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19160927_senate_6_80.xml
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19160927_senate_6_80.xml
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<?xml version="1.0" encoding="utf-8"?>
<hansard xsi:noNamespaceSchemaLocation="../../hansard.xsd" version="2.1" xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance">
<session.header>
<date>1916-09-27</date>
<parliament.no>6</parliament.no>
<session.no>1</session.no>
<period.no>0</period.no>
<chamber>SENATE</chamber>
<page.no>8969</page.no>
<proof>0</proof>
</session.header>
<chamber.xscript>
<para class="block">Senate. </para>
<business.start>
<day.start>1916-09-27</day.start>
<para>The President took the chair at 3 p.m., and read prayers. </para>
</business.start>
<debate>
<debateinfo>
<title>QUESTION</title>
<page.no>8969</page.no>
<type>Questions</type>
</debateinfo>
<subdebate.1>
<subdebateinfo>
<title>SENATOR. BAKHAP</title>
<page.no>8969</page.no>
</subdebateinfo>
<speech>
<talk.start>
<talker>
<page.no>8969</page.no>
<time.stamp />
<name.id>JYT</name.id>
<electorate>QUEENSLAND</electorate>
<party />
<role />
<in.gov>0</in.gov>
<first.speech>0</first.speech>
<name role="metadata">FERRICKS, Myles</name>
<name role="display">Senator FERRICKS</name>
</talker>
<para>- I ask the Minister representing the Prime Minister whether the Government will take into consideration the advisableness of appointing a Royal Commission to inquire as to the whereabouts of <inline font-weight="bold">Senator Bakhap</inline> ? </para>
</talk.start>
</speech>
</subdebate.1>
</debate>
<debate>
<debateinfo>
<title>QUESTION</title>
<page.no>8970</page.no>
<type>Questions</type>
</debateinfo>
<subdebate.1>
<subdebateinfo>
<title>INTRODUCTION OF MALTESE</title>
<page.no>8970</page.no>
</subdebateinfo>
<speech>
<talk.start>
<talker>
<page.no>8970</page.no>
<time.stamp />
<name.id>JYX</name.id>
<electorate>VICTORIA</electorate>
<party />
<role />
<in.gov>0</in.gov>
<first.speech>0</first.speech>
<name role="metadata">FINDLEY, Edward</name>
<name role="display">Senator FINDLEY</name>
</talker>
<para>- Has the Minister representing the Minister for External Affairs noticed a statement in the press to the effect that ninety-six or ninetyeight Maltese have arrived in Australia ? If so, has he any information bearing on the rumour that some of these Maltese are on their way to Tasmania, and that the remainder are going to New South Wales? Have these men come to Australia under contract or as free men ? </para>
</talk.start>
</speech>
<speech>
<talk.start>
<talker>
<page.no>8970</page.no>
<time.stamp />
<name.id>KKZ</name.id>
<electorate>NEW SOUTH WALES</electorate>
<party>ALP</party>
<role>Vice-President of the Executive Council</role>
<in.gov>1</in.gov>
<first.speech>0</first.speech>
<name role="metadata">GARDINER, Albert</name>
<name role="display">Senator GARDINER</name>
</talker>
<para>- If the honorable senator will give notice of his question full information will be supplied to him. </para>
</talk.start>
</speech>
<speech>
<talk.start>
<talker>
<page.no>8970</page.no>
<time.stamp />
<name.id>KRZ</name.id>
<electorate>WESTERN AUSTRALIA</electorate>
<party />
<role />
<in.gov>0</in.gov>
<first.speech>0</first.speech>
<name role="metadata">LYNCH, Patrick</name>
<name role="display">Senator LYNCH</name>
</talker>
<para>- Will the Minister representing the Minister say whether, under the Alien Immigration Restriction Act, Maltese are absolutely debarred from entering the Commonwealth? </para>
</talk.start>
<continue>
<talk.start>
<talker>
<page.no>8970</page.no>
<time.stamp />
<name.id>KKZ</name.id>
<electorate />
<party />
<role />
<in.gov>0</in.gov>
