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Menzies' Points On
Import Economies
LONDON, Friday (AAP Special).—Australia could not again
import on the 1950-51 scale unless there was another wool boom, the
Australian Prime Minister, Mr. Menzies, said yesterday.
And such a boom, he declared, would be undesirable because
such fluctuations could not help Australia's economy in the long
term.
"You cannot go back to
Minister said. "You must st
Mr. Menzies was. telling |
170 leading British, indus
trialists tltat Australia
hoped the present import
restrictions would not last
too long—but he declined to
give any firm promises.
Other points made by Mr.
Menzies in his meeting with
members of the Federation of
British Industries included:—
« "I hate import licensing,
but licensing cannot be stop
ped overnight."
6 The crisis for Australia
and the sterling area is not yet
over.
O Australia's import cuts are
not directed specifically toward
the United Kingdom.
® If Australia had not in
troduced import licensing she
might have had to come to
Britain, perhaps by now, and
ask her to pay Australia's debts.
® Australia was determined
to pay her own way. '
© One of her great problems
was shortage of capital, which
was not so readily available in
Britain since the war. Aus
the abnormal*' the Prime
rive to return to normal"
fcralia, therefore, had obtained
one loan from the Internationa]
•Bank and was hoping to negoti
ate a second.
• Australia was seeking basic
needs of plant and fertilisers
essential to food production.
• Australia has an enorm
ous defence programme in re
lation to its resources. II
would cost between £170 mil"
lion and £180 million this yeaa
and might go to £250 million
next year.
Mr. Menzies was told thai
British industrialists were wor
ried in case the long-term ef
fects of the Australian impori
cuts might indirectly protect
and encourage uneconomic in
dustries in Australia, and de
flect resources from basic agri
cultural production.
He told his questioner
that bis Government's
policy was to swing re
sources to basic industries,
including food production.
He was opposed to encour
aging uneconomic second
ary industries.
A PLEA FOR FAITH
A plea for faith in
the British Commonwealth,
which, he said, would be
better served by a united,
positive approach and de
velopment of strength from
■within, marked Mr. Men
zies' talk yesterday.
Mr. Menzies ooined that the
present Commonwealth ap'
proach to the dollar problem
was too negative.
Mr. Menzies told the meet
ing that Australia's «conoms
was so dependent upon the ex
port of a comparatively few
products—wool, -wheat and
dairy products—"which could
so easily go up or down, that
fihe felt she could not do with
less than £300 million iD
nverseas balances.
Quoting FOB figures, Mr
Menzies said that Australian
Imports from Britain had
crown from £76 million (Aus
tralian) in 1946-47 to £357 mil'
lion in 1950-51.
& If Australia had al
lowed her overseas balan
ces to fall too low sho
would have been forced to
repudiate her obligations,
added Mr. Menzies, who
said Australia was deter
mined to pay her way.
The Prime Minister said
that in addition to the rise
in British imports, Britain's
invisible earnings In Austra
lia, Irom freight and insur
ance. had risen from £30 mil
lion in 1946-47 to £100 million
in 1950-51.
Therefore, he said, it had |
been impossible for her to buy
only imports from other for
eign countries. Australia lias
also cut dollar imports..
He said that special cases of
hardship affecting British ex
porters were being discussed
with the Board of ■ Trade
President, Peter Thorneycroft.
"I am hopeful that it will
be possible to discover some
ways and means of easing
these special difficulties con
sistent with Australia's own
obligations to her overseas
customers," lie said.
$