Queensland

Parliamentary Debates [Hansard]

Legislative Assembly

WEDNESDAY, 18 AUGUST 1920

Electronic reproduction of original hardcopy

Adjournment. [lS At:GUST.] Papers. 17

LEGISLATIVE ASSEMBLY.

\YEDKESD.IY, 18 AlJGLST, 19:20.

OPEXE\G OF l' ARLlA:\IEXT.

Tbe Hou'<e met •·horth before 12 o'clock noon 1 at \Yhich hour a n{cssagc was brought bv the U/.hcr of tho Blark Hod frorn l-Iis E~xcellency the Lioutonant-Govcu:or r('quest­in,; the attcndar;cG of Mr. Speaker and hon. members in tho Council ChambeL

The SPEAKEH and hon. members accord­ingly proceeded to the Legislative Council, and, having heard the Addrc')s of I-Iis Excel­lency. rehu·ned to their O\Yll Chamber, \vhen the SPE.\KER amwunced that he would resume the chair at half-past 3 o'clock p.m.

The House rooumcd at half-pc't 3 o'clock p.n1.

:\E\\r lv1El\1BEJ1. ELWTOR.\L DISTRICT OF HERBERT.

The SPEAKER (Hon. \V. Bertram, Jfaree) rrnorte.-\ to the IIouse that. following on th,., rf'~jgnation of the Hon. \Yillian1 Lennon a.s mcJ.;;bcr for the electoral district of Herbert, hl' heel i2sucd his -writ foJ' the election of a nlCDlbcr to serve in the IIous.e fer the elec­toral district in questio:·, a1cd that it had been returned to hin1 \t·ith the nanw of Pcrcy Pc:-so endorsed thereon.

l\lr. PEASE, who was introduced by lfr. F. _A._, Cooper and 2\1r. Smith, an1id Govcrnrnent 0hcers, took the oa~h u nd subscribed the roll.

AuDITOR-GE:\EH.AL'S REPORTS.

rr}Je SPEAKER announced that h~.; had rcceiYcd from the Auditor-General his reports as folio»·:-

Report on the Public Debt Reduction Fund for the financial ,-ear ended 30th June, 1920. "

Report on the transactions nndPr the Loan Acts Sinking Fund Act for the financial yc.:r ended 30th June, 1920.

On the motion of the ACTI:\G PREMIER (Hon. J" A. Fihelly, l'addi .. •(Jton), the papers were ordered to be printed.

PAXEL OF TEMPORARY CHAIRMEX

The SPE_\KER: Pursuant to the require­ments of Standing Order 2'\o. 11, I hereby nominate the following members to form the Panel of Temporary Chairmen during the present sessjon :-

Thomas Foley, member for the electoral district of Mundingburra; Michael Joscph Kirwan, member for the electoral district of Brisbane; Gom·ge Pollock, member for the electoral district of Grcgory; Charles Taylor, member for the electoral district of 'Vindsor; a,nd Harn- Froderick \Valker, member for "the electoral district of Cooroora.

PAPERS. The following papers, laid on the table,

were ordered to be printed :-Despatches conveying His Majesty's

assent to Acts passed during the session 1919-1920.

18 Leadership of Opposition. [ASSE:'IlBLY.] Death of Sir Samuel !Valker Gri!fith.

De,patchos conveying His Majesty's approYal of the rctentiou of the title "Honourable " bv tlw Hon. T. J. R; an, Hon. ,J. ",{ Hunter, Hon. H. F. Hardacro, Hon. IV. Lennon.

Cop_v of Proclamation under the Profiteer­ing Prevention Act.

Copy of Report of the Royal Commis­sion on Public \York" \Yith regard to a proposed rail wa 0 from .\rch<:r to 1\Ioonn1cra..

Report of tho :\1etropolit•m \Vater Supply and Sewerage Board for tho vcar 1919.

Copies of correspondence bchY'- 011 the CornrrJ011\Yf'alth and State GoYcrn~ rncnts ·with regard to the agreernent for the purcha5e of raw ~ugar for the year, 1920, 1921, and 1922, and also a eopY of the .con1plctc agrcenwnt.

Hcport of the Police Investment Board for the year ended 3Cth De• ember, 1919.

Poisons Reg-ulations of 1920, under the Health Acts, 1900-1917.

Reg-ulations under the Health Acts. 1900--1917, dated 11th March, 25th :\Iarcb, and 22nd _\pril, 1920.

Statistics of the State of Queemiand for 1918.

Regulations \Yorkers' 1918.

16 and 17 Compensation

under Acts,

the 1916-

Public Curator's bal~Ul<.,::-sheet ful' the Y"ar 1919.

Order in Council under the Insuranee Act of 1916.

Orders jn Council under the \Yor:\:ers' Compensation Acts, 1916-1918.

Alteration of regulation under the Pnbiic Curator Act. 1915.

Regulations under the Indnstrial and ·~Provident Societies Act of 1%:.

LEADERSHIP OF OPPOSITIO:\'.

Mr. VOWLES (IJoTby): I ch.,irc to mak a statement to the Hmh".

The, SPEAKER: Is it tbc pleasure oc the House that the hon. member le p£·r­n1ittc·d tu make a statement?

IloNOUR\BLE :rviE?.IBEHS: Ilcar~ hear~

Mr. VOWLES : I beg to adYisc the Houeo that a 11! \V party~ known aP. "'The Country Party ~'-(Govel'TIInent lau;;hter)-has bf'cn forn1e•d, a11d \:vlll sit in this IIo:Jsc as Ili::; l\tlaj( r,ty's OppO:'•itjollJ nHl) as i 115Ual. \Yill sit as r:1 distiHct part\·. I hn \-c b-een appointed !ceder of th' part"-, :Ylr. A. E, Moore has l)(•pn appointrd dppn~~.· lcadtr. and l\Ir. H. S. Hod'l' >Yhip. As this parh­compl'iscs the 111~'\jorit~v nf thr Ine!:'hC!'s of the Oppositiou. we v; ill for the fnturc Ot --uny thf' front 011po~ition ben{:hes. _,_ ·

A G JVER);,MEXT :\1£::\IBEH: Shame~ a11.d loud laughter.

Mr. VO\YLES: And ~s majority of nwmbers of the .shall retain the position of Oppo,ition.

HoN. \V. H. D.\H::-JES (!Julimba): I de-ire to a,sk the pcrrnission of the :Hous~ to nuJ.kn a personal explanation.

The SPEAKER: Is it the ple.a,ure of tluo House that the hon. member b,, permitted to n1e.kc a per3onal explanation'!

HoNOl'RABLE MEM:BERS: Hear, hear!

[111r. Vowlrs.

Hox. W. H BAH:\'ES: Bv permission of the House, I de• ire to -say that the Xationalist members of the party have elected me as leader of that party. (Govern­ment laughter.) I\!Ir. Roberts, tho hon. n1en1bcr for East '11'oo"\voon1La, has been <'lected deputv leader, and Mr. Sizer, the hon. member for :!'\undah, has been elected whip of tho party. I desire to take this opportunit,\- of ~~ying that the object of the ::\ationalist members of the nartv will be continuous!"- to llg,ht against ,;hat they ~elieYe i'" that which is up ag'ainst the best mtcre,ts oi Queensl-and.

The A\'TI:\'G PREMIER: ::\light I be permitted to congratulate the lr-·acler of the Opposition upon obtaining his prc:,ent posi-· tiun. and also, perhaps, the hon. n10n1bPr fo1~ Bulin1ba, a"' we might find wi~ .. don1 in a multitude of <'otmcillors, and it mav be a plea,sant matt0r for the Opposition io ha Ye another ]c>ader. Y'\T o h-a vo heard. I think, of arn1ies eonsi::;;ting n1ostlv of officers­(lnughtci)~~and C:YC'll of ~annics -with no soklicrs, and it rnav be that eYen a second party, with its lcadCr and its deputy leader, its \Yhip ancl its secJ·ptary, and its comJnittcc, 1nav f-iucl sornc consolation frmn the rmnain­iug. member of the party. (Gcwormnent laughter.) At any rate, if the Government can , xtend any help to the Opposition, more ]Jarticularly to J«,ep them where they are, it will bo yery glad to do so. (Renewed Goverument laug·hter.)

DE.!,_TH OF SIR SA:\iUEL WALKER GHIFFITH.

'\lm'JON OF CONDOLENCE.

The ACTING PREMIER: I dc,ire to mon' a motion. with rderence to the late Sir SamuPI \Valker Griffitb, _,-ithout notice.

Tbe SPEAKER: Is it the pleasure of tho House that the hon. mc~mbc r be permitted to moYc the motion \Yithont notice?

I-IoxouRABLE l\1E~JBERS: I-fear, hear !

The ~\f'TING P RE:\1IER: I beg to move-,, Tlur· this :House hert'by 0xpn:sscs its

lwartfclt svmpnth) with Lady Griffith and tho other m•·rnhers of the farnilv of the latl' Big'ht IIonour~dJlc Sir S,1~uE:l 1'1-alkcr Grifl!th, P.C., G.C.1vl.G., K.C .. aDd ib scn·,t~ of the great lm:s ..:-\ustralia has suffered bv the death of that eminent

~,,ho w~s or, of tbc rnost ·distin­d ornaments of this I-IotFc, and 1ong nd honourable corcer '\V~;;

almo~t bc,yond t'xam'.-,]e in highly pnbhc scn-icc faithfully and

perfonne·d."