<first.speech>0</first.speech>
<name role="metadata">GARDINER, Albert</name>
<name role="display">Senator GARDINER</name>
</talker>
<para>- They are debarred from entering the Commonwealth under contract unless permission to do so is obtained. </para>
</talk.start>
</continue>
<continue>
<talk.start>
<talker>
<page.no>8970</page.no>
<time.stamp />
<name.id>KRZ</name.id>
<electorate />
<party />
<role />
<in.gov>0</in.gov>
<first.speech>0</first.speech>
<name role="metadata">LYNCH, Patrick</name>
<name role="display">Senator LYNCH</name>
</talker>
<para>- Just so; the same as any Britisher. </para>
</talk.start>
</continue>
</speech>
</subdebate.1>
</debate>
<debate>
<debateinfo>
<title>QUESTION</title>
<page.no>8970</page.no>
<type>Questions</type>
</debateinfo>
<subdebate.1>
<subdebateinfo>
<title>COMPULSORY MILITARY SERVICE</title>
<page.no>8970</page.no>
</subdebateinfo>
<para>Exemptions: Appeal Courts</para>
<speech>
<talk.start>
<talker>
<page.no>8970</page.no>
<time.stamp />
<name.id>KRZ</name.id>
<electorate />
<party />
<role />
<in.gov>0</in.gov>
<first.speech>0</first.speech>
<name role="metadata">LYNCH, Patrick</name>
<name role="display">Senator LYNCH</name>
</talker>
<para>- I wish to ask the Minister for Defence a question without notice in view of what was contained in a statement which I propose to read from a Western Australian newspaper? </para>
</talk.start>
</speech>
<speech>
<talk.start>
<talker>
<page.no>8970</page.no>
<time.stamp />
<name.id>10000</name.id>
<electorate />
<party />
<role />
<in.gov>0</in.gov>
<first.speech>0</first.speech>
<name role="metadata">PRESIDENT, The</name>
<name role="display">The PRESIDENT</name>
</talker>
<para>- Order! It is not in accordance with my ruling that an honorable senator, in asking a question, should read a statement appearing in the press. </para>
</talk.start>
<continue>
<talk.start>
<talker>
<page.no>8970</page.no>
<time.stamp />
<name.id>KRZ</name.id>
<electorate />
<party />
<role />
<in.gov>0</in.gov>
<first.speech>0</first.speech>
<name role="metadata">LYNCH, Patrick</name>
<name role="display">Senator LYNCH</name>
</talker>
<para>- In view of the impression prevailing as the result of statements which have appeared in the press, that bank clerks are to be especially exempt from the operation of the proclamation to be issued calling up men for military service, I ask if they are to be included in an exemption which will not apply to other classes of labour? </para>
</talk.start>
</continue>
</speech>
<speech>
<talk.start>
<talker>
<page.no>8970</page.no>
<time.stamp />
<name.id>K0F</name.id>
<electorate>WESTERN AUSTRALIA</electorate>
<party>ALP</party>
<role>Minister for Defence</role>
<in.gov>1</in.gov>
<first.speech>0</first.speech>
<name role="metadata">PEARCE, George</name>
<name role="display">Senator PEARCE</name>
</talker>
<para>- The whole question of exemptions will be dealt with by the Courts under regulations, which it is expected will be issued within the next few days. </para>
</talk.start>
<interjection>
<talk.start>
<talker>
<page.no>8970</page.no>
<time.stamp />
<name.id>KRZ</name.id>
<electorate />
<party />
<role />
<in.gov>0</in.gov>
<first.speech>0</first.speech>
<name role="metadata">LYNCH, Patrick</name>
<name role="display">Senator Lynch</name>
</talker>
<para>- Then there is to be no special exemption in the case of bank clerks ? </para>
</talk.start>
</interjection>
<continue>
<talk.start>
<talker>
<page.no>8970</page.no>
<time.stamp />
<name.id>K0F</name.id>
<electorate />
<party />
<role />
<in.gov>0</in.gov>
<first.speech>0</first.speech>
<name role="metadata">PEARCE, George</name>
<name role="display">Senator PEARCE</name>
</talker>
