SECESSION

Evening Post, Issue 51, 2 March 1931, Page 9

SECESSION

, IDEA, GROWING

YrfEST AUSTRALIA MOVES

(From "The Post's" Representative.) SYDNEY., 19t,h February.Recent developments in Federal poM» [ tics have given stimulus to the e*m« j paign in. Western Australia for seees- j sion from the Commonwealth. Western, i Australia has always complained .that i it suffered more tlian any other Stats'; as a result of Federation, and the idea. : is growing that* it would prosper if- it were a State unto itself once' again, i How this could be brought about is a • problem, but it •is with the idea of j solving that problem that the Dominion | League came into being in the State, j Already the! league ■ has- accomplished j much in the moulding of public opinion, as is shown by the fact that nearly all • the leading politicians of the State1 an 4 , many prominent business men who hay» • nothing to'do with politics openly advo» , cato secession. The aim of the Do- j minion League is to arrange for a refer- . endum so that the feeling of the people ; as a whole will be impressed upon the •■ rest of Australia. Then, if secession. is not possible, it is thought that West- ( em' Australia would be in a much better position to bargain. ' ' STATUS OF DOMINION. The people of Western Australia have " always been , careful to explain that secession' does not mean 'cutting adrift from th,e Empire. What is sought is . the status of a Dominion within , the Empire, similar to New Zealand. Jt > is claimed that Western Australia has nothing in common with the Eastern ; States) has received- no favours from i them, and hopes for none. Western, i Australians have always been' opposed1, to the high tariff wall that hag beea; erected around Australia, and, in fact, j it was this that really started the seees-.I sion movement. i The secretary of the Dominio* ■ League recently gave the following ex- ■ planation of the aims of the league: ; "The secession move is not directed against the people of the Eastern. Statos, but against the Federal Parliament, arid it appears that most of the ; other States are beginning to realise the futility of Federation. Often we have been ,asked, ' Could we finance ' secession?'. Undoubtedly we, could. Federal taxes, excise, Customs duty, and .excess charges on Eastern States' imports cost Western Australia'! £6,600,000 a year, while under seees- , sion, even if we maintained the present! Departmental staffs, which would them bo' largely duplicated, and allowed for interest and sinking-fund on the State < portion of. the war' debt, an annual . saving of £2,361,000 would be effected.; Secession means a release from the , chains of Canberra, that £12,000,000 monument of legislative incompetence. It means one Parliament only for u§ and fewor politicians, and less cost to the people of Western Australia. W« believe that secession'will attract Eng-j lisli and Australian capital to develop | our vast resources and promote oar industries. No one in the Eastern State* ■ will want to prevent us obtaining seeeft- . sion. And we would not seek it if wo could otherwise overcome our <fis- ; abilities, but we cannot".