J.l>'. YOIVLES: On behulf of the Opposi­I d( si rc- to ~up~)ort the n1otion IrloYcd

the Acting Premier. I nm sure that mcntbcr of this IIouse rc,aliscs that in

death of Sir SamUc'l ',Valkcr Griffith Queensland has loot one of her o-reacest juri.:;ts and 6cholars. Anyone wlJO RtuJics his car _,er rnust rea lisc 1-vhat opportunitie" thoro al'c fo.:' 1nen to ccdYancc tht:lnscl-n:·s jn a plare like Qut>ensland. I-Iis ,:;;;('ho1nstic career \Ya~ a YC'ry brilliant one. right through to the rniyersitv. where he, obtained his Arts d0grccs with douUc fir~t-da<,..s honours. nnd his mbseqLient career in the law and his car0cr as a politician and afterwards a~ a,

judge ar0 such as stand second to no1·hing in Australia. I an1 sure we Y~rv n1uch rerrrct his demise, and ·•extend our evrnpathy to ~hi3 gocd wife and family. '

Address in Reply. [18 AUGUST.] Address in Reply. 19

HoN. W. H. BARNES: I would like to take the opportunity, as one of the oldest members of this House, to endorse all that has been said with regard to the late Sir SamuG! '\Valkcr Griffi.th, and I have to con­grat.ulato the Government on bringing in this resolution to-day, because I tako it that Sir Samuel \YalkPr Griffith \YJ.S, above all, a gTeat Queenslanrler. one .,-ho did splendi·d sen·ice for thi· great and glorious State. and one \Yho he·· left his mark upon Australia. I am quite certain that f:YC-H'Y person jn the tOl1lll1Unit.v 1 no n1atter \Yho he 1nay be. wi!l rc:1 H· 0 that a great 1nan ha" gone to his rest, and therefore ''"'' on this side of the House~ the party f represcnt-df-'i;p}y S,\"lllpathise with those ,~, ho ha"\ c sufierc~d so great a loss.

The SPEAKER: that hon. nlentbcr~ staHd tidd ca1-rv nwtion 111 .si}PllCt'. ~

The 1notion \\as carrit-'d accordingly.

:\lL\'ISTERIAL CIIA:'\GES. The ACTI::\G PRE:\IIER laid on the

table a ::otatcnwnt of }1inistcrial ~hangcs since the close of la_-t. ~Ps~·ion, together ·with copif-;;:: of " Go·n··rnn1t'nt Gazette.') ., containing the notifi( ations u£ the changes.

P ARTlES IN OPPOSITIOX JI.'Ir. l'OLLOCK (Gn(lory): J\1r. Speaker,~

I desire to a~k you, 1vithout notice, 1vhether, in Yie,,,- of th ll''W state of nart.ies as no\v CC?llstituhcd, you will wdc t.hc c Opposition to divide th~.'rnsch-c-"3 up into Yisihlo parties ;:;o that lYe will know ~ . .-ho arc addre~'iing you:· (Laughter.)

:Mr. CoR'iER: You will know at the election.

GOVERNOR'S OPE?\ING SPEECH.

The SPE.cn<:ER: I ha\ e to report that tho House this da~y a ttendod His ExcP llency the Lieutenant-Governor in the Council Cham­ber, whCJ·.e His Excellency dCYlivored an Opening Speech to both Houses. I presume hon. members will follow the practice adopted hitherto and allow the Speech to be taken "' re; d. Is it the ple~suro of the House that the Speech h<· taken ac read?

HONOURABLE JI.1E"IBERS : Hear, hear!

ADDRE8S I:\ REPLY. Mr. PEASE (Jl, rbcrt), who \\as r~cei,;ed

with Governn:H:~nt cheers, said: 0.11·. Speaker, ~I beg to mo,-e that the followin!! address be presented to His Excellenc\· the ~Lieutcenant­GoYernor in reply to tho Speech of His Excellm;c_v at the opming of this the third scssiDn of the bYentt·-f-irst Parlian1ent of Queensland:-

"May it Please, Your Excellency,-" \Ye, His Jl.1ajcsty's loyal and dutiful

subjects, the n1en1bcrs of the Lcgi~latiYe .Aesemhly of Queensland, in Parliament aEbemblcd. desire to a5surp y-our Excel­lency of our continued loyalt,- and affec­tion towards thP. Throne and Person of Our l\Iost Gracious Sovereign. and to tender our thanks to Your Excellency for the Speech with \d1ich you haYe been pleased to open tlw present session.

"V\'e regret the circumstances that may render this session a OOrren one, and we heartily support th<J action proposed by Your Excellency's adYisers to meet the si tu a tion."

The allusion in the Goyernor's Speech to the Hoyal welcome no doubt will be Yery pleas­lllg to the m cm bcrs of this House and to the people of Quc•'nsland.

Hoxoc:RIBLE ME]!BERS: Hear, hear!

:l:\Jr. PEASE: Possibly, Sir, you have seen the publiuttion called "Queer Queensland." ::\'o doubt the Royal party were furnished with a copy of that publication before coming to QncPnsland, judging b~7 th1 rcrnarks which ' .. ne passed b.' the Prince and members of hi\~ party. expreseing thcjr pleasurQ at the wclcon1c thn t \Yns giYcn to them in Quet?ns-

A' the Prince stated at the State ()ucena1and iJ~,d placed the cro\vn

on to Australia. HoxocEBLE ME.\lDE.R~: Hear, hear!

~,lr. Pl1:ASE: I am quite sure that that '\\ i !1 go a long ·wa:v towards cor­

rer ._ing' Yile as;;:ertions that have been madt , rcg·a, :hng tho lo:·alt,v of tho p~ople of QtLot·t··land.

GovERX:\IENT JI.IE}lBERS: Hear, hear!

:\Ir. P J<:ASE : I ma.y say the position has bc'cn v !l'Y !JadlY dintorted, particularly so during m,v f'lcc:tion c:tmpaign. The loyalty of the peoplo or Qnc<:n·land, more particu­larly -.._1f the n1embcrs of thjs party, was a·- ailr•d '\hcrc\·cr \Vf' '.-rf'nt, and thjs pro­nouncement, con1ing at this stage, will show that the mcmbL:re of this party are quite prcpatT'1 t·) • t·endcr nnto (\rsar the things that n re Cw"ar's ''-t-o take up a proper position wlwn entertaining any distinguished guest. (IIeu·, hear!)

I now come to the question of the surplus. :'\ o doubt the mrp! us ,.-ill be welcome, hecau~c the stat('n1cnt ha" been 1nade freelv t)1at the men1bers of the Labour partv ar'e­not capa.ble of managing thP finances· of a countr0'. It rcquir<O'' brains to handle the fina.nce-~ in such a wav as to give justice to eycrybody and come "out with- the splendid surplus this Government haYe now 'hown. (Hear, hear !)

Tbc amalgamation of the Savings Banks will Go of imm~nse bone6t to the people of Queensland. I undcrsta nd the arra,ngemcnt made will enable a fixed snm to be expended in Queensland by the Federal authorities in connection y;·ith th.P ComlDODIVCalth Bank, and t,his will mean the dl'Yelopment of a good many things which at preBent cannot b'' gonr on with. There alrea.J,,- is thll arnonnt a.ch a need by the Cornrnon\vealth Bank to th,; f'onncil of tht~ City of Bri~bane, to enablC"' thnt body to go on with tht Proction of the no\\· tmYn hall. Possiblv. had this f'cnudgan1ation not beC'n arranged. th:1.t rnoncv n1ight not have been n1ade availablt"'.

The Sngar Acquisition Act will be p]ec ,,_ in.![. n1ore cspccia.lly to those nu;rnbcrs who repre:::ent sugar areas. The Govcrm.11Pnt are to be complimented on the manner in \Yhich t'>cy handled the agreement \Yith the Com­rnmnvcalth Governn1cnt. The attempt murle by the Commonwealth Government to put further renditions jnto the agrcemcnt~-aftt•r the matter had been ratified bv the Yarious delegations representing the sugar interests ancl. the GoYCnlnlcnt---rf'quirt'd a. t:."'oocl fl.ca1 of fighting; and I desire to compliment thll Minister for Agriculture on the manner in which he handled that situation on behalf of the sugar-growers. Gov~RXMENT MEMBERS: Hear, hear !

Mr. PEASE: The proposal of the Com­monwealth Government that th~y ~hould

Mr. Pease.]

