STATE TRADING IN AUSTRALIA
[To the Editor of the SPECTATOR.] . Sra,—Australia is full of lessons and I prophesy that the group of M.P.'s on a tour " down under " will hear something about State trading and the losses which, like a flood, are apt to sweep upon the taxpayer. Here are some figures. The Commonwealth Shipping Line, Australia's -Labour Government's experiment, lost 2593,879 in the year ending March 31st, 1925. The State Butchery, the State Cannery, the State Fish Supply, and the State Hotel throw light on the difficulties of State trading, thotigh they appear to have made a certain measure of profit.
The Commonwealth Oil Refineries which were set up' to embarrass private enterprise made a loss of £53,000 last year. It is interesting to observe that the capital subscribed by the Commonwealth Government was actually found out of money
borrowed in London ! note also that-the Australian public debt works out at a figure of £166 per head of population as compared with Canada's £52. Labour's lavish behaviour in Australia and the persistent attack upon private enterprise, as in the case of shipping and oil, sets many of us pondering.—
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