Legislative Assembly Hansard 1926 - Queensland Parliament

Queensland

Parliamentary Debates [Hansard]

Legislative Assembly

WEDNESDAY, 25 AUGUST 1926

Electronic reproduction of original hardcopy

Questions. !25 Au-ousT.] Questions. 299

WEDNESDAY, 25 AUGUST, 1926.

The SPEAKER (lion. W. Bertram, ,~farec) tnok the chair at 10.30 a.m.

QTJESTIONS.

l\LIXY PKIIn<YlOXTO RAILWAY-ESTBL\TED Co~T AXD ExrENDI'l'uRIC.

Mr. CORSER (Burn- tt) asked the Secr-:·­tar,- for Railways-

" 1. \Yhat ,., a·- the ectimatcd cost of the railwav from l\lanv Peaks to Monto. and \V hat ·is the n1ilcage?

"2. How many miles of this railwa:-· h;cn' nmc been completed?

'' 3. \\'hat is the total expenditure on Jhis milwa,- to 31st July last?"

The SECRETARY FOR RAILWAYS IH on. J. Larcom!Jc. J{ rp]lcl) replied-

" 1. Estimated cost. .£1,063,400; mile­age. 44 miles 50.60 chains.

" 2. MilPs now completed, 14 miles 48.60 chains.

'' 3. Total expenditure, .£590,533. li0aYr ('xnenditure \Vas jncurrf'd on the compieted' ,;ection. No less than six (6) tullnels v.:cre constructecl, and the earth­\Vork8 \Vera 0xtn.'n1oly heavy."

BAR.ILAB.I Co.1L PuRcHASED BY RAIL WAY DEP.IRT~IE1ST.

Mr. S\Y.AYKE (Jiirnni), fcir 2\Ir. BRA?\D (JJurrum), asked the Secretary for Railwa:s­

" 1. \'i'hat was the total amount of Baralaba <"oal purchased be his depart­ment during the year 1925-26?

·' 2. Is not continual complaint being made by cnginemen that this coal is harmful to locomotives aud that its use results in sweating· conditions for the men?

The SECRETARY FOR RAILWAYS (Hon. J. Larcombe, Ecpprl) replied-

.. 1. 22,564 tonc,. "2. Opini·on:-i l'l'garcling the suitability

of Baralaba coal for locomotive purpose' differ. Reports haYe l1r-<m received for and against it. Baralo.blt coal is not usc'd lr- it<elf bnt is mixed w-ith Styx eo a I. '.i'he General :VIanagr•r. Rockhamp­ton. is of opinion that the mixture is 0conon1ical."

Qe.\LITY OF BARALAB.I COAL l.'sED BY RAILWAY • DEP.\RLIIEXT.

2\Ir. HOBERTS (Eust TooU'aomba) asked the Secretarv for Raihvavs-

'· In ,~iew of the s.tatemcnt made bY Mr. J. C. Yalontinc, State secretary cif the _\.F.U.L.K. at a meeting of the Tom,-oomba branch of that union on 21st instant. that. '13aralaba' coal ·was ' a moet unsuitable coal for locomotive pur­po,r <.' and also that, a! though the use of this coal '"as the cause of late running and oY0rtim0, the GoYcrninent were for~ing it on tlw C'ouunissionor because it 'vas frorn a State nljne-

i. Is it a fact that this coal is used on tho railways against the advice of the Railway Cmnmissioner?

2. Does he consider that this coal is f'nitahlP for locomotiYe- purposes, and comequont!y that the complaints publicly madP from time to time by n10-rnbcrs of tlw unions concerned are wjthont foundation?

3. \Yill he haYe a public inquiry into this mattPr at which engine-drivers <:' nd fir~:1ncu nut:v • ~qn·c;;::... their opinions of this cnal gained from practical C'xpcriencf' of it.; usc for locon1.otive purpo~v ? "

The SECRET \RY FOR HAlLWAYS (IIon. J. Larcoml1c. Ii.r·l·l"l) replied-

" 1. Xo. '"2 anrl 3. Opinions regarding tho suita­

bilit; of Ba ralab·t cm! for locomotive puq;o-es diffc·r. R0ports have been recci;,ed f.or and against it. Baralaba coal is not used bY itself but is mixed \Yith Stvx coal. Thr- General Manager, Rockharnpton. is of opinion that the 111ixture is ceonon1ical. ,.

IxcnnsE IX E)IPLOYEEE. AKD CosT IN RAILWAY DEPARTofEKT OwixG TO IxTcWDUCTWN OF 44-HorR IYEEK.

}fr. :VL'-.XWELL (Tno,rnnry) asked the Sccrctar~: for Railwa;.,s-

" 1. \Yhat has been the increase in the nun1bcr of (~mplo;.,ees in the Ra-ilw.as Dr:-pa rtn1rnt owing to the intro·duct~on of the 44-hour \Yeek?

"2. \Yhat is the increasp in the cost to the Railv. 1y Department? "

The SECRETARY FOR RAILWAYS (Hon .• J. Larcombe, I\cpprl) replied-

" The information is being con1piled."

::--;-nnrARKET AXD \YINDSOR PoLICE S·rAno:-<Y.

Mr. KERR (F:l.OrJrJ"·a) asked the H0tn• Sccretary-

"-1. \Vhat j,-; the approxi1nate are-a. under the jurisdiction of the (n) New· market Po"Iiec Station; (b) Windso' Police Station?

300 Questwns. [ASSE:\IBLY.] Questio1,s.

"2. What is the strength of each station'

" 3. \Yhen "·as the ]\" ewmarket Polico Station erected?

" 4. Will he investigate the necessity of a more up-to-date station at Kew­markct to conform to the general advance­ment of this residential district? .,

Hox. D. A. GLEDSO:\' (Ips1cich). for the :Homo Secretary (Hon. J. Stopford, .Vaunt M organ), replied-

" 1. Approximate areas are-(a) :\"ew­market, 105 square miles; (b) \Yindsor, 40 square miles. The respective popula­tirms are-(a) Newmarket, approximately, 15,000; (b) Windsor, approximate!::, 25,000. There are over three tinws the number of prisoners locked up at \Yindsor thun at :\"ewmarket.

" 2. ~ C\Yn1arket, one acting sergeant and t\:o con;:;tabk,; \Yind~or, one set~ gcant and four constablns.

'' 3. April, 1907. "4. It is considered that the ::\ew­

markPt hnilding is ,uitable for present rcquirerncnts.''

H.I!LW~IY TO HEDCLIFFE.

Mr. \Y.4RREN (Jiurrumbu) asked the Secretary for Haihvays-

" 1. Has the GO\·ernmcnt dropped the idea of constructing a raihYay to Red~ clifle? ··

'' 2. \Yill he rccomnwnrl that the Go­vcrnrnent tak0 innnediate HC'tion to\YardG procr~'ding with th2 con~ truction of this line in ordrr to giYc n_asonably chcnp transit to this popular St~asidc lT~_;ort ~o those < itv dwel10rs \Yho a,·e unable to afford m~tor-car~? .,

The SECRETAHY FOR RAIL\Y), YS (Hon. J. Lrtrcombc. Krppr/) replied-

" It is rc;;rettcd the proposal cannot be entertained et the present time.''

CLAD! OF A.\Y.U. FOR AWARD GO''ERXIXG FAmnxa IxDL"STRIEs.

Mr. CORRER (Burnett) asked the Secretarv f0r Public \Vorks- ·

" As a g-ood deal Df doubt and appre­hension exists in the minds of manY primary producers as to the present posL tion regarding the daims of the A.W.U. for awards goYerning farming indus­tries-

1. Can he yet supply any in{ormation as to the reports and recommendations of the boarJs \Yhich were appointed in Nm·embcr. 1923. for the purpose of reporting to the court on these matters?

2. Has a date for final hearing yet been sd dDwn by the court, and, if so, whGt date?

3. Has the Government y-et acquainted itself with the contents" of the reports of the abovementioned boards?

4. Aesuming that such reports are against the application of awards lo rural industries, and in Yiew of the detrimPnta] dferts such awards ,;·ould have upon the liv0lihood of primar.\ produN\rs and upon tlw production of thP :'\tate, will the G<ilvernment toke action (under the power containe.:l in

the Industrial Arbitration Act) to exempt employ·ees of rural industries from the juriediction of the court until they themselves receive fair remunera­tion for their labour'! "

The SECRETARY FOR PuBLIC WORKS (Hon. M. J. Kirwan, Brisbane) replied-

" 1 to 4. The reports were furnished at the instance of the late President of the Industrial Arbitration Court, and are nDW filed with the Board of Trade and .hbitra ti on. The board has not yet fixed a date for the hearing of the claims of the ~'t.W.U."

TRAVELLil'W STOOK PERMITS ISSUED AT \VOWAX, MOUNT MORGAK, AXD WESTWOOD.

Mr. PE'TERSON (~Yormanby) asked the Secretary for A g'riculture and Stock-

" How mnny trave-Jllng- -:.tnrlz pl:?rmits were issued by the police on be ha If of his department for the period 1925~26, at (a) \Yowan; (b) Mount 1\:lorgan; (e) West­vvood? ''

The SECRETARY FOR AGRICULTURE (I-Ion. W. Forgan Smith, J[ackay) replied-

" \Vowan, 210; Mount Morgan, 110; \Vest\'. ood, 51."

CoST OF CASTLE CREhK LNIT, DAWSOX IRRIGATIOX ScHEME.

:Ur. PETERSOX (Tormanby) asked the Secretary for Public Lands-

" 1. \V hat is the cost to date of the Castle Creek umt of the Dawson irriga­tion scheme 1

" 2. \Vhen does he expect settlement to conunence ·On the area·~"

'The SECRETARY FOR PDBLIC LANDS (Hon. T. Dunstan, Gympie) replied-

" 1. Tho Castle Creek \vorks have mrrgecl into the T'heodore Zone works, the co<·t of the latter being £135,804.

" 2. 33.000 acres will be opened for selection on 1st November next."

AcciDEXTS ON QuEENSLAND RAILWAYS.

Mr. MORGAN (cUuril/a) asked the Secre­tary for Hailways-

" 1. ·what number of accidents or mishaps have occurred on the Quc>"nsland State railways during- the years ended 30th June, 1925 and 1926. respecti' ely ?

" 2. What was the tot a 1 cost of the damage resulting from such accidents Dr mishaps to rolling-stock, locomotives, and p0rmanent "ay?

"3. \\"hat. was the total loss Df Jifn resulting from suc>h accidents?

" 4. What number of persons w0ro injnred?

"5. \Vhat amount of compensation "as paid on account of loss of life 01'

injury? "

The SECRET \RY FOR RAILWAYS (Hon. J. Larcombe, [( eppel) replied-

"1. Accident•. Breakdowns ... Derailments (open !inP~) Derailments. others re-

portod to Commis­sioner's Office

1925. 24 20 31

52

1926. 23 48 36

172

[25 AnccsT.] Supply. 301

"2. Information not " 3. Loss of I ifc

1925. a vailablc.

10 38 " 1.

.. 5. Persons ilJjurcd A1nou11t of cotnpc:nsation

paid £11.979

1926.

10

£u56 11 The foregoing statenH'nt deal·" V\ ith

arcidcnLs to trains on open line~: and {~erail;ncn~: rPported to , ~he1 Con1~uis~ SHJJ~C'r ~ Q~!lCC, and does ll01 1l1UUde l~llilOr ac~1Clcnt,~:

PAPER.

Tbe followi·1g paper was laid on the tahit· :~

Heturn to an order n1adc~ bv the IIou'-'2 on Sth ,\uc,·u,t, rcg •rdlng pa,toral ~ 1 sc:3 dnL for rC'stnnption.

THEe Sl:HER'S FINX:'-JCL\L TABLES.

The TllE_I_SURER (Ilon. W. l\IcCormack, (lrt:.-·nB) prr:-vntr·d the tables relating to his Finallcoial St t-'nwnt for the y<'ar 1926-27.

Ortlcrcd to be 1wintcd.

CO='ISTITrTTO:\ :\CT AYIE~D:\lENT BILL.

The AT'fOIC\EY-GENERAL (lion. J. ivlullan, r::flllr ;·s): I beg to lllOVC-

" That the llousc "~iJI, at its next sitting, resolve itself into a Committee of the Whole to consider of th~ dt'sirable­ne<;;'3 of iat roducing a Bill to arnend the .Constitut:on of Qw 2nslan<l by further anrcnding the Constitution Act Arnend~ mcnt Act of 1896 and the Officials in Pariiament Act of 1896 in CPrtain par­tif'ulars."

Question put and ]HL' ,ed.

EST IM \ TES-T~-Cl1IEF, 1926-27.

Th S w;:k.:~r fE''HHt( d the reccint of a n1es.~agr froar l!i:-3 Excellency, the LiCutcnant­Goveruor, forwrll'ding the Estimates of Probable '\i\o' ays and J\Ieans and Expenditure for the year ending 30th Jnno, 1927.

Ordered to be printnd and referre-d to Committee of Supply.

SUPPLY. OPENIXG oF CmumTTEE.

The TREASL'RER (Hon. W. McCormack, C({irns): ~fr. Speaker, I beg to rnovo-

" That you do now ]caye the chair."

Mr. CORSER (Burnctt): Mr. Speaker. bdor~ yotl do leave the Chair we on this side of the (;hambcr decire to take this opportunity of expressing ourselves with regard to several matters of very great importance at the present time to Queensland.

0PPOSITI0)1 ME:IJBoERS: Hcllr, hear ! The 'I'REAST:RER: Did vou omit ,anything in

your spe~ch on the 'Address in Reply? (Laughter.)

Mr. CORSER: It would take me about fivp weeks to ventilate all the grievances I have against the Government.

OPPOSITION MEMBERS: Hear, hear ! The 'TREASURER: Five weeks is just about

the time that you will have under the Standing Orders.

i\lr. COESEH : I can a"me the horL gen1lc1nan that it i, 11ot the wish of the Uo\·crmnent that I should have that time; rmt since m:, opcech Oil the Address in Reply there have been further developments throughout the State-or rather the lack of clcveiopnwnt-that \VC complain of. I, first of a I! wish to refer to the inactivitv of thn GoYornnu,nt -with regard to the conStruction of railv. ars iu Ill V district. The Trc:tsurer will rnob;blv say; as lw did on a previous occa~ion. that lllV ·critiri~1n of the Govern1nent in thi" diroctio~u is decrying settlcinont in that area. This n1orning I again received from the t;pper Dm-nett Railway League a letter conveying their di~gust at the action of the Gov 'frlHlcnt in curtailing work on tho construction o~ raih-Ltys then•.

The SECRETARY FOH ),GIU2l'LTLllE : Protesting ag·ainst your staten1ent".

i\Ir. COHSER: The letter also protests against the \Yant of fu!filnwnt of the obliga­tions oi the GoYPrnment, and commending me on my ,tatcrnents in this Cha1nbcr.

'The TnEASt.:RER: Your statement was not complete.

}h. CORSER: It was too complete for the hon. geni ltman.

The THK\SGRER: It should ha ,~o had at the bottom of it "Vote for Corser!" (Government !aught< r.)

Mr. COHSER: The'' do that without havin~!' to b~~ <J "ked. This is not a n1attor of asking for Yotc:-;. They ha YO alr0-ady voted, and I am now doing- my dut;- by them. This is the time for the Gon'n,ment to fulfil thoir ob! iga tion made to thcce peopio when they were eucouragcd to [[O on the land. This "Cpper Burnett Hail ay Ler·gue have again connnuni{'atcd with the Trca.surcr, and it rnight be fitting for n1c to make reference to tlw lack of faith of the GO\-ernmont in the matt< r of raih\ a' construction in that district. Since the electio'n 2,000 men han• been put off OUi' railway construction works in the State. On the Rannes~Monto R 'ih;-a v a hout 500 men were put off. On the ::Ylan'y Peaks-Th1onto Railway. a bout 180 men were put off, and quite a number h:~ve been put off the :Mun­clnbb~ra-:\lonto Railwav-the one with which I am now -dealing. '

The TREAST:RER: You stated that 2,000 men were put off.

:VIr. CORSER: That was throughout the State. It is for the Treasmer to supply the correct figures, if I am misinforme-d on the mbjcct. Let the Treasurer deny this statement.

The SECRETARY FOR AGRICULTURE: He will deny everything you say.

Mr. CORSER: Of course he will-every­thing that is true. vVe might take some notice of the Treasurer's statements, but we do not take verv much notice of those of the Secretary foi· Agriculture. (Opposition laul'htcr.) Let the Treasuret· deny this state­ment, which appeared in his policy speech:-

'· ThosE: railwavs under construction at the present time' will bo carried on until co1npletion and other railway proposals ~,,·hicll have been recommended bv the Public \Vorks Commission. and ;,·hich will aid in the development of the State and of land settlement generally. will be commenced as funds are available."

Mr. Corset-:

302 [ASSK\IBL Y.J

During the tirnc the GoYernrnC'nt haYC l1een in office thc-v ha Yt' increased the expenditure of luan Inor~C\". It is not a n1at+l'r oi their not having lo .. ln 11101H'Y·

SECRETARY FOR ::\liXES: y~ on l'CC'CiYe rnorc

for your clcetor:"tc than other rnernbers.

Mr. CORSER: That shmYs that I am doing rn~v dut_y tu lll_V €'1Pctorate. I a1n not g·oing to haYe tho:o;c \Yorkcr:::.. put. in 1ny electorate durirw the elect;,,., and then ha Ye the oeitlers depri~cd of the lH'Oiniscd facilitic~ int­rrwdiatcl:.- the GoYt·nnncnt arc retnrnc'd to pO\YOl'.

The TREASrREH: SullPOrt ith PYid0nce the stacement you made about the 2.000 men.

;\Ir. COilS EH: Thi,~ is a Liggc•r is~n.._~. aud I have suppudecl it \\-ltl1 PYid(_'llC'P quoted frorn the bon. gcntleuJan·s policy spct~h.

The TIP~.\~f'RER: Thr othrr ~tntcn1eut -··as a dcl_ibcrntP untnlth.

The SPEAKEH : Order ~

)Jr. CORSEH: During thf' c1P"i·ion ti·mc the Trca:·<'lTE'r prmni:<'d that all raih,·ay~ tlY'n under con truction \Youlcl b cou1n!ot( :l. I have supportt:d that ~tatC'niciH \Yitl1 the pro­duction of the \YOrd..; of the hem. 01tler::an fro1n lli.;: pc!ic.·· :"l)' "Cll.

The TRE,u;r·HER: Did I ~::-ty "forthwith"?

)!r. COHSEH: T!1e1T i' no "fo:·rh,Yith" in the -pr•Pch.

rrhe TRE\SL'HER: I :"'1 id .; ,•S fnud:-:. are UY."i}ablP .. ,

:\Tt·. COHSEE: Tho hon. rentleman "1icl that other railwavs which \Yonlcl aiel in the development of the State and in land settle­ment generally would Le C·ll1lllH'nccd when funds \\·ere available, \Yhen tl1o~C? under con­struction \Vcrc completed. ::\o ... ,, the GuYern­ment arc withdra'\\'ing tho~o n1en. Lnfur­tunately tht:.' men1orv of the Trea~nrer has slipped' in that direc.tion.

The TREASt:RER: It is your exaggeration.

]_\,1r. CORSER: It is not 1ny exagge1·ation. The hon. gentleman cannot accuse me of exaggerating. I \Yould far 1ather s~f'k to modify the sins of the Gm-crnnwnt in the hope of their rectifying the existing state' of affairs. If the GO\-crmncnt had not had loan fund' available during theit· lonP.' period of 1nis1nanageinent. since the:,; havo beeu in office. one would not haYe so much reason to complain: but we find that this Government, that did not believe in borrowing n1one:v. found on )ttaining office a total Sta tc incle},techws.·' of £56,000.000, or an aYeragc of £1.000.000 a vcur. For that amount of money we established the Stale; we constructed ritilwav" that were paying: we opened our harbourS throughout tlw State, and co::~structecl the bi.; buildings and great cdifice3 \vhich house the Govern­ment. dcportments to-clay. \Ye established the State with our expenditure of £56,000,000, and established a prosperous con1n1unit~- in the StatP. \Ye opened our waterways, started coEJmcrce and industry. and gaye confidence to the people. That ,. as tlw out­come of that expenditure of £56,000,000 which was owing by this State \vhcn the present Gove-rnment came into power. \Yhat has hllplwlcc:l since that time? The present GovPrnment haYe sront since that period­since 1915-no kss than £41,000,000: and what have they established" State entcr­pris(-'S, and ha,~o tried to sell thc1n since !

[Mr. Corser.

Tl1ey '-Yl'l'(' going to put tlH.>lnseh·e:3 in the po:3ition of the "bopf baron~." They told the workers that \Yhcn the Government pur­chaced State statiocs, they were going to be ri· h people, too, because they would be part owner> in those great enterprises; £41,000,000 has b'·cn expended in that way; £41,000,000 has lPen injudiciously expended in many directions; and we have not yet completed onr groat Burnett railway scheme.

The TREASURER: How much ha .. been spent in the Burnctt?