20 Addre88 m Repl!J. [ASSEl\IBL Y.] Add; ess in Reply.

l'<ltif., or not r:.ttifv. r-.s lt .3Hii '-ill.\ iugislation \\:\iCh s~l~ of tht? :-.agar-grow,:l'·· \Y:l~ ltn

gro\YCl . ..-\'3 a rc"'lr rn .... fl~r.-c 'Jf sugar trict, I s._ty ~;,-ould haYo been fatnl: l<.'C..1.USL~ \VC th.1t thf' Su2;ar Ca.ne Priros .._.\et ~l.HlC'IHhn· nt. AB- '1 rnatte:r of fact, dur1nl! the 1-IerbfJt bY-_,Ir~·iion, the Ca.nc Prices Aet 1va·· one of tht~ \ ital n1~t~ ters di::;cn·S('(_l. ('1·rtain elL' 1 t2:PS wPre HHLJe~ that thA farmer,, at Ingham-- wero told that if thcv did not return the GoYernmcut uuvJi~ dnto lt \\·ould be "Good-bye·" to tbQ Cane Pric.Ts Act. The stnt€'nt.Pnt was not rnade in that ·vaH. T.hc ::,tab:>n1ent rn.tdc \Y:(..; that this Governn1ent \~. l'l the onl,y Governrncnt Y ho \\Ou!d be likely to tighten up the Act in the v;a.y the sugar-gro"'IVL'l'S de~ired. The clr?ction has proycJ that thP sug·a.r-gro·vers do dc:~irc the tighteliing up ,_)f thvt Act. It is a very good thing that the :\Iini~ter foe _<\.griculture fought t~10 rnattcr and refused t.J sign the ngrcc1ncnt until tht: clau"'-r~ '" ~s removed \vhieh gave the Commonwealth GoYernmcnt po,vc-r to Yt: to any "-uch legisla­L;on. _.Another c1au5 rt latcd to thQ treatn1ent {Jf sugar at tho 1:oills to nq.ke n1ill ,,\"hi t.es. .• A.B anybody conncctrcl \\<th ~ugar knows. yea.rs ugo the Riprle and Barratta mills tnrncd out a decent markdablt-> ·whit...,. mill sugar. It vYnnld be a grt 1t brneiit to the pe~p]c of Qucensl<'lnd if sornc n1 _ ns cculd be fr;ur__l to enablt-. the n1i1ls in Oneensland to din-:ct!y turn out a f'Ugar ,., hiC·:1 \Yould be n.arkctal·lf', ''Tithout haYin,~ to ---end do·,· n to lv1c1bourno and other centres the raw su~ar and bring it back reflned. The~o refineries exercise a Einistcr inflnrL ,. throughout the whcl;, of ..i_-\n:::;.tra1icL <.:nd -i1 "'.Yonld !>lcnd1c1 thjng fol' the pco111c n

if the nrocess of ~ucn-r ((:u1d he ront<·o1kd in Quc:'n.J"

GOVER:>nfE:-<T ME~IBERS: Hear, hear!

Mr. PEASE : There is a!-o the qlHostion of the rcmova.l of the Federal embargo, which pre\ cntccl this or any ot.hc-r GoY> rnmcnt fron1 enlarging 1nilling area:;;. The question of tl1e proviRion of n1ore rrushinq- po\ver is also a Yf'rv serious one in Korth Queensland, and I, ,~·assure members of thi~ House that at: present it i"" very acute. An_~.- n1cn1ber who travelled +hrongh the Herbert during the r0cent by-E.;lection. on \VhateYf'r side of the House he might sit. must admit th~t the position; in the I-I~rbert particular1~7 , is very c,cutc. In the Tulh· we ha.ve 10,000 acrcq of i,wd lying idle wh;ch could be tnrm:d satis­£actori1v to the production of sugar. At Long Pockf'!, in t,he Ingham district. the same amount of land is aYailable. _At Hali­fax " deputat'iC':l waited on the Ministor for Ao:ricultnro nnd assured him that residents o( thirt and forty years' st-anding in that di,trict 'had not, up to that time, been able to g~t cane contracts from the Colonial Sugar Rol,ning Company's mill in that district.

As a matter of fact t'::tev asked the l\1ini,ter -1-o SBC' if provi:;:.ion •.YaS i1ot nva.ib.blc in the Cane Prices Act to compel the company to take the sugar-cane that. they could gcow, and the great bulk of that deputation were, not supporters of this party. But I thinK they haYe seen the error of their way, Lnd, I bdic,·e, will gladly mpport this Govern­ment. more especially after the great efforts the J\iin1·-tcr for Agriculture has put up on their behalf. (Hear, hear !)

The reassessment of pastoral holdings was a matter that came Llp very much during

[Mr. Pease.

rhc'

1:-:. l_-xact1v """h ~d1 the

~.verc

L't p.w.l p(sul w·1"' \Y8r1:

h!.'ough': fcrsanl l ... fore thi~ CoYcrni eJ;t got iuto l_,O,H_T, ~urnc ,Juhide i nl}U"flC(~ \Ya.3 brought to ber! l_', n nd the liCXt

tbing wa, that t~w Bill \Yas 111 tbL waste· La kl't. It was not until the Labour

get i.1to power that the farr.1ert"J Qn0(~n-·land got the fair deal which the

Cane PrJ,-,-~3 Ad gaYG thorn, (Hr-tr, hear!) The f~tct that I aln hrre to-dav as mt'nlber for liu·bcrt proves that in that cli~trict the

of this Government in this rega1·d Is to commeCldcd. (fhar, hear c)

The wav jn v:hich this GoYornrnellt did its b_st to re~-,"iYG the 1nining industry is al:;;o a

for great cc::gratu1ation. It i-1 Yery to ·-ce the report ju t is-,ucd, which

the North Q>Jccnsland pec,pk' at the tinH~ when the propo:--al was furward--the action of thjs Govern­taking oYer f1e Chillag-oc R.-:ihv,Ly

was a '\Vi e on0. ~~s li 1nat.~er this f~o\-Cfllillf"lt decided to pJa.cc

In in----><:, raih-: ays, and stnel ~erg o;1 thl' to-n1o1TO\V thcv rnuld 1na 1.:::>J a Ycry handso,-10 profit OLlt of ·~sam<'.

GovEEX:\IE~T ~\IE~IBERS: I-Icar, hear!

~.\Ir. PEASE: The of ccl·1cation, t,;u :1ed en Hl the is one v. xic:O

cc the pco 1Jle. l'he the GoYc-rnnlc:nt propo3e to

t2e the amouut <tllO\Ycd the par-.:>nts D\30 {'hlldrt n 1" ho win J'hi11s will

Yery int0rcsting uews to prople of the far :\orth. A n·ry oo:,sidcr _Llo number of the 1'\(Jl't.hc-rn chilclrc·n aro unaL!e to take out thr;;c scholarships) for the simple rea--on that their parents are not in Ll. pc,,it.'Jll to P'l_\' their steamer fares and other expenses noces­s-ar .. - vd1en they nro away frorn horne; con· soqucnt]y, those childrop arc dBbarrec.l fron1 tht' benefits to whieh the;T arc entitled and which the children in the South r2ceiYe.

\Yith reg·ard to the question of the cost of living, thi-'' Go-\·crnnu•nt has Inado an honest at~ompt to doul w:th the matt r_ (Hear, hc~r !) No doubt the appointrncnt of a Food Con1n1is~ioner i- not doing evC'r)rthing that could be '"i"'lwd, bnt it is an honest attetupt to giYe the people of Quc·ensland a chance to bcapc from the profiteer. (Hear, hear')

\Yith regard to the State enterprisP.s-in answer to a question put to my opponents during the b;~-election-they told me that if they got into power the first thing they wotJ!d do would be to sell the State enterprises.

1\fr. COLLIXS: So they would, and sacrifice them, too.

~cir. Km wAX: ThGy are selling tbeir principles, so what else can you expect?

ii!Ir. PEASE: The people of Queensh.nd would not stand for sc,lling the State in;ur­ance for a Rtart. The benefits derived from the State Insurance Department arc very apparent to everybody, and tho fact that ; his Gov0rnment initiated it and has brought it to its present high stage prov<es that the Labour Government arc prepared to ta.,,k!e mea~,ures \Yhich previous Governn1ents, who were in po1ver for years and years~ were not prepared to do. (Hear, hear !)

[18 AuausT.j Address in Reply,

'1Yith rcge,rd to State stations and State but·~:1u·s~ shop~, it is Yery pleasing to see the chain of butchers' shops gradually extending, (Hc-nr, hear c) A shop was recently opened in Cairn~! and attempts nre being n1ad8 to g-c:; one "~t Innl~fail and Inghan1, an 1-spc:J.king frorn expcri,, nee-I am sure Lhe benefits derin:d from these butchers' shops fL{'Gn a. conRiL1crab1e addition to the jnc.Jn1e of the people. (Hear, hcrrr !)

I ha Ye n.lv:;8d:? spoken Y\ith regard. to the b ndlts of increased crushing power 1n con~ r __ oction 1Yith suc:ur-n1i1ls for certain dish·~ctf:; in thP Xorth, ~and it is hoped that the Govcrnrncnt will extend th0 benefit~. and that "< proposal ·will be considered for the further buildin~ of State mills. (Hesr, hear:)

Th0 SL.tr Produf·e ~.\goncv .is an institu­tion \vhich crrtainly has h<~nefited the farm·:rs, .::tnd the annonnc:m1ent that a bonus of 2~ per ccut. is now being raid to the far1n{'rs v;hn supply State produ<"'e ~hou!d proYG that ~hi:; GoYcnuncnt r0a1ly arc doing smnething foe the fauneJ-

GoYER:\'T:\T :\cniBERS: Hear, hear !

~/[r. PEASE: The action of the Gm·ern­n1ont wit.h regard to supplying ~ecd wDeat and helpmg the fanners in their difricultic,, and with regard to supplv of forage etc. is ~11~o a Inattcr upon \YhiCh tho Gov'crnm~nt should be commcnded.

