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Friday, 20 July 1917

Mr ARCHIBALD (Hindmarsh) . - The Government are to be congratulated on placing a measure of this character before the House. The state of the wheat stacks in South Australia is such as to demand immediate attention. When we remember that this wheat is the property of the British "Government, we must realize that a great responsibility is thrown upon us, quite apart from the question of bulk handling; and in view ofthe destination of this wheat, high patriotic reasons ought to stimulate us to take every necessary step to protect it. In this work, we cannot afford to lose an hour; and for that reason the Government! are to be commended for introducing the measure thus early. It appears to me that there is a desire on the part of those in favour of bulk handling to, as it were, seize the opportunity presented by our misfortune, and push this project forward, when, if there were no war, it would receive more consideration on its merits. We are asked to consent to an expenditure, of, say, £3,000,000, an estimate a little high, perhaps, but one that allows for the contingencies that arise in great projects ' of this kind. That being -the case it is vitally important that the Commissioners to be appointed under the Bill should be experts, and those experts should be engineers. There are a number of men who wander about all day long, and are experts on everything under the sun, but those who have had the misfortune to be mixed up with any of these gentlemen are anxious to give them a wide berth. As we do not live to the age of Methuselah, we have not the time or the inclination to be bored with them. But unless Parliament is very careful, so-called experts will be appointed as Commissioners, because of the desire of the State authorities to do somebody a good turn. The practical gentlemen who have been dealing with the wheat-handling problem to date are the railway engineers of the various States, and I do not think that any harm would result if, in the appointment of Commissioners, the Government followed that lead. Men cannot fill high engineering positions in the States unless they are qualified.

It is necessary that the buildings to be erected for the protection of the wheat shall be of such a character that they will efficiently serve their purpose. I do not profess to be an expert in regard to wheat handling, but this is a matter in connexion with which an average amount of common sense is useful, and a very homoeopathic dose of expert knowledge is sufficient. It has been stated that Mr. Fuller intends to introduce into the New South Wales Parliament a Bill to authorize the construction of these silos as a step towards the institution of bulk handling. With all due respect to the enthusiastic advocates of bulk handling, I ask them to look at what they are doing. It is all very well to take measures to protect and store the wheat in Australia, but there is also the problem of shipping the Wheat abroad. Any ship-owner, unless he has a particular axe to grind, will declare that vessels must be specially constructed for the carrying of wheat in bulk, and the number of ships suitable for that purpose at the present time is very limited.

Mr Sampson - There are vessels which take nearly all the wheat from the United States of America and Canada in bulk.

Mr RODGERS (WANNON, VICTORIA) - On established routes, which they will not leave.

Mr Sampson - They must go where they are sent.

Mr ARCHIBALD - We must assume that our fellow citizens have the same amount of common sense as we have, and I ask the honorable member for Wimmera would he, as an overseas ship-owner, send ships to Australia when he ' could get plenty of freight in the United States of America and Canada?

Mr Sampson - Ships must go where they are sent.

Mr ARCHIBALD - But who sends them ? A ship-owner does not conduct a philanthropic institution. He has his eyes open, and already has done pretty well out of the war.

Mr Sampson - As a matter of fact, all the' ships that come to Australia at the present time have to be, pressed into the service.

Mr ARCHIBALD - And the British Government is not pressing many into the service. -Tonnage is limited, and Australia is about to be committed to a system of bulk handling that will necessitate the building of special ships for the purpose.

Mr Pigott - -Not necessarily; ordinary ships can be used.

Mr ARCHIBALD - I should like to see the honorable member go round the Horn in a ship loaded with wheat in bulk, and not specially built for the purpose.

Mr Sampson - - The wheat will have to be transported from Australia by shipping specially provided by the Imperial Government.

Mr ARCHIBALD - That is admitted. My argument is that the present is not the time for any of the Australian States to institute bulk handling, because of the fact that wheat in bulk is most efficiently carried in vessels specially designed for the purpose, and tonnage of that character is limited. If Victoria and New South Wales are very anxious to improve the. occasion by introducing bulk handling under cover pf war necessity, let them raise and spend the money on their own account, but the Commonwealth should be careful that it is not mulcted in any expenditure with that ultimate object. In South Australia bulk handling is undoubtedly an open question, and it seems to me that that State has the best of the deal in regard to the shipping problem.

Mr. -Richard Foster. - It is unfair to compel South Australia to accept this scheme.

Mr ARCHIBALD - I understand the Prime Minister to desire that this Parliament shall- spend a certain amount of money for the purpose of adequately protecting the wheat on hand, and also the next crop.

Mr Pigott - How can you say that the States are mulcting' the Commonwealth when clause 9 states clearly that the money is only to be lent to the States for this purpose, and the States .will pay interest ?

Mr ARCHIBALD - The Commonwealth has liabilities in all directions already. I do not complain of that, and I shall not complain if, in pursuance of their policy of winning, the war or meeting the national requirements of Australia, the Government ask us to accept liability for another £2,000,000 or £3,000,000. But what right have we to lend the States money for carrying out in time of war what I regard as a fad? If they are anxious to engage in Bulk handling, let them find the money as best they can, or, as sensible people would do, defer their ambitions until after the war.

I do not think that the present scarcity of shipping is altogether the result of the operations of the Huns. Beyond doubt there is a certain amount of shipping tied up in neutral countries. The owners, not being rich men, know that it will pay them better to tie up their ships until after the war, when they will be able to pick up cargoes anywhere about the world at high freights. If I were a neutral ship-owner I should certainly tie up my fleet rather than take the risk of submarining, because I should know that after the war I could operate the vessels at a substantial profit. Vessels of that class will be released when peace is declared. Many of the vessels that were coming to Australia before the war no' longer sail under the British flag, because they are not first class, but they can carry Australian wheat, and they will be available for that purpose after the war. Are we more likely to get our wheat to the overseas market by means of those vessels, or by bulk handling? The bulk system cannot be practically considered to-day, and I contend that it is waste of time for farmers and experts to talk about the system unless they solve the. problem of getting the wheat in bulk to the ports of Europe. That question has never been adequately considered.

The provision of rolling-stock is another problem. In the United States of America and Canada special rolling-stock is built for the bulk handling of wheat, and I ask, how are we to handle our grain in bulk with the present rollingstock? The provision of special trucks will mean further heavy expenditure.

Mr Pigott - We could use " D " trucks for the purpose.

Mr ARCHIBALD - Of course, one could use a wheelbarrow if he liked, or employ a Chinaman to carry the grain in baskets slung on a pole across his shoulder. We must look at the matter from a practical, business stand-point.

In conclusion I urge one or two points of importance. As soon as possible we should agree to the Government proposition, but it should be a proposition sanctioned by this House to limit the expenditure of the Commonwealth to £3,000,000 for the efficient storage of wheat, and that wheat should be stored by February next. Bulk handling should be cut out of the question so far as this Parliament is concerned. It would be a piece of insolent impertinence on our part to dictate what the Parliaments of the States should do. The States can go to any expenditure they choose, but we should not allow the question of bulk handling to be mixed up with the question of the protection at . wheat at the present time, which is the purpose of this Bill.

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