DEFENCE

Evening Post, Volume CXV, Issue 74, 29 March 1933, Page 7

DEFENCE

AUSTRALIAN POLICY

INCREASED EXPENDITURE

(From "The Post's" Representative.) 8 * SYDNEY, March 23.

The Commonwealth Government seems at last to have- become impressed with the need of strengthening the defences of tho Government, and there is keen interest in the report that discussions are proceeding with the British Government ■on the basis of a £7,000,000 plan. The idea, it is said, is to bring the defences 'of the Commonwealth up to minimum requirements over a period of seven years without infringing any of the disarmament obligations. The plan involves complete rearming of the Australian coastal defences^ If the plan' is adopted the Commonwealth Parliament, will bo asked to approve in the estimates for 1933-34 enough additional expenditure to re-arm tho forts at Albany, Sydney, and Newcastle—the three vital points—with 16-inch guns of the- latest type. It is said that the Australian authorities weje. impressed " with the fact that ilonolulu has been re-armed recently with guns of this type. At present tho Australian ports would be outranged by any attacking fleet armed with modern naval guns.* The Minister' for. Defence (Sir George Pearce) gave the first hint of what was intended, but he has been very careful so far to avoid giving the details. He said: "I hope that Australia will be in a position to provide more money for defence, next year. It is often ' forgotten that Australia has made' substantial progress since the war in ono avenue of dof enee- preparation—the manufacture of munitions. This is a most important adjunct to the fighting forces." In consultation with tho Navy, Army, and Air Boards, Sir George- has been busy with the work of preparing tho defence estimates, but if is believed that the task is now almost completed. The £1,000,000 per year which t.he taxpayers will be asked to provide for defence will bo additional to the £.3,000,000 now spent annually. In. recent years nothing has been spent .in replacing wastages in equipment. Even the additional amount will not bring Australia back to the defence expenditure of 1929. At the beginning of tho financial stringency the Scullin Government cut defence expenditure by £1,000,000 a year, and later by another £500,000. Tho present Government has retained those cuts, and actually increased them by £100,000.

The Navy Board has urged that a cruiser squadron, working in conjunction with Australia's defended ports, is tho .minimum required for safety. It has.been suggested that Australia will borrow throe or even four cruisers from Great Britain. These would replace the- Australia and the Canberra. Despite the high cost of shipbuilding in Australia, it is suggested that the Commonwealth will decide to build a cruiser of its own at the Cockatoo Dockyards in Sydney. Negotiations . are ajso proceeding for the loan or gift of four destroyers to replace the seaplanecarrier Albatross. The plan makes no provision for submarines. It can safely be said that Australia will not agree to any. plan to pay a subsidy to the Royal Navy as New Zealand does. I That arrangement was never satisfactory to Australia, and it is now admitted that only the presence of Australia's own ships in'l9l4 saved Australian cities from attack by. Gorman raiders. Aerial defences will be am-nly provided for in tho new plan.