Then th-~_>rc lS thr· rllH t;on of railW.:l,YS, U',on '' hich tlF'rc is 3h1avs n1uch critici~n1 n{ost of \Yhieh is c0rtai.Dlv unfair. 'Ch~ l'(:tl'rn just issued show hCnv the railvv:avs h;, ve ]Ja.id tht i r wa} and c:trried on durlilg the lilst financial year. The om ction of con­tlrnH'-tl r8i!w .y '011.~trudion is a1so a vcrv Yi+al lL, ~tcr. c:3peci[llly for ~orth QueenS­land. It i:' p·•~Pntial t 1~::o.t the ::.Jorth CoLst P:_tihva shon1d be liukcd un without delaY ----:-(ITc .i·, hear .!)~<'ind it is 'rf'g-rett[lb1o th::t't cn·cu:.JSt<HH are llL ~~i:•r? it ,-,.,er~· hard fo1 thi-- GoY(" nment to b ecntinur; (;0~1 .,truction wr.>rl;::.

TJ1i~ briJH-'> u.::: 1 t"~. t~1e <JUP~_tion of loan n1oney-the conc1UC11i1n· 1•orhon of the

C'rh-~.l;i,--.h l.di.;-clo:< 'i a ver--;· nno wh1ch a new nL'n1-t1eal ·with ill a very

rnanner. I Cflll rDrtainly s.ay of futlli'c dm·eloprner,tal

:p1r"tion of loan mo11ev for the undevelooc·Cl

(Hear. hear!) · ~\Ir. Fr~,": I thought your pa1·ty wn.s against

borrO\\"ing. T~c ,-\CTIXG PR~,liiF::<:

par Jc~ 111 f[I_Your of. '\Vhat t~re your

FRY : Better g"l YcrniiWllt of Queens-

Tho ALTD:G PRK:\IIER: By w11i~h party? ~\I;·, I'ny: The pl-~oplo's party.

},Ir. PEA SE: The interjector is rai:iug t1JC question of the present Goycrr:.!ncnt's policy. bd he forgds that the Gm·ernment ·whirh rull0,:J 9lH-'cnsland Ul~ to five year~ ag-o ]Pft tn1s C.~c-Yerntncnt WJth a lcga· ,' ot oY~'r fifr:v 1nillions loan money to ptovide for in Loud on: nlld it is not po· -sib le to rcarr .. uun~ financial nPtters in 0Ye minutes. VYhon tllis Gm·crnmcnt Kere confronted with t.he problem of £50.G00.0';0 loan nwnc:1 duo in London, and t!H'V had certain devopmental work to go 01• with. they had to continue the old policy until thcv w;ere able "to pelt their house in order." The position was as they

found it, and has to be remedied; and this GovernnH.:·nt. in n1y opinion, 'vill remc,dy it. (Hear, hear') It is a ycrv casv matter to

+/:tJ't a ball rolling in conneCtion -~·ith finance. That was found out a few years ago 'vhcn a rush \Yas started on the St~te ·Governn10nt Savings Bank--5tarted for political purposes. \Vc haye something similar occurring DO\\",

also for politico 1 purposes. GOYERx:m:xT J\1£:\IBERS: Hear, hear!

:Ylr. PEASE: ~-'-nd it mav mean that thos• lJPL'S.Jn~. or g-roup of pcr.sol-lS, responsible fer ~tarting that financial crisis n1ay yet have rea.son to be son·y for eyer having clone it.

GOYERX)12::\'r ::.\1E~IBERS: I-lear, hear!

:\h. PEASE: It is a question if any person \dw at.te1npts to desh'oJ the credit cf n State is not a traitor to that State, bec-nm<' \\'C are all dependent on the credit of th<' State,; aud, if that credit fails ever:v per•:on in QneE'nsLnd will be in a serious po...,ition. 'f}w pro}Y'r course in connection ·y, ith the ,e nw .. tters was not to allow any cutside "t)ction to int~rfere; the question , houk1 ha \·e hPcn fought out on the floor of this llousc, because it is the people of QL\eensland who send thei ,. representatives to this ParJi,lnlf'llt. and t.hose ~\re the people "\Yho arc rf'spotH-:lblc. Ther<'fol'e. the matter should ha, . ., h.'cn foug·ht out in this House; and, if not, F<.ti-sfa( ._or.'-', an appeal could ha Ye been made to the ]Wople on the mattor, Ln bm.11', f< r .Years, had to ac·cept the legi_,la­tion \Yhich its opporren.ts put on the statute­book. It j,; onlv ,,-ithin the last five years that Labonr has atLinE!d power: but during th0 yen rs the othcl' party v 0re in po\V"er the Labout· 1Jf''rpln did not take tho cxtren1e cour~e of sending- delegations to Eng-land) or any othcl' part of the \Yorld, to intcrfprc \Yith legislation~the:y took it as it \Yas giYen to the-m. FiYc ye:-.rs ngo the people of Queensland gaye a mandate to the prE ~"''t GoYcrninPnt to \Vork ont mutters according to t110ir 1ight. This Inanr1ate was accepted, nnd the Gon'rnment have hocJestl,v done their dnt: to the peonle. (Heal', he~r !) As a

fact. the GoYE"T!ll:H'l"!t wrrs elected 111andnte 'Yit~ rcg-al'd to what

t~-.:;; t11C' "B:rpudiation Art." In the ~{1•'·'~-h 1~<.:.11(-·d h'.· the Prcmi0r of the -. · 101c:. thi~ pJrticular

npon. Sneaking on the thn nn~ount rPceiYed for

pr::=:.tora1 r .~, the> Pn,rnirr of the da~ th0n ,:<lid~--

~ic1Pra1-,} •.­~n 1 _

rnpr Pl'O'

havr be0n con­the G0Yernn:cnt

its prnpo~al to i 11 the Land

__ \_ 5~ ncr cent. the incrca~e t1nt- PH1c rlt anv perind 0£ ~DH'::d---·~•1P!lf". Tl' f"JntinuA.nce of such :l'J iP""~llitalolc nrinrip1P i« not on1:Y detri­rnr•-,t ~ l to th" ir:t,-rr t<;: nf the State. bnt i:• nh·n a distinct injnsticc to a larg-e body of rnnvn tonnnts. \vho nro in manv ea~£''" {-1_1l0d upon t0 na:v t.,Yn or thr0·e:, tim0s the J'(" t for l''nrl adjoininp- that of t.hc nastoral le~sp0 rnd not. infrt:quent1y inf0rjor in qunlit~'."

This ie taken from the nolic:v speech of tho (~O','Crlln1ent. i:=;:=;ned in FPbruary. 1918, ar.d' E n.dorsed lr,' thr- rconl0 of Queen<::land b,~ a h:o-to-cno ;,1ejority. · \Vc ln:o,,- that at 'tho Plections following the issue of that f:tWcC'h fortv-f'l:;ht l11C'I1lbPrs W£TC returned to snp­nort the GoY('rnn10nt polirv ngainst b\"C'nty­fonr nn tllc othl'r !",idc. Th0 rn ~tter \Yas rmt. to the 11~:op:c as a clear-cut issn0, and t};e·

Mr. Pease.]

22 Addre,,s in Reply. [ASSElVIBL Y.] Address in Reply.

Government accepted it as such, and passed the Ic,,islation referred to in that speech. :\ow WE' arc told that this legislation tEust be repealed or \Ye ,~,ill get no loan n1oney. The Government ha ,.e got to find the interest 011 loans borrowed in the past, and they have got to continue the borrowing policy which was the lcgacv left them by pr·evious AcLuinistrutions; othe-r\\ ise 0\-erything ,,-ill lw vc to b0 closed down and retrenchment will have to take place. I am sure that the people of QtJPlmsland are not looking for anything like that. (Hear, hear !) I know J;lwt we in the Korthern district-; a re not looking for it. The question of going on with public works-with developmental works -·is a vital question for the whole of the pe"ple of Queensland. and especiall:r of the ::\orth. Those people who profess to !Javo tlw interests of the people of North Queensland at heart should get to work and do some· thing- to benefit the North. The people of ::\ orth Queensland a ro not faced with such n:cellPnt facilities as thev are ·in the South, s0 ttwt the carrying- 01~ of developmental \York i~ a vital matter for everyone con­ccnw<l Ji,-ing in the ::\orth. The only right and proper course is to refer this position to the people of Queensland, as outlined in the Lieuh,nant.Governor's Speech. lt is for the JWoplc of Que0nsland to decide the que,tion, anrl., spe-aking as a supywrter of tho Govern­ment I am not frig-htened of the decision that f,he people >vill give when they are appealed to. As a proof that the delegation 1vhirh \vent to London was tho cause of the present po~ition in r0gard to the finances, I m a v mention that quite reeentlv the Qurq-''Lh.nd GoYcrnn1ent floated a lo~an ln London. That loan was floated ·after the Im'Jrance Act had been passed >tnd after this so·called "RPpudiation Act" had been passed. As everybody knows, that loan "·as oversubscribed, As a matter of fact. the Government could have obtained £5.000.000 or £6,000.000 if they had wanted it at that time. It i-.. therefore. verv dear that it was che Fork of SOmeone, Or some partie•• which i' re~ponsible for the present financial posi· tion a" outlined in London to·dav.

Mr. VowLES: No, no! Disho~est legisla· tion.

Mr. PEASE: The people of Queensland will have the right to say whether they stand for this sort of thing or not. I repre· sent a far :'\Jorthern constituency, .end I know that the closing down of public works and the stop pc f\'O of the railwaY construction policy in the North will mean ruination to manv-if that policy is allowed to be persisted in. The: people of Queensland will be fully seized with the whole position. They will be told that the Government could get loan money up till the time the delegation went to London and made their representa. tiom. That cloariy proves that the people controlling the money market at home have been told something, and the people of Queensland will want to know what .that something is.