:'.Ir. CORSER: I know how much as pro1,c>.wd to be expended. I know how much the sc•ttlers have got who went there with an axe in their hands under certain condi­tioLs. They understood they ''ere to get £1,700 each under certain couclitions and they thonght it was a prott:' good n thing. One man made an applic,ltion for :u400 as a start, •o.O that he would not have too much money knocking about bis hut in the n1f'an­timc. He asked for £400 fo-r certain im­jJrOYemcnts he wanted to construct, and he 'vas offered £32 proYidod he gave a mortgage oyer his separator, scarHicr, and plough.

The TRK\SURTR: It is a pit:: he did not mortgagp his member. (Laughter.)

:\Ir. COHSER : I can quite uuclcre'and the hon. gentleman dc,irin'l' to mortg<Lge the n1C'InbPr. I-Ie is ahvays looking for large smns of mon0y, and he knows he would get a fair a1nount if he could n1ortgage rne politically.

The TREAS1iRER: I think the bank pre­fcl'l'cd the scarilier. (Renewed laughter.)

}fr. CORSER : The GoYernment hwe not --riven the settlers the an1ount of a :-3istance thcv were promised throuv,h the Agricultural Ba;1k. They haYC. not helped the settlers in thl' direction that thev should haYe helped, and we haYe an obligation \Vith regard to raihYay con~trnction. Do hon. Inembers realist; that there are settlers in the Upper I3urnctt who arc carting their cotton from 40 miles to 50 miles to rftilhead? It costs them £4 per ton for everything they take to. or receive from, the railhead. Is that condition to last much longer? :Many of these 'ettlers have been thno four years, and arc still in that position, although they wore promised railways from all directions. They were promised a railwaY from Eidsvold to :\Ionto; they were promis·ed a railway from :\!any Peaks to Monto; and th<· were nromi-;cd a railwaY from Ranncs to ]\'[onto. 'ro-dav we find that there is u lack of t'nergy on the part of th~ Govemment, ":nd they are taking the r':1lway constructwn men off. although at elcctwn time theY state.d that if Mr. Corscr was elected, he and h1s c1·owd would immediately take the men off because they did not believe in the construc­tion of raih ays to the Upper I3urnott.

The TREASURER: Do vou know that over £2.000.000 has been spent in the Upper Durnett in the construction of railways, 'chools, sinking bores, and in other directions?

:'~fr. CORSER: I do not care if £50.000,000 hac; been spent, we haYe to do our duty to the settlers there. Thh-. Hunter statod that £10.000,000 would be required, and when the Upper Burnctt and Callidc Land Set.tlemcnt Hill was going- through this House, I asi<cd thP present Premier if he had suffiCient money to go on with the settl0m,mt. I

Supply. [25 .. AlJGCST.] 303

claimed that £1,000 should be made availalcle to e\·er' settler before he got there. I said-

" Before we settle 1,500 settlers the:·e as is provided at present, we sh.JJ]d have the f acili tie; given under thi; Bill for a•- ,j_;fance under the State Advances Cor­poration-no•,, the ),gricultural Bank."

The ben. gecntlc':"an stated that they had it; a ne!, as he clauned thev had it and the 'ottlcrs -,. c· e told the n~'onev wa · available b.'- v·ay of advanc.·s from the },gric-ultnnd Bank. and funds \\\ere aYailnble for construc­tion of raih ay for the development of a road policy, and for the canc·ing out of the whole ,,cbeme, which looked 'O ''- dl, it is the duty of the State to fulfil that promi,,e to the settlers nnd provide them with a rail­vcay, which is eso<ential for the development of the country.

The TI-u:.\SUHEH: 1:~ on arc pulling the handlP of the p:u·ish pump.

:\Ir. CORSER: It is not a matter ot pulling the handle of the parish pump, but of one domg his duty and a,king· tho Go­Yernmcnt to carry out their agree:ucnt with the,;;c pcoplo ·q"!lo camo hPrO fro1n every part of ~·\wtraha. and so1nO of thc·u from o. ~)r:"ca.;:;. Hon1e of tlwn1 heard the then Agent~Goneral, Jl.lr. Hv.ntPr, who delivered an add re ·S in London in 1921, asking those people to come h'"re. He wrot0 to the papers in U·reat Britain urging them to come to. QucC'nslmH1 under a s~Tstcn1 which \Vas going to be surh a good one. \Vc find that there ani vod-not 15.800 settlers whom the Goverument intended to put there-but that the pohcy of the Govormnent has resulted ~'} onl,- 800 odd ,ett!ers going there. The I rcasurcr Wishes to say t.hc Govci·nrncmt hc1vo 'I" nt £2,000,000 in the Upper Bumett but would it not be far better to sett!~ the whole of the land with that development mowc'. and not have alternate blocks settle~!"

The TREASL'RER: Kot build any railways , t all?

:\h. C'ORSER: I am asking for the rail­\vays. and I include in the expenditure on the sottlcrncnt, railways, roads, and advances te> settlers. The Treasurer cannot say I am 1nong in that reque,t.

The TREASURER: I say the erux of your request 1s that ~11 the settlers in the L pper Burnett are aslung for a hand-out.

~Ir. CORSER: I have asked for no hand~ out. and there is no settler in the Upper Burnett doing so_

The TRE.\RURER: You asked for £1,000 before they came there.

Mr. CORSER: I asked that before the settlers came there if the Government had not money to develop those lands, which would mean £1,000 per farmer. The Trea­stuer said the Government had the money. J'\ow _we find that the Agricultural Bank has t1gbtened up on these people.

'rlw TRFAP-UUER: \Yhat is wronrr with a bit of self-reliance? b

I\1r. CORSER: Doe3 the Treasurer not th_ink tba_t the people who have gone there with thPu Wives and families have not wme self-reliance? Does he not think that the people who have staved there notwith­standing the way the • Governm'ont have failed to carry out their promises, have got some self-relwnce? They have self­reliance. Every man and woman in that

di~trict has sel f-relianrf'; and they aro the ere tDl of the co1nmunit}', or else they \vould 11c! go ont and cndnro tlw har{hhips that ?Ut-back country settlers are suffering, living 1n hessian and iron strurtures. They are com]w·.ed of the :,tuff we want, and because tlwy are the stuff we want it is in the interests of Queensland to keep them there.

Tho THEASDmR: I do not think they want a load of £1,500 tied round their necks.

Mr. Pn;:R~O~: \Vc should build them schools.

:Vlr. CORSER: l\'obody asked for £1,500. I asked tho Treaourer if the Gmer,w,ent had the rr. cmoy before the·,· went there and he said the.v had. The 'hon. gentlemrr;I can­not make the <''-'cuso to tboc.o people that i he lllOllPy is not available. But I am not at, the present time puohing thc.t argument; I am urgiw· that wo chould bllild the rail­\\ a:;\ wlllch is tht~ fi·rEt essential to their succ(~ss. The Trr f1surer claimed a few days ago that I was decrying the settlement.

The 'I'REAS1:RER: So you were.

Mr. CORSER: I told the Treasurer that the statem.ollts I had made were conveyed to me by w_ue and sent to him by letter, which I haye with me, and the letter has been published. Since that time I have received

a lPttcr dated the 22nd or the [11 ;1.m.] 23r.J of August congratulating

me on tho ,,tateme:Jts I have made and on the st-and I have takC'n in the iutcrests of the settler's in the Upper Bur­nett. and thoy ask me to ventilate their e.: ;e further in the interests of the settlement. On 18th August they wrote c letter to " The Hon. vV. :VlcCormaek, Premier, Parliament ~Tousc, Bris~JaHl'," of ·which the follo·wing 1;:, a copy:-

"Sir.--" At a ~enoral meeting of the Upper

Bunwtt Railway League, held at Monto on the 15th iiHtant, and abo at a sub­sequent meeting of the committee of that bod0•, a rewlution was unanimously carried that the following letter be forv arded to you :-

Seeing that almo··t all the material necessary for tho eompletion of the railway line from Mulgcldie to Monto is on the site along the survey, \VC' are of tho opini•m (inevitable clderiora tion of timber, 5and, etc., being kept in 1nind) "~--

The TREASURER : Did vou ask them to write that? ..

:VIr. CORSER: I did not; I have not been npar them. 'l'hc letter continues--

" that the Government would be follow­ing the wisest and most economical cour'"e in having this line constructed immediatelY. \Ve would also like to point out that the clearing is flnished to within a short distance of Monto, and that tne surface of this survcv is practically level, hence the cost of completing this section of 8 miles would be comparatiYely cheap. In support of our request to have this line com plcted, we must draw your attention tJ a statement (a definite promise) made by the Minister for Railways, Hon. J. Larcombe, to a number of settlers uf the Upper Burnett at the time of the opening of the fi.llflt section of this Pxtension. viz., the lin•' will be ccm­pletcd without delay. The money has

JJ.1 r. Co1·se1· ;

304 Supply. [ ASSK\IDL Y. J

been allotted an<l is in the Trca,un and it l'{}U1ains onl:,T for the onginccr ·to ~pPnd it on tl'e \VDrk:-.''

A Gov· RK;JE!;T :\Inm~R: \Vho ea id that·:

Hr. COHSER: The Sccn•tarv for Rail­wa-' at a deputation ;-t Eidsvc))cl \\hen he opPlH:.'J thf' f!rst .-.-·c:tiOil.

The S, 'RETARY rou R.\lL\\',\YS: Th~tt -..v ~s for an cxtl'n-~iJn.

l\It-. CORSER: Sf'lTPtar·" In C011Y(

Prctnicr.

takl' tlw vwrd of thE' a re .. olution to tlw

The TREA.:JrREll: IIow far is Eid;-_,Yold frmn r~_r ulgcldic?

Mr. CORSER: Thirty ocld inilc.'.

'l'he THF\PlTRFc:: It would cost £250.000.

I\lr. CJRSER: It would not cost £250,000. but il i, not a mattf'r of wha.t it will cost. The ra1h\ a.v was prorn]c;ed.

The Tn· ···iURER: Ho built'

nlall~' 1nilcs are

r·<[r. C()flSEH: It is onlTT built U.'- far a" ALercorn, about 10 rnile~ ·from Ct·ratodu~. ,·,hirh is about 8 or 9 mile. fmm Eidsvold.

The TnE.\~l'RER: .\bo_ct 20 miles alto-gt ther?

Me. CORSER: Ye·, btd. that is tho cen­tral to" n. There o.re settlers 20 milu beyond that, '~.nd there is 110 raih\ av corrl­

m;mication for them at all. lk a us,; there ici a rail>· U.\' as close a~ that tu the central to\vn tho Treasurer 1nust not think that they have raii"',\ a,v conununication.

The THEASURER: You ask that it be finished fortlnYith--tho day after to-morrow.

Mr. CORSER: Thev onlv want the hon. gentleman to keep h~s promises to them. The hon. gentleman has spent on another railway to .Monto nearly £600,000. That sum ha' built about 14 miles of railway from Many Peaks in tlw direction of Monto, and they seem to have practically stopped the line there. Kearly £600,000 for 14 miles, and yet the·,· are not within reach of :Monto from that direction. The construction of the 44 miles was estimated to cost £1,063,000 and to date the 11 miles have cost £590,533. They have completed 14 of the 44 miles. If we have already spent nearly £600,000 on a section of the railway, why not complete its construction and fulfil the promises made to the settlers: Why commence the railway if it could not be completed? ·why induce tlw people to go there if the promi<es are not to be fulfllled?

Th: SECRETARY FOR RAILWAYS: It is being constructed.

The TREA~URER: Your suggestion is that we cease work on the J'dulgeldic ·-cction and conr;ontrate on the Many Peaks-:\lonto section.

Mr. CORSER: The Treasurer would be guilty of anything.

The TREASURER: That is your argument.

Mr. CORSER : It is not my argument. The most essential lino shoul-d be completed at once. I referred to the !me from Mulgoldie to Monte, which is tho shortest distance, and in connection \\ ith which the cost will be the lowest. The Treasurer's statement that I ,.am arguing that a line wh1ch has al'!'ost reached its objective should rease operatwns cannot be taken seriously.

~Mr. Corser.

Thf···, arc 1hrce prnposab fnl' r·-.ilway con~ ,-;~ rw.:tion to -:\Ionto. llon. rnend.Jrrs op JJ::-·it! t~O 1~ot lliH:en.,tanJ the 11ositioE. - ~

ThP SEf'n:_rARY FOR JVIr~r·~S: Do yon wanr tbe liue linked up \\ ith GlucLtonc\f

::.\Il'. CORSEH: ~lost cr-rt linly I u:n n 1;:ins 1hrtt tlY· 1':·mni:3(s of the GoYcrnnwllt b L'Jnoln< -J. I ,.,-onld like the T _,_J<tsurcr to t'XPl'l':: -, bin1s~·If in th;. rp_g. rd.

~1r. IlYXES: I ihink · ou h d h-·ttrr a-ct a' av frorn that su:ljL•ct. i Ol.l ·re gett~u.r bo;'~t>(L

7\Ir. COHSER: Hun. nwml1crs O])llOsitc do nrt llk0 t 11c iruth.

::\lr. PE-lSE: Yoq cl id not worry when tL• cm;~1ruc·t.inn of t~1c ~mth Co·st Railway \Yh~ :-o:L··);l~'n(1 cd.

:J-!1'. CORSEE: Yc·l onh· vi·~rrv nbout r,j]_ T'r \' c .:nstl'LL .~.~on nt deetio.: tirr: ~ If raihv[l~y ( ·~ · trll'-·tfn~J 1rork ·\·as r::.ot pro•.< de '.1 for thc111 i~"c:· rou: 1 1•ot put ~.-ou f llo\Y~ there.

The SPE) .. I(ER: Order : The hon. rncmbt r i...: uot in ord0r in referring to hon. Illf'rnb01 :-. itS •·- PU fnlJo\\-s.''

=" r r. CORSEH: I apologi:-;0 to th(~rn. Sir. l 'nfortLnnh.ly, thPrc i~ a tn•nF ·~doH:-; tn~ouiJt of ruisr0prcsentat1on indulg'ed in in r;Jihva.·; ramp:-; and in industrial organis~tions. Thi:--. Ini:"n'pr0sent<:~tion is pructised after gaining political control of industrial organikations. \Ye now find that it i.-; 1hc arnbition of hon. 1nf'~nb0rs opposite to cxc'rci~e ro~trol OYer

industrial un-ion:. Tho Australion Railwav linio·1 has for some time successfully resi,te(l the GoYcrn1ncnt's intentions. in that dirc:tion. Thc:'--7 ;yf'ro an independent buc1:v· carrying­out their ~.~.'i~hn~ <Lid dcfyir!g- the Govcrnrnent. if nPr~1S'HHy. Onl. · yesteTdaY, the offirial organ of the Labour part.v publish •d q cartoon sho-,\­ing how the political wi11g had sucn~cded in kid,::illr:- lVfr. lVIoroncy and otht1l's out of eonh·nl of the union. .\gain, quib_• l'f'C'flnt1y at Town'OYillo a rf'so:ution v-a::: passed ap­proving of the action of tho offiejals of the A.R.l'. in connection with the Hayos disput,•. and expr8,·,ing confidenc·1 in the officials "~ tho union. -:\'ow we find that at a packed meeting of the A.R.U. the officials ·sere actually suspended and compelled to leave the meeting. The official organ of the Lcl1our party is plccsed to place the faces of tlwse officials on dogs' bodies "·ith a big boot in the act of kicking them out through a clnorwa:>. I will not place that cartoon in " !Iansard."

The TREASL'HER : What is this grievan~ c U]1r0i•OS of?

J\Ir. CORSER: It is to 5how that it is tlw kern desire of tho Government to obtain control cf induetrial orvani,ations. and in order to <lo so they first sePk to undermine the mcmbere' confidence in tho union officials. 2'\o in<lnstrial union in Queensland cctn live peacdullv under the ·regime of the Govern­ment unless their touts-some of them come to live at Parliament House for their tucker -havo control of their organisation in tho interests of the political party.

The TRE.I.'<T:RER: Do you know that Rymer frequently quotes you ?

J\Ir. CORSER: If he is a wise man, he will do so. The Go,·ornment woul<l do am-thing to get at the man who is con­sidered fair, and, if he is considered to be fair, he must got out. That is what I am complaining of.

Supply, [25 AUGG"ST.] Supply. 305

I heY(> another complaint to make with regard to the payment of rentals in drought­stricken districts. This is the time we have an opportunitc· of ventilating grievances.

Mr. POLLOC"K: Did vou sav that some of the organisers of those industrial unions come to Parliament House for their tucker •

Mr. CORSER: ::'\o, I did uot. Mr. POLLOCK: -You did say so a moment

ago. Mr. iYEIR: I am afraid vou will have

to alter " Hansard." •

::\lr. CORSER: I say that some of those organisers have a right to cornc here and .associate with parliamentarians more than industrialists. That is what I say.

Mr. \VEIR: You did not say that.

The SPEAKER : Order ! I distinctly heard the hon. member make that statement.

Mr. ·WEIR: He will have to alter his " I-Iansard " proof.

Mr. CORSER: . I am not going to alter my " Hansard " proof. I am not like the hon. member in that respect.

The SPEAKER : Order ! Order !

Mr. CORSER: Hon. members know that my state1nent is correct.

'I'he TREASURER : You arc casting a slur on Parliament House.

Mr. CORSER: I stated that, if industrial unions are not controlled by the Government. then there is an alteration. We find that those people who most a'ocociate with the Government party arc those members who used to be in the "Cpper House. It seems· to be their dutv to get out into the indus­trial organis., tions and keep as tight a grip upon them ae po.,sible in the interests of the Government. \Ve find from the "Standard" only yesterday that the organisers I pre­viously mentioned have been " booted " out. The inference I wished to convey wa~ that the associations of certain people are very close with hon. members opposite, and that they arc more closelv associated with the Govern­ment. During the drought I had occasion to communicate with the Department of Public Lands, asking that the 10 per cent. fine inflicted in cas0s of late payment of rentals should not be collected during the period of drought. The Minister replied that the Land Act provided for the collection of the 10 per cent. fine. but that each case would be dealt \rith on its merits. I gave the Minister an opportunity of stating what his intentions were regarding the alteration of this section of the Land Act. Dming the last fe" davo I aoked the hon. gentloma.n if he would. amend the Land Act, particu­liuly in the direction of enabling the Go­Yemment to remit this fine of 10 per cent. for late payment of rental,, and I received a similar re]lly that each ca·e would be dealt with on ih merits. \Vf' find that manv cases have been dealt with on their su)1posed merit'·· .me! many settlers in my electorate who have to cart water a distance of six mile> for their stock haYe had the addi­tiona 1 10 per cent. imposed upon them for the late payment of their rentals. I hope that the :11inister even now will consider the desirableness of altering the Act enabling his department to ·remit this fine of 10 per cent. Y osterday the hon. member for Grogory clearly pointed out the distress that

1926-w

now exists throughout the whole of QuPens­land in our producing area9, and the Trea­surer, if he reviev;s the matter, must ,realise that it is not a fair thing at such a timP to call upon the settlers to contribute further to the Treasury by paying a fine of 10 per c~nt. in addition to their rentals. I trust that the Minister will alter the Act, which will be an indication to his administrative officers to deal with the matter in a more lenient way than is the case at the present time

Y!r. SWAYNE (Jfirani): Before Supply is granted to tho GovPrnment and before you leaYe the chair, l\lr. Speaker. there are one or two matters to which I would like to draw attention-mattPrs which form a vcrv serious griovaJ;Jce against the present Go­Ycrnmcnt on the part of the farming com­munity. \Ve are all aware of the risks and di.•advantages nature imposes upon the primary producer, and now an additional risk has come into existence and has attained considerable dimensions during the last few years. I refer to the hold-up of produce and stock when being conveyed to market at the water-front. \Ne know what hap­pened last y·ear to those situa tcd in the far north of Queensland, and also what happened in the Gladstonc district. Had the Government been worthy of the name, it would, during the rec0nt reces~.-, haYe devised some means of preventing these hold-ups of produce on the way to the mar­ket. This year is one of the most disastrom vears men on the land have ever oxperi­C.uced, yet we have had super-imposed on the natural difficulties these troubles associated with our water-front. Recently trouble has occurred both in the Bowen and Mackav districts. We know that, owing to the recurrence of the rotary strike this year, a great indust-ry has been held un, and as much .as £2,500 was lost daily by tl;e growers. In my own area there was trouble in <:or.­nection with the l'lane Creek mill, where crushing was delayed, and trouble at Louisa Creek connected with the loading of sugar. All these cases \\ere referred to the industrial magi>i rate of the district concerned, and it was decided that those bringing about suc!J a state of affairs were .acting illegally. After considerable losses wore incurred the trouble was settle-d. That does not get over the fact that the primary producers-the section ~f the community least able to bear any addi­tional imposition-haYe been subjected to t.he•e g-reat losses at a time when thev were least able to stand them.

One of the greatest questions in Queensland to-day is that of inducing people to go on the land and produce. It is only too apparent that there is a reluctance on the part of our young people to engage in primary production, yet no reference was made in the Lieutenant-Governor's Speecll to any lc:.:islation dealing with the subject. Although' perhaps. after some weeks, the trouble has b0en patched up, at any rate considerable loss has be0n already incurred hy men who are not in a position to suffer it. This is a fitting opportunity to draw the attention of the Government to the matter and ask that they introduce legislation on the subject. When the Industrial Arbitra-­tion Bill was before this House I endeavoured to have inserted an amendment that would have largely reduced the risks in this connec­tion, so that it cannot be said that IJ:>

remedy has been offered by this side of thu

Mr. Swayne.]

