Ashburton Guardian Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 1950. ADVANCE AUSTRALIA

Ashburton Guardian, Volume 70, Issue 104, 15 February 1950, Page 4

Ashburton Guardian Magna est Veritas et Prævalebit. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 15, 1950. ADVANCE AUSTRALIA

The new government in Australia, before tl\e election made a number of promises, some of which it is already carrying out. Petrol rationing has been abandoned, and taxation reductions are to be made at an early date. Many other promises will be dealt with as time goes on, but Australia is a big country and one which presents many difficulties. Its vastness is something the people of this country hardly appreciate, and so they can ihave little conception of the difficulties confronting any government. When it is considered that of the three millions of people in New South Wales, greater Sydney claims one-half, and of the 2,100,000 residents of the State of Victoria, all but one million are centred in greater Melbourne, the suggestion of a former Minister, Mr A. A. Cal well that the Commonwealth should be divided* into at least 30 new States or provinces to push, forward the development of the country seems to be sound logic. When industry and commerce are so centralised, progress beyond the spheres of city influence is bound to be slow, and possibly painful in its efforts to break away from vested interests. Recent reports have shown that large numbers of displaced persons have entered Australia, and many more are to follow. They cannot all be absorbed in the cities. In fact, it would.be to the detriment of the Commonwealth to put them there. There are vast areas ,which must be opened up, and to that end big irrigation projects are being formulated. When these are in operation, they will undoubtedly bring productivity and population to areas now sparsely grazed or even as yet untouched. It is an added economic potential _ which the new government will not overlook. There can be no denizing the fact that Australia can absorb a much larger population than she has at present. She faces the same housing problems, of course, as most other countries, and this problem will have to be one of the first attacked if the new arrivals are not to form the backbone of a huge army of unemployed. The new government has adopted the motto of “Advance Australia,” and with tlie implementation of some of its election promises, it can be seen that it intends to push the motto to the fullest extent.