Mr. COLLINS : They told lies !-lies ! Mr. BREXNAX: vYe should not allow them

to come back into Australia. Mr. KIRWAN: Stinking fish propaganda.

Mr. PEASE: As a member for a Northern o:onstituency, I am quite satisfied that the people of Queensland are not behind this stoppage of our loan money. I know that the question of developmental work is a very

[Mr. Pease.

vital thing up ::.;[orth, and it all hinges on the que~tiun of getting this money whether that d;::;;, elopn1ental \vork is carried on or not. Members of the Opposition say that the polic,' of the Labour party is against bon·o,Ying. Of course~ it is against borrovv­ing. but >vhile the system of borrowing has been perpetuated b_v the OpRosition for many years, and while such n pohcy has been left ~s a legac .v to this part:-;·, we have to carry it 011. \Ye base to shoulder the burdens thev left us by finding the interest and rcdCn1ption. dlld, as \VC' have further develop­mental work to do \Ye must continue the borrowing policy. ' Therefore, any action which tends to dcstrov the credit of Queens­land iu London will certainh- be a matter that lhe people of Queensland" \Yill not stand for.

GOYERXMEKT JYIE~IBERS: Hear, hear ! 1\Ir. Bl'LCOCK (lJurtoo), who was rec;i,·cd

with Go, crn.n1ent ·' I-Ie~u. hPar:- ~-, ::-.aid: l\lr. Speake-L--I have llluch pkasurP in seconding the motion so ably mon'cl by :VIr. Pease. tlw no>d returned n1cm ber for I-Ierbert. It is a nHJttf'r for congratulation that the newly returned hon. member for Herbcrt is fully aliYe to the ie.cues that are confronting us at this juncture. I n1y.::::0lf arn a. 1nere novice in politics. but I fmd that the industrial and social Pxpcrir>nce w hi eh I gained outside this House IYill be valuable to me, just as it is YahtB})lc to otLer n1en1bers, b0tJause ,,.hen we come to this House 1vc know that "",VD

ran put the idrms which we have f\'ained from experienre outside into legislatiYe enact­ment for the benefit of those whom we have been returned to represent. (Hear, hear !) Tlwre is no doubt , bont it that one of the g-reatest quec,tions that is exercising the minds of the people and of the Government throughout the lr ngth and breadth of the world is the cost of living. During the rer,;nt Commonwealth election campaign, and also during the New South \Va.le•• State elee­ti•m campaign. a considerable policy of vilification was indulg-ed in with regard to l•he cost of living. In New South Wales, those who were endeavouring to gain the suffrages of the people on behalf of Labour found that many misrepresentations were made regarding the cost of living iP Queensland, and it was frequently slated that the cost of living in Quoenslan<l \Vas on the highest scale of any State in the Commonwealth. That sta,temcnt was repeated from thousands of platforms throughout the campaign hv thousands of traducers of t.his State.' vet 'we fnd in the Speech read bv the Lieutenant-Governor to.dav that thosre statements were nothing but lies, ::\ot onlv were snrh statements lies, hut the flg-nres qi:wted to.da'' show that the cost of living is cheaper in Brisbane. the capih! of Queensland. than in any other of 1 hP State capitals in the Con1n1onwcalth.

:\fr. MoRGAN: Do von know that it includes hons0 rents as well?

'I' he Acrr;;G PRE1HEit : Th ev li ye in tents down South. '

:\1r. BULCOCK: It is a matter for con­grntnlation th1t. O\Yiug to tlH-' goYcrrnncnt of this country being in the hands of the Labour party, the cost of living has come down, It has started to come down since the time we have had the Price Fixing Commission in operation, because since that time there has been a considerable tendency on the part of profiteers to limit their

Address in Reply.

profitccnng to YYithin safe line••. I agree with the hon. member for Herbert that this Act is not really all we desire, but we recognise that eyery Act is difficult to adJninistt~r; and thP Act whlsh allowed this ·Government to appoiut a Price Fixing Com­n1issioner is one on which the Government :.hould be congratulated. \Ve can, therefore. explain to the people of Queensland that the cost of !iying in Queensland has been rcduc0el mainly owing to the operations of this party and owing to the activities of ::VIr. Ferry, the Price Fixing Con1n1i'-sioner. That is the rBason that Queensland occupies the position it does to-da} in comparison ,, ith the other States. \Ve ha Ye had all sorls of apologists on the qucetion of the high cost of liYing, but ono het remain •. and that one fact is that profiteering is ramnant thc world over. Those who arc profitecring on the needs and the necessities Df tho pPop le arc, to n1y 1nind, and J an1 sure to the minds of my colleagues here, absolutc)lv the most des1•icablo individuals in any corn1nunit.J~. (Iioar, hear!) In rny eonstitucJ~c:;, in consequence of the profitcer­ing that exists, I know a case where a child was sr 1·crely scalded and he had to be wrapped up ii1 an old waistcoat of his :·athn'c because the mother had not the n1cans to rnaintain the falni1y in any degree of comfort owing to the high cost of living.

lVlr. ::i·foRG.\l\: \Vith a Labour GoYernment in powet.

1\Ir. B\'LCOCK: There arc many other factors to be considorPd lwsides a Labour GoYcrmnent being in power. \Ve: know, although a La bonr Gu ~~ennnE~nt is in 110\vcr, that ccrtain individuals arrogate to them­solves tlw right to goy-ern this State. I maintain that it must be the function of this Goycrnment not only to punish, but to punish seyercly and drastically, those who arc guilty of exploiting the public and those who arc guilty of preying like vultures on the body social.

:Mr. MoRGAK : The Price Fixing Commis­sioner increased the price on a great number of things.

Mr. ROBERTS : He increased the price of kerosene.

Mr. BULCOC;K: The Lieutenant-Gover­nor, in his Speech this morning, indicated the general prosperity of the pastoral in­dustrv, and it is a mfltter for congratulation to th'e people of this State that we han a con~iderablc amount of prosperity in our pastoral areas at the prf'sent time. \Ve all know that the prosperity of the, State is inseparable from the prosperity of the pas­toral industry. It is partJcularly gratifying to notice the reference in the Speech on that aspect of the qu0stion. Our beef, mutton, and wool to-clay arc fetching unprecedented prices in the ~Yorld's n1arkets, so there is no quustion about the prosperitY of the pastor a I industry in Queenslaru;,l. I have here some fig-ures \Yhich I might refer to to indicate hovv, in consequence of the war. and probably the law of supply and demand arising therefrom, the price of wool has been so a.dYantageous to the ~quatt<'r. It YYill show why clothing· i, so clear to­cla.v. In 1913-14 the price of m0rino gr~~asy fleece \Yas 20!c1. per 1b.: and in 1916-17 the price had risen to 3.5~d.. or an increase of 65 per cent. Broken fleece fetched 16<\:d. per lL. in 1913-14. and 2."~d. in

Address in Reply. 23

1916-17. •n increase cf 76 per cont. Pieces fetched l4~d. in 1913-14 .and 26bd. in 1916-17, or an incrrase of 80 per cent. Without reading all the fignr -c. I ha..-e here, I rnay

·~· th-ct the percentage increase •in the price of wool between 1913 .and 1917 ranges irom 38 to 93j per cent. Those figures indicate the nr·icc obtained for tho sale of the 1916-17 clip. I may add that there is evorv indication at tho present time that the 'prir-:s that are going to be realised in d1e future a1 ,_. going to be in excess of those I haw quoted. I am quite satisfied that the estimate made; in tho Federal House the other day--tl-wt the price that won1d be realised for the _\_u.,,tralian \Yool clip \vould lJc £80.000.0JO~i not in any wa:- oonsorYa­tiYc. \:-.-rs: \Yt::. hnYo roou1 fo'r congl'atulation in tlw prosperitc· of the pastmal industry in Queensland. 'That. hrin~·:, us to anothPr very c~sential qu;•~tion, a question which we hPar a loi <J lJOut at the present ti1ne, and that is the so-called r0pudiation 1ncasure. l ha H' lwa rd to-da v on no Icss than four oecnsion~ r0fercnrcs" to an hon. gont.lmnan \Yho passed a\.Ya~· frorn onr 1nidst during the last few clays. I heard it mentioned in the f1pcr·r·b fron; the Throne. and I haYc heard it 011 1 hrc•p occrtsicns this afte1·noon.

4.30 p.m.

I refer n1e1nhnrs to ono of the greatest .. \ustralinlt::- .Au~tralia ha::, C\-·l' SQCn. I refer to a rna n who has been rcpeat~dly called an C'minpnt juri.~-{ an f'tninent .schobr, a rn_an ,dJO occupied a pL.tcc of great trust wrth g-reat diguitc·· I maintain. nncl I think the opinion of the House will be with me, that Sir Samuel \Y alkcr Griffith's name will go do',, n to nosterih- as the nanw of a big A U'tralian.' ,

Ho>iOC!!ABLE ME~IIBERS: Hear, hear !

JYli-. B17LCOCK : And yve cannot say more. Hi, judgments will be quoted with increasing frequcnoy in the future. and I want to recall somethina which ho said concerning the self­same repudiation measure. so called-this measure that is crl<tting such a lot of com­ment in political circles and pastoral circles at the present time. And let me ask hon. members to remember that it is established that I am speaking of one of the greatest of Australians, one whom eYerybody regar·cls as a groat jurist and a great judge, as well as a tnan vvho was great as a scholar.

}ir. RREXXAX: The King recognised it, too.

