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WHY NOT THIS STATE?
Although Western Australia is
not specifically excluded from the
proposals, still essentially in the
preliminary stage, for the invest
ment of British capital in Australian
food-producing industries, it is a
matter for concern that this State
has not been participating in the
discussions on the subject that have
taken place in London betweei
representatives of the British Gov
ernment on one hand and of the
Commonwealth, Queensland and
South Australian Governments on
the other. What form any British
investment in Australian .agriculture
might take has not been divulged,
but it has been pointed out un
officially that the- Overseas Food
Corporation- which the British Gov
ernment proposes to establish inj
conjunction with the Colonial De
velopment Corporation could be
adapted to administer food produc
tion schemes in the Dominions as
well as in the Colonies.
West Australians, however, must
wonder why their State has figured
not prominently, if at all, in the
London discussions. They might
also feel tempted to ask whether
the Commonwealth Government,
which professes to take a national
view of development questions, has
seen fit to consult the State Gov
ernment for, if Western Australia
has been overlooked, it can hardly
be the responsibility, of the British
Government It is possible, of
course, that the State Government's
decision to establish its own soldier
settlement scheme parallel with the
slow-moving Federal scheme has of
fended Canberra. In the circum
stances it might be advisable to re
mind Canberra of a few salient
points about this State which, in dis
tance and sentiment is cldsest of all
the States to the Mother Country.
Western Australia has its agri
cultural blindspots but, from a sea
sonal point of view, it is the most
reliable of-all the States.and, in the
southern portions at least, climatic
ally the most attractive. Indeed, so
far as the wheatbelt is concerned,
the dependability of our rainfall has
recently been attested by the Com
monwealth .Meteorological Bureau
in a pamphlet on applied climat
ology. This isa State with a wide
range of primary industries, all of
which, given manpower, finance and'
equipment, are capable of immedi
ate expansion or later development
in the wake of the engineer and
the chemist. Western Australia has
more opportunities for increased
production of foodstuffs than any
other State, with the possible ex,
ception of Queensland.
Given a long-range constructive
programme there are also oppor
tunities for tropical agriculture in
our north, and these it will be the
function of the Under-Secretary for
Agriculture, Mr. Baron Hay, to
bring to the attention of the
British authorities when he goes to
Europe fext month. It may take
time to achieve any notable ex
pansion of tropical agriculture, but
an immediate start could be made
with a policy to improve both the
quantity and quality of beef pro
duction in the Kimberleys. Pro
vided any investment in this State
is linked with a steady stream of
migration, the British and Common
wealth Governments may rest as
sured that Western Australia is
capable of making a substantial ad
ditional contribution to Britain's
food requirements, thus, simul
taneously, strengthening its strategic
position in the Indian Ocean.
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