NO NEW TAXATION.

Hokitika Guardian, 20 October 1920, Page 3

NO NEW TAXATION.

WELL-GOVERNED VICTORIA. SYDNEY, October 5. Last week, just at a time when 'vory- £ other Government in the Commonwealth semed to be out on the warpath seeking hew avenues of taxation when all sorts of new imposts are being placed, with diabolical ingenuity, on | J the citizen and the trade organisation the Government of Victoria announced : p —“There is no need this year to place new taxation upon the people. Our finances are in good condition, and we , t< do not require extra revenue.” The b little, fertile State never received a, { better advertisement. Already the , f over-tax .'business concern with nead- t quarters in other cities are asking, t “Could we not do better by operating 1 in Victoria?” j * There is much food for thought in the . t the fact that Victoria is the only Aim- - c tralian State which has not flirted with Labopr Governments. The amateur cco- j nomists and untrained administrators from th e labour unions have blundered through the Cabinet room of every other Parliament in the Commonwealth, ; 1 and to-day under the terrible economic 5 strain of the post-war period, every Government, except Victoria, is in desperate financial straits. Yet Victoria is 1 under the double disadvantage of being 1 wholly dependent on other States for | coal and of possessing a most inefficient | and expensive railway system Vietori- j an affairs are administered by capble j business men, other Governments are not so fortunate'. That is the difference. Tlie' Victorian State elections . cam paign was officially opened by the Premier, young Mr Lawson, last week. As a political conflict, these elections do not promise anything spectacular or dramatic. There are no great issues or principles to be fought over, and no political personalities to stir up enthusiasm. There is a Nationalist Party, which is split into several little cliques, a Country Party, which is ill-defined and difficult to separate from the Nai tionalists, and a small, aggressive, but decidedly pessimistic Labour Party. Tlie Nationalists are certain to get a majority, and a. Coalition Government will be formed by the Nationalists’ cliques . and perhaps, the Country Party. Tlie outstanding and interesting s feature of the Government’s policy is - its determination to develop a great - electrical power scheme, first, by using >’ the enormous deposits of brown coal in -'the Norwell district, and, second, by -, harnessing water power—Victoria rbus , to be released from her present depend--1 ence on other States for coal. Otherr - ,wibe this Victorian Government, in - marked contrast with the flamboyant g window-dressing of the Labour ndminl > istrations, makes few promises. It is o content to carry on economically, pro- '• vide the people with all facilities posy gihle, and stimulate production to the •> utmost.