306 Supply. [ASSEMBLY.] Supply.

House. I then moved an amendment pro­viding that, in the event of loss being incurred by an;;· illegal action on the part of an industrial organisation, those who suffer(•d the loss should have a remedy against the organisation, just the same as applies in ordinary bu"iness. If tho rncrnbcrJ of a company or its employees cau .• e loss to an.\one, the company has to make good that loss, and in just the same way 1 think that, if the members of the Waterside \Yorkers' L nion or any other sin1ilar body ruuse the loss to the producers of hundreds of thousamL of pounch, as thev did last year. or a loss of tc•ns of thousands of pounds, as they }H.tvc dono this yt-ar, a c0rporation of that kind and its members should be compelled to make good the loss caused by their illegal action. I should like to stress the fact that in ovcrv om of the instances I have quoted the ind~tstrial magistrate decided that those who caused the strike acted illegally. Yet that loss has been incurred, and the unfortu­natf' suffcrer,:;:--canc•growers, pastoralists, and others~aro -.-ithout remedv. Thev han: simply to ,uffor the loss, "and those who causr•d the loss get off scat free. It is up to tho Government to devise some 1neans, either on th~ lines I have indicated or on some other linos, bv which the partiec who caus(• 1o·•s by illegal action should be made to boar that loss. It was ,-cry apparent last Year, 'et in tho Liclltonant~Go-.;ernor':-, Speech f-here ~is no indication that any r~~mccty is contemplated.

I also de, ire to refer to the tactics adopted bv members of th<e Government party -during tho recent election. It was nothing short of barefaced bribery. In many instances the electors were told that thev would suffer If thov did not return the Government can­dici"at". I have here a loading articie that appear··d in the Mackay "Daily Mercury " of 20th April, dealing with this question. I am sorry that the Recreta ry for Agriculture is not in his place, bec.~uso he is the one I am principally alluding to. This article. which is headed " Farmers and the Governnwnt," roads-

" The Government arc desperately anxwus to have the support of the farmers on 8th May. :Ministers are cajoling and threatening in turns. Speaking at Innisfail, the Premier told his audience that ' the district had much to lose if it returned a sup­porter of the " Darling Do\,'ns party," because ho as Prernier surely \Vas not expected to give attention to the futuro needs of the Herbert if the Labour member was defeated.' When a member of the audience called, ' You are holding out a big· stick,' the Premier did not rep!,-. \Yh,•n Mr. Forgan Smith spoke at Hatton last week he said Cattle Creek mill >vanted to borrow a sum of money to enable them to carry on, and he hinted, if he dtcl not say right out, that such an application would be pleasing to hrm if it camo through Mr. Mulherin as their member. A man with anv intelli­gence at all would rca·d the remarks both of the Premier and his colleague as a bid for votes as well as a threat. 'Return our party to power, and we will smile upon you; turn our candidates clown, and if we get back you will get nothing.' Under the electoral law, if a candidate buys a man a drink, or doe~ wmo other equally inoffensive thing, he is liable to ha\·e his election upset: but

[Jlr. Swayne.

it appears to be quite la ,,-£n] for men at the head of affairs to go to any length, \Vhcthl'l' by threats or prorniscs, to s(•cure Yotcs."

That is a ,·erv corious state of affairs. ll one cc n be surprised at anything the party opposite do, one is surprjsed at their audacity in claiming credit for being- returned at the clcctioll when suecc "s has been "'on by means like that~bv bare-faced ·bribery. In my electorate it·· was put to the electors in this \VltV: •· If vou want anvthing, you vvill have to "pnt in ~ut Governn1crlt no.rninec; you. ¥:·ill have no chance if you put 1n an Oppos1hon member."

Ye··ter·dav. the Secretary for Agriculture had Uw e·ffrvntvrrv to accuse 1ne regarding what I had done in .. connection with a easc~that at Farlcigh~in -vvhich fal'mers in n1y electorate htn" been in troubl(•. The tl'oui.Jle was that I :;.-uggcstl cl a brttcr cour:3e of action ~han that which the :\Iinistcr took, and one whtch would have savcrl hin1 .u great deal of lllOllr:-. 1-Iow­{:vcr, I an1 not going into that now. I was ad,·ised bv mv friends in my electorate that it was dc,:;irable that I should not be mixed up in the matter, Lecause they had been "lYCll a very broad hint that the le~s I had to do with il the better it would be for them. 1 did not '"·aut to stand in their wa:; or do unvthing at the expense of farmers who ,\-i;hed to obtain Govern1nent assistance. _As it "·as apparent that my . doinil' anythmg in the matter >vould be prejudrcral to them with the small-minded Secretary for Agncul­ture, it was thought better in their interests for me, beyond pointing out that there was a better "ay to take .. to refram .from takmg any prominent act10n. The posrtron was this: At a meeting of farmers ;n my electo­rate when the matter of the Farlergh mrll wa-; being discussed, when _I rose to speak l \\·as ask£'d not to say anvth1ng becausp rt was thought that my c!"oing" so might prejudice their ca,e with the Secretary for Agrrcul­ture. Anyone would have thought that 1 wou 1 cl not have got a vote t rom those i'l that room v•·t at the election I got a- majority of nearly two to one in . that centre. lt shows the bare-faced bribery ,~·hich ., as being n- nd and the . fear imp'?sed upon the e]c, tors in that localtty that, rf •t member of the Opposttron took any part with them at all, they >vould suffer: for. Jt. In all these matters public money rs bemg Ltsed, and I sa} that every application for _a loan should be treated on its merits, and Jt should not affect the conduct of the Govern­ment one iota in dealing with the matter whether the request comes through a sup­porter of the Government or through a member of the Opposrtwn. Yet wo find that tho state of things in Queensland is such that. no matter ho\> good a proposal may be, its favourable consideration does not depend on the merits of the case but upon whom it corn~,; from, or who is connected with it. Hon. members opposite have deprecated the assertion made on this side that there has been a degradation of Parliame~t. . Could anything be more dcgradmg to I arlrament than the fact that members of Parliament arc> returned by such tactics. It is not . a question of who is the best man for the drs­trict. The electors are told that, unlf 'is they return a certain candidate, thev will have their legitimate requests for !Jovernment assistance turned down. That rs a matter which should be considered before Supply is granted to the Government. It is deplor­ttble that bare.faoed bribery of that kind

Supply. [25 AUGl:"ST.] Snpply. 307

'Lould have been introduced into the public H of our State.

Then there is another thing about which 1 have to complain-that is the attitude ot l\I.inist• ~:s to1· ards hon. 1ne~11bers. I am not including tbe whole of the Cabinet became it \YL uld not be fair to do so. 'lihero are une (Jr t\,:o 1\linistcr~. ho\vcyer. such as the Sc>cretury for Agriculture, who have adopted a IHO?-t ol~e:r•sive tone in replying to state­rncnts rnadc by hon. members on this side. Yesterday, "\'.hen I [JOinted out so1nethino· 111

connection ·vvith a certain measure of ~on­C(•rn to the farmers in mv electorate and •· tid that a course of action could have' been adopted which would have been more beneii­eial to them. the Sccretarv for Agri­culture got up and devoted about five u:inutes to personal abuse of myself. I did not refer to him penonallv on one occasion, .yet .he diJ nothing whe'n he got up on hm lund legs but abuse the hon. member for ::\Iirani. ::\Ioreover. he told an absolute untruth in what he said. Cf course, ho know that I had no chance of ,replv. ~ •.d I would not be in order if I repliccl now; st1ll I cannot help saying that. although

I sympathise with !he members of [11.30 a.m.] the Cabinet. "ho feel that ilwy

arc dl~creJitcd and have brou(J'ht t~lf'ITisl'lvcs into ar~ i~llOS:-'ible po~ition i~nd tnat thPy cannot JUStify thca1sch·'-,_, bv anv lf'gitimat_e argu1ncnt, yet I do not V thinl~ that pos>tion justifies them in rcsortin" to personal abuse e,n_d. unfairly attacki11g 1~Cnl­bf~rs o.f the Oppos1hon "·ho have q11itc fairly and JUstly tak0n the opportunit•· in the c~:n~:;_·~c of parlia1ncntar:;T proccdurC of criti­eismg them.

I think 1vr· should re('eive some inforn1ation from the Govornment, most certainly rcgarJ. mg tlns matter of ,direct action. which is co' .(antly cropping up. Scarcch· a month gor~ by that primarv nroducel·s a're not injured b,· direct actior~. and we should have some indl< at ion frorn th0 Go\Tc-rnment ~1Pfor~ this sc~~·"io!l terrninatcs that legislation ~ ', gmng to ue mtroduccd to cop0 with it. Hon. members are objcctino· to the aiyino­of further powers to !he C'orrtnonwealth and whatever o;w may think about that proposal: rnost corta1nly, If th0·re 'vas ever a reason for supporting Mr. Bl'l!eo in his proposed artton, It Is .to be found in the incapacity and. the mefficiency shown by this Adminis­tration.

:Yir. ELPHI:i\'STO:\"E (Oxlcy): I wish to take this opportunity to deal in detail with one or two subjects which I mentioned on the Address in Reply. I refer in the first place to the manner in which the licensing laws of Queensland are eoustantly broken. Those of us who travel round this State know quite well-it does not matter what centre one goes into-tlv1 t the IYHY in which t~e. public· houses are kep~ open during pro· Jub1ted hours 1s notlnng' snort of a disgr..tce.

::VIr. PEASE: Did you se,l that Lennon's Hotel was prosecuted the other day'!

Mr .. ELPHI~STO::-JE: I am very glad to lwar It. In tlns connectwn I give due credit to the State institution at Babinda because so far ag my experience goes. it is 'a bout th~ only hotel of an:; importance in the North that really respects tllP law, and it is to the cre·~:lit ?f the manager that he persistently mamtams that the State mu··t r·CSYJect the law nf the State and s~t an example to 'others. Un~ fortunately, that IS not the position in regard

to most of the other hotels in the State, and I cannot understand bj "hat possible rcasorJiwt we can punish people for soiling other goods outcide the regulation hours Y'hen 1\l' allow hotels to trade at pr>Lctical!y any hour of tho cL., or night. It is perhaps a YPl',V unple:1sant thing to say, but either the 1 olice ore absolutely neglectful of their obviOlL· duties or ~OHI(' other infiuences are at \l'ork which pn'vem them from doing what should b0 done in this vory important inatter. \Ye cannot expect the citiz ~ns of Queens] and to respect the law of this State ''hen it is po·siblc for " large number of hotels which arc· ~pecifically re.:;tri, tcd by r·::!rr~lations which lmP had . the careful thou;ht and exammatwn of this House, to brouk the law ><·ith impunity. For the edification of the l.rm. member for lp'.wich, let me tell him that recently at Korth Ipswich a butcher was fined £2 and costs for selling meat twon!y-six nunutos before opening time in the rnorning. l\ly infonnatiDn continues--

" He pleaded it was required for broth for a sick person, but that made no differcnre. The same wPek and since ( ·~rLain hotl'l-ke(~pers +rad,ed after hours :1nrl. on Sunday~, but for son1o 1nysteriou~ i'0<l'50ll they can do it.··

The two gentlc·mcn who represent those areas in . thi::~ I-lou~c ar _ gentlemen who .are, I l:dF•vc, looked upon fl :- b~~ing ubstPinious~ and I think, supporters of the prohibition doe: trine.

A ( 11.35 a.m.,

:\fr. F. A. COOPER (Bn mrr), ono of the panel of Temporary Chairmen relieved the Spc-akpr in the chair. '

IIon, D. A. GLEDSOX: Do you expect '" to go round and catch tlw hotei~kocprrs?

:'l'l:r. ELPHI:\'STO:\'E: :\'o; but I do say to the hon. gentleman, as a member of a. Cabinet that controls the police affairs of this Sta1e, th>et it is high time those mem· hers v ~~rp seized vvith a "ensc of their responsibility and saw th l t the police did !heir dut.v.

The HO}!E SECRETARY : Do you suggest 1hat the police are deliberatelv not doing their duty'! "

Mr. ELPHI::\'STO::-JE: I do most assuredly suggest tb at the police arc not doing their dutY. I make that statement deliberately. \Vhv that is so I am un.rble to state. I am unable to say whether the instructions given lJ,. the powers that be arc that they are to dose their eyes to this breaking of the law. TraYel the length and breadth of Queens­land, and you will sec this law flagrantly broken. Ha Ying disposed of the licensing question, I think to the reasonable satisfac­tion of all moderate-minded people it is up to us to sec that the law is respected, and, instead of allowing this disregard of the law !o go on as occurs to·da,., it should be taken verY seriously in hand.~

Hon. D. A. GLEDSo:;;: Have you reported any breach that you ha vc noticed?

::\Ir. ELPIIINSTONE: No; if I took that in hand, I would be doing nothing else. We all know that is the position. It is not m:: mission to go to the police and report ,,·hat they know themsdves. I am reporting it to this House. It is my mission, as a r l<'lYlb• r of the Oppo,ition, to call public attention to the matter.

Jlr. Elphi10stone.]

308 Supply. [ASSEMBLY.] Supply.

The HO}!E SECRETARY : A member of the Opposition came to me and drew my atten­tJon to this matt<:>r. and. when the publican 1· as prosecuted, he asked me to stop the prosecution.

Mr. ELPHIJ'\STO::\E: I am ,orrv to hear that. It is our dutv to call the .tttention of the people respons-ible to what is taking place. They know it: we all know it; so wh_~ blink our C:';Ps to 1Yhat is occurring? Let uc take hold of this trouble and cure it, bc:cau,,e it 1:-<. a nlo . .;t scrio'us matter. It is to tho credit of the State hotel at Babinda that the law is rr-•pected there and the hotel it~ run on first-das·-;; line'· \YhY cannot 've soc that others conform to that .. o,.tme control? In justice to the morP responsible people in the licensing trade. let me say that l know it is ju"t as detrimental to them as it is to us to see this law broken. Thev d<•sire to see the guilty persons dealt with.· and thus prevent public odium being brought on themselves. At the present moment the law is being flouted, and it is up to us to see that something is done, and done in no nncertain manner, to bring the offenders to heeL

I desire to deal with an{lther point which arose out of a question I asked of the Home Secretary recently with reference to the con­trol of motor traffic in this citv. I under­stood from the hon. gentleman that there is a regulation in force which makes it mandatory on every motor 'ehicle to have an efficient silencer affixed. That regula­tion is not being respected. People tear ruund the city, particularly where there are hills to climb, cutting out the effect of the silencm·, making themselves objectionable and a menace to a certain section of the communit.v. It so happens that certain of our hospitals are in centres where the roads rise fairly rapidly. and these thoughtless people tackle the hill with the silencer cut out, making a rwi~,e lik0 a rnachine gun. It eau lx readily under>tood .,, hat a serious effect such a rOv~· \Vou1d have on an inmate of a hospital suffering fron1 a se61ous illne.s1s. Our schools and our churches, too, are being interfered with by this disregard of reg)lla­tions. The Home Secretary stated that there was such a regulation dealing "·ith the matter and that the police had the matter in hand. I do not remember read­ing of a single instance of a motor driver being prosecuted for failing to affix a •ilencer to his vehicle. P!entv of illustra­tions can be brought forward showing that the regulation in this respect is being dis­regarded. A properly equipped policeman could make an example of half a dozen of the offenders. and the menace would promptly cc:tsc. It is quite likely that it 1s being done thoughtlessly in many in­stances, but it is the duty of the Uovern­mcnt to see the.t the regulation is given effect to. I sugg·est that the Minister in charge of these affairs should give some eonsideration to the complaints I have made.

Mr. KERR (Enoggera) : I would like to follow on somewhat similar lines to the hon. member for Oxle,1· with respect to another serious matter involving the breaking of our laws. I 1·efcr to the games of chance and skill which are b."ing conducted in Queens­land to-day. vYe are aware of a showman at Maryborough having been brought· before the court and fined £10 for conducting a game of chance or skill, yet that verv same showman came on to Brisba.ne and conducted

[Mr. Elphinstone.

busincss at the Roval National Society's ohow 011 tlw \'Cry same lines as he did at Maryborough.

Tlw Ho,rE 8ECllE'L\ll>. : \Vhat games were they?

:VIr. KERR: I understand that in this case he was playing "hoop-la." That game b "-:; been prohibited in ya rious towns in Queensland. T'he law respecting this matter is Y£'1'_'.' indefinite, and it scc1ns to rest for its iuterprctation with the various inspecto·rs and police sergcauts in charge of the police in the variouS centres. There is no uni­formity of interpretation. The other day I asked the Home Secretary if the Com­•·•issioncl' of Police had any cognisance of the game of chance or skill that was being cond~1CtC'd in one of our n:!ain streets in Brisbane. The answer was that the Com­miseioncr had no such knowledge. I per­sonallv visited the place in which this game was proceeding, and witnessed it being played. Play had been going on for a. wee~. The night after I asked the question m this Chamber I took the hon. member for Murrumba with me to the building, and together we viewed various games of chance and skill being played. The rental of the property would probably be £25 per :week. The ycrv same games were previously stopped a·t Townsvillo and Maryborough, yet thev were allowed to be conducted in a shop in 'the heart of Brisbane and at our Royal National Society's Show!

The Ho:uE SECRETARY: That is not correct.

Mr. KERR: It is correct.

The Ho:uE SH:RETARY: The game that was beiniT pla,·cd at Townsville is called the balloo~ game.

Mr. KERR: I believe that nearly every showman at the show at Townsville was stopped playing his g:;me, but certain things eventuated and qu1te a number. were permitted to •resume. I have no des1re to cast anv reflections on the police of Queens­land, but I am in posses,ion o_f a report of considerable length on the domgs of the various showmen. If the law is so framed as to make the position in respect of these games indefinite, and if there is no pro­,·ision made in any schedule to show wha.t are gamH of chm~ce and skill, it certai•:ly leaves it open to any member of the pohce force to sav whether a particular game shall be conducted or otherwise. If there is such a difficultv. then the road is left open to \vhat is 'kno\vn in ~t\merica as " graft." The Government should step in and amend the 1 a w in such a manner as to leave no doubt on the question. If a certain game is prevented from being played in certain towns in Queensland and its players are even taken to court, any reasonable man 'YCJuld expect that they would not be sub­sC'quentl~ ;dlowed to play the same game in another part of the State. There 1s some· thing wrong with our law. Many of the showmen conducting " Aunt Sallies','. and similar games are very respectable Citizens, and no pE>rson deserves more protection than these men. who provide a great deal {lf fun and amusement at our various shows. The moral tone of come of these games is very good indeed; but what I am objed.ing to is the lack of discrimination shown in varwus towns in Queensland, and the uncertainty that exists wit.h -respect to our law on thBBo matters. I have been supplied with infor· mation showing the exact amounts it has

Supply. [25 AUGUST.] Snpply. 30()

co~t 'lDmc of those showmen to operate in the variou~ towns they have visited. It may seem an extraordinary thing to say. but these facts show that very often something has to happen before they are permitted to operate their games. I want to see these .,ames scheduled so that a showman will know whether he is operating legally or illegally. Thc•se men w~nt to know where they stand, and the legahty of a game could be decided in five minutes.

The Hmm S~CRETARY: Xew games might have to be admitted every five minutes.

Mr. KERR: The existing arrangement lends itself to most undesirable practices. We should have some provision discriminat ing between games of chance and skill, and providmg for someone to adjudicate on the matter. These gamec; should be submitted to th~ Home Secretary, who should have a cormmttoe to determine whether the:v arc g-a~,es of skill .~r chance. Take the· game of Knodnng. In s-ome towns showmen are preven_ted from utilising that gamA. the poll cc mspector ~a ving that it is not a 15ame of skill but a game of chanc", while m other towns the game is permitted. I rcco-nmc:ad that SDmu uniformit",- should bL introduced. In reply to a quest'ion of mine to the Home Secretory iuquiring whether the whole matter had ever been reyiewed with the object of securing some definite amend­ment of the Act, that hon. gentleman replied that the matter "·ould receive con,;ideration. I accept the assm·ancc that the matter will be f'One into by the Home Srcrdan·. Some of these showmen are unjustly treated, and the present method makes rogues of them. Why is it not possible for them to have a p 0 rmit? It appears that nearlv evervon<l else has a permit. Even when a ~man ,,~antB to utilise a windmill in connection with a Lore he has to get a permit. and one needs a pcrrmt to sell ~econd-hand wares.

The liO~IE SECRETARY: How '•m vou adYo­cate that after all vour preYious t'alk about pcrLtits? ~

:\h. KERR : These men should know when• th<>y stand, and should not have to go round the corner to conduct a garnc. Let them ;.;et to work and know that as thev ha v:o thei~ liccn:;.,es in their pockf'ts,. they are actmg- qmtc legally. I hav-e information to ~he effect that these men have carried money m thmr pockets for the purpose of allowing them to carry on their business.

The HmiE SECRETARY: Then vou failed in your ·duty_ by not rPporting the matter. You have no nght to make such a statement under privilege.

li~r. KERR: I do not want to take up that attitude. I am merely indicating to the Home Sccretare" what might happen.

The HOME SEcRETARY: You said thcv carried money in their pockets for that plll:­pose. You should have placed the matt0r before the proper authoritif's.

