Evening star., 1950-01-19

Take housing, for instance:
-Four years ago the Australian
Housing Commission found that
the nation was short 100000
homes.
1t mapped a plan to wipe this
out in four years at the rate of
10000 homes a year, in addition
to providing 10000 new homes
yearly to meet the normal growth
in population.
-Four years have now gone and
home building has not even kept
up with normal requirements, so
the shortage now is greater than
ever.
Building Workers Lacking.
Part of the difficulty is a short
age of building workers. Despite
the crying need for more skilled
hands, the Building Workers In
dustrial Union, Communist con-
trolled, has firmly closed its ranks
to new members.
A Labor government program for
training ex-servicemen for these
trades has been frustrated. At the
moment, 1000 veterans are await
ing training as plumbers. The
union is permitting the training of
16. No training classes for brick
layers or carpenters have been
authorized for a year.
The housing problem and many
others run into the problem of
coal and steel shortages. So take
coal:
Despite the Labor governments
desperate efforts to WOO the
miners Communist leaders, strikes
have blocked every effort to raise
production.
Since the war, strikes have
taken a heavier toll each year of
coal production, rising to 100000
tons in both 1948 and 1949. So
production from the deep pits is
now just about equal to prewar.
For lack of coal, the steel pro-
duction on which Australia's rosy
hopes of great industrial develop
ment were built has dropped
steadily since the war.
In 1910 and 1941, with smaller
manpower, the mills were pro-
ducing 100000 tons of ingots
yearly. In the last three years they
have been able to turn out only rs
per cent of that. Today the biggest
mill, Broken Hill Proprietary, is
down to 81 per cent of capacity
for lack of coking coal.
Great Hopes for Farms.
Finally, take food and the farms.
Australia had great postwar hopes
there.
In the eight years of the Labor
government, with prices high and
world demand at its peak, the
crop area has dropped from 49,
1000 acres of 22,200,000. The
sheep on the ranges have declined
from 100000 to 102,000,000.
Exports of fod of all kinds have
dropped from 886,730 tons to
sol ,685.
So how is production to be
achieved? Obviously, the new
Prime Minister thinks, there must
be a new spirit of cooperation be-
tween employers and organized
labor.
He has promised to put an end
to the spirit of class warfare,
through strengthening the arbitra-
ton courts-extensively weakened
by the Labor government as a
concession to Communist union
leaders-and through restoring
trade union democracy"
The first step toward industrial
peace, sMenzies is convinced, must
be the elimination of Communists
from control of Australian labor.
But Communism's hold is
strong. It was broken temporarily
in 1910 and 1941 when Menzies,
then in power, outlawed the party.
It went underground, but when
Labor returned and lifted the
ban in 1941, to win unity during
the war, the party instantly sprang
to life.
Labor party appeasement has
helped to strengthen the Com
munist hold since the war. Militant
avowed Communists were ap-
pointed to the stevedoring and
shipping boards and to other gov
ernment agencies.
Reds Control Many Unions.
Today admitted Communists
hold either complete or effective
control of the unions of ironwork-
ers, blacksmiths, boilermakers,
sheetmetal workers. miners, build
ing workers, dockers, seamen and
clerks, and are influential in the
unions Of teachers, scientific
workers and many others.
How is their grip to be broken?
Menzies and all Liberal and Coun-
try party candidates-now the
majority in the House of Repre-
sentatives-promised drastic action
in their campaign, speeches.
They promised to declare the
party subversive and unlawful.
and to dissolve it. They promised
that the attorney general, subject
to appeal, would be given the
power to declare other organiza-
tions substantially Communist" !"
and to follow the party into
whatever new form it may at
tempt to take"
They promised a law banning
Communists from any paid post
in government, or any Office in
registered industrial organization.
These are far-reaching propos-
ais" says Menzies, "but half
measures are no good"
Leaders of the late Labor gov
eminent are grimly waiting to see