:\Ir. Dt:LCOCK: Yes: the King cabled "mpathy to his relatives. The ho11. mom?er for Hcrbert has referred to the introductr~m Lv :u, Donham in 1910 of a Bill which e~ntaine-rl the san1c provisions in regard to the elimination of the 50 per cent. limitation datu.,l' a.s \H' 0rnbodicd in our Bill, and after D o·oo.d deal of trouble succeeded in passing into iaw. 'i1r. Denham, in introducing that Dill. 'aiel that the Bill as introduced <lid not contain \Yhat \Yas knov•;n as the 50 PC'r cent. limih:Jion clause: and in his second reading speech he drcv.~ particular attention to this-

Thi' Bill remon's all trammels when . " rea.s.:-esstng.

That was the statement ma.de by ~Jr. Den· ham. a responsibk leader. and an individual, responsible to the people. He procee·cl<>d to sa~--

" This Bill. free of all trammels, must

1lf r. Bttl cock.]

24 [ASSE:\1BL Y.] AddreBs in Reply.

not leave the court in doubt as to the basis of reasst',sment at the expiration of the term of ten year··· vVith good sc,asons v;c 111a v n1arked increase 'in

naturally expect a our rcntals.''

Do we cxne{'t an:v 1nore? :Yir. Denhmn also said~ ' •

"I ask hon. members to note that the independence of the court will be [Jre, served."

\Ve prescrYe tho incl. pendcnce of the court. "I apprehend that the question of

repudiation Jnay come up, and I vdsh to say that there is nothing in the nature o( repudiation in this Dill. I-Ic're I may rt-~fcr to the ren1ark~ mach~ bv Sir San1ucl Griffith, who was Premier in 1884, when the qu,_:~Von of repudiatio11 "\vas raised

and I w.sk hon. n1c1nbers noo,v to pay perticu­lar attention to this-

" If it \Vas a repudiation of a right the conduct of the Govcrnrneut. was wrong, but they believed implicitly that there was Ho right of the kind, and, instead of repudiation of the right of an individual, it was a delihorat.o assertion of the right of the country"~

1t was a .deliberate assertion of the right of the country :~

" as against an unfounded clain1 lately put forward by t'very pastoral lessee in the countrY, that he was entitled to make freehold o~f on an aycragc one-sixth of his e~tatc. llclicying that, he main­tained that they were hound to take the cour~e thc:'l-r \YCro doing.''

'Ihat, I tbink, is an op1nron that llHl"t be respected, seeing fron1 'vhorn it cn1anatcd. Mr. Dellham proec'Oded-

'.' T?at great auth'-:rit_y adhcTed to t!~c pnnCliJlO that l'CJ?Ud1at10l1 \\"~1.3 ·wrong.

You will c" that. Hen in 1910. Mr. Denham reg ,rd0d Sir S;Jil1U<~l Griffith ,,_s a gr,;_at authority) and then until no\v ho\Y n1anv rnorP he gathered, how 1nuch mar~ has to his reput:1tion. ha~," fa;_ has he ;:ulyancPd alo11g the lines of great Au--t:-alia11 thought! But to eontjnue with -,Yhat :V'fr. Denhan1 ~ajd-

" But nndc1· { crtain circnrnstanf'c.s: Parlinmcnt o~:-:erts that cyen 1nay be ,~£n·il'd if necef":..:-ary in the intt>rc;::t "-----

1\'Ir, BL'LCO:CK: An l members saJCt "Hear, hear l " ''hen listening to the speech in 1910~-

" alwaYS aYoidin~ as far as possible iDjustiCc to the i~i1diYidual."

Now, the main point of the contention of hon. 1nen1bers opposite- i:n reference to this matter is that injustice has been done. \Vith thrc indulgence of the Eouse, let me point out \Vhcrc injustice has been done, so far as I can sec it. It seems to me that the limit(l­tion \\~as quite unjust so far as the people generally were concerned, in that they wore being deprived of revenue. And fnrthcr, if there be any other injustice under this Act, then it is the selector \Yho has been labouring under an injnstice for quite a long while: as compared with tho pastoral le<-see. In sup­port ol that contention, I ,,-ant to point out

[Mr. Bulcock.

the difference in the rcntals which are paid by selectors and lessee.;.

:Hr. Gcxx: Quite as many selectors arc affected by that Act a~ graziers.

:VIr. BULCOCK; I take just a few stations in rny o1vn elc-etorate, a.nd give the rents paid for tho resumed quarter by grazing selectors aud for the rctnaining· thrl1~-qtL"trters by the pastoral lessees in ·each case-

Eoldin~.

Aunnal rcur...; (li resnmea quarter

t!l~d.cr ~razi'.); :-:ekt'liou.

?daunt Enniokillcn £ s. cl.

679 19 1 883 16 11 Mexico

Ruthven . 1.154 16 5

An nu :lrc11ls ol rcmai .in~~

t h rrc-q U~lrt.Prs uur'ler pastor. r

k·:u·e.

£ s. d. 419 13 9 205 2 6 735 1 6

I ,might uo on and quote many other n1s~.ances, but I refrain, and refer to what has been said just recently to indicate the relative pooitions of the selector and the pastoralist. :Yir. Kidston, who was a judge of the Land Court, made these remarks at Hughenden on 17th 1\'ovcmber, 1917~

'' \Vhen the area and the terms of lease are soinc~\vhat the same, and the country is somewhat shni]ar in· character, I con­sider that tho market value of erroh place should be the sarne."

~\.nd now I vtant to r·-·fcr, for n, 1noment, to a report n1ade by a fornlCT l"Tnder Secretary for Land<;:. j!l one of his annual reports-

,, The grazing selectors are pa;:-ing on the v•hole rnuch higher rents) and in n:anY ea· PS t,,-o and three times the rent paid. by pastoral lessees for oimilar ccuiltrv sirnilnr!v situated, used for the

a me 'products '\\hi eh arc sent to the ~~~uno nJ.:,rkcts. 1\~hilc the advantage of it::.d.HC is in fayonr of tlL~ pastorn]jsts."

Such an unf-~ir statu cf things should not be tolt1 l·atcd---there (,tu be no quc;:;tion about t~1at. ~n rcc~_ nt· lnnd. b.a]~ot;; ~t . has bt~cn ;:pp a rent to f'YeryL:Jlly i iwt tnere 1s 111 Quez.:ns­Llnd a com;derahlc la .cl hungu- and that the' n~nta1s pla.t ·.'d on r~sn1ncti sections b.r the Cro\•.;n Ol' the L~nld Court arc not ~uilicient to dd·,-:r IKOplc frOjll rL·rtirjpatin~:· in the haJlot·., in their hnndcech. That inclic ttcs ctuitro eonclu~iYclv thFt the ren~ .t1ctcrn1ined hv the r:cnrt n ~---, rcgardc d as fair rents bv the··(' in of lnnd. nnd th~•+ hcing the

t~H'r•~ can no fore" in the contei1tion 1t th prrstoralist. ''"·"'~. 11rrying a fair and

u1nit[lh1(·~ arnou11t lE•fr_,re this 50 per cent. li1nit tion >r:ts ;,yj+-l-1(lrnw-n. 'r11csc ren1arks hrirg ll' to a consid<:J'_ tion of the delegation '"h1ch proceeded to England quite recently.

The AcTIXG PRE'·'TEl\: A proYione Pm·lia­mcnt \\"as bribed.

2\Ir. R(CLCOCK : I would n0t suggest that a pre.-ious Parliament was bribed, hllt what f would sugTee:t is tkt the Opposition or the ::\1inistrv had not t.he courage of their convic~ tions. that flnancia1 pressur: \\:as brought to beer on th<'n·. and that if thev had i1ad the countgc of their conYletions that Act would haYe been placed on the statute-book by Mr. Do~ham in 1910 in .. (cad of hv a Labour Go.-c:rnmcnt in 1920. Thi; Act· of ours has b<:,?n n1ade a. financia.l 1.1eg on which to try to hang Quet:>n:<Jand at1d iniurc her credit. PC'rhap.s it n1ight be adYi>2bl0 to prr~~ so1ne tdJt~ntion to thr pcr'301Hlcl of this dPlcgation. I an1 not going to criticise thcn1 ,.~"t:V adver­~cly. for, after all, the:-- Ytcre acting under-

Address in Reply. [lS Aum:sr.J Address in Reply. 25

111Fhucnons, but I have before me a cutting '£1 m the "Comier,'' under the heading of

B. nk .~' It i~ as fo11ows :-" The BLnk of Queenslrl>nd, Li1nited. " Adhori>c-d capital, £1,000,000. " CCtpitsl paid up, £450.000. . " Pi,-, ctor··: Hon. S1r Alfred S.

Cow]i y (Chairman); \Yilliam Davies; E. .r-f ).d:aeartnt.cy, 1\I.L.A.; Hon. Sir Rocwrt Philp, K.C.:YI.G.: Hon. c\. J. Thy:1TI(\ JI.L.C."