Mr. KERR: I merelv asked the Homo Secretary to. bring about some definite pro­nouncement m t~e matter. I will go eO far as to. say that, If the Home Secretary will promise a R~ya] Commission in regard to g-ame' of skill and chance conducted in Que<lnsland, I will produce the evidence in my possession, and I will also get those concerned who supplied the evidence to me to come before this Royal Commission and give their evidence.

The Hmm SECRETARY : To prove bribery and corruption in the police force?

Mr. KERR: I did not say that. I said these gentlemen do not know whether they <;re to be permitted to continue operat­mg or not. and some who have continued have been brought into the Police Court and t~e very next week they come into an~ther city, such as Brisbane, and thc,y are allowed to conduct their· illegal games week after week. I pointed out to the Home Secretary that in Queen street an illegal game is being played at the pre"ent time. That is " hoop­la." If " hoop-la " i~ not an illegal game, why was the man m Maryborough sent along? Do I want more information than that?

The l-IOME SECRETARY: The police say they are not av . .rare of it.

. Mr. KF;RR: The police can s~y what they hke; I have the evidence of my own eyes. The hon. member for Murrurnb' and I both saw it. It is an <established fact, though I have not seen it this morning. The Homo Secretarv should have this thing straightened out and these men, many of whom arc respectable men, should be given a fair and sq:<are. dca~ and allowed . to do the right thmg m this regard. Agam. I ask the hon. gentlen1an to aprwint a Rr:yal Comm~ssion, and I will produce mv evidence and ask the g·entlemen concerned." who have given me cprtain information not called for by mv';elf t,o come before the Royal Commission. .. '

The Hm.m SECRETARY : To prove corruption of the police?

liir. KE:RR: I did not ,ay '0.

lYir. BeLCOCK: Y0ur -Inference wa~ per­fectly clear.

Mr. KERR: I 'aid the ·P men did not know where they '.:toad. If the hon. gentleman s.ays t her0 V\-as <'i ,r.('rtain in fc-rei}ce in my remarks, then that inference can be proved a fact or othe1'1\·ise by the appointment of a Ru,\7 al Comn1ission.

The l-IO}JE SECRETARY : Do you wi~h me to an point a R"\Val Connnission, to inquire into tfw "tatements made bv vou in this House to-day? · ·

:\h. KERR: The hon. gentleman can please himself in that regard.

The HmTE SECRETARY: You are shifting your ground.

Mr. KERR: I am not shifting my ground. I said the law of the country is being broken, and I persist in that statement. I sa'- that the matter could be rectified in five minutes if proper action were taken. If a distinction was m a de between g-ames of skill and games of chance and the,, were listed, and a license or Dern1it granted to tnen vvho wi!-<h to con­duct games of skill. then there would be nothing more to fear in that regard. I repent that there is nothing that lays itself more open to irregular practices than these games of skill and chance. I have not gone any further than that to-day. 'I'hese show­men. when they go into a ground, do not know whether they have to pay for the privilege of conducting these games or not.

Mr. BuLCOCK: Why change your ground?

Mr. KERR: I am not changing my ground.

The HOME SECRETARY: Did you not use these words-" What is commonly known in America as ' graft ' " ?

Mr. Kerr.]

310 S>'J>ply. [ASSEMBLY.] Supply.

~1r. KKRR : I certainly u~cd those words, and I u',ed them in this way-that I said that the particular g·ame I was speaking of lays it·.clf open to that.

The IIOMF. SECRETARY : You want a Royal Con1mission?

Mr. KERR: I lHn·e stated the position a·. it e~i·t., to·da , and the Home Secretary cnn inYc~tigato it or othcnvise.

The Hm!E SECRETARY: The speech you are making to·day ie similar to the speech that the man who wa. made to stop in Townsville made to me in my o!iico.

Mr. KERR: I do not think the hon. gentle· man is right. Let me just amplify a little in r0gard to that. I made a statement here the other day in regard to a hazard school operat· ing in Flinders street, Townsville. I a'ked tho Home Secretary this question-

" Is it a fact that a hazard school, for instance, is operating on a substantial scale in the main street of Townsville? Have tho police any cognisance of it?"

The reply of i he Minister was as follows:-" The Commissioner of Police has no

cognisance of such a hazard school."

Mr. BuLcorK: How do you know about it?

Mr. KERR: If I know all about it, why should I ask the Home Secretary the ques· tion? I am seeking information in regard to this matter, and since that question was asked I have reooin'd information from Townsville from a relia blo source that a dP!ibcrate untruth was told in tlw answer to that qCiestion, and that the reply should have boon-

" Yes, a hazard school is operating." It is my place to ask those questions in the House. If there are complaints that the law is bc,ing- broken, is not this the right place to ask those questions? It is up to the Go. yormnent to invc-tigato the complaints that are made from time to time in regar,d to the breaking of the law. I hope the Home Secretary will giYe that matter strict atten· tion. ·

The Ho~rE SEORET.\RY: \Vhen vou toll me the particulars of the case I will".

Mr. KERR: There are some other com. plaints that I could mention. The first is in regard to the inadequate police protec. tion in the \Vindsor area. Bv m0ans of a question this morning I got some infor. mation in regard to the Windsor and New· market areas. and I think everyone will re11lise the vast are t of the Newmarket Police Station for the number of police stationed there.

A Go\'ERN1IENT ME,rrER: Is that in your electorate?

Mr. KERR: Yes. I also want to ask the Home Secr0tary to givo attention to the r<'qnPsts made to him in regard to the 'Wind­sot· I'olic<> Station. It is stated by the resi­dents in their prO!;'r"'' associations that the police protection in that area is entirely insufficient.

The Ho~TE SECRETARY: There 1s a night patrol.

Mr. KERR: Thoro may be a night patrol, but the residents have requested me to ask the Commissioner for additional police to be stationed in the 'Windsor area. Various

[Mr. Kerr.

nublic meNing·s have been held m regard to the matter. and the combined progress asso· ciations haye ,·oiced their prote,ts. I hope somC'thing will be done in relation to the matt0r.

Hon. D. A. GLEDSON: You will not agree with that; you say the police are no good.

Mr. KERR: I did not say the police were no good. The Newmarket Police Station has been in existence for a great number of years, and it is one of. the worst h~uses in that des1rable res1donhal area. L1ke the yarious raihvav station-masters' houses on our suburban ·lines, the police station is usually the worst house in the whole area.

Mr. Bc;LCOCK: 'Why don't you keep this for the Estimates, and let us got on with serious affairs?

Mr. KERR : I am voicing my views. The ]\''"'"market area deeervos a batter police station than it has now, although it may meet the requirements of the people who may be locked up there. It is more or less an· ev<'-,ore and I regret that the Govern· ment- ha,·e' not made the required improve­ment.

Another matter which I wish to bring before this Houce, not by \\ 1y of complaint but in order that it may rcC'cive the con­sideration of the Government. is this: Then> is at Enoggcra a magnificent ar0a of ground, which has interested every member

of the councils in the metto­[12 noon] politan area in th_e past, and al~o

the Groa tcr Bnsbane Councr l. t sugg-est thot the estnblishmcnt of munici­pal golf links on th.at _area Imght we_ll be considered, because It IS the most suitable ai"ea that I fnow of. The Government c·ould assiet in the initial stages. As hon. r 1Cn1bers arc a\vare~ there are military c~·.rnps and :t rifle range at Enoggcra, and . proposal hr,s been made that the range

should be mo,·cd to some other l<Y'ality. I know that thr State Gm·0rnmcnt have no authori·: c: in that regard, but they can make ,, move· to ad,·ance the' project. That land was \ransfoned at federation to the Corn· mom"' alth authorities, vvho arc paying i: terest on it to the State. I want the su,te GoYormr..'nt to go into tlk question r:nd sC<' •, het her thev cannot substitute another niPre of land ii1 anothrr area under !he s <I1H~ conditions. thus getting that area hack for tlw State' as Crown land, and then hnnd it over \o the Greater Brisbane Council for do,·olopmont as a municipal park.

1\!Ir. \YEIR : Arc not vvDrkcrs' hon1cs more nc•cessary?

1\lr. KERR: I admit that it is a ,splendid idea to have \Yorkers' homes, and I admit that th0re seem to be hundreds of applica· tious fer them: but I do not know that there is such a ,·ast shortage in that regard as would justify taking this area for the purpose. I do not believe. however, rn the ~ronp SV>tem of \YOrkers' hon1f~s, as has been adOpted in rnany cases ·with war service homos. I hold that the erection of workers' dwellings or workers' homes in a group area would he the greatest. mistake the GoYcrnmout could make, and I hope the Go,·ernm' nt will not perpetuate the evil. but will agree that the Enoggora rifle range sbould be secured as a recreation ground or for municipal golf linb. In all my travels I haYe soon no other area in or around Greater Brisbane which would be more suit­able for municipal links than the rifle range.

S!!pply. [25 AUGUST.] Suprly. 311

I have had Pxpert opinion in regard to it, and I am told that, if it wore laid out for the purpO"l'. Qucen .• land would have the finest golf links in the whole of Au,tralia. It i, a magnif\ce•nt area for the purpose.

A GoYER::orE:\T 2\![E,IBER : How many workers pla~.· golf?

:vir. KERR: The hon. member does not srern to rcnli~e tlwt in ruany cou11tries it is H workn1an'f' g-ame. and there is no reason whv it should nd be so hel"C': but under fll'l~'.;;cnt-daTT conditions the 1nan \vho is work­ing for the basic wage has no rhanre of playing the game of golf.

Mr. \YnR: Is it not morf' important to gl n~ him a home?

1\-Ir. KERR: A home is a first considera· tion, I grant ou that, but to-day over 80 per cent. of our people own or are paying <'ff their homes. The:.· want reercation, and tllC' mo't pleasant recreation to mv mind is golf. It \vmt!d be a splendid idea' to estab­lish rnagnificcnt rnnniripa] golf links at Rnoggera.

The SECT'ETARY FOR AGRICULTURE: A very good idea.

Mr. KERR: One of the finest areas for the purpose was pa'··•ed OYer bv the Crown to the Commonwealth. ·

The SECRETARY FOR AGRIC"1:LTURE: You sug-gest that the Commonwealth should lease the land for the purpose of establishing golf link"?

:VIr. KERR: Tlwre will ha ye to be an <'Xchange of land. The area is fa1: too thicklv p~pu1at~d to continue the Enog~era rifi'P range a'. a rifle rang<'. Sh0lls have pa,ssed over tho hills and falkn amongst thP rPlidents. The Commonwealth Government have decided not to utilise that range fo1· that purpose again, and the tinw is fast approaching when rifle shooting \Yill also haYe to ceao.;o on that range. Tlw Stat'~ should now look aronnd for another area to exC'hange \v~th the CDn1rnonwealth for this area. at Enogg(•ra. I ban~ gone into this qnf'"tion prt~tty thorough},\· \vith progress a'.,~Ociatiou~ and indiYidnal residents. and thPv an) all behind the movement. The aldernwn of the Grcttcr Brisba,nc Citv Council ai,~ arc all bPhind the mon•ment. The,· a!l desire to sec 'Ceps taken to establish golf links at Enogg-era. I kno\v of no area that is better suited for that purpose.

The SECRET·\RY FOR AGRICULTl'RE: You a·rc proposing that they should be municipalised'?

N!r. KEIU?.: Y0s. T1w SECRl T.\RY FOR AGRTCcLTl'RE: That is

the proprr idPft. :\Ioorc Park in S;~·dney ha,s 0xcP!Jc.nt golf lillk:. !Jut the place is over· 1.TO\Yd<?·d. \

l\Ir. I{ERR: There are ~o many playing on it t.hat ii is almost impossible to play ther<?.

Mr. KEL,,o: The :Yiinistor plays golf.

1"Ir. KERR: It is one of the finest recrea­tions that I know.

The SECRET.\HY FOR AGRICL:LTURE: I played iL twent~~ years ago.

2\lr. KERR : It is too costlv for an ordinar: \YOrking man to play.

The SECRETARY FOR AGRICULTcRE : It does not cost much.

Mr. O'KEEFE: You are suggesting tha,t they should play golf.

:Hr. KERR: I am suggesting that it should lw made e''.Si<>r for them to play. The area, at Enogg0ra is very easy of access.

The SECRETARY FOR AGRICULTURE: Some of t~e world's b0st links are muni<"ipal golf lmks

:Mr. KERR: Yes. Very rarely a man come,, from Scotland who is not able to drive a ball 300 yards.

The SECRETARY FOR AGHICULTURE: They arc very go8d if they can do that.

:\Tr. KERR: I sha 11 place my scheme before the Minister if he ,,·ill indicate that he is pr<'pared to assist me in this desirable object:. I think it is a magnificent object.

::\Ir. CLAYTON: Do you want finance?

l\Ir. KERR: N"o finance is necessary. It will not cost the (;overnment anything. It is something that. is very desirable.

In the Indooroopilly section of my elec­torate a lllnre c-entrally situated school is nece -:u·~·. This is not a new question. It has b<·' n mooted for a long time, and inspec· tin:ns haYD been 1nade, but, as no action has been taken. the time has arrived when I f\nd it nccc?srrrv to raise the matter in a public wa:·. N;lt only is there support for the school from the Indooroopilly section of the elc< 'orat.e, but on the other side of the riyer in the Oxlc~v clt;ctoratc' progrc-.;s associa­tions anrl residents are firmly of the opinion that it is absolutelv essential that a school should he built in the more thickly populated part of Indooroopilly 'l'he nearest school at lhe prc.;cnt timP- iR to,yards Taringa. There i-~ dan,rcr att0nding- yonng children traYclling in ·trains, and this da,ngor v ould be obviated to a large extent if this question VH1S favour­abl~· eomidercd. The Secretary for Public In,trurtion im·estigilted this matter. I understand that his opinion was favourable, bui. unfortauatel~-7 , the n1on0v \Yas not avail­able to carrv out the work. 'When I examine thf' finance~ I ahva:vR regrf't that money running into tens of thousands of pounds is being spent unwisely. -vvhile such necessitous institutions as our State schools are penalised.

:Mr. FARRELL: You um the very man who on the Address in Reply criticised the educa­tional S} otem.

::\Ir. KEHR: If the hon. member listens to me. he will discover that I am criticising it still. Mouc7 is being spent in other channr ls which could verv well be utilised bv the Education Departlno~t. I can point out definite expenditure which I sa::' advisedly is to the dotrinwnt of the State, while expenditure for the facilities and require­ments of the young-or generation is held up. I concede to the hon. member for Rock­hampton that extensions to our educational system have been made, but surely to good­nes3. after ten ;<'eftrs. something should be done in that direction! I do say that the very {-ir~t consideration in the 'matter of exp"enditure should be for the education of our children. Free C"ducation was not estab­lished bv the present Government. It was cstablish~d before they were ever in power.

Mr. FARRELL: Rubbish !

Mr KERR: The hon. member knows that vvhat I atn saying is correct.

Mr. FARRELL: I say it is rubbish.

Mr. KERR: That 1s about all the hon. tnember can say.

Mr. Kerr.]

312 Supply. [ASSEMBL Y.j Supply.

I have another serious complaint of a general nature which I desire to ventilate, with respect to the Enoggera railway line. When this line was constructed from Mayne Junction to Enoggera it paid handsomely, but when the railhead was taken on to Dayboro' the line did not pay. The anomaly respecting fares on that line requires adjust­ment. The hon. member for Nundah the other day introduced a deputation concern­ing the anomaly with respect to fares on the :'llorth Coast line" The position on the Enoggera line is equally as bad. I have never introduced a matter of this nature into this Chamber without" first attempting to have it rectified by the department. I have waited on the Commissioner for Rail-

ays and introduced deputations who made t·cquests on the matter. I also spoke last session on this question, but this anomaly is still occurring. Travellers to the more populous and wealthier parts of tho suburbs ran travel by rail far cheaper than the resi­dents, who are for the most part workers, ran travel on the Enog~era line. It has been stated that fares have been increased by 10 per cent., but that is not true with respect to the Enoggera lino. The increases haye been Id. on <".1rh occasion, with the result that thrc fare is now far too high. Let mo withdraw that r0mark, and saY. in order that I might get the matter rectified, that an anomaly has been ere:~ ted in the fares on that line as compared with the fares on other lin0s. In view of those com­parative anonwlics I would like the Secre­tary for Railways to giYe this matter grt·:ttor attention than he has so far done. The oyercrowding is appalling. I am aware that happens over.: day on our tramvirays and railways, but it happens more consistently and exc01;"sively on the Enoggera railway extension than on other lines. I have advo­mted the solution of this problem by the electrification of our suburban railways. The Secretary for Railwa vs has stated that the cost would be too great. I submit thRt. if the hem. gPntleman examined the initial cost in Melbourne and the subcequent saving, he '' ould no longer hesitate, on that ground. The population of Greater Brisbane is now approximately a quarter of a million, and that warrants the electrification of our suburban ra.ilways. I belieYe it is proposed to make rcsumptions fot· our pre<;ent system as far as Eagle Junction. Those resump­tions will cost tens of thousands, and possiblv it will be e.-en £1.000.000 before the quad­ruplicat.ion of the line is effected. Surely it would be better to spend that money on the electrification of the railways and so secure a b0ttcr service! Later a t.-Onsi·derable saying >Yould be effected.

Mr. BuLcOCK : The resumptions would be necessary just the same.

Mr. I\. ERR: No. :Mr. BuLCOCK: Did you notice the rcsump­

tions necessary at J\1:ilson's Point?

:VIr. KERR; .!.\'o; but I obtained all the figures I could regarding the electrificatioh of the Mdbournc railways and all the figure; regarding the ct1nversion of our system, an<1 I find that the charge would not be exces'·ive in comparison with that connected with the development of the present system. I admiL that the power-house would be a heavy cost, but no doubt more power in connection with other servic-es is necessary, and the Greater Brisbane Council could be associated with the matter.

[211Ir. Kerr.

A number of complaints have been made against the Government, but I desim to convey my appreciation to them for the assist­ance the~ have given me on what I consider a question of natioual importance. In the n1atter of uwving pictures, the .American people ha YC' taken quite a large surn of n1onev frmn us, and ha\"8 left Australia in :he position of being practically unable to ('Ope with An1eriC'an comp"~tition. I arn:· financially inteYested in picture production 111 QuPensland ·with a view to ,·,eeing if sorne· thing canner be clone to develop the industry and so advertise Australia through the screen. The production of moYing pictures is Yerv co·:·tlv. and it npeds en:-rv encouragc-111l'l1t and co~t:;iclerntion fron1 the .GoYernrnent. The• Secretary for A2.Ticulturc ha~ in his employ one of the !;lost efficient cinema­photographers in Australia aud .an expert 1vho \\'ould cornnare fayourabh \vith anvone in the bucincss i'n the worl-d. \Y!1en the ~om­pany I 'peak of starte-d opentiom. the hem. gentleman was kind cnouQ·h to lend the '<'n·i('es of this C>xpert to the con;pany, and that nl'ln i~ still a:-!'i~tin~r the co1npany. ,\Jthoug,h the DeJNrtmrnt of A<rriculture may son1ctimc~ haY0 hr0n irH·onYenif'ncecL it ha~ on no occa~ion failed to nH et 11~ in thl' n1atter. I want to pay that tribute. lwcacw then are n1any thing~ ihnt the GoYcrnn1cnt can do In regard to that ycr,· important industry. One c 1 !1not producP a pidurc in _._-\ustralia .fat lc"s tha11 £5.000 or £6.n()c,_ It is somethmg likr three or four 'ea,·s before that amounr is returned. 811d h i~ Y()ry problcmat.ical v;h0thcr anY n1orr· wil1 con1e in. If any hon. member ha~ seen the picture '· Tlw :l.r'oth of .'.Ioonbi.'' he will reali·• that t!w uttlc s.ct~nc in th•lt pirturc. \Yhich -is DO\Y .3ho,ving­in EnO'!and ancl in Yarions pnrt.;:; ot the \Yorld. is a !:':' yerv n1agnifl~ ent adn:-rtis- In'' nt for Queensland.

Th0 DEFCTY SPEAKER: Th" hem. nicn1be1· has cxh: nsh•d the tin10 allowed hin1 under the Standing Order~.

:\lr. ROBERTS (Xwl TorJII'oom!w): This warning thr hon. D1C'l11ber for Enoggera referred to people making, a li.-ing hy play­ing ganH'S of chance or skill, and I. desirr" to 1nake a few rernark::; 011 the subJect. I C'Prtainlv do not faYour people rnaking a Jiying· Lv gulling 1hl:' public. ~·omplaints \Y('l'C rnade to a gentleman o~ cupy111g a yery hiuh position in this :House on onp occasion -·I hPard nart of the com·crsation-that certain people had be0n cut out from play­iiJg certrrin gamf's of chance. Yet thes8 gar,w-. were allowed to be played at the :\'ational Sho» a few weeks ag<>, therefore I ao-re0 with the hen. member for Enoggera that ,,hate.-er the law is it should be applied uniformlY. vYh0n some trouble arose at Too-

,Jornba · :-.on1e t.in1c ago in this conrH.'ction l a· informed that Too,momba came under· the Towns Police Act, and probabl.v some of these troubles arise owing to the fact that some towns are Hot subject to that. Act. If all to-.',ns wh0rc larg·e bodies of people con­gTegate were brought under th_e TDwns Police Act, it >vould give the pohce better control o>cr these matters. At all events, the law' should be uniform.