<para>- None, except those provided for under the Act, and in the regulations framed under the Act. All applying to be exempt must come before the examination Courts to establish their claim to exemption. </para>
</talk.start>
</continue>
</speech>
<speech>
<talk.start>
<talker>
<page.no>8970</page.no>
<time.stamp />
<name.id>JYX</name.id>
<electorate />
<party />
<role />
<in.gov>0</in.gov>
<first.speech>0</first.speech>
<name role="metadata">FINDLEY, Edward</name>
<name role="display">Senator FINDLEY</name>
</talker>
<para>- Should the conscription referendum be carried in the affirmative, the Government will have the power, should they deem it necessary, to call up men for service oversea between the ages of eighteen and sixty. Will the Minister for Defence give an assurance that single men between the ages of eighteen and twenty-one years will not be called up? </para>
</talk.start>
<continue>
<talk.start>
<talker>
<page.no>8970</page.no>
<time.stamp />
<name.id>K0F</name.id>
<electorate />
<party />
<role />
<in.gov>0</in.gov>
<first.speech>0</first.speech>
<name role="metadata">PEARCE, George</name>
<name role="display">Senator PEARCE</name>
</talker>
<para>- It is not the intention of the Government to call up those between eighteen and twenty-one years of age. </para>
</talk.start>
</continue>
<interjection>
<talk.start>
<talker>
<page.no>8970</page.no>
<time.stamp />
<name.id>JYX</name.id>
<electorate />
<party />
<role />
<in.gov>0</in.gov>
<first.speech>0</first.speech>
<name role="metadata">FINDLEY, Edward</name>
<name role="display">Senator Findley</name>
</talker>
<para>- Not in any circumstances ? </para>
</talk.start>
</interjection>
</speech>
<speech>
<talk.start>
<talker>
<page.no>8970</page.no>
<time.stamp />
<name.id>JXJ</name.id>
<electorate>WESTERN AUSTRALIA</electorate>
<party />
<role />
<in.gov>0</in.gov>
<first.speech>0</first.speech>
<name role="metadata">NEEDHAM, Edward</name>
<name role="display">Senator NEEDHAM</name>
</talker>
<para>- Will the Minister for Defence say whether the Government have given any further consideration to the representations made in the Senate during the debate on the second reading of the Military Service Referendum Bill, as to the constitution of the appeal Courts proposed by the Government in that Bill ? Is it their intention to adhere to the original proposal ? </para>
</talk.start>
<continue>
<talk.start>
<talker>
<page.no>8970</page.no>
<time.stamp />
<name.id>K0F</name.id>
<electorate />
<party />
<role />
<in.gov>0</in.gov>
<first.speech>0</first.speech>
<name role="metadata">PEARCE, George</name>
<name role="display">Senator PEARCE</name>
</talker>
<para>- The matter has been considered, but no alteration is proposed. </para>
</talk.start>
</continue>
</speech>
</subdebate.1>
</debate>
<debate>
<debateinfo>
<title>PAPERS</title>
<page.no>8970</page.no>
<type>papers</type>
</debateinfo>
<para>The following papers were presented : - </para>
<para>Bounties Act 1907-1912. - Return of Particu lars relating to Bounties Paid during Financial Year 1915-16. </para>
<para>Lands Acquisition Act 1906 -Land acquired under, at - </para>
<para>Bulimba, Queensland - For Defence purposes. </para>
<para>Cairns, Queensland - For Defence purposes. </para>
<para>Congwarra, Federal Territory - For Federal Capital purposes. </para>
<para>Papers presented to British Parliament- </para>
<para>Ireland: Royal Commission on Rebellion. - Minutes of Evidence and Appendix of Documents. </para>
<para>The War. - Note addressed to the United States Ambassador regarding the Examination of Parcels and Letter Mails. </para>
<para>Return to Order of the Senate of 14th September, 1916_ </para>
<para>Defence: Officers ineligible for Commissions in Australian Imperial Force, &c. </para>
