, and the Sccrer:ny for Lauour and Industry al'o got up to offer hi, apology. \Ye ha\·e \YaiLcl from 3 o'clock. "\vhen the TreaFnrer rnade his spLech, until now to find out what the hon. gentleman ir,tcncls to do with this mono\', I for one ant not going to voto to give ~the Treasurer a blank cheque \vithout knov~'ing \Yhat is going to be done with the money.

Mr. KERR: Your UoYornmont did the ;:.,}Ill('.

l\lr. D.' SH: This statcincnt that our Go­vernn1Pllt did the sarne thing has nothing >Yhateyer to do with the question before the Connnittec. That is past.

A UO'. ERX}!EXT :\1E;IIBEH: But not ior­g'Jtten.

:'''r. DASH: The late Treasurer, when he introduced sin1ilar resolutions, ahvays indi­cated how lhe mcnGy '""' to be spent. On (·very occasion our lV1in!"'t r.s ere vcr.v gcn0-rous \\~ith their infornultion to rnmnbcrs of the· Opposition bench, \Yhcn hon. n1cn1bers opposite \\'ere oYer hcrr:. The Secretar:,~ .for llailway::; quite recently \YPnt south look1ng for two tncn to appoint as a connnjssion t') inquire into the vrorking of the ,raihvayS. It shows a yer:v unpatriotic spirit tovntrds the •·:orkers of Qw,ensland when he c.tys that there arc nol hm men in Qnecnsland capable of carrying out the inycstigation.

The SECRETARY FOH PcBLIC I:>:S1'RUCTIOX: You are altogether wrong. llead the qucs~ Lion again.

The SccRET.\RY FOR RuLWAYS: 'fhat is not trne. I said thrrc >Yere two men.

l\lr. DASH : I stand corncted, but I understood the hon. gentleman to say there \Ycre :ilot two n1en.

The SECREL\RY FOR RAILW.\YS: Read your tluc.stion again.

Mr. DASH : I asked if there were not two n1en in Queensland c::t11aLlc of carrying out the iinuiry.

The SECRE"rARY FOR RAILWAYS: I did not HlV there were not two nlPll \Yho were cap­a\;le.

l\h. DASH: I inquired ,,-hcthcr there were not tw,J 1ncn in the rlepart1nent who 1vcre c.,pablc of carrying out the inquiry.

:,Ir. I-lAXLo;.~: 1'he fact remains that they got two n1en f!·orn ·v, ictoria.

::Ylr. D),SII: It shows that the Minister \Yas satisfied that there y:erP not two men h£'l'E' capable of carrying on the undertaking. Thev ,,.-ent to another State to select t>vo menc. It goes to show that the hon. ~entle­man has no time for tho tr·,dr ,men Ill h1s own State. We al\yays knew that he had no time for Queenslanders, bee a use he used to g"et up on every opportunity in this :Ho~se cmd slate thP Stato of Queensland and praise the State of Victoria. lie went to a State where the railways arc not as efficiently

Mr. Dash.]

92 Supply. [ASSEMBLY.] Appropriation Bill, No. 1.

managed as those in Queensland-to the only State that cannot compare with Queensland in tho management of tho railways. ·when the ox-Secretary for Rail ways, !VIr. Lar­combe, was in office, he alwavs stood up for the railway workers, and proved that the Queensland raiiways were managed better than any other •railways in the Common­wealth; but the present Secretary for Rail­ways, who took office only a few weeks ago, rushes off to another State to find someone to toll us w hethcr our raih' ays are being worked rightly or wrongly. You would have thought from his criticism when on this side of the ChambN that bo knew all about the railway,; but we find since he has been in office that he is going to put on the railways a couple of racehorse boxes up to date. That is all he can find fault wiih. He is going to institute a new system of horse-boxes, and cart 1 acchorses up and down tho railways. C\iothing is said by him about carriages for hu1nan beings, but only aUout horse-l~"~xes, so that horoes will not hurt thomsel· <Os while being trnn~ported from ono race n1eeting to another. \Vhon a Secrctaxy for Raih1 ays has such a pool' opinion of the railway \Yorkers of th-e State as to hop off to another Sbte to find som•·one to e1nploy as a co1nn1jssion of inquiry, he is very unpatriotic tmvards the railway ','·orkcrs of this State.

The CHAIRJ\IAC\1: The question Js-

" That the sum of £3,899,999 only be granted."

Those of that opinion say " Aye " ; on the contrary, "No"; the " Noes'' have it.

Amendment (11fr. Smith) negatived. . ::'vlr. W. FORGAJ\i SMITH Piackuy): I

desire to raise a point of order. Mr. KERR: Stand up!

Mr. W. FORGA:::\ Sl\IITH: I know what I am doing. I ask you, Mr. Roberts. whether, from the way in which you stated the question, it should not have been declared in the affirmative, and you have declared it decided in the negative. I raise the point because a change of that nature in putting the que,tion may lead to confusion in calling either "Aye " or "1'\o." The Standing Orders provide that a man must vote according to the way he calls.

