Mr FAIRBAIRN (Flinders) .- I regard this bill as an attempt on the part of the Government to tackle one of the greatest and most' difficult problems of defence in Australia, and for that reason I commend the Government for introducing it. If the measure purported to establish a new economic industry I could not seriously consider it; however, I do not think that the Government rnakes that claim in respect of it. This is a definite attempt to meet the very difficult problem of providing oil supplies in Australia in time of war. So long as Australia follows the policy laid down by this Government of co-operating with the Empire as a whole for the defence of the Empire, including Australia, we shall be capable of handling adequately the military side of defence. But even if we can do that, it is very doubtful whether we can adequately safeguard Australia from being starved, of oil. It is often said that in the event of war Australia, at any rate, could not be starved out; so far .as that observation applies to food supplies," it is indisputably true, but whether we can prevent Australia from being starved of oil is a very different question. In the first place, in time of war, all our services would be rendered futile if our supplies of oil were cut off. This applies obviously to the navy and air force, which could not operate at all without adequate oil supplies, whilst the efforts of our army would necessarily be much circumscribed. Apart from the needs of our fighting forces, we must also realize that oil is the very life blood of our primary production and of our distribution generally. In time of war a great deal could be done to ration available supplies of oil by prohibiting its use for luxury purposes and by greatly curtailing our road transport services. "We must also bear in mind however, that thousands of farms to-day are entirely dependent for their production on oil fuel. Many people say that the transfer from the horse to the tractor so far as our farms are concerned was a mistake, but the fact remains that that transfer has been made, and we could not revert to the horse within a few months, or a few years, because the number of horses available would not be sufficient to replace motor traction and motor transport in that period even in a case of emergency. Therefore, if our oil supplies were cut off, our primary production would he dislocated to .an extent difficult to visualize, and very alarming even to attempt to visualize. That the Government shows its realization of this danger is, therefore, so much to the good.

In regard to the adequacy of this measure I have personal misgivings as to whether the security it gives is proportionate to the expenditure involved and whether greater security could not be provided foi1 the same expenditure in other directions. However, I realize that one has to be very' careful as a critic if one cannot show an. alternative, and I do not pretend to be able to suggest an alternative. The expenditure involved in this proposal is very great, and much has been said on that point. If the sum of £500,000, which is the amount immediately involved, were even a substantial fraction of the ultimate cost so far as this Parliament is concerned, I would support the bill without any misgivings at all. My concern arises from, the extent to which we shall be committed to support this proposal by way of tax remission or bounty during the next 27 years. Capitalizing our liability of £250,000 a year for the next 27 years, one ' feels that a very great deal might be done with such an amount in establishing great reserves of oil. However, we must consider the problem of oil supplies in the light of the possibility that if there is a war in the Pacific it will not be of short duration. Many people say that a modern war cannot lastvery long but that was said at the beginning of the Great War in 1914. It is being said again to-day and, perhaps, with regard to Europe, there is some truth in it. But it is reasonable to assume that in the event of a war in the Pacific zone, neither side could bring the conflict to a conclusion in less than several years. With the help of the British Empire we could defend Australia from invasion; but I do not think that we could force an enemy in the Pacific to sue foi- peace within a few years. If we adopt a sound defence policy, . Australia could not be invaded, but our economic life could be made almost impossible by our oil supplies being almost, if not entirely cut off. The quantity of oil that would be required to be held in reserve would be so colossal as to be almost impracticable. In these circumstances the value of this measure is the extent to which production of oil from shale could in time of national emergency be increased, and on that point I should like further information from the Minister. If we could expect an increase from the 10,000,000 gallons proposed to, say, 50,000,000 to 70,000,000 gallons within a reasonable period, the undertaking would be justified. I commend the Government for realizing our great danger in this direction, and for what it is doing in an endeavour to encourage the production of flow oil in the Gippsland district. Many people are asking why the Government is not incurring more expenditure in that locality where already considerable supplies of oil are being obtained, and where it is hoped increased supplies will be obtained in the near future; but it is already doing everything that can be reasonably expected of it in that connexion. At present it is subsidizing the two companies operating in that district on a £1 for £1 basis, and the results obtained to-day are indeed very encouraging. Unfortunately there has been some delay owing to the inability to secure a boring plant capable of penetrating to an essential depth ; but the Government has now ordered from Great Britain the necessary plant, which it will make available immediately it is delivered. Delay has occurred in delivery owing to some of the parts required not. being available. We can only hope that the Gippsland field will produce as. much oil as is expected. It would be madness, however, to depend entirely on the optimistic belief that adequate supplies will be available from this source. Even if the more optimistic estimates of the capacity of the field prove to be true, it is still unlikely that that field would be able to produce more than a considerable fraction of the oil required in Australia, particularly in time of war. Therefore, the Government is justified in spending money in other directions, and in making still further provision for obtaining supplies in time of war. Although I trust that production of oil will be much greater than we have been leo to believe, I commend the Government for tackling what I consider the most difficult of our defence problems.