<para>War Precautions Act 1914-1915. - Regulations amended, &c. - Statutory Rules 1916, Nos. 215, 216, 217, 219, 224, 225, 226. </para>
</debate>
<debate>
<debateinfo>
<title>PINE CREEK TO BITTER SPRINGS RAILWAY EXTENSION</title>
<page.no>8971</page.no>
<type>miscellaneous</type>
</debateinfo>
<para>Report of Public Works Committee, together with minutes of evidence and appendices, on the proposed extension of the Pine Creek to Katherine River railway southwards as far as Bitter and Mataranka Springs, presented by <inline font-weight="bold">Senator Lynch.</inline></para>
</debate>
<debate>
<debateinfo>
<title>QUESTION</title>
<page.no>8971</page.no>
<type>Questions</type>
</debateinfo>
<subdebate.1>
<subdebateinfo>
<title>PUBLIC SERVICE</title>
<page.no>8971</page.no>
</subdebateinfo>
<para>Minimum Wage</para>
<speech>
<talk.start>
<talker>
<page.no>8971</page.no>
<time.stamp />
<name.id>K8W</name.id>
<electorate>QUEENSLAND</electorate>
<party />
<role />
<in.gov>0</in.gov>
<first.speech>0</first.speech>
<name role="metadata">TURLEY, Henry</name>
<name role="display">Senator TURLEY</name>
</talker>
<para>asked the VicePresident of the Executive Council, <inline font-style="italic">upon notice -</inline></para>
</talk.start>
<para class="block">With reference to the delivery of the award in the Arbitration Court by <inline font-weight="bold">Mr. Justice</inline> Powers in the cases of the Commonwealth Post and Telegraph Officers' Association and the Federated Public Service Assistants' Association, wherein His Honour is reported to have said: " On the whole, he proposed to fix£ 132 a year as a minimum salary for an unmarried officer in the General Division, and£ 126 in the Clerical Division. Parliament might, after allowing the award to come into operation, if it thought fit to do so, pass an Act dealing with the minimum wage of officers in the Public Service" - </para>
<list type="loweralpha">
<item label="(a)">
<para>Will the Government ascertain if there is any way in which the Senate can deal with the awards before they come into force? </para>
</item>
<item label="(b)">
<para>If not, will the Government deal with the matter in the way referred to by His Honour <inline font-weight="bold">Mr. Justice</inline> Powers? </para>
</item>
</list>
</speech>
<speech>
<talk.start>
<talker>
<page.no>8971</page.no>
<time.stamp />
<name.id>KKZ</name.id>
<electorate />
<party>ALP</party>
<role />
<in.gov>1</in.gov>
<first.speech>0</first.speech>
<name role="metadata">GARDINER, Albert</name>
<name role="display">Senator GARDINER</name>
</talker>
<para>- The answers are - </para>
</talk.start>
<list type="loweralpha">
<item label="(a)">
<para>The award has to be laid before both Houses of Parliament thirty days before the time fixed for its coming into operation, and if either House within that time passes a resolution disapproving the award, it will not come into operation. </para>
</item>
<item label="(b)">
<para>Will be considered when amendments of the Public Service Acts are under review. </para>
</item>
</list>
</speech>
</subdebate.1>
</debate>
<debate>
<debateinfo>
<title>QUESTION</title>
<page.no>8971</page.no>
<type>Questions</type>
</debateinfo>
<subdebate.1>
<subdebateinfo>
<title>SINGLE MEN OF MILITARY AGE</title>
<page.no>8971</page.no>
</subdebateinfo>
<speech>
<talk.start>
<talker>
<page.no>8971</page.no>
<time.stamp />
<name.id>K1L</name.id>
<electorate>VICTORIA</electorate>
<party />
<role />
<in.gov>0</in.gov>
<first.speech>0</first.speech>
<name role="metadata">BARNES, John</name>
<name role="display">Senator BARNES</name>
</talker>
<para>asked the Minister for Defence, <inline font-style="italic">upon notice -</inline></para>