There are two or three matters that I wish to ventilate in connection Fith Too­woomba, a,; I did not get. an opportunity, when the Address in Reply was under dis­cussion, to bring these matters forward. We have a Yery great grievance in Too\voomba with the Railway Department in regard to

Supply. [25 A"GGLTST.] Supply. 313

the want of a bridge at Campbell street. I •ras astonished to hear the Commissioner for Railways some weeks ago say to a very influential deputation at Toowoomba that he thought the bridge was not required. I stated in my remarks that I understood that, se far as the Government were concerned, i~ was settled the bridge would be built. That is to say, the previous Government had agrPed to build it. The Commissioner was of opinion that all had not been said in its favour, and I want to say auite definitely that it is a ver3 urgent matter. As hon. members know, for the convenience of the department the railway runs north and south and crosses all the important streets of Toowoomba .. In the past that was, perhaps, not mconvenwnt to the people of Toowoomba with its small population, but with its present population of 25,000 and its large number of indu,tries, the people living at the north end of Toowoomba snff<'r great inconve­llic'nce because of the lack of .adequate means of communication. Quilt> apart from the feet th?.t there arc sawmills, foundries, and other industries in the northern portion of ~hr:' ri!y, ~\ c ha Ye various Rporh grounds, mclndmg th" Royal Agricultural Society's ~l~o,y·gTound. the beautiful range in TOo­\\ oornba, \'.hi eh is so much adrnirt~d as one d the beauty ~pots of the Statt>, the botanic .c.ndens, and large public schools on the "'"tern side of Toowoomha, and the people hayc to go long di'3b:tnc<,~ to spcure conl-

• u:unication with other parh. .\11 the heavv 11'affie has to f{O over Huthv,•n strePt, and i1 is hindered hv th,, railway traffic \vhich is (J(Wnrcl up acros3 Ruth>:f'n ,;;;treC't hv the Ur~t\·ton deviation. Th!. is ~ rC'quir.ement ,.,-hich is nece·-sar,-: in the interests of Too­\vcomba. and the difficnlt\- has bc··''l brourrht abot!t b:. the Raihvay Department itself.

0

Then there is the matter of the train senice. The train service between Too­''-'Oomba and BrisbanC' is \YOr"·O to-dav than it was twent} years ago. I am of opinion that passenger traffic is centred in tile through traffic between Sydney and Brisbane. and th" traffic between the north<>rn portion of ='!ew South \Vales, \Varwick Toowoomba and Ips,yich is not thought ol Everything has to giVe precedence to the running of the Sy~lncy n:ail. \Ve ~avc a train leaving Bnshanc m the mm·mng for Toowoomba at five. minutes to 7. It precedf's the Sydney mall to enable passengers to be picked up at the intervening· stations to join the mail tram at Toowoomba.

The SECRETARY FOR PcBLIC IVORKS : vVhy Is that necessary?

:Mr. ROBERTS: I have told you why it is ncc·essary.

The SECRETARY FOR PUBLIC WORKS: It is necessary because there are sufficient train pae.~engers on the Sydney mail to fill it. Look at the number of passengers there are now compared with the time vou are talk-ing about! ·

Mr. ROBERTS: I am pointing out that everything has to give way to the Sydney mail, and that, as a r0.,ult, the train which ehoulcl be a local train to Toowoomba has to leave Brisbane at five minutes to 7 to pick up passengers for the convenience of the Sydney mail.

The SECRETARY FOR PUBLIC WoRKS: Is it not a fair thing that long distance passengers should get first consideration?

:Mr. ROBERTS : Will the Minister deny what I say? What is the position on the journey back? You have to leave Too­woomba at 3 o'clock in the afternoon, or else you cannot get a train till the next morn­ing. That is most unfortunate. About twenty years ago we always had a morning train to Toowoomba and an evening train leaving there about 5 o'clock, and reaching Brisbane about twenty minutes past 10. That enabled people to do their business reasonably. The same thing applies to all the country branch railway lines. There is scarcely a daily service on any of th~m. The result is that the people who are usmg the railway system have to come in in the morning and leave for their homes the next clay, consequently the railway service is not being utilised as it should be. The traffic is being diverted to the motors. In Too­woomba, for instance, we have from twelve to fifteen motors going into country centres and carrying goods and passengers which should be conveyed by the Railway Depart­ment. If the Government or those in charge of the railway system looked ahead, they would be catering for this business. It is all vcrv well to talk about competition by motor services, but we arc not alive to the position. The mernhers of the Public Works Commis­sion have had an opportunity of seeing the motor service in the C!oncurr:v district. It is in operation there, and running a distance

of 80 miles from Normanton to [12.30 p.m.] Croydon. They certainly make

the trip only once a week, hut the men who run the service told me when I made some inquiries from them that they were able to do it efficiently and cheaply, and never have any trouble. We know that there are hundreds of these motor vehicles in different parts of the State, and I think it is up to the Railway Department to try to cope with the position. We have pre­viouslv produced plans showing wh11t they do in· the other StatPs in this direction.

I asked a question to-da •. of the Se·rr-:tary for Hail"avs .. md I am not at all satisfied ,,-ith th0 n;ply. I am not going to -ay that tile reply wa" nntrnthfuL bee 'lllf!f' l as~.ume that the ~.1inistcr rcpcaterl wh~t his officers have told him, but I am not p<cpared to agree with Mr. C'hambcrs t.hat Ba.ralaba coal mixf'fl with St.vx coa 1 is satishctory. T havt> been a tradesman, and I know from mv own knmv]c,]ge of work that the man on the job ought to know ,vhat hE' is talking about. So I alw:ns give credence to the man who actually does th<> job; and in this connection I intt>ncl to quote what Mr. Valentine said at Toowoomba last Saturday nio-ht. He is a man who knm·1·, his job. I ~ufJposc he is not on the footplate now­I think he has a permanent position as s<cretary of his union-bnt when he was on the footplate he was an efficient officer who knew engine work. and I hn.ve no fault to liEd with him. This is what he says-

" Whilf' admitting that there were many things operating against the Rail­way Department, he \vanted to say that one of the great defects in proper management of the senice arose from the quality of the coal. In the " Weekly ~otice" there was a photograph of an engine blowing out black smoke, and under it was an intimation that this was not the proper way to start an engine. That was the result of the Go­vernment purchasing Baralaba coal, a

1J1r. Roberts.]

314 Supply. [ASSEl\IBLY.] Supply.

most unsuitable coal for locomotiye pur­poses. The Government knew the facts, bPcause thev had been placed before them by the men who had to handle the train services, showin~ that by the ·use of this coal the men were forced to work overtime, as it \vas the cause of manv trains running late. It was sc:tndalou's to think that the Government would con­tinue to purchase this coal and were forcing it on the Commissio'ner because it we; fl·om a State min0. He hoped the Government would crivc this point earnest consideration.'' b

I shall not r<'ad anv more from iYir V alcn­tine, although therr; is a lot more of it both d0finite and emphatic. Another speaker. Mr. Drakoford, who is a new man to me. tlw gcnPral •ccretn ry of the union, spoke i~ corr?borabon, and I may as we1l say in passmg that thcsp speeches were made in the prosenc0 of th0 hon. member for Too­\roomb"t, who "poke in response to a roast. Mr. Drakeforcl said-

" Baralaba coal is the worst coal for loco:-r1otivAs in Australia. In the Central Division thcv found trains delayed evPry­whorc o·.vmg to the use of this coal and besides. it was bad for th0 0ngines'. H~ had ~Pen a shoeking return in regard to ovortl!ne. and lw had noticed that tlw Southern J?iYision had topped the poll, but ''·hen It \Yas remt>mbct·ed that there were a grr:tt many more men in the Southern Division than in the other two cli,:i,ions, thrm the posihon did not seem qu1to 'o. had in ('Omparison. Engines 'v.f':e hcnu:~· ~ent out. in a defective- con­dition and the men "ere ·csked to run to time, added to which thcv had a bad C'lass of coal." ·

I knoo,o,.· thct is the nosition so far as we r'ro concf'rned in rroo,'voomba. I hav0 illus­trat0d it in thi." I-Iou~c on a previous occa­.... wn.

Yfr. HrLCOC'K: Is Baralaha coal used in the southern district'

c1Ir. RO~-lBRTS: I do not suppose it is. hut the pomt " that the Government should buy the br t of everything. vVhat is the good of V{ rkit.lg- St<tte 1nincs or huyin~g coal from other nn1ws wlwn the product is not un. to a cnrtain qualit~-? \Ve should have f'fl<~tcncy. but there is evidence that in the Hallway Department that is not the case.

\'~'e have n many complaints about the Rm lwa v Department that I propose to devote some furth~r tune to them. I received this letter from Mes,rs. Harrison. Gilbert, and Oo., anctloneer.-,, stoc:k, station, land, and r:st 1tc agents, Toowoomba-

" 23rcl August, 1926. "T. R. Roberts. Esq .. M.L.A.,

"Parliament House, Brisbane.

"Dear Sir,-\Ve attrtch hereto copy of letter Jloctcrl to-clay to the Commissioner for Railways regarding a matter which, we consider, requires your personal atten­tion.

".We would be greatly obliged for any ass:stancc you could •render in the matter referred to.

"Yours faithfully, "Harrison, Gilbert, and Co."

~his letter was forwarded to the Commis­siOner for Railways-

[Mr. Roberts.

" T'oowoomba, 23rcl August, 1926.

" rro the ,~on:lnist'~ioner for Raihvays, Bnsban0.

" Dear Sir -For some C)nsiderablo tiiYlC past w~ ha YO boon expcrienci.ng groat difficulty with the Railway Depart­n1ent here regarding cattle trucking fron1 along th~ wcstArn line to Harristown. Stocl{ coming from the branch lines, as well as the main western line, arriv" lwre not lrrtcr than 2 p.m. each clay. Harris­town, as you are aware. is about 2 miles on the eo ut hern side of Toowoomba, and. although the consignment is accepted for that destination and freight charged accordingly, it is a compliment tQ. have the stock -rlclin:red at their destination except jnst when it suits the department. To-cla,-. h\'0 trucks of cattle, loaded at Chinchilla at 7 a.m .. ar-rived here on the 2 o'clock train, and the department now advice us it is impo"ible to deliver them at I-!arristown before 10.20 to-night."

:\Iark the time, Mr. Deputy Speaker. At Toowoomba at 2 o'clock, and thev cannot be liberatC'cl until 10.20 ! The letter continnes-

" Thi~ is a matter which dc·,erves your n0rsonal attention, and in the interests ~f the stockowners lYho provid<; a f.air shar0 of the re,·cnue earned bv the Rail­way Department we feel sure you will attend lo same.

"Yonrs faithfully, " Harrison, Giibert, and Co."

P.S.-It is quite a common occur­renco for stock arriviug here on the 9.20 "',~tern train to be landed at IIarri.,to\vn on·. time np to 3 a.m. the following 111orr ing.''

Imrnediatelv I recciYecl that. letter I com­mm,;catecl {vith 1\fr. Murton, secretarY to the Corntni~sioncr for R.ail v:a~~s, who promised to rnak<: inquiries. Tbi'· n1orning he was able to toll me tlnlt they had arranged to liberate those cattle at 5.30 last night. Even then thoro "·as a c!Plav of three hours. \Ve have to realise ihat tiw--e is something wrong in this department. It is all very well to talk nbont the Irlf'n running the trains, but there is a want of efficiency all round.

l\11-. LLEWELYN: \Ye will make you Com­mi~sioner for Raihva:vs.

1\Ir. ROBERTS : I am not able to do the job.

The THEASl.'RER: I ask the hon. gentleman a rca~.)nab!e quest1o:n: After having given re ·_·ponsihle officers authority to carry on the job. can we go to pngine-drivers and firemen and hke their advice.,

Mr. ROHEH.TS: I do not say that 'the hon. gentleman c~tn, but, if I know anything of his poli<>-'', it is that these people should haYe a say in the managen1ont of the rail~ ways. I havo heard the hon. gentleman acl1ocate it. Ho has advocated that these .men should meet on a level the man to whom !w pays £2,500 per annum and discuss how the railv.-ays should be rnn.

The TREASURER: I have neyer advocated that.

Mr. ROBERTS: I have heard you say so yourself.

The TREASURER: No. That is a straight· out lie.

1\lr. ~IAXWELL: Withdraw!

Supply. [25 AUGUZT.] Suppiy. 315

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! I ask the Treawrer to withdraw the remark " It is d straight-out lie."

The TREAR1:RER: If it is unparliamontary. I will ithdra"· the remark; but you, Mr. Deputy Rpeaker, allow members to make straight.out lying- statements, and because I happen to deny them--

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order! I '-'" not in a position to say whether the statement made was truthful or not. If the hon. gentle­man believes a statem0nt to be untrue. he can rise to a point of order. If the hon. gonl~eman denies ha,-ing done what is a8'erted by an hon. member, then that hon. member must accept the deniaL

The TREASURER: I withdraw the statement. and I ask the hon. member for East Too· woomba to gi,-e proof that I ever made the statement which he has attributed to me. Many loose sta temonts are made here.

::VIr. ROBERTS: It mav be difficult for me to produce definite evirlelice, but, if the hon. gcntlcn1an as5'ures 1ne that he has never ad,.-ocatcd such a thing~~

The TREASuRER: I am not called upon to giYe you any assurance. I am not going to be croes~exa1n:ined by you.

Mr·. ROBERTS: I will accept the assur­ance.

The TREASURER: It is deliberate untruth all the same. \Yhat do vou call a man wh~ tolls a deliberate untruth?

Mr. ROBERTS: Some time ao·o I received a letter from the Darling Downs bOo-operative Bacon Co., Ltd .. complaining of a number of pigs that had died in railwav trucks. At their invitation I went out to, see the pirrs in_ the truck~; The company lodge-d a clai~n Ynth the Ra11way Department, and I haYe a letter her-e in which the department acknm,·­lodge that the mortalitv was due to the blunder of someone at Rc'mm StrP<>t.

The TREASl'RER: I don't think you saw those pigs.

:'\Ir. ROBEHTR: Let us he fair. The Tnnsc'RER: Thut is about as fair ''

statenH•nt as you 1nadu about me.

Mr. ROBERT!-:>: I regret that very much. Tho Rarlwa:,· Department admitted that the h~ucks conveying tho p1gs \Yerc delayed a L

Roma Rtrcet station for upwards of ·a dav. That delay occurred during v-ery hot weather. consequently it can be understood how thos,o los::-,c~ oc:cnrrcd. \Yhen the co:mpany n1adc apphcatron for some compensation for the ovvncrs tho Co1n1nission~r rPpli.cd that he Y•'C uld not recognise an~T claim. \Vhe1~e it is a-dmitted that somc:me in the department has made a mistake and things have been ov-er­CU!TICd or dela,·e-d in tnnsport auy !o,s should be a reo -on able charge ag-ainst the deportment. \Yhy shot\ld the owner of ten or twelve pigs have to pav for their lo,,s, which wets -duo to no fault of his but to a ddinite hold up of traffic at Roma Str<>ct station for over twenty-four hours? The GoY~n;ment sa:v: that they can do nothing. but 1t !S a very 1mportant matter. This com­pany are doing a ver,\ big businp:;s in Too­woomba. but are "Onsiderablv handicapped by the situation of their work~ and the rail­wa,- conveniences thereto. They attempted to get certain facilities for the handling of their goods from the Railway D<>partment. but thov could. not receive anv satisfaction. I asked the company to give me some idea of

their payments to the Goverrmcnt, .and thev have supplied mo with the following figure.;;;:--

" Amounts paid to GoYernment during the last twelve months by Darling Downs Co-operative Bacon Co., Ltd., include tho following ite1ns :-

Slaughtering fees, £711 7s. 3d. Abo11t hvo years ag-o these fees were in­creased from hl. per pig to 3d. per pig. althoug·l1 one :inspector is still all that is necessary.

Unemploymmt insurance. £40 16s. (A si1nilar an1ount has also to be paid t''~ Go,-erninent by the m0n we employ.) ,

Frcig·ht. £9,997 10s. 4d.''

That is the item I ,,-i,h to emphasis-c. Here is a but'iness firn1 doing business with the Railway Department to that extent. yet th<>y cannot receive any satisfaction in their appli­cction for increased facilities to carry on their businos·- They made a request to the Com­Inissioncr, \Yho cannot SP0 \Vhethor :it i:-; in his pov;er to n1ake the necessary .alteration.

There is another point I wish to get on to. ,especially as I notice that the hem. mem­ber for 'l'oowoomba i in the Chamber. that is the price of platform tickets. It seems quite a small matter, but there is quite a lot behind it. It is onlv one of a number of snwll matters. I ha ye. had correspondence with the R:,ilway Department for some con­~id0rahlc tjn1e, as far back n;;; 5th May, 192.5. in conneetion ,,-ith charges for platform tick:C>t:-:;. I have romnlained of tbe unfairness of having yar.·-.'ing: charges for platform ti, kets. I han' contenrlod with the Commis­sioner and S0rretarv for Railwa~ s that the price of platform tickets shonld be uniform thrnuo·hout QueenslanrL

~Ir. Bm.C'OCK: \Yhy?

l\Ir. ROBERTS · Tlw peoplP of Toownomln '"ishing- to sa.\~ '' G0od-b~y;,·· to frj,ends travel­ling from 0r passing- t.hrongh Toowoomha should not he \'8 to paY mor0 for nlatform tickPf than "·hat is asked fc<' such ticket> in Bri--bane.

l\Ir. BDLCOCK : You know thP reason.

:'\Ir. ROBERTS: I do not. I know that tlw Toowoomba Railway Station baR quite Eiuffir·ient ac. ommodation for the c-onduct of the business there. I had occasion to buv a platform ticket at the Central Station, on the 15th of the month. and on the 16th I inouired Yrhat was the~ nrico of a 11latfoLn1 tick<>t for the Snndav I \Vas informed that it was Sd. I said "Arc :von quite sure it is 8d.? " and the n)pl:v wa::. "YPs." I pu.t a questirn to the Secretary for Railways. and "as advised that on the 16th the amount.-­had !wen made uniform. I am pleased to knm.- that the injustice so far as Toowoomba. and some other centres are concerned has been partially removed.

The TREASURER: Do ,·ou know the ongm of the charge for going on a platform?

:'\!r. ROBERTS: I think so. The Railway Department, of course, toll us that it is to keep the local public from interfering- with the travelling public.

Some time ago, when the weather was rather cold in Toowoomba, I a,ddressed a !otter to the Home Secretary in reference to the Epileptic Home at Toowoomba. I stated it had heen reported to me that when that institution was ,established it was intended

M'!'. Roberts:l

316 Supply. [ASSEMBLY.] Supply.

to put in heating radiators-that, in fact, radiators were in the contract. I pointed out to the Minister that at the time it was impossible for me to go to the institution, but I sent a gentleman who is very interested in child welfare and humanitarian measures, and he reported that the place was very cold and needed some method for heating it. I brought that under the notice of the Home Secretary, but what has been done I do not know.

Thf' HOME SECRETARY : Did you address it to me personally?

lYir. ROBERTS: Yes. I am raising the point because I do not know what has been done.

The Benevolent Societv of Toowoomba does excellent work for t'hat centre, and I understand it has made a request to the Government for a grant of £200. That society has many calls to assist the poor of the district, and it is now unable to carry on without some further grant. I have looked at its report, and realise that it is doing a very large amount of work in the city of Toowoomba. I admit it must show some justification for a further grant. and I shall quote from the report some of the things the society has done-

" Assisted During the Year.-::\:im· married couples (one all the year) with 36 children. Eight of these received a ticket in time of illness; 5 widmvs with 4 children (one all the year): 2 deserted wiws with 3 children (one all the year) ; 34 men in return for work during their stay in the home. The following· sup­plies of tickets, new clothing, boots and shoes WE're distributed during the year: -188 ration tickets, 81 loads of wood, 10 half-loads of wood, 25 pairs men's boots. 1 pair boy's boots, 37 pairs repaired, 6 pairs shoe', 3 pairs half-soles for boots repaired in home, 21 pairs trousers, 16 shirts, 54 pairs of socks. 2 pairs pyjamal'. 9 pairs stockings .1 boy's suit, 3 rolls Ipswich flannel (153~ yards) made into 39 men's under flannels, 32 bovs' under flannels. 1 nightdress, 19 muffiers. 2 belts; 1 roll flannelette (52 vards and 26 yards from last season) made into 4 won1en's nightdresses, 2 pairs combina~ tions, 8 chemises, 6 bloomers. 16 girls' bloomers. 16 girls' vests. 1 pair pyjamas: 4 pairs blankets bought to lend during the winter months, and 220 parceh of left-off clothing supplied."

