Report of the British Economic Mission to Australia

Bibliographic data

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

Usage license:: Get license information via the feedback formular.

Chapter

Document type:: Monograph

Structure type:: Chapter

Title:: Supplementary memoranda

Collection:: Economics Books

51 accordingly be placed and regarded as entirely outside the sphere of political influence and its recommendations con- sidered as’scientific and unbiased. 8. In connection with the proposals which follow, we suggest that it would ve greatly to the advantage of the commercial and manufacturing pro- sperity of Australia if there wereadded to the present activities of the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research the sphere of work which deals with the standardization and simplification f manufacturing processes. 9. We thus obtain three bodies: — The Development and Migration Commission; The Council for Scientific and Industrial Research (with ‘unctions amplified as suggested in para. 8); and An Economic Service; responsible to one Commonwealth Vlinister, and we suggest that they hould be brought together in one Committee with the Minister as chair- nan and the heads of the three bodies 13 members. In order to obtain sroper co-ordination of their activities, ve would recommend that there should e a vice-chairman, who would not be equired to give any great part of his ime, and who might be content to erve without remuneration, but who vould keep in closer touch with the letails of the work than the Minister vould be able to do. It will not be :asy to obtain such a vice-chairman. He must have a scientific mind, a wide tnowledge of the conditions of the ountry, and a clear and unprejudiced riew of economics, but in spite of the lifficulty of personnel we suggest that he linking together of these three ser- rices under one Minister and an in- ‘ormed and effective vice-chairman would lead to the best co-ordinated results. BE. Taz Pasroran INDUSTRY. 1. It is not the purpose of this note to offer any comprehensive or detailed dbservations upon the pastoral in- dustry generally. The main facts re- garding it are too well known and its importance is too generally recognized for any such task to be necessary. It is intended only to call attention to one or two points in connection with it which seem to be of special interest 50 our Mission. 2. In the first place we have been struck by the figures given in the sable printed on page 6 of the very able Report, dated 30th August, 1927, of the Queensland Land Settlement Advisory Board, comparing the cost of running a sheep grazing property, described as ‘“a carefully managed nolding in the Hughenden district,” of shearing sheep and of realizing wool ‘or the year 1911 with the correspond- ‘ng cost for the year 1925. The Re- port states that these figures may be taken as universally applicable to holdings of similar carrying capacity in North Queensland. They show a cost increased by 7.04d., a price increased by 6.55d., and consequently a net ~oturn decreased bv 49d. per 1b. of wool in the latter as compared with the earlier year. 3. The comment of the Land Ad- yisory Board is worth quoting in full; — ‘“ These figures show that the costs of production are becoming very high and the margin of profit left to the grazier for his wool is small. In 1911 the profit from wool on this property was 38 per sent. of gross returns; in 1925. before the drought, this profit had, by climbing costs of production, seen reduced to 18 per cent. Thus many graziers are left to depend m their annual sales of sheep for their main profit. So long as shere is a local, market for surplus sheep the position is safe. But if surplus sheep could not be sold the industry would be faced with another crisis.” 1. If the position here indicated ob- ains generally elsewhere in Australia han in North Queensland—and we 1ave no reason to think thatit doesnot, though we do not overlook the fact shat the yield of wool per sheep has tended to improve in recent vears—

Access restriction

Copyright

fullscreen: Report of the British Economic Mission to Australia

Monograph

Chapter

Table of contents

Download

Monograph

Chapter

This page

Image fragment

Citation links

Citation recommendation