</talk.start>
<list type="decimal-dotted">
<item label="1.">
<para>How many fit single men between the ages of twenty-one and forty-five were there in Australia when the census was taken? </para>
</item>
<item label="2.">
<para>How many of them have enlisted since the census was taken? </para>
</item>
<item label="3.">
<para>How many of them have dependants, or are represented at the front? </para>
</item>
</list>
</speech>
<speech>
<talk.start>
<talker>
<page.no>8971</page.no>
<time.stamp />
<name.id>K0F</name.id>
<electorate />
<party>ALP</party>
<role />
<in.gov>1</in.gov>
<first.speech>0</first.speech>
<name role="metadata">PEARCE, George</name>
<name role="display">Senator PEARCE</name>
</talker>
<para>- The answers are - </para>
</talk.start>
<para>The answer to the first question is that 230,000 in answering the War Census card described themselves as such. As the particulars desired, however, are only available with respect to those between the ages of 18 and 45, </para>
<para class="block">I will confine my answers to them. It must be borne in mind that there were also a number of cards issued to which no replies were received. </para>
<list type="decimal-dotted">
<item label="1.">
<para>Fit single men at time of Census between 18 and 45 numbered 307,150. </para>
</item>
<item label="2.">
<para>Of these, 103,748 had enlisted and embarked up to 9th June, 1916, and 50,492 had enlisted and were in camp. </para>
</item>
<item label="3.">
<para>91,380 of the 307,150 fit men between the ages of 18 and 45 had dependants. Information as to those represented at the front is not available. </para>
</item>
</list>
</speech>
</subdebate.1>
</debate>
<debate>
<debateinfo>
<title>QUESTION</title>
<page.no>8971</page.no>
<type>Questions</type>
</debateinfo>
<subdebate.1>
<subdebateinfo>
<title>HOME SERVICE CLERKS</title>
<page.no>8971</page.no>
</subdebateinfo>
<speech>
<talk.start>
<talker>
<page.no>8971</page.no>
<time.stamp />
<name.id>K22</name.id>
<electorate>VICTORIA</electorate>
<party />
<role />
<in.gov>0</in.gov>
<first.speech>0</first.speech>
<name role="metadata">BLAKEY, Albert</name>
<name role="display">Senator BLAKEY</name>
</talker>
<para>asked the Minister for Defence, <inline font-style="italic">upon notice -</inline></para>
</talk.start>
<list type="decimal-dotted">
<item label="1.">
<para>Is it a fact that when clerks enlisted for home service and were sworn in, the Minister for Defence stated that there was no intention of cutting down wages, and that there would be no overtime, but that they would be expected to work occasionally on a Sunday? </para>
</item>
<item label="2.">
<para>Have most of these clerks been compelled to come back three or four nights a week and practically three Sundays out of four? </para>
</item>
<item label="3.">
<para>Do these clerks get paid time and a half overtime, double time for Sunday work, or any allowance for tea money as fixed by the clerks award ? </para>
</item>
<item label="4.">
<para>If not, will he endeavour to rectify this state of affairs? </para>
</item>
</list>
</speech>
<speech>
<talk.start>
<talker>
<page.no>8971</page.no>
<time.stamp />
<name.id>K0F</name.id>
<electorate />
<party>ALP</party>
<role />
<in.gov>1</in.gov>
<first.speech>0</first.speech>
<name role="metadata">PEARCE, George</name>
<name role="display">Senator PEARCE</name>
</talker>
<para>- The answers are - </para>
</talk.start>
<list type="decimal-dotted">
<item label="1.">