That is a very fine record. Mr. \V Em: Can :-;·ou gi:ve some idea of the

ratio of cost bchvccn thaf institutiDu and other institutions •

Mr. ROBERTS: I cannot do that. but it is a :ver,- fine institution. People are attracted to it from all o:ver Queensland. The number of lo< :tl people in the home would be :very few indeed. In the old days, c·-hen Queensland was interested in immigra­tion, in a number of centres the Government had immigration depots, and people travel­ling through the district obtained shelter a' these depots. That has all passed away, and, whilst t'•ere are institutions in Brisba;)e which car<' for the poor of the community i•J the towns outside the metropolis ther~ are no such institutions, and if it were not for a home like this, a number of men and unfortunatelv a number of wDmen tt?o. wonld .not know .whore to put in the m~;ht. It IS a necessity, and I say quite

[.il:fr • .Roberts.

definitely that I support the request of the Benevolent Society that this money should be granted. I should not have raised the questiDn to-day but for the fact that on a previous occasion I havf\ supported their request, and for some reason or other I have received no reply from the Home Depart­ment.

The l-IOME SECRETARY: \Vhat is the good of giving you the stereotyped reply? It will Le considered on the Estimates.

Mr. ROBERTS: If I got that aclmowledg­ment. it would be something.

Yesterday the hon. member for Merthyr referred to the tactics adopted by hon. mem­bers on this side of the House at the recent election. I am like the Premier-I am tired of these statements unless there is something definite about them. I desire to quote from aa adYertisement that appeared in the " Queensland Producer " under the autho­ritv of Mr. Lewis McDonald. the Labour on~·aniser in the election campaign. rrhis is \vhat he had to say-

•' Beware of the Tory plot to increase railway freights.

"Don't allow the Tories to reduce the taxation on the wealthy city merchant and privutc f'Orporations and n1ake up the rt>Ycnuc by increasing raihvay freights.

" That is what they will do if they get into offic(•.

"Keep the Tories out. Vote Labour." These may be very good instructions to give the people, but what has the hon. member for Mcrthyr to say now so far as the adver­tising stunt is concerned? Does he say that there is any truth in those statements?

::\11'. McLACHLAN: Yes.

::\Ir. ROBERTS: Have the Government not raised railway rates and freights during the past few weeks?

_\ GoYERNMENT MEMBER: Did your party not say that railways which do not pay should be made to pay? vVhat about the agricultural lines?

::\lr. ROBERTS: I do not know whether the agricultural lines pay, but I remember that the Secretary for Railways said there was no need to make them pay. He also said at Toowoomba prior to the election that the G(H-ernment could have made the rail­>vays pay, but, because the railways had not been made to pay, the people of Queensland had thP money in their pockets. Let me quote the following question asked the other day by the hon. member for Aubigny, and the Minister's reply thereto. The question \Vas-

" What wae the deficit in the accounts of the Railway Department for last financial year? "

The Minister replied-" The difference between earnings and

working expenses plus interest was approximately £1,790,000. This differ­ence is commonlv termed .a deficit, whereas it is a subsidy from the Con­solidated Revenue Fund to stimulate production and settlement. The value of this policy is reflected in the fact that the cumulative wealth production for the past ten years amounted in value to the enormous sum of £500,000,000 (approximately)."

That is most ridiculous.

Sujpl:J. [25 Aum:sr.J s,,pply. 317

'l'he SECRETARY FOR MINE~: What about iho revenue obhined as the result of that construction?

Mr. RODER'l'S: \Ve know that the rail­way revenue last year was over £500,000 more, whilo the lo"s was considerably greater than before.

I now wish to call attention to the diffi­culties under which settlers on the land are labouring. I have here a letter from a man who is now residing at 'l'oowoomba. in which he points out that for twelve years he worked very hard to make a living at Tara, during which time he got an advance from the State ~"dvances Corporation. He was a practical man, but possibly he had too small an acre­ago, and the weather conditions have not been at all satisfactory during the last few years. Ho was unable to make the property pay, and, like many others, he had to walk off the land, leaving behind the money he had put into it; the State Advances Corpora­tion took possession and sold the property for £150. I am not going to say that that amount was equal to their loss, but my com­plaint is that the local shire council has issue-d a summons against this man and secure-d a verdict, and, notwithstanding that he is cnly a \YJl(e-earner toiling in the city Df Toowoombrr. and earning about £4 5s. a week, he has had a garnishee order issued against him to pay £2 a week.

The DEPUTY SPEAKER: Order ! The hon. member has exhausted the time allowed him under the Standing Orders.

At 2 p.m .. The SPEAKER resumed the chair.

JI.Ir. MAX\YELL (1'oMconr;): In conn<'C· tion with the treatment meted out to the re'turned soldiers bv this Government. I would like to know what action the Gm·crn­ment intend to takc--

1\ir. COLLIN~: You moan the Federal Go­YC'rnmrnt.

l\Il'. D.lA::X_\'~~RLL: I n::ean the hon. rrH'nl­ber)s GoYernrncnt. The Federal Govf'rnrnent provided the money which the State Go­vernment have spent extrayag·antly. What has been the result 1 Disaster! I want particularly to refer to the Beerburrum sdtlemcnt. \Yhere men \Vcre put on land which was of no use at all. In the " Courier " of 22nd February, 1918-it is neceosary to go as far back as 1918-I read portion of Mr. 11acartney's polic:c· speech ~n1 the question of thi:l settlement. I shall ·quob a small portion:-

''Tlw Ryan GoYcrnment hold up the Bocrbunnm soldiers' sPttlomc-nt for nublic admiration, and it would be a happy thing to feel that its succe'S is asscued. But there is much doubt on that point among practical men. who are of opinion that the s-oil is of far too poor a character to continue profitable production, without vc'rv costly artificial manu ring; and that, when the soldier sdtier.s in a few years find themseh·es ia competition with others who are settled on land of enduring richness, thcv will find it difficult to hold their own. It may then be seen that a terrible iuitiul mi~ta:ke haf' been n1ade in select­ing for this experirnent inferior Crown lands t.hat until recently were not con­sidered worth selecting at 2s. 6d. per acre as homesteads, instead of securing for these soldiers some of the rich land

with which this State 1s endowed, and "\Yhich would e,o:.t. no Jnorc per acre (induding the higher nnimproYed, value) to bring quickly into a state of profit­able productiOn. than the bare eost of clearing this poor forest Lnd at Beer­burrum. But then, the perpetual lease­hold craze n1ust rnean n1.ore to the Caucus Go;,'ernmc:nt than anv mere interest o£ the indiYidual soldierS."

That was the proph<>oy of Thlr. Macartncy, ,., ho was then the leader and enunciated the policy of this party, and that prophecy has b<en fulfille-d to such an extent that men v ho wore plac•:cl upon that settlement have approaehed disustc1·. In thf' "Courier" of Pth "lay of this ~-ear l\lr. J. T. McDermott, the hon. ,eoretarv of th.. Beerburrum l\:Tut·1nl Prou,rtion ~\s~ociation. wrote draw­ing the attention of the public to the treat­ment YYhich has been meted out to the ~l·i i Iers b.v this GoYernmcut. I do not say that I am alone in claiming that the returned P1en oug·ht to receive a decent " spin," because others are equally as earnest.

The statement by the secretary of the Beer­burrum Mutual Protection Association has not yet been contradictPd. If the statement is true, then the Government haYe not played lhP game by those who took up land on licerburrum. A deputation from the Returned Soldiers and Sailors' Imperial League of Australia was introduced to the Minister l•v the hon. members for Cooroora and Mur· rumba last October. On that occasion thirty blocks of land were promised, but, when the ~\,fini:-;tf'r wa~ ugain approache-d, he informed the deputation that no land was available, notwithstanding that in the Glastonbury dis­tJ·ict th<>re was land readv for selection. Kone of it was resot'vcd for the men who Lad fought so well for us. \Ve know very We'll that thPrc arc a number of men with their wives and children who cannot get a'·'l. av from BPerburrmn unless thcv receive as"liStancf'. The position became so acute some time ago that th.e Prime Minister despatched one of his own officials to inquire into the affairs of the settlement and to a.'sist the men there. Suc·h a condition of affairs is not attributable to the Bruce Administration. The Federal Go.-ernment. IJqve proYided the Queensland Goverr>ment with money so that the soldier settlers might ha Ye a dcrent "spin" to encourage them JJC settling on the land . and returning to ci.-il life. Mr. McDcrmott says-

.. So bad •vere the conditions of men with their wiYcs and families that the PritnP ~linister sent .t personal repre· ~l"ntatiYo to investigate."

n(' also stated-" I n1ad0 pcr::;mu:d representations to

~Ir. JYicf'orn1ack about this man's case, and I met v·ith a point-blank refusal to int0rfere. The Premier stated that all we wanted was to live rent free and pay nothing."

On that occasion the hon. gentleman had ].,.for<' him the case of a soldier settler who had been t.ransferred from Beerburrum to tlLothrr settlcn1ent. The rnan was in such circumstances that he had not the means to < .ITY on and wui forced out from Beer­burrum to another settlement. They pracric­allv want-ed to tak0 from this man his tools o: ·trade and turn him out of house and home. Had it not been for a meeting that was held, he would have been unfairly dealt with. It is a scandalous state of affairs to

M1·. Maxwell.]

318 [ASSE11IBL Y.J Sllpply.

\\ ·itness thr .c nH~n being treated in this dis­gl'.--tccful rnanncr 80 rnan.v years after the \V::.tr. Wo haYe evPrJ right to a~..;ist those m on back to ciYil life, but v, c arc not assist­ing by what ha' been done in the past. There arc a rea' of good land on which the men could be settled. I 1T·1lise that it is in1po--.~ible to do ''"O \\-ithout money. but I would point out that the Federal GO\-ern­mc nt ha Ye 'uppl i<'d 1 hou:ands and thousands cJ pourrl:-'. to thi5 Government to a·:;,si '·t in H· 1t ditodion.

}ir. FA.RRELL : "\Yh t wa~ the rc3ult of the invrsti~··ation by the pcr~onal representative of the Prin1c ~'Jinist 'r '(

Mr. :VT \.X\YELL: That i, all ::\Ir. J\IcDer-1 .ott said in his letter. Tho hon. mem­l··cr mav see the lettN. showing that the Prime Minister hcl]lf'cl these men and their fa1nilies.

::\Ir. COLLIKS: \Yh:v did you not bring the watt ... r bdore the Prime Minister?

Mr. MAX\VELL: I have here information vvhich I pre .. urne to be correct with respect to land adjoining Boerburrum settlement. Whv discriminate between a soldier settler and. an:, other settler' These men did thei> bit for ns " over the top."

The particulars of this land are-

Purchasing 1[' Year. 1 Selector.

1

1 Conditions. Price. 1

----------·------ -~~-~~:----·---;.-d-.-,-----~---------------------· 4·.:~ 10 U 1915 1 W. N. Gillies .. , Occupation (agent)

rort.lon. Tenure ( Frrch')lil). AnJ ..

Agrknltnral f<Ul1l ~ Ditto . . . .

enrondit;Jnal sclec·tion Ditto

:J7:l 10 0 1916 j ditto . . . . I T ditto :nn 1:3 4 1916 · d1tto . . . . 1 ~one :id 13 4 1917 11\largaret &illies 1 None

I am aY:arc fr, ehold tc•nm·c was aboli,hecl in :917. Jnst pr;oc· to thic a Lab:mr Cabinet ;;lini tcr. , ·he: a~h-ocatcs perpetual lr~a3e for tho cthC'r f('\loy;;, including applicant.3 for work.:_,rs' honH'S. :-c· urcd-

775 acres. ,'.t lC' . per acre (2~ yca1.·s· tclnl·;::), f1 '-'cl;-cld t ntu.';

887 c:rrcs ~~ t 13'". ·~~-1. pPr acre (20 Years' tL•nn,l. freehold tenure.

1,662 acre!".

All the above land adjoins Beerbunum Soldier Settlement on the coastal si-de. The soldier settler, at Beerbunum got 20 acres as a living area-perpetual lease at 30~. p~r acre.

Mr. CoSTELLO: Hovv 1nuch did they get?

Mr. J\IAX\YELL: I ,,-ill tell the hon. member. Th<' soldiers got an area of 20 acres -as a living arPa, wlth a perp0tuc:.l lease tenure. at a rental of 30s. pet acre. That is what the " digger"" got for what he did in going over the top ~ I trust that the S0crctary for Public Lands vvill attemnt to do 'omothing for those men. If this settle­ment js not g-oing· to be reYenuc-nroducin~. it is usclf'~5! kt~cping tho:.:e rnen ol-1 an an:q_ of land whirh \vas ,..,1Tang0d b:v the F0d0r::d GovcrnmPnt to be an a rtiller.\ range. The land i:3 not at uH suitable for these 1nen to carry· on th0ir dail· rOll11d of toil.

The hon. lnPmhc:· fnr ::\IC'rihvr. durirH2,' the cam· .. -, of his "pecch on tho Ad-til'l .. , in RPply, a ttemptt•d to lt>ad people to be lic·ve that the whole of the humanitarian. lrg'iRlation had been introducrcl by the Government party. I am a! wuys pr pared to g·ive credit to anv GovernP1cnt or individual who i~ entitled to credit, but what the Labour Government have dcme is simply to build upon a founda­tion that had been well and truh· laid b.- the Government which preceded it. ' ·

The SEcRETARY FOR AGmcrLTeRE : Th0 Labour party initiated every mea,IEO of reform.

Mr. MAX\VELL: The,· did not. Some of tho humanitarian legislation passed bv what is now termed the Tory or Liberal GO\-ern­ment consisted of-

" \V ages (recon"r,- of).-The l\1asten and Servants Act o£ 1801, the W :.ges Act

i M 1·. M axwel1.

of 1870. •and the Contractors· and \Vo:·k­men's Lien Ad of 1906.

" Acci-dents (protection of workers against).-Thc> J\lines Regulation Act of 1881 and 1889, tlw :Mining Act of 1898. the ?lfim s Regulation Act of 1910, and the Machinery and Soffolding Act of 1908.

'' \\~orkcrs' Con1pcnsation.-Thc Em­ployers' Liability "\ds of 1886 and 1888 and the 'YorkC'l"; Compem ... ction Acts of 1905 and 19C8.

''Trades Unions.-TradPs unions -,yere first legalised in ('ueE'nsland bv the Trades "Cnions Act of 1886 (Griffith). In 1893 Parliament passed an Act granting a sit.e for a Tra·des and Labour Hall and authorising the trust('C'S to rnortfago the land for the pm·pose of completing a building thoreon. In 1912 the harrowing powers of th0 trusteo were enlarged.

" Industrial Arbitration.-The Railway Emplovees' Appeal Act of 1905 proYided for appeal boards with representation of railwa v employees. The \Vagc-" Board Acts of 1908 t~ 1912 made proyision for !'.pccial ,,·ag{'s boards to fix ,,~ages and hours. of work, including ovcrtirno, etc."

"Under the Industrial Peace Act of 1912 the wages board '''stem \\as con­tinued, but. an Industrial Arbitration Court. pre .... ided over b:v a judge, was also constituted. This court could assume the functions of a hoard in cases of unnece··­sary delay and was also an Appeal Court. T'he court could also act as mediator in industrial disputes. Lockouts or strikes were prohibitf'd until a compul<ory con­ferencA had prm-ed abortive and a s0cret ballot had been held."

The SPEAKER: Order ! The hon mem­ber is going a long Yray back.

Mr. MAXWELL: Yes. Mr. Speaker, it is nece,-.ar:· t-o do so to educate hon. members on the other side. There are none so forget­ful as those who desire to bP for;setful, and it is just as w0l! to delYe a little into ancient hi"tory. Incidentally, some hon. members o;Jposite have gone a long wav back for the purpose of resurrecting things vYhich are supposed to have ewntuatcd. If, in lho

SupfJly. [25 AGGUST.] Supply. 310

drfcnce of the gentlemen with whom I am !lOW as ociatcd, and who On forn1er OCCasions oc: :1picd the front Tr0"sury benches, I tab:l the or,portunity of mentioning :;:.omC? of t:~e foundation stones laid by them, I cla1m, wnh all due c1ef<'!'ence, that I am perfectly justified in doiug t.hat in my attcn1pt. to cducat<.\ hon. rncn1bers opposite.

:\h. \I.'RIGI!T: \Ve all re .d the newspapers.

~~\ Govnn:~mxT l\IniBER: \Vhere does the grievance come in?

}h. MAX\YRLL: I will toll the ho11. mem­ber. On every occasion hon. gentlemen opposite ~·et up and cnde'1vour to traduce hon. mPmbcrs on this side by misreprecenting '\hat they did. and endeavouring to mislead the general public. Hon. members opposite deny to this party an] nodit for hiwing introduced humanitarian and useful legisla­tion during their occupancy of the Trc:~sury bcnche~.

During the speech of the hon. member for Gregory a note was struck by him which I sincerol:. hope >~-ill receive the serious con­sideration of hon. members opposite. The hon. member mentioned the seriousness of the pre\~a1ling drought, how it affected conditions i, Central, Xorth, and \Yc:tcrn Queensland, and pointed out how it had a tendency to drive a numbPr of men into the cities and coastal towns becausp they were unable to obtain employmPnt in the country areas. I hope the Govormncnt ill take the advice given by tht~ hon. n1e1nbf'r for Gregor~,·, and will not in any way attempt to introduce an"- rnore unernployod into the <::ities. AccDrdjng to our lat0st retu,rns, we have quite .~ufficient.

:VIr. KERH: The position is very serious.

:1111-. MAXWELL: As the hon. member for Enoggera says, the position is indeed serious. I am sure you, Sir, have had experience of a number of decent men being out of employ­ment-men who want to work, but unable to gPt work eitl1cr for then1selvcs or their childrPn, due to the existing deplorable state o[ affairs. I presume the Government would r.tthcr take ad.-ice from their own members than from hon. members on this side, and I hope they will take heed of the hon. member for Gregory. \Vhen one hears of the amount of prosperity prevailing, such as emanated from the hon. member for l\lerthyr, one likc-o to get down to bedrock and ask the question, '· \Vhat is the condition of affairs all round'! How arc the people on the lower rungs of the ladder getting on?" According to the latest returns, I find that in 1924-25 the cost of unemployment relief, including unemploy­ment insuranc~ ,,-as £225,372. \Vith a Labour Government in power ! It almost seems a disgrac0, "·hen you come to consider the promises and the pledges that were given bv hon. members opposite as to what the·: wer~ going to do if they "·ere returned to powPr. I have a vivid recollection of the hon. mem­bm· for Bowen making the statement that it would be time enough to deal with the Labour Government if after three y0ars they had not solved the unemployed problem. :;\low they have been in power el<>ven vears, and the position to-day is more acute' than ever it was, and I want to know f·rom the hon. member for Bowen what he is going to do about it.

Mr. COLLIXS: I am not responsible.

Mr. MAXWEL.L: That is it ! He is not taking the responsibility ! Hon. members

who were in the House under the Liberal Administration will remember what was said nt that time by Labour members as to how they would treat members of tlH~ unemployed class when they were in power. I do not behove 5 per cent. of the people want doles.

l'vlr. COLLDIS: The pastoralists are not refusing dole> at the present time.

::Wr. M A.XWRLL: They are not receiving dole>s. In any case, the pas(oralists have contribut-ed n, consid('rable arnount of rnoucy to\\ nrds the revt>nut~ of this State

nd the revenue of Australia. If what the hon mc-rnber for Grcgor) says is corre-ct 1

pastoralists are well worth consideration. Cnless we consider the men out back who are doing the pioneering, and help to ease their burdens, then it is a case of "God help the city," because we know very well that "\Ye arP all depending upon one another in this comn1unity. The city man is depending on the man on the land, and vice versa. In using that term, I do not want to use it in a manner that mig-ht be twi,ted, and that I may be· made to say that they are cadging, because they are not. They ar<> earning their rnonev. The man on the land is not receiv­ing an equivalent for what he is doing, and every consideration, as the hon member for Gregor: pointed out, ehould be given to him.

Mr. COLLINS: Why did you object to the 'Cnempk3·ed \Vorkers I1Furancc Act?

Mr. MAXWELL: In a votmg community, such as our,, it is disgraceful. The Labour party hold up to the people unemployment insurance as one of their pet schemes, but I say such legislation would be a disgrace to an~,T party.

:'vir. CoLLrxs: You want doles.

::Wr. MAXWELL: I do not want dole<; I want work. This unemployment problem is one that the Government must face fairly and squarely. It is no good for them to try to shirk their responsibilities by .. aying "We haYe got no more money to carry on certain work." I fed sorrv for the hon. member for Chillagoe. owing to the position in which he found himself immediately after the election.

Mr. HARTLEY: He does not want vour sym-pathy. • ,

::VIr. MAXWELL: I do not care whether he does or whether he does not. I remember what the Secrl'lary for Mines said about carrying on the mines at Chillagoe and in that district. and immediately after the elec­tion thev were closed down. To me that is most suspicious. They have been closed down, and it is not the desire of the Govern­ment to carry them on an,- further. \Yhat has caused such a great amount of unem~ ployment? The extravagance of this Go­Yernment and the throwing away of money. Th"v should have husbanded their resources. Whim hon members on this side advis<'d them in any way we were twitted with not know­ing anything about it.

:'vir HARTLEY: You know less about it now.

Mr. MAXWELL: We know quite suffi­cient about it, because we have Financial Statcmpnts to go by. We also have; the _re­sult shown by the people who are lookmg for employment to-day and < ,mnot get it. \Ye have had a statement from one hon. gentleman opposite that in c.urying on the State bukheries they are doing good work by means of cash carts. I would like to draw

Mr. Maxwell.l

320 Supply. [ASSEl\IBL Y.l Supply.

attention to a little episode that occurrHl at an h.!~-ht-hour Day dt'rnonstr<'tion, and this has obtained at nearly all of those demonstraliom. I refer to a skit about cash butcher.,> carts. An illustration was given of men got up in a fearful garb and thro\ving n1eat about in ever~, direction. Yet the Government have got so low down as now to adopt the system of cash butchers· carts.

