AUSTRALIAN NEWS

Hokitika Guardian, 26 July 1928, Page 3

AUSTRALIAN NEWS

(Australian Press Association./

SYDNEY DELUGED. SYDNEY, July 25. Tho city and suburbs have been drenched by a torrential downpour all day, transforming the streets into rushing streams. A cold southerly wind lashed the lain squalls, which early in tho afternoon made foot passage in the streets almost impossible. Tho wind at one time wasi of a cyclonic character, having a. force sufficient to overturn a motor ear. Over two inches of rain fell between nino in tho morning and two in the afternoon. Snow has fallen in many parts of tho highlands. Flood warnings have been issued to the North Coast districts. RELAY STATIONS FOR SMALL, SETS. CANBERRA, July 25. •Following on conferences between the Federal Government and the Broadcasting Company, the Federal Cabinet has adopted' a policy under which one company is to supply programmes for the whole of Australia, and relay stations arc to he established at the country centres, thereby enabling small receiving sets to hear the city programmes. * BROADCASTING. ' /(Received this day at 9.0 a.m.l CANBERRA, July 25. The new broadcasting policy ensures the Government shall be the owner of the plant and equipment of all A class stations and relay stations. The organisation or company is entrusted with the task of providing the entertainment programmes throughout Australia and will receive a percentage of the listeners ljcense lees, while the actual mechanical work of broadcasting will he carried out by the organisations under contract with tho Government. The probable cost to the Government of taking over broadcasting stations will be in tlie neighbourhood of £90,000. B class stations receive no Government assistance and no share of tho license fees as anticipated by them.

SHIPPING SERVICE. NEWCASTLE. July 26

An innovation in the form of a weekly service between Newcastle and Western Australia is being commenced bv the Mcllwraith* McEacherns and Adelaide Steamship Company’s vessels Kooliga, Ivooyong, Mungana and Alomba, It will obviate much transhipping and overcome existing congestion oil this run.

QUEENS LAND PARL [AMENT. BRISBANE, July 26

The third session of Queensland. Parliament lias opened. Mr McCormack (Premier) announced that the Government would not renew pastoral leases on good 1 quality sheep land contiguous to railways.

DECLINE IN MIGRATION. MELBOURNE, July 26. It is officially announced the gross British migration to Australia showed serious decline since 1913 from 56,779 to 40,991 in 1927. DROUGHT RAVAGES. BRISBANE, July 26. Ravages of drought in Western Queensland are described by the AlacRobertson expedition as terrible. Barkley Tableland is a vast brown, dusty wilderness, with dead stock everywhere. ~ ARTIFICIAL SILK INDUSTRY. HOBART, July 20. Cabinet is considering the offer of an English group to establish the artificial silk industry in Tasmania, with a capital of £1,000,000.