INDUSTRY THREATENED

Otago Daily Times, Issue 26636, 5 December 1947, Page 5

INDUSTRY THREATENED

DOLLAR EARNING ESSENTIAL AUSTRALIAN CONSUMERS SUFFER Rec. TO p.m. CANBERRA, Dec. 4. Goods which Australia needs herself may have to be sent to the United States to earn dollars so that Australian industries can continue to operate, stated Mr Chifley in the House of Representatives to-day. He continued that a strong demand existed in the United States for various raw and manufactured articles. Mr Chifley revealed that though Britain at one stage asked Australia to live within her current dollar income the Commonwealth was unable to give this rigid undertaking because the drastic decline in local dollar income would have caused an excessive dislocation of Australian industry. Mr Chifley said: “There, can be no satisfactory solution to the problem until European production and trade are brought into balance with western hemisphere production. Unless the rate of the drain from dollar reserves can be reduced there will be no alternative for sterling area countries but to live within their current dollar earnings.” Mr Chifley said the Commonwealth Government had recently cancelled import licences from the United States and Canada valued at more than 50,000,000 dollars and had confirmed licences valued at more than 115,000,000 dollars. The major import items, including motor vehicle chassis, newsprint, tobacco, petrol, and film remittances, had not been covered in the general review of import licences. Further economies in these major items would, however, be inescapable and specific proposals would be submitted to Cabinet on Monday.