The SECRETARY FOR PliBLIC WoRKS: That was not the skit-the skit was on the man who worked his men long hours and did not pay proper wages. I saw the skit.

Mr. MAXWELL: So did I; and I am not ··tupid. I have seen that incident in a great number of Eight-hour Day processions. It was not a question of the hours the men worked, as the hon. gentleman would lead us to believe; it was the class of meat being sold, and the people wore led to believe that they could not get the same attention in regard to me~ t supplied elsewhere as they coul·d at the State butcher shops, and that the only thing to do was to go to the State shops, which were properly regulated and conducted from a hygienic point of view. The Government have got down pretty low when they run State butcher ca~h carts.

Mr. BuLCOCK: It is a good thing for the people to give them a healthy meat supply.

Mr. M AXWELL : In comwction with the State enterprises we can sympathise with the i'\Iinister concerned in the burden he has to carry. The hon. gentleman said that it was intended to take the adYice of the men in charge of State stations, and that when­ever a decent price was offered, the stations should be disposed of. I would refer the hon. g-entlem<tn to a statement made on 22nd May, 1922, by Mr. Thoodore, the then Premier-

" The State has been unfortunate in regard to State stations. It would per­haps have to cut them out. It was a poor Government that did not make mistakes.''

When that stat,ment was brought before me I asked the then Minister in charge of State Enterprises. the present Secretary for Agriculture, what the Government proposed doing in connection with the matter, and this was his reply-

" The future policy regarding State station.~ is at present under con~idera­tion."

That was four years ago, and we are still in the same position. We find the losses in connection \\·ith State enterprises are con­tinuing. I can qmte appreciate the position of a Government who experiment •cith something because they think they are thereby going to relieve the burdens on the community, but it is incomprehensible that they should perpetuatP those losses. I ask hon. members to take into consideration the total indebtedness to the Treasury, which, including tlw amounts written off, comes to £4.173,057. If that had been properly spent, the position would have been different. We know that, if the Government had left to private enterprise the work which private enterprise is bettr·r able to do than the Government, we would not have arrived at the position we are in to-day.

Another matter to which I wish to draw .attention is the statement which was made in

[Mr. Maxwell.

thi- C:han1bcr \Vjth reference to tht:' en· t cd some schools in the electorate of the hon.

member for \Vide Bay. In 1922 [2.30 p.m.] I drew attention to the cost of

ochools and workers' dwellings in the town of Innisfail, and showed that it 1vas out of n1l proportion to the yahe rccoiYcrl. Buildings ',,·hich were being built for £58 a square under contract were costing £102 at Cairn_, and in the Innisfail district, but to­dav we find schools are being built in the W{dc Bay distri<:t for about £170 a square. 1 think it is about time that the Sccretar. for Public \Yorks inquired into the cost of the day labour system in his department.

:Mr. FARRELL: Let us get on with the busi­ne"s.

l\1r. :iiiAXWELL: I am getting on with what l consider is important. I do not kno·., whether the hon. member has addressed him­self to any question, but I will listen if he \Yil! get up and enlighten the Hous<>. Just at pres0nt I have the floor, and I inknd to ~By \Yhat I ha;,-c: to say.

~ow I come to a matter which should han' been controlled by the Brisbane City Council. and it seems to me that the con­dition of affairs is not as good as it ought to be. Practically all the powers nc,C0ssar~.­tc, make this rity a regular Garden of Eden were supposed 'to have been givPn to the council. It was going to be a beautiful city. To-day we find that the council ha Ye not the control which one would exncct thorn to ha;-c OVGr fruit-barrows and things of that kind. which under certain conditions are not in th•· best inter-ests of the citv of Bri~bane at 'ftl!. Evidently the people were carried away into believing that they ha-d contJ·ol.

'I'he SECRETARY FOR p FBLIC INSTRUCTION : The people will be carried away hv the rate' direct!~·.

1Ir. MAXWELL: They may, but I believe that, if the other side ha·d been in power, the rates would have been about 50 per cent. more than they are to-day. Anyhow, I want to point out what we must all admit is not fair and right from the point of view of citizen,hip. vVe had the Home Secretary. on the introduction of the City of Brisbane Bill, •aying that the city was g'etting the greatest charter it was possible for it to get. Naturally, one of the first things the council thought the.,. could do was to control fruit­barrows, but they fmd to-day that a red and white fruit stall io put do·."n at one of the !Ju.jc•·t corners in the city.

The TREASURER: They have them m the streets of s ... ·dney.

Mr MAXWELL: They have blind men ~ll ihe 'trcC't> of Sydney, and I do not bke It. It is not right for a city to have those things there, and I do not think it is right for the GoYemment to tell the people that the:v have giYen control to the city council, and. then in a matter such as this get out of It by referrino- to the Commissioner of Police, and saying that he has the power, notwithstand­ing the protest wh1ch was. made by the mayor and his aldermen agamst anythmg of the kind. I would like to ask hon. members opposite how, if they wcere in business. they would like such a stall as that planked down at their front door to compete with the man who is aosisti11g in paying the revenue of the city? I ask them to look at it from a common-sense point of view.

The TREASURER: Do the A. M P. sell fruit?

Supply. [25 AuGusT.] 321

:vir. :\IAX\YELL: l\o, but there arc fruit shops oppo;;:ih' and 1n Geoqse street with fruit wtlls right oppos1te. The Pre:rr1ier Is too intelligent to indulg·e in inane intcJ·jection·,~ and I ask hirn not to do so. I aek him not to lower himself in mv c,timation. The people in business pay 1:atcs and taxc·~ and give employn1ent. Let thcrn Larry 011 thi~ bu~incss. It is tbe function of a ;-nunicival governrnent to con~ trol the streets and keep them in order. They have to paye and metal the str·eets and footpaths, therefore they should control evorythi11g on the streets.

The TREASFRER: They '' ould not take con­trol of the traffic.

Mr. :\IAXWELL : The mayor protested a.:{ain t a fruit ~tall being allowed at the A.:\f.P. c Jrner.

The TREA~l:RER: \Yhv did vou not take control of the traffic "-!{en you. wore mayor'!

Mr. :\1AX\YELI": When I _,·as mayor I had not the power : but I protested against the hon. rrentlc,wn agreeing to fruit stalls in the streets.

The TnE:sc;RER: I hunted them away from the shops, too.

Mr. :\L'.X\YELL: Let me repeat a con­,·nrsation I had '.Yith the Treasurer one dav in Ed"·ard strect-hf' rcmcinber:-; it. Ther(. was a be:llltifnl loi of cherries displayed on one of the banow, outside of the Cit ·; Build­ings, and I ~air! to the hon. ge;;tleman, "How do you like them,,., H<J replied, "You cmnot find anv fault with that.'' I did not find anv fault with the fruit. but I objont to barr~·smen, who do not pay any r.atc·;:,, tax0o;;;, or \Yap;es. being free from taxation. They clo !lot incur anything like tho expense incnned by persons in shops. They contribute practically nothing to the revenue of the country.

Mr. HAR'ILEY: You should pinch yourself tu see if you arc a1vakC'.

Mr. ::UAXWELL: I am wider awake than the hon. gentleman; I do not go about with my e::es shut and my cars closed. \Vhen I was mayor I protc:,ted against the barrows being allowed in the streets. At that time they were under the control of the Police Der,trtment.

In connt'cticu with State ent-erprises. the secrctarv of the General Federation of Trade Unions, ·n.lr. Appleton, in England, cays-

" State interference inYo!ves political as well as industrial disadnintage. It is not morP!y that State> trading co,ts more jn cash; in practice' it jeopardises rnor;3 than it coM::: con1m(•rci:_dl:."

Surely hon. members, aftu their expericnc:· in connection with State butcher shops, fkh shops, and State stations, and in the face oi the remark'! that I have just quoted, must admit that State trad.ing ventures mu ,t inevitabl.~- fail. I am prepared to give cre-dit to any individual who admits that, although an attempt was made, the,, have not been a surccss.

" 'Tis better to have loved and lost Than neYer to 1lavo loved at all."

1926-x

The TREAS1!RER: It is far better to ha Ye loved and won. (Laughter.)

'\lr. :\L\XWELL: Hon. members oppoo;te arc continually chiding us with failing to advance suggt>stions of a constructiyo nature. ] advise them not to interfere '.fith some things that they do ':lot understand. Thr':­do not Hnderstand pnntc cntorpnse at d1. \Ye have ample proof of that in c~mnoctton wiih the schools that are bomg . bmlt m th,e \Vide Ba v d i·•trict, the eonstructwn of w h tell was supr't:visod by of!icials of the Department of Public \York \Ye find that 111 1922 v.corkcrs' 'dwelling;;; (•on;:;t.rv .. cted under tho da,·-labour s' ,tern cc't £102 a square, whereas sirtlilar work a•. being done by private contrach1rs to sat1sfllction of oflici:ds vi the ·works Department for £58 a square. and to-da'" it is ·CO~ting £172 per squa~c. That is something for hon. members opposrte to take cogni>ance of.

The SPEAKER: Order! Order! The hr;n. member has exhausted the time allowed hun under the Standing Orders.

Mr. DEACO"{ (('•mningham): I have not 1nanT,- grievance~. bdt ,.,-hat I have are gomiino, and will not take ver:; long to place before the House and the freasur.ec. C'ne of n1Y n1ain grievanc.,.s is the questJon ;f countrv schools. Although the Financial Statement has not vet been phced before us ,~·c all know that certain things are happen­ing in the Dep,utment of Public Instruction. vYr' know that the departmPnt has b.oen forced to take action in a certain directwn. and that it is being practically forced eitl_rer to close up country schools or to combme nvo sJ·hools in one in order to curtail expenditure. This action is being fo~ced on the department against the convrctiOns of the Minister and every offic:ai. The Govern, ment should take the position of the people in the countrv vcith young children living two, three, and four miles awa:v from a school. Three miles is practically on the border line under the compulsory clauses ot the Act. The department has laid down the principle that, if the average attendance. at a school is maintaine·d at not less than mne, a tc" eh er "ill be su pplicd ; but the pressure now brourrht to bear upon the department for economy ~easons has forced it to do more.

Mr. MoRG.\N: They arc not closing up any schools in the cities.

Mr. DEACON: The school children in the cities have practically no distance to travel. While I a.r:ree that every effort should he made to exercise economv and curtall <'xpenditure, yet it should n'ot be practised at the expo1~se of the education of our children. The department should have a free hand in the education of the children. The officers of the department would not keep a sc!wol open unnecessarily. If. the country i~ ral1ed upon to make any sacnfice_s in the interests of economy, then that sacn­fice must not be in connection with the 0ducation of oue chlldrPn. TllP smrdl c 1 a~s of school is being closed because of insufficient funds. Some endeavour should be made to bring the childrrm together without any e·ocpcnce on tho part of the parents. Those children merit the consideration of the Government. Undoubtedly some of the schoo]c· on the border line are not getting the attention they should. I hope that the Treasurer will give consideration to the

Mr. Deacon.]

322 Supply.

more sparsely settled districts, and hPlp the children concerned to receive a decent educa­tion.

. \nothE'r glaringly '\ eak point w the Govel'nrncnt's administrahon is their policy in connection with the raihYa.Ys. The line to Fitts\Yorth is not Dov as co;1venicnt to the public as it was thirty ye'1rs ago. Ever since this Governrncnt took office the services on that lino haY<1 gru.dualiy been cut down until at the present tinw hardly anyone uses the lino for passenver traffic. 'Bus compcti· tion hus cut it right out, simpl:,- beeauso the 'bus Tuns at 1nore convPnient tirnos, gives a better service, and is just u.s cheap. The Railway Dr·partment should be able to bE,at the 'bns. and it could beat the 'bus if allowed to run the trains at time', suitable to the community. In one cas·• a train leave· Too1.oomba for PittS\YOrt.h on Saturdav and returns that same dav mercbT to takeu back to Toowoomba the engine-driver, guard, and f1reman. TherL is no train from Pittsworth to T'oowoomba on i\londav. 'Lmt train returns on Saturday simply becausn the award p'l'OYides that the men would have to bFJ paid fur the time they were away from their hmne and for OYP1'ti111e for Saturday and Suncbv. I have ascertained that th~ COJnmip,·.ion~er is quite w1l1ing, if a1loy.;od, to run the tr:J,in on J\londay, but that is ren­dered impossible mere!:>· because of the stupid arrangement brou[iht about by the Board of Trade and Arbitration through thi, Govern· mcnt. It is no hardship on tbo men to stay away from home for the week-end, if their board and lodging arc paid. That sort of thing goes on on every branch line. There is not a branch line unaffected b:,· the,,e stupid !'estrictions. The Government should arrive at a rot sonable agreement with the men on such matters. The general public are getting so disgusted with the railway service that they arc doing without it.

I hoard the hon. member for Cook, when spcrtkiug on the Address in Reply, taunt the Opposition with the fact that they now have not the support of big grazier" in Western Queensland. I have been compa·ring the rents paid since 1920 by the big squatter with those paid by the grazing farmer. In 1920 the average paid by the big grazing le,sec was about 16s. per square mile, while the grazing fanner-that is the small man-paid, on an a Yerage, 59s. per square mile. Since that time the rent of the big squatter has boon increased by 9s. per square mile, and the r0nt of the grazin~ farmer has been increased by an aYeragc of 12s. 6d. per square mile. TL't is since the London agreement. \¥e know Ycry well that there was an agreement in 1920 that the big pastoralists were not to h"'T their rents ilicreased. No wonder the ho11. member for Cook boast,; that the big sqLl''Jter is now be· hind the Government! 'vV c bww that th0 Gon'rnment do not intend to rmnain big squatters. That is one of the things upon which we can congratulate them. They are going out of the business, because they -c~v not under:o:.i.<Lnd it, and none of the men that they have been able to get has been able to manage the business. \Vhat I object to is the i:J Pmc·nclous amount of waste that has to be carriocl bv the small man working on the land.

fllr. Dearon.

F1:nancial Stat£11 nt.

Tile TREASl'IlER: He will ha' c to cut out Inotur-\ars.

~Ir. DEACO='<: He \Yill hhc to cut out a lot of things bee a uso the waste, as a res .ll t of Sta to enterprises, ,·ill have to b•• made up by the man on the land. I am a!'.'• ays willing to recognise the difficultie' of the Treas.urur, a11d I rnn quite recognise that the biggest clifficnlt:· with which he is fac0d at the pn ,ent time is tlw party behind hinL They n1nst bo u big nui8a.nce to any Tn .lSlucr, anJ it has been their unreason­able demands that forced the Tnasurer into his prcJent position. I do hope that in con­sidering the Estin1at.es. the Troasurer will bear in n1ind the sn1all n1an in the ( ountry.

Qu{'stion-Tb _;t the Sp.;·aker do 110\V lcnxe the chair-put and pa~:',ed.

FI='<AXCIAL STATE'2\IEXT.

Co::.DIITTEE oF ScPPLY.

(Jir. Pol1oc!:. (/rrgorp, :.1 flu t·~t~lir.)

Tlll' TREASURER (Hon. \Y. McCormack, C11inu·): ~ [r. Pollock.-This is the first occa­sion on \Yhich the duty has devolved upon nJ- of placing before the Conunittec a revi~vv uf the tlnanc<.s. I shall endeavour to furmsh lllC'lnbers with a con1prehcnsivc survey of the posit-ion without burdening the speech with rcferPnCeJ to subjects ·., hich throw no pal't.icular hght on the financial sit.ua~.ion, Ol'

with sttllistics ancl information >Yhtch are a>ailablc in clcpartmcntol rcporb.

YEAR 1925-1926.

\Yhcu my prcdecC'ssor deliYcred his Finan­cial Statement earh in September of last '''"r. he C';timatcd a surplus of £11,389, but tlw passim' of t.he Basic \V age Act at the 0·id of that month necessitated the introduc­tion of Rupplen1entary . Estirnates. for the year then current to prondc for the mcreascd Pxpenditure brought about by that. Act. As this supplcmcntar.v expenditure from the Comolidated Revenue Fund was estimated at £228,126, the anticipated surplus became a ddicit of £216,737. The actual deficit, how­n;,r. was £554.686. Although there were large discrepancies between tlw estimated and actual receipts from certain services, the net result for the year showed the ·mall decrease of £10,282 compared with the total ec.timated l'l'Venue. The CXjlendit.ure, how· ever. was £327.667 in excess of the Budget (!~tirnate, and, as previousl:v~ n1entioned, the year closed with a d0ficit of £554.686.

In addition to the deficit of last vear we have accumulated deficits on acc;unt of prL vious years amounting to £430,335, bring­ing the tot,al amount unprovided for up t.o £985.021. H is a matter for future decision as to how this amount shall be dealt with; there aro three alternatives-

1. Add the amount to the funded debt by including it in a loan to be raised.

2. Issue Treasury Bills.

3. Allow the amount to remain as an overdraft' in the Consolidated Revenue Account, and reduce it rts tho buoyancy of the revenue will allow.

Financial Statement. [25 AuausT.] Financial Statement. 323

I favour the last method, and may mention that this Government during the last few years, when the finances permitted, set aside £495,000 in reduction of deficits.

Th,, following table gives the increases or d(>('l'('D''i's of receipts and expenditure as -com­pnred -.,yith the Budget estimate:-

REVENUE, 1925·1920.

i.

Head of Revenue. 'Budget Estimate. Receipts. Increase. 1 Decrease.

-----------.------------------~------·

Commonwealth

Taxation

.Land ..

Mining

Railways

Other receipts

Totals ..

£ 1,067,000

4,0JO,OOO

1,465,000

33,000

£ 1,0G8 37?

4,104,122

1,±11,794

3±.222

7-±,122

1,222

£ I I

53,206

I 7,s5o,ooo 7,392,241 i . . 157,759 I : 1 1,465,ooo 1 1.588,961 r 123,961

I. 1;-:-Gw~_o ~-~~~~~-==-20~,683 -~_,_210,3.~~--' £10,282 . £10,282

EXPENDI'l'URE, 19:Z5-192G.

~ ~--=~---~ -: -,,,~?~""~! ~=""~':" _[_,.,~,- -1- -"-=:=--Schedules 528,173 521,065 7,108

Interest on tbe Public Debt

Executive and Legislative ..

Premier and Cliief Secretary

Home Secretary

Public Works

Justice ..

4,617,830

27,008

144,776

1,504,582

275,867

194,844

4,577,650 40,180

25,158 1,850

1±4,188 588

1,507,870 3,288

260,994 14,873

200,522 5,678

Treasurer

Public J.a~.ds ..

Agriculture and Stock

Public Instruction

38~~08 I 35~106

303,705 287,793

33,702

15,912

176,454 I 259,C48 83,194

i 1,521.071 1,485,447 35,624

Mines ..

Railways

Totals

i 82,146 I 72,164 . . 9,982

1 §,062,473 6,457,799 395,326 ..

i-15,826-:737-- -16,i54-;404-- ---4s7-:486-- __ 1.59-:819--Net excess 1

"------------y-----------' '----------"""Y" _________ _l

' £327,667 £327,667

Although taxation and " other receipts" showed substantial increase~, the revenue from territorial and railways returned £210,965 less than anticipated, owing prin­cipally to the drought conditions prevailing in parts of the State.

r3 p.m.]

The table relating to expenditure discloses that the Department of Agriculture and Stock and the railways exceeded the appro­priations by £83,194 and £395,326, re,pec· tively; the other departments, collectively,

showed a total net saving of £103,565. The excess expenditure in the Department of Agriculture and Stock was caused by charging the State's proportion of the loss in connection with the cotton guarantee, amounting to £98,000, and for which provi­sion was not made on the Estimates, as the amount was not ascertainable when the Esti­mates were tabled. The heavy expenditure incurred by the rail ways in s-hifting stock to relief country and carrying fodder to keep the stock alive in drought-stricken areas, in addition to an award which provided for

lion. W. McCormack.]

324 Fi,wncoal Statement. [.\SSEMBLY.] Financial Sta~ement.

increfl~cd clerical classification, and \vas issued subsequent to the bringing down of the Budget. accounted for the excess expendi­ture in that department. The effect of the droug·ht was, therefore, reflected in both the receipt. and expenditure of the railways. The carriage of starving stock and fodder, in many instances oYer ve1·y long distances, imposed a very he ·.vy tax on the resources of the Railv. ay Department. In order to give the quickest transit possible to both these classes of traffic, considerable overtime at penalty rates had to be incurred, thereby adding to the working costs without any advance in r,~_tes. Large concessions in freight on both starving stock and fodder were. and still are, openting. Live stock traffic under normal conditions at full rates is not a paying proposition on account of the long h •. ulagc of empty wagons, but the loss is accentuated when concessions in freight on the one hand and extra cost in working on the other are added. Concessions in freight to the mining industry and on starving stock, fodder, frozen meat, and dairy produce have been allowed for a number of years, but the railways have received no payment for the c•·sh value of these concessions. However, consideration is being givL•n to the question of allowing that department credit for all concessions granted as a matter of Govern­ment policy. Another matter which oper>1tes unfa • our ably towards the railway financial position is the fact that the department is charged interest by the Treasury upon the capital cost of unopened liues. For the year just ended the amount involved in this cha1'g(• ;. £205,000. From information obtained from three of the other States, it would appcrrr that th•,ir practice is either to capitalise this interest or n1ake no charge for interest until the lines are completed and ready for operating.