It i~ fn··~p_tcnth- :·::tiel that a n1an is known by the eonHHtl1Y he keeps, ,and that birds of a fcatheY ftocl~ tog·cther. A'ld I think that that 11ttlc cutting \\{11 serve 1ny purpose of point­ing_ out that those gcJ?.tlcmon who pro~eeded tu Eu;J,·!and .1rc· the direct reprcsonb_·tlves of yr:stcd interest~ in 0ueensl .nd; and since thnt i~ so. theY .are speaking without any 1nandat:·· f: cm the 'whole of the people and on behalf of tho~c gentle:men "-h~, protBs~e~ so str~ngly a,;:ainst the 'J-callcd · Rcpnduct10n Act. In o~dcr thtt it 1na v be understood who are the pri~ne InoYers bd1ind all thi~ criticism, I V\'a~1t t•J point out sorae con1pan1es ,~ho are dB­tincdv interested. In a letter whiCh appeared in thf. London "Tin1cs" to,,~ards th{' dose of ie st w•ar there are \Yorcls to this effec·t-

. " With reference to the Queensland Go,-ernmcnt's land proposals, leading A.uglo-Australian banks and pastoral and finai1ce companies here have .pass'.'.c\. a r£>solution in ;,yhich the 0111phatw opinion is cxpre' ced that any legislation seekin~ to retnove the exlsting contractual hml­t,ction of rent for pastoral lea' es in Qw ensland would constit':'te a br~ach of r'OYenant and render pracbcal eonfiscat10n possihlc. ''

This nrccions docun10nt is signed by a number of wCH-knoY\·n E!1gJish JY~storal con1paniPs, and I hn,-f' g·onc to -the ~rouble of as( r:rtajning ''"hat h;:)!cl!'ngs those con1pnnies h~Ye in Qu0cnslE:nd. TL·c:v arc no fe,yer tl;an six;t:_v­t·;;o, t~w o::H' IYith the large~t nu~ 1or be1ng -ihe ?\ciY Zf'nlard nnrl Ar'~~rahan Land f:onn':J l1Y ':·ith '' 1::c_nb.'-Cirtht ~,~_tions, rLi!c1 tl·' ; 1 'x\ _._the Au~tralian ·ra;ion:d Company ,Yith

~tJ.tiOnr. It i . .;, quite a.)p,:rent interest;;;: 111n::t alwavs be class

::~nd thc::::c g'(~ntlernrm arc. ftg-ht:ing ns on i~· .. ue> in order to sa£,.·guard thcii· C\Vll f''~pen:ditnr•'. qnitc irrl~Dcct!~,-,; of tho fact that surh , afcprn·.rding- n1ay not be and cannot be in the intert .~t" cf the S+-1to goncr~11y.

Passing- on fron1 that RSlJf'';t of the n1,1tter. and .~c>t'tjn~ back to e. consid0:-ation ~f tLi-, drJro;1bnn ,\-}lich has ariscn out of tL~s Bill. \' lnch I think ndght in~tl:v lw termed a (i ~,trnQ:gle for Ju~tin;\ Bill," I Vlould like

~-LY thn.t 1 bclif'Y~~ the lnf'asnre hn; bc~n ct~;c} fo~· ,•tt~H·~ in ord~r .to kill t.Lis G_o~

-vernnLnt· 1f p'>·1bl0; <lll<t 1t sco_·ns t(J nH-.. tc be quit{' cJ~>ar that th act-ion of the dPlr·;ati~'Yl i~ nnt so n1uch dircctc.r1 against thf }.t:-t, but rather they have upcd_ it a~. a rnea.n:-. n lever, antl y· hat they dcsn·o 1:-: ,t ,.,.}lole systen1 of gov..::rnn1ent c. i-. in onf'rntion in QuePnsland, tbe 'v-holo .«l"ru,.ture of democracy and Labour Govern· n1r·nt h~,.)re. should bf~ d_p.~t.royed; .and the~"· h''"e adopted the ,-cry drastic c xpediont of tr_ving t') curtail our supplies in _order to brin<" thnt Pcreonallv. I behcYe tlwy

to b:' succ,_~s:;<ful; but why do Thee· sav thev wa·cct to rcnclm·

<ofe. · Snfo fnr. what? L it to nfe for the worker or for the Is Queensland to be made the

happy hur:•inp- 2'rnnnd for all "h~mourabl•~ und··~·~tanc11r;.g<,-.. ,. tru:·;:-:::, and combine-:;. and

financial ventures of doubtful merit? I think we are not going to stand fo_r that sort. of tl~ino-. I know \Ye are not. If t.he quest1o!1 rPsolYrs itself into ono of responsible govern~

bv " :liinistry which has bceH returned ~ pcoplf', 01~ of governn1cnt. by. these infiuenc~s; if it resolves itself 1nto a

of this Government being able ID c~I'l'\' on on1y bv withdra,Ying certain mea~ -LEeS "\Yhieh hLavc~Lbecn pL.H·"d upon the statue~ book if it involves these things-·then let the i.-:~ue be p1accd before the reop1e and Jet u~ au~in get an e·\':pro,_-:ssion of confidence fron1 rh~~:n, based on th"~ principle o[ no Do~n1in.g·~strect i1 ~crference with our sel£­t;'GYernjilg rights.

I notic~ in the Spc:-c:h some reference to irrio-ahon and conscryation problems. I thi1~< this is one of the most vital things that coulcl no"ibh have come before ns. I notieo th'lt t;vo or 'three Bills dealing with irriga­tion ttnd conservation ancl water supply gcnf!ra!ly were to have con1c before this House. Once they had been placed on the etatute-book thev would have been a boon and a bJcss~~1g t~ rnany sc1ectors and far1r.crs who have been una.b!e to finance the Dhtdl!1-ing of -water. supply. Tho l?osition 1:eso1ves its,•lf iH'CJ tl11s : That the actwn of tlus dcle­gahon has been detrinu~ntal to the jntorests Of the sn1all grazier and fanner; because, boiled do>vn and put in a callous and brui.al foru1, it means that wc are not able to prm-idc· those facilities; because wc feel that the peop],, should cxpre" an opinion on the action c~f this delegation and reaffir1n their cnnfldence in this Government before any­thing in the way of legislation is gone Dn \\·ith. It i~ gratifying to note that fifteen bores ha vc been 1mt clown during the past financial vcar. ::'.lore ospe"ially is it gratify. ing in vie,\· of the fact that it is a v.cry heavv financial burden at the present t.une Du tl;c. selectors to cstabli'h a water supply. This is a conducive mclication. if furt.her indication were required, that this Govcrn­!t1Cnt arP prc11ared to fun('tion .a.nd h..1ve funrtiunc~d in t~lL interc;-:ts of the 1nan on the land.

~Ir. C~)LLlXS: ]]ear, hear;

~~Ir. Bl~LCOCK: \Yhilc 1nrntioning "~he nl_•l1. on the land," I think I might make a sli!!ht rcf~-rrnce to the ·wheat crop. It IS

f"'J ~ti£yi11g to note that thi~ GoYcrninent lu\·(· ntr•(d to rhr 'Yht tt·gro;;t'T 2-

Tn mv .1~1ind. tL Jr i-s ~oPe of th~-:> that h s lwe:1 d01w during th<"

LePn in 1·r::_ e_;;:"· because it n1eRns tL t 1:1 cvns.rqnencc of thi.s gnarantee the arc ·1 llllL1cr \--;·heat this y( ar is greater thaP il has l<"en HJB!E-_· tinw past. Fortnnat~l5· tbc i'·~ snu bc~:.1 ,..,.~ith ns. Instead of hRYlng 1o go oYer~r~as or to the Southl'I1l Sta tc~ flllrl being Obliged to pay worh~ parity price p\q;:; eo t of trunsport,. which !s vor~·: dc,·r Jnd i~ likelY tu b0 d0a-;.·cr . ..,,-e \Ylll krcp tlw in o1a~ own Scatc. and by its going auain circuL_tion it \Vill bring additional p~o~pc·iry. Grca.t c:ongratulatio~ shoulcl ~e cx:tenflr·d to tb~ }:lini"trY for their efforts In th _. t direction. ~

cxtcn:3ion of frnitgro\Ying- is a w·orthv of 1nention. 'rhc breaking holdi~-~~3 hns 1ed to an incrt~ase in

of 1;eoplc scttlecl on cultiYation ~neas, a.nd we find that fnutgrow1ng rs Lt•coin1ng a staple an.d st!lndar·0 ind.ustry in Ouct r~s~and. In conJunction .'Ylth th1s \Ve haYC th~: establish111f?nt of a State cannery

Jir. Bu!cock.J

2fi Addt·ess in Reply. [ASSEMBLY.] Address in Reply.

which, no doubt, is going to be a very profit­able venture. Already our canned product;; arP being fRYourabl~~ spoken of not o11ly i.n hut outside Queensland, and I confidently anticipate that this Government, during their next tenn of office, will extend such additional as~istance to grower:~ as v;ill !e.td to the Q~tablishnlC~nt of n1orc cannorie~. and, pPthaps, fruitdr~~ing plants, so tha.t our surplus crop will 11ot be was1.•d and \Ye >\ill do away with the haphazard system \Yhich obta.ins ut the prcs••nt time, thereby putrmg th2 industrY on such a sound f1nancial economic ba;is that it \Yill be able to compete with the best organised fruit industries the wcrld oyer.

Before 11assiuf· fron1 this qnc·~tion of agri cultural a"ncl pa'·toral dc·,·elopmcnt. :J WGttid like to pav a. tribute to the Government for tlPi1· bro;_lchnindcd attitudG regarding t11e distribution of arsenic for prickly-pear dc­strud,iol1. It is a magnifiCent thing to th;nk that tlw small selector can obtain arsenic a, a cost of £60 per ton less than the retail price by priYatc cnterpri~c at the pre~ent time. Tl1e extension of the prickly-pear pest i::; one of the n10:5t serious rnonaccs ·with which we arc confronted in Queensland. and anv Go,~ernincnt having the COlll'a~Jo to ge"t out and sa'. "\Ye will g1Y0 ~-ou CY01':''

possible a~sis't_:nc~ to J.P"troy your pear," are wnrthv of tbe support of all landholders l"Vhoth.er their land is mfcsted with prickly­pear or not. bPcause, h.:- checking the spread of prickly-pear, we are protecting the land that is free t{1-day.

