Report of the British Economic Mission to Australia

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Monograph

Identifikator:: 179824683X

URN:: urn:nbn:de:zbw-retromon-182286

Document type:: Monograph

Title:: Report of the British Economic Mission to Australia

Place of publication:: London

Publisher:: His Majesty's Stationery Office

Year of publication:: 7th January 1929

Scope:: 63 S.

Digitisation:: 2022

Collection:: Economics Books

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Chapter

Document type:: Monograph

Structure type:: Chapter

Title:: Part II. Main problems

Collection:: Economics Books

in the markets of the world, and is restricted within the limita- sions of her own home market. Here we approach the most vexed, and the most important of all Australian questions, that of the sombined effects of the protective Customs Tariff and of the legis- lative enactments, both of the Commonwealth and of the States, for the fixing of wages and conditions of labour, which we will rall, for brevity, the Arbitration Acts. 45. We could not fail to be impressed, throughout our travels n Australia, with the fact of which we were continually reminded, ‘hat, notwithstanding the magnitude of the interest on her 2xternal debt and of her imports for which payment can only be made In goods or services or, temporarily, by fresh borrowing, Australia exports only an almost negligible quantity of the products of manufacture, unless we include therein minerals such as lead, silver and zine ; while, broadly speaking, the only primary products which she exports in important quantities and which are not directly assisted by tariffs or bounties, though they may be assisted ndirectly by Government expenditure from taxation on roads, railways, water schemes and the like, are wool, hides and skins, meat and tallow, wheat and timber. Of these, wool and wheat ire by far the most important, and it has often, though somewhat loosely, been said to us that the primary industries concerned with these products are the only industries in Australia which stand on their own feet and sell their goods at the world’s price; or ven, still more loosely and with a change of metaphor, that all Australia is riding on the sheep's back. Without committing our- selves to full acquiescence with these broad expressions of opinion, We may say that we have been strongly disposed to the view that the combined operation of the tariff and of the Arbitration Acts has raised costs to a level which has laid an excessive and possibly *ven a dangerous load upon the unsheltered primary industries, which, having to sell in the world’s markets, cannot pass on the burden to other sections of the Australian community, and, con- sequently, as between the various States, upon those, notably Western Australia, South Australia and Tasmania, which are poor 1 manufactures and are principally concerned with primary pro- duction. These States, and Tasmania probably most of all, are ‘urther handicapped by the high costs of freight in interstate trade which result from the operation of the Navigation Acts along with ‘he other causes which we have mentioned.* 46. These causes collectively have at least contributed in large Neasure to a state of things in which manufactured articles Effect upon axport. The “vicious pirela _* We are aware that the disabilities under which these States suffer are recog- Lised by the Commonwealth Government and that substantial subsidies are paid by the Commonwealth to Tasmania and Western Australia, while the question of 8ranting a similar subsidy to South Australia is under consideration. These Subsidies, however, can only be regarded as palliatives of a system with which there 8 somethine amiss.

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