TRcST Fc~ms. I he operations of the Trust Funds were

exceptionally heavy, the expenditure totalling £7,290,656 and the receipts £6,758,937, the excess expenditure for the year being £53L 719 and the net overdraft of all funds et .30th Jmw, 1926, £1,768,574. In many of the Trust Funds the receipts exceed the 'xpenditure and the funds are always in cc,dit; in others temporary financial accom­m.odation js required, a", for instance, for the handling of cotton, the payments for cane at the Go,-ernment central sugar-m ills, etc. The activities of the Agricultural Bank V> orkers' Homos, and Workers' Dwelling~ show a considerable annual increase in their overdrafts, owing to the fact that the loans made for these purposes are for a period of twenty-one to twenty-five ;.,ears, so that the annual repayments arc very much smaller than the <1dvances during the year. Last yea.r tho excess of advances over repayments for these services was £631,000.

If ~onourable members will refer to tables relatmg to the Treasurer's Financial State­mPnt they will find full information in r< epect to the various accounts included in the Trust Funds.

[Hon. W. McCorrnack.

LOAN FUND.

The Loan cash balance at 1st J nly, 1925, •·:as

During the year 1925-1926 we l'eceiycd

Debit balance of the Workers' Homes Account transferred to Trust Fund

The expenditure for the year amounted to ... ... . ..

The redemptions were Ecpayrnents to Com­

monwealth on account of Soldiers' Dwellings Loan \Vcre ... . ..

Other cli·,bursoments an1ounted to

£4,950,848 859,300

16,946

14,000

£

3,359,019

7,022,214

255,973

£10,637,206

----- 5,841,594

Lea vi!Ig a balance at 30th June, 1926, of £4,795,612

During the year under review we made a 5 per cent. issue in London of £2,500,000 at 98 per cent. The flotation expenses amounted to £2 18s. le!. per cent., and the net pro­ceeds were £95 le. lld. per cent. The loan lH.Jtures in October, 1960, but the Govern­ment has the option of redeeming at any time after 1940. The return to the investor if redeemed in 1960 is £5 2s. 5d., and the cost to the Government £5 6s. 3d. An Anglo­American loan w:1s raised by the Common­wealth Government on behalf of the Com­monwealth and the five States which are members of the Australian Loan Council. £5,000,000 wa- issued in London and 75,000.000 dollars (£15,411,486) in Now York. Quoens­land's proportions \VOre £250,000 of the London issue and £770,574 of the New York. The Tate of interest of both loans is 5 per cont., and the i··sue price 99~ por cont. \'\ i+ h the exception of "over the counter and domestic issues," the Loan Council agreed that the Commonwealth Government should be the only borr~-wcr for the States for new 1noney, upon the Australian marl\:ct. .As is well known. the State of New South Wal•"l is not a member of the Loan Council.

Last financial vear the Commonwealth Trcasnrcr raised l~ans jn Australia for the ~\tatcs amounting to £7,914.820 at an interest rate of 5~ per cent. at par. Queensland's propol'tion-' of this amount v;as £1,603,680, and to 30th June we received £1,543.572, the balance, £60.108, being paid in July. 1 think it will be gcnel'ally admitted that the eo ~t of these i-sucs was very favourable. more especially as they closely followed the \Var Conversion Loan of £67,000.000. which w;:s issued at a rate of 51 per cent. rrhe ndue of •he Austr,·lian Loan f'ouncil and the advantages of the Commonwmdth and States co-ope.rating in respect to the raising of loans is evidenced in the satisfactory terms upon which the issues have been made. \Yhen the Commonwealth Troa urer, acting for the Loan Couucil. raises the loan, Commornvealth Government securities arc issued to the lender, and the States giv0 bonds to the Commonwealth for their pro­portions.

T n addition to the amounts previously referred to, the Queensla.nd Treasury dur­ing the :·ear received £636,240 on account

F-inancial Statement. [25 AUGUST.] Financial Statement. 325

of bonds at various intert"''t rate's issued to the Inomrance Commissioner, the Loan Acts Sinking Funds Trustees, etc., for their investments. Under the Savings Bank Transfer Agreement we received from the Commonwealth Bank £1,069,000, which

amount is treated as a loan to the State, at an interest rate of 4~ per cent., for twcnt.v-five years.

The transactions of the Loan Fund for the vear to 30th June last are set out in the table hereunder:-

!.OAN FUNl>. Transactions for the Year 1025-1926.

£ £ Cash balance, 1st July, 192:> Receipts during the year-

Repayments by local authorities, etc ... Receipts under !.and Proceeds Act •• Proceeds of loan issues-

OversPas-5 per cent. (!.on don) ..

Less discounts and charges

5 per cent. Commonwealth I-ondon-Amcrican Loan Less discounts and charges

2,500,000 122,027

2,377,373 1,020,flU

Australia-0 per cent. (local) ~t per cent. (loca!) 5! per cent. (local)

Less charges .•

State's proportion of Issues Government-

5! per cent... . . Less charges ..

!Jy Commonwealth

3j,5l2

2,000 333,420 280,820

636,2+0 98

1,5-±3,572 13,088

Loan from CommonweaJt.h Bank of Australia under clause 10 of the Commonwealth Bank Agreement Ratifi< ~tion and State Advanees Aet of 1920 on account of increase in Sayings Bnnk depositors' balanc{'R . _ . . . . . . . . . .

U>.sh deposit under the Insurance Act of 192J

ExpcnditurP during t11e year-Expenditure as per Budget Table E2 . . . . . . Amount paid to Sinking Fund in terms of the agreement with the

Commonwealth GoYcrnmcnt on account of loans adyanccd for local authorities . . . . . . . . . .

Refund of deposits under the Insurance Act of 1!12:3 . . . . Amount repaid to f'ommonwealth Government on account of loan

to the State for soldier ,• dwellings . . . . . . . . Redemption of debentures i·sued under Government I.oan Acts­

Loan Act of 1\114 I.oan Act of 1018 . . . . . . . . . . The Chillagoe and Ethericlgc Raih; 1YS Act of 1918

Add·--Art~ount of outstanding advances under the Worl<ers' Homes Act

of l!ll!l transferred to Workers' Homes Trust Fund

Cash balance at 30th June, 1926

987,062

636,142

1,530,±84

271,000 11.!,7110 474,100

£ £

3,364/35

2,10G,G2U

4,Q50,F48

+,000 10,000

16,0J6

3,359,019

416,487 666

5,:C31,061

l,OG!l,OOO 5,000

10,381,233

4,5''9,639

2:>5,973

4, 7!15,612

The loan expenditure for the year was £4.950.848-an increase of £869,107 over the previous year. but les~ than the appropria­tions by £666,000. The railways accounted for more than the whole of this increase, that department expending £2,754,551 as against £1,776,600 the prcYious year, the principal increase being on account of rolling­stock, which was urgently Tequired. The advance,, on account of loans to local bodies were £219,000 less than in 1924-1925, not for t.he reason that the Treasury in any way cur­hiled advances on om·rent loans, but due to the fact that claims were not received from local bodie', and there was a saving in this vote of £350,000. In passing, I might mention that one of the many difficulties a Treasurer has to contend with is the esti­mating of amounts that will be required to meet drawings upon the Treasury from time to time for loans granted to local bodies and for public works and services generally.

The following loans matured during the year 1925-192u:-Due 1st .JulY. 1925-

Carrying' 4} per cent. interest £243,000 CarrJ ing 6 per cent. interest 35,000

Dnc lst .January, 1926-Carrying 4~ per cont. interest 503,000

Due 12th June, 1926-Carrying 4} per cent. interest 79,700

£860,700

Of the 4\; per cents. falling due a sum of £95 200 held b-,· the Trustees of the Loan Act~ Sinking Funds was converted into 5-k per cents. Of the balance, £764,600 was paid off from monevs to credit of the Loan Fund, and £900 was" outstanding on the 30th June last.

During the vear the net increase in the public debt wa'~ £5,147,563.

Hon. W. McCormack.]

li'inancial Statement. !ASSK\1BLY.] Financial Statement.

STATE ENTERPRISES.

Tho bala nee-sheets and reports upon the op<'l'ations of the various enterprises will be Iuade <tvailable to hon. members as early as possible. The Government intend to cut the loss in re -.poet to those activities which do not gin' a reasonable prospect of success, and vvill shut down on, or dispose of, any enterprise \Yhich continuLs to be worked at a loss.

0PPOSITIOX ::\fE:VIBERS : Hear, hear !

The TREASURER :

AXIlCIPATIONS FOR 1926-1927. Co:·solidated Revenue Ji'und.

I am sure hon. members will appreciate the difficnltie-, with which a Treasurer is faced in framing 1 satisfactor~T balanc·e-sheet for the current financial year.

ESTil\L\.TES, 1926-1U27.

REVENUE FUND.

My estimate of the revenue is-Receipts.

Amount from Commonwealth Taxation .. I~and revenue .. Mining receipts Railways .. Other receipts ..

Total

Compar8'd with the revenue of last year, I expect to receive an additional £26,000 from the Commonweatlh, £111,000 from taxation, £58,000 from land revenue, £551.000 from railways, and £182,000 from " other receipts." :\1ining shows a small decrease. The total net increase over last year is esti­ntatN1 at £927,000.

~'\!though the estimated amount to be re­ccivE>d from incomo tax mav seem high, the l:ommissioner of Taxes is qc{ite confident that he will collect that sum.

Th<' estimate of land revenue may be s~riously affected if the pr<'sent drought con­tmues or cxtendo, and the same may be said of the railway receipts.

The rcvc1_1ue from " other receipts " in~ elude, the mterest on loans to local bodies and interest earned on the public balances; and. us the annual advances by way of lo<:ns. to local bodies greatly exceed the p_rmc1pal repaid annually, the interest de­nved from these loans is an increasing amount . . The drought conditions prevailing in por­

tions of the State make it verv difficult to arrive at a satisfactory estimate of the revenu<>. for the year, and more especially does this apply to the railways. Up to the

Schedules . . . . Interest on the public debt Execut.in~ anii 1 f'gislatiYe Prem1cr and Chief Secretary · · Home Seeretar:;.· . . . . Department of Public >Yorks Departm• nt of Justice .. The Trrasnrer .. Department of Pnhlic Lands .. Department of Agriculture and Stock Department of Public Instruction .. Department. of }fines Department of Railways

Total expenditure

In order to bring the e'timate of expen­diture down to the figures I have placed before you, a drastic control has been exer­<Jised, and departments have been placed

[Hon. W. JIJcCormack.

Received, 1025-1926.

£ 1,068,378 ~- 10-1,122 1,411,7!14

34,222 7,3~l2,2"n 1,.188,U61

£1.),599,7ll

Estimated for 1926-1927.

£ l,Oq4,76G 4,215,000 1,-liU,OOO

32000 7,\)43:540 1, 771,100

end of June tlw railwavs had shifted 1.800.000 sheep, and the mo\·ement of starv­ing tock is still going on, and fodder in g-reat quantities is being conveyed to save sheep \Yhich rannot be removed. The cxperi­en<:n of previous droughts has b~en that tl1 •

country quickly recovers, and the traffic on the railways increases beyond expectations. The increased settlement on the lands through which the North Coast line passes. thP opening of the J'ailways in the Upper Burnett district, and the natural develop­ment of the State should considerably in­crca..;e the raihYay returns. Takins_r these factors into account, together with the in­crease in fares and freights, I do not think that the <"timatc of the railwav revenue for this year is unduly optimistic. -

\Vith re· poet to the recent increase in fares and freights necessitated by the in­crPascd >vorking costs, I understand that m other States the m<tjor portion, if not the whole, of the increased cost of working has been met by increasing the rates.

F::x-z,enditure. Tho follo>Ying table g-ives the actual expen­

diture last year and the estimated expendi­ture for this year. There is an increase for the current 0:ear of £546,000.

Expenditure. 1!l25-l\l26.

£ 521,06.)

4,.)77,6:)0 2\158

1H,188 l,'i07 ,870

260,9ll4 ,)00 ~9'> ~5~',1o6 287,70~ 25fl,G-t8

1,485,4+7 72,164

6,~57, 799

£16,154.404

1'-. tiruated for 10~6-1927.

£ m1,::rn

4,9:36,126 2~ 1:)()

1+7;035 1,40~,5+0

282,121 1S9,::ns 385,607 8l4,1K4 176, ~74

1,5~2,!l04 77,774

6.510,0112

£16,700,172

nnder the necessity of rigidly economising. Probably some departments will consider that their Estimates ha,-e been excessiYelv reduced and that their operations will b'e

Financial Statemtnt. [25 AUGUST.] Financial Statement. 327

unduly re•,tricted, but the Government are determined to make an effort to keep expen­diture within the limit of their revenue re­,ourcos.

There are certain expenditures which can­not be cut d nYn, such as the interest on the public debt and the sinking funds for loans. The increase in these two itnms amounts to £476.000, and, as the total estimated in­crease in expenditure is £546,000, there re­mains a sum of £70.000 onlv to meot the additional 1·cquirements of all departments and services for the year. Taking into con­sideration the fact that the whole of the public sen-ice is working under awards of the Arbitra.tion Court, and that in many < ases the awards provide for annual auto­matic and grade increases, it will be seen that this i,; a very moderate amount to allow for tht~~e and ot~hc1· r0quiroinonts. Regard­ing the increase in intorect on the public debt. it is impossible to deyeJop a young and extensivo country like Queensland without spending large ~un1s of money, and, as vve cannot provide fron1 revenue the funds necessary for developmental works, we must Lorrow and thus increase our interest bill.

It ma,, be contended that our development in the diro~tion of railvnty construction has outstripped our settlement and population, und has thus placed too heavy a burden upon the prc,ent generation. If this is so, the responsibility cannot, I think. be laid at the door Df any ono political partY. :\Iy opinicll:J. is that both Labour and anti-Labour Govern­ments h:tve erred in spending too much Capital lllJOtl raihvay construction instead of c~:mcentrating on in1proven1cnts on the open lmcs, such as relayimr. strengthening 0f bridges t.o carry heavier engines, and the obtaining of engines and other rolling-stock to efficiently and economically handle the traffic on these lines.

Summarised. the Escimates give the posi­tion for the o'ear 1926-1927 as-

Total expenditure Tct~t-l ro\-(:>llue

Deficit

£16,700,172 16,526,406

£173,766 . At an early date I propose to submit finan­

nal measures which, it is anticipated will bring in suffiCient additional revenue to' cover this dt licit. It will also be nece">ary to re­Pna.ct the super-tax jwovieions of the Land Tax ~\et.

No prov1s10n has been made for in­creases in the a ilowa.nces of members, but t.he House will hayo an opportunity of ex­prccsing Its yjc,vs --;'hen a B-ill, whjch it i:;; proposed to introdnce, amending the C'onstl­tntion in this direction in under co,lsicleration.

FINAXCT_\L llELATI0)\S BETVVEEN THE COMl\ION­WE.ILTH .1:'-iD THE STATE.

Before d• ·ling with the Trust and Loan Funds expenditure for this year, I desire to make reference to the recent decision of the Commonwealth Government in respect to the withdrawal of the payments made to the States under the Surplus Revenue Act. A conference of Commonwealth and State Ministers wa• convened in Mav last by the Prime Minister to discuss certain proposals, and the Commonwealth Government sub­mitted memoranda setting out what they termed " the settlement, on sound Federal principles, of the vexed question of Common­we~lth and State financial relationships." Br1efly. the Commomvealth proposed to dis-

continue th0 per capita payments made under the Surplus Revenue Act 1910, and to vacato the field of taxation of incomes of indivi­duals "' that the States might enter that licld. The Commonwealth also proposed to make special grants to certain of the States for three years, these special grants being " dec.ignE>d to case the State finances during tlw period required for the adjustment of the State taxation laws." All the States were rcpre,ent0d nt the conference and were unanimous in their contention that the per ea pi~' pa~·ments should be continued, for the i'Cason thc.t the States had for all time a moral, if not a lelral, right to a share of the c u>tOJYJs and t'XCise revenue, and that the fcderdion of the States Y ould never have been brought a bout had it been thought that t.he Statt•s would be called upon to forr;o the whole of tlutt revenue; further, the ci)J.!trt\OH'>\'ealth Go,~ernmcnt had shown no n ccs,ity for the change. The conferenee cndcoi without agreement being reached.

Subsequently the Commonwealth amended the propocals and, in lieu of the per capita payments, wore prepared to vacate the fields of land tax, estate duty, entertainments tax, and 40 per cent. of the income tax on boih individuals and companies, and make what 'YHS t~'l'rn:=-d " adjusting grants " to four of the States for one year. Queensland was to rpcc ivc £289,000, which was the largest amount to be paid to any State, and indi­cated that the Commonwealth recognised that Queensland was to· be the greatest sufferer by tbe propo·als. The Common­,,-calth contended that the individual States could raise the same amount from the same persons as the Commonwealth had done. As hon. members are a1-vare, there are no State bouncbries so far as the Commonwealth taxa­t1on is concerned, and v, hero a taxpayer de­riYcs income from more than one State or ha3 land in more than one State the income anrl abo the ,·alue of the land are aggre .. [.!~1t0d, in each caSC\ for taxation purposC't:J. The effect of aggregating is, in the case of incon1o tax, to increase the taxable income and consequently irwroase the rate of tax, and in the case of land tax to increase the Yal ue of i·he land and the tax, so that the

amo11nt of taxes which may be regarded '" h".ving been rollccted in a State on account nf the income from. and land held in, that State becomes considerablv increased. It is apparent therefore that, "unless this Stat" had the power to take into consideration the incomes from other States of Queensland taxp tycrs. wo could not obtain the same 1mount of tax from the same individual tax­payers as the Commonwealth does.

The State representatives met in Melbour!1o to consider these amended proposals, and decided that they, like the original pro­posals, were quite unacceptable. As some neople are suggesting that I was not whol9-h' artndly ag-ainst the proposals. I should like to make it quite clear that my attitude at the confcc·enoe was that the whole issue is whether or not the States have a moral right to a portion of the customs revenue, and I maintained that most people are agreed that federation would not have been consummated if the States had felt that they would lose the whole of the customs revenue. Undoubtedly, Queensland would be the g1·ea test loser by the withdrawal of th., per capita payments, as we have the highest pe~·centagc increase in population of any of the States.

Hon. W. McCormacl:.]

328 Financial Statement. [ASSE:i\IBLY.]

Appa1ently the Commonwealth have at least postponed going- on with their pro­posals, as the Fed-eral Parliament has adjourned without passing the Bills dealinq with the question, and I trust they will eventual!> see the reasonableness of aban­doning them. The per capita payments are a steady income to the States, and if we were deprived of these payments it would seriously dislocate our finances by taking away a sur.e annual income "\vhich, so far as Queensland is concerned, is an increasing amount. The per capita payments are made to the States each month, and if they are discontinued it will mean either arranging for heavy overdrafts or carrying large cash balances to moot expenditure during the months when Yery little taxation is received.

I have dealt with this matter somewhat at length as it is an all-important one to the people of this State, and more especially the taxpayers. To me it is rather remark­able that such a lack of interest in the question has been shown by members of the Opposition. (Opposition dissent.)

Mr. FRY: Shocking.

The TREASURER: One of them sup­ported the proposal.

~.Ir. FRY: You have no right to make r. st a tcment like that.

The CHAIRMAN : Order ! Order !

TRt:ST FeNDS.

The TREASUHER: The requirements for the current yC'ar of the various accounts coming under the Trust Funds total £7.846.626, compared with an expenditure ~f £7.290.656 for the ytar ended in June last. The main increases are for '~orkers' dwell­inf<S anci workers' homes (£354,000), Agri­cultnrul. Bank aclvanc~s (£149,000), c•ntral -, uga1·-mdb (£332,000). :State insuranc0 (£62,000), and main roads (£94,000), whilst thoro are larl!<> decreases in cotton trading (£263.000), and Chillagoe smelters (£167,000).

LOAN FeND.

The proposed loan expenditure for 1926-1f'27 totals £ ~.815.425. which is £135,000 less than was txponded la•·t ve,tr. This I admit is a very large sum, but· aft.,r going exhaus­tively into our commitments and making re­ductions wherever possible I am unable to further reduce the total, and it will be by the closest supervision only that expenditure can be kept within this estimate. The Hailway Department has been allotted over 52 per cont. of the total as there are cer­tain '·' orks \\·hich cannot be suspended, and we must continue to add to the rolling­stock as the shortage is still acute.

Mr. Pollock, I move-

" That there be granted to His J\Tajesty, for the service of the year 1926-1927, the sum of £300 to defray the salary of the aide-de-camp to His Excel­lency the Governor."

HoN00RABLE MEMBERS: Hear, hear !

The House resumed. The CHAIR:\IAN reported progress. The Committee obtained leave to sit again

to-morrow. The House adjourned at 3.28 p.m.

[Hon. W. McCorrnack.

Quest'ons.