::'vlr. KERR: You have your option.

Mr. W. FORGAN S::\HTH: You should have been the ChaiTman.

[9.30 p.m.]

Qw .. tion-That the resolution (Hon. 1!'. H. Harnes's ?notion) be agreed to-put; and the Committee divided:-

AYES. 30. ~rr. Annand Mr. Kenny

Atherton Kerr Barnes, G. P. ., King Barnes, W. H. Mrs. Longman Boyd Mr. Macgroarty Brand Maher Butler :\Taxwell Ca1ter Moore Clayton :.'Vlorgan Co:ctello Nimmu Daniel Peterson Duf:f Plunkett Dun lop R ussell, H. !I I. Edwards Russell, \V. A. l1"'ry Sizer Grimstone Tedman Hill Tozer Jamieson VVarren

Tellers: l\Ir. Edwards and Mrs. Longman.

[111r. Dash.

NOES, 19.

l\Ir. Bedford Mr. Hanson Bow Hynes Brassington Pease Bruce Pollock Bulcock Riordan Collins Smith Conroy Stopford Dash V{ellington Foley Winstanley Hanlon

:Z'ellers: Mr. Brassington and !lfr. Foley.

Resolved in the affirmative.

The House resumed. The CnAnnrAK reported that the Committee

had con1c to a resOlution. Resolution received, e.ncl agreed to.

\YAYS AND ~1EANS. C;}IMITTEE-VoTE ox AccocX1', £3,900,000, (.1Ir. Ilol!erls, East 1'oowoomba, in the chni1·.)

The TREASURER (Hon. W. H. Barnc,s, H'ynnwn) :-I beg to move~

" (a) That, towards making good tlw Supply granted to His ::\hjesty, on account, for the service of the year 1929-30 a further snm not exceeding £2,000,'000 be granted oL!t of the Consoli­dated Revenue Fu.nd of Queemland (exclusive of the moneys st,mding to tho credit of the Loan Fund Account);

" (b) l'hat towards making good the Supply grU:nted to His Jiiajesty, on accou.nt, for tho sernce of the year 1929·30. a further sum not exccedm.; £1,000,000 be granted from the Trust and Special Funds;

" (c) That towards making good the Supply gr~nted to f~is ·Majesty, on accou.nt, for the sernce of the year 1929-30 a further ···um not exceeding £900.000 be granted from the moneys standing- to the credit of the Loan Fund _\ccounf.''

Question put and passed. The House resumed. The CHAlR~IAN reported that the Com­

mittee had come to aorta· n ,··csolutions.

Resolution received, and agreed to.

APPROPRIATION BILL, No. 1. FIRST READING.

A Bill founded on the resolutions reported from th~ Committee of Wa7o and Means, ""as introduced, and read a fi·rst lime.

SECOND READINC>.

The TREASURER (IIon. W. H. Barnes, 1Vynnum): I beg to r,wye-

" That the Bill bEl now read a second tin1e."

Question put and passed.

COl\IMIT'IEE.

(Jfr. Iloucrts, East 1'oowoom I! a, in the chair.) Clause 1-" ApJ!ropriation "~

:::\Ir. POLLOCK (Gregory): Perhaps this is the right stage at which the Opposition ought to be able to assure the Go,-crnment, as I think I am in order in assuring thPm so far as I personally am concerned, that. _if they desire to amend this clause by makmg the amount £4.000,000 so as to secure an extra

Questions. [28 AUGUST.]

£2,000,000 to ca.rry out the pr<:mi:·J to provide work for 10,000 men as they pledged them­selves to do, we will not stand in their way. I am not going to move an amendment; but, if the Treasurer desires to include that pro­vision in the Bill, he will receive any assist­ance we can give. We only propose to do that us a protest. If he shows here an earnest of his bona fides to carry out that pledge, we have no objection to the extra amount being raised.

The TREASURER (Hon. W. H. Barnes, H'yn<num) : I am really e.urprised at the hon. Plember making such a suggestion. As an ex­Chairman of Committe0,, the hon. gentleman must know that a certain sum is recom­mended by me,sage from His Excellency the Governor. Notwithstanding what the hon. gentleman has said about £4,000,000, already the promises that were made by the Govern­ment ha1•e been started upon, and they will be carried out without any assistance from the hon. member, who has come along at thiS late stage to suggest certain alterations.

Clause 1 agreed to. Clauses 2, 3, 4, and preamble agreed to. The House resumed. The CnAIR~IAN reported the Bill without

amendment. THIRD READIXG.

The TRE.ASURER (Hon. \Y. H. Barne,, n·!l"""'·•): I beg to move-

" That the Bill be now reacl a third time."

Question put and tnsscd.

The House adjourned at 9.50 p.m.

Questions. 93