Passing on fmm that, I come to another VP''Y vital mc;csnre. It \Vill be interesting to note whnt attitude the Opposition will adopt in regard to it. They P~tve termed the .. Bill J have referred to-a Bill which We honestlv intended to pass during this stssion-" Th'8 \Vorkcrs' Paradise Bill," or "The Loafers' Paradise Bill." It shows \\'hat respc et they have for the men who are creating the wealth of this State. It indicates their desire t") perpetuate the present system, which means that ns soon ets a man has outlived his l>'efulne'' to the boss he is put on the kead line, and we meet him on the Barcoo, th" \Varrcgo and other rivers outback carrv­ing his ~wag. looking for another n1an to ''hom to sell his labour. The whole capitalistic 'ystcm depends unquestionably or: the creation and maintenance of an unem­ployed army so that there will be competition for jobs. This Bill struck right at the heart oi that priuciple which is so dear to our friends oppc,site. by attempting to limit or do away with this unemployed ar1ny, and by

doing to rcrnovP smnc of the con1petitwn the Yctrions jobs. Had we done that. \Yl

·would have placed the workers on a lTit1Ch

sounder footiug.

Mr. TI.oBEHTB: Who retired ihc raihcay l11Ul at the u~e of sixt>~-fiye.

l.'Ir. Bl'LCOCK: W0 hear glib "';n·ce,ion, from the other side. and we rt'ad them in the 11E'\Ysp .. per:-:, concel'llinp: thi::;; 1~·0asnrP. They say it takes away libertY. \Vhos<~ libcr"Lv do.cs it take avYav? It .rnight take awaY the libc;rty of those~ who an' exploiting' the people. It might ta.ke away the liberty to exploit hu .. 1an l8lH1ur. ancl it rnight take a.way the rip;ht of thG capitalists to live on the fat of the land. We might prevent th~se things. Dut fundamentally the right to wmk i' the right to li,-e, a.nd this or any other Gm·ernment must stand for that fundamental

[ilir. B1'lrock.

principle or go down. I believe '"e propose to 'ta.ncl for it through thick and thin.

Smne hurnanitarian rncasures have been suggested b:, the r;ovcrnment. It is sug· gc,tGcl the I c should bo an allowance for marric·d ,,-orkers ~-..-hose fan1ilios exceed a certain "umber. There is no need to enter into i1 consi.dcratioc1 of this n1easure: it. is apparent that something· of that m~tnre i, rssontiul-that it is a hurnanC' nwasure dic­t:ttcd bv hun1anitc-..rian n1otjyc~, and. tht'rc­forc, cOminf'nds itself without any f'OJ11-

n1enrlation b\· utf'.

\\-e Jind in the Speech that it was proposed t(J introduce an Rmendn1ent of tho Arbitra­tion Act.. Sl1Ch an arnendment possibly is \~er-.- !lCCC~'"' uy. The principal factor in fix­ing wages to-clay in Queensland is the State Arbitration Court.. presided over b.~.~ IVIr. Ju.-;;t.ice l\1cCawley. I take it we arc all Yel'V pleased to see :Y1r. ,Tustice McCawley Yindicated a., he \Vas during the tin1e we were in reco,. The rate of wages a warded to \vorkers in the ;-arious industl'ics is un­doubtedly higher than that which is being pa.id in the other States, (her a largo a L'ea of Now South \V ales at the present tin1e thcr~ is a,n agitatjon for an exten<C?n to l'\e,,- South \Yales of the conditions laid dmYn bv Mr. Justice McCawlev in his recent pastoral award. v,·e haYe '0Cltred from Mr. Justice J\IcCawlev a week of forb·-four hours and fail'lv ~"ubst<lntial increases in '"ages in that indt;strv, but the men in New South \\'ales have to Jight for those increases. That •Yill indicate the liberalitv of our Arbitration Court. Alreadv we see tl1at the Federal Act has brokea do\~·n, rilld for all practical pur-

it does not exist. Thev ha Ye profited experience and are trying· to a1nend it:

but the fad remains that our Queensland Arbitration Act is the most liberal in Aus­tralia. and possibly in the world. \Ye believe that an extension of the principle of conCilia­tion, which is being adYocated very strongly bv leading industrialists, would b~ welcome to a largo body of the community. vVe know that the Federa.l Arbitration Act must go. It is n1garded as a link with the past. I trust we will be a blc so to remodel our Act as to make it a link with the future, and by so doing break down m'any of the inequali­ties of our present svstem.

It is gratifying to notice that the fJUestion of health and healing has not been ove_r­looked by this Government: to note that big advances have been made in hospital work: to note the exten,ion of th<' Compensation Ad, and the activities of the Public Curator. I would like to sav in that connection that ]a,t y·eek I had" some little business to transact with the Public Curator, and I was tmrprisod at his liberality and prornptitudc.

As far ns oue raihYa"': sy-stems arP con~ {. rncd, there is roo1n fOr cOngratulation in that we are going to link up our Northern eitics and to,vns- during- our next terrn of office. Cairns v.-ill be linked liP with Bris­ba.!lc m 1922.

The State enterpris~;;;: nrc on :,nc11 a ~ound footing that I do not think it is necessary for me at this juncture to n1ab:~ auy reference to them. Some question~ have been raised about mines and 1uining and n1ining improvements. I cannot say that I know \-E'l'Y !ll.llch about n1ininc;:r, l\1y life has been confi110d practically to pa.storal activities, but dEring tho time J \Vas organiser for the Anstraliarl \Vork{'r&' -Cnion I ca1nc in contact

Address in Repl!J. [Hl A'GGUS'l'.j Adjoummmt. 27

with n1cn \Yho \\'L'l'C' working- in the 2·1...-'nl

industry in <tnd around Anakie. This Is a most imporbnt industry in that district. because, in timrs of industrial depression 'vhen the seasonal industries are not func­tioning to their fullest, it attracts many individuals, and it is <;•scntial that something should be done for their wellbeing. I was hoping -we \YOuld get son1e information as to what r.s proposed to be done. There is f'Dl'ployrnent. I be1ieYe, of a rqmuneratiYo natnr0 for 2.000 men under certain conditions. but at present. there arc about· 700 or 800 1ncn there, and when I "'.Yas la~t in the dis­tr]rt they \YOre a.nxiousl.v .a,,-aiting some message fro1n tho GoY0rnment indicating what the Government proposed to do on their he·half. I understand some agreement is be-ing entered into. I \Yould urge that it be expedited, lxrau-e this is a very Yihl indus­try and lends itself to absorbing all surplus ~a hour, as .. 1~1 functions d?ring: th~ tin1e therB IS ,_,-cry lnt.te vi.-ork doing 111 tne Beusonal indush·irs.

Before I conclude I should like to make OPf

or two references to ot•her matter~. vVe are faced with an issue •vhich is unn.ualleled, perhaps, in the annals of State gcn·ernmont. The issue we have to face is, who is going to govern~irre~ponsible individuals, the repre­sentatives of financial interPsts. or this Go­vernment? r_rhcre is no question about whon1 the people desire should gowrn. The dis­interested man, the man in the street. who has no interest in pastoral legislation, but who is deeply interr·sted in social justice and equality, commends the action of this Government and the nttitude we have adopted in relation to the land measures.

We all bitterly regret that the·B [5 p.m.] circumstances have Jtrisen-rir-

cumstances inYolving the po~tpone­ment of very vital social legislation. We know that an appeal to the people is essentiaL I believe thf' only thing we can sa~- in this regard is that we are sending our opponent:-; to face their masters, to giyc an account of their stewardship and either affirm or deny their connection \\·ith this clclel!ation that has gone to EngJ.and. \V c desire fhe atmosphere to be cleared, and I would not like to be facing the electors of any electorate con­fronted with the pro'f?lem that the Opposition is going to be confronted with. I think it is a sign of great courage that we are sending the Opposition to- the country-(Hear, hear!) -and I do not think they can satisfactorily explain things to the electors. (Opposition dissent.) The future must bo full of woe -for those who have been responsible for this state of affairs. and those who are involved in this dastardlv attack on the credit of Queensland. •

GovERNME)!T MEMBERS: Hear, hear!

Mr. BULCOCK: It must be fraught with consequences of the most serious kind to those who brought about thi:-; Rtatc of thing;-,; and, if the people do nothing more than comment on the present position and those responBible for it, then I say unhesitatingly that the days of self-government are dead­.lain by three unrepresentative individuals from Queensland.

GovERNMENT ME:I!BERS: Hear, hear!

Mr. BULCOCK: I have much pleasure, Mr. Speaker, in S''oonding the Address in Reply.

Mr. CORSER: I beg to move tho adjourn­ment of the debate.

Question put and passed.

The resumption of the d0bate was made nn Order of the Day for to-morrow.

SPECIAL ADJOL"RN~fEKT.

The \CTING PREMIER: I beg to move that the House, at its rising, do adjourn until to-morrow at 3 o'clock p.m.

Queotion put and pas,ed.

The House adjourned at five minutes past 5 o'clock p.m.