<para>Men enlisted for home service in clerical branches are paid in accordance with Australian Imperial Force rates of pay. The junior rank is that of corporal, the pay of which is 9s. per diem and1s. per diem ration allowance; when employed in camp, rations and tentage are provided; such men are paid for seven days per week, and, if necessary, are required to work on seven days. Soldiers enlisted for home service do not, under any circumstances, receive overtime. </para>
</item>
<item label="2.">
<para>In many cases these clerks have been compelled to work on several nights per week, and also on several Sundays per month during the heavy work in connexion with casualties. </para>
</item>
<item label="3.">
<para>No. </para>
</item>
<item label="4.">
<para>No; as pointed out in paragraph 1, these clerks are attested soldiers, and are paid for seven days per week, and in the interests ofthe service must, when required, be called upon to work for longer hours than the ordinary hours worked by civilian clerks. </para>
</item>
</list>
</speech>
</subdebate.1>
</debate>
<debate>
<debateinfo>
<title>QUESTION</title>
<page.no>8971</page.no>
<type>Questions</type>
</debateinfo>
<subdebate.1>
<subdebateinfo>
<title>FINANCIAL STATEMENT</title>
<page.no>8971</page.no>
</subdebateinfo>
<speech>
<talk.start>
<talker>
<page.no>8971</page.no>
<time.stamp />
<name.id>K0F</name.id>
<electorate>Western Australia</electorate>
<party>ALP</party>
<role>Minister for Defence</role>
<in.gov>1</in.gov>
<first.speech>0</first.speech>
<name role="metadata">PEARCE, George</name>
<name role="display">Senator PEARCE</name>
</talker>
<para>
<inline font-style="italic">(By leave).</inline>- The following are the Government's financial proposals for the war: - The Repatriation Fund is for the assistance and benefit of Australian soldiers and of their dependants, and administered by trustees as they in their discretion think fit. The levy will amount to 1½ per cent, on all estates, real and personal, of the value of £500 and over. The levy may be paid in three equal yearly instalments, or the contributor may pay cash, in which latter case he will be entitled to a rebate or discount, calculated on a basis of war loan interest for the period covered by the prepayment. The proposed entertainment tax will amount to½d. on a ticket costing 3d.,1d. on a ticket costing 6d., and 1d. for each additional 6d. or part thereof. Under the War-time Profits Tax Bill 1915-16, the Government propose to take 50 per cent, of the profits for the year 1915-16, allowing an exemption of £200 and a profit standard of 5 per cent, and 6 per cent. The Government propose for the year 1916-17 that the profit standard shall be 7 and 8 per cent., with an exemption of £200, but propose to take all the war profits over this sum. The Government are of opinion that an increase of 25 per cent, in the income tax is justifiable during thisyear of war. It is proposed to reduce the exemption to the sum of £100, and to call upon all persons receiving an income of £100 and up to £200 inclusive to pay income tax at a flat rate of £1. The exemption allowed in the case of children will be raised from £13 to £26 for each child under sixteen years of age. Married men and single men with dependants will be exempted up to £156. Summarized, this taxation is estimated to produce the following amounts: - Proposed entertainments tax (say, half-year), £1,000,000; proposed war-time profits tax for 1915-16, £1,000,000; proposed wartime profits tax for 1916-17, £2,000,000; proposed 25 per cent, increase income tax, £1,000,000; levy on wealth for Repatriation Fund, first of three yearly instalments (say), £3,333,000. I move- </para>
</talk.start>
<para class="block">That the paper be printed. </para>
<para class="block">Question resolved in the affirmative. </para>
</speech>
</subdebate.1>
</debate>
<debate>
<debateinfo>
<title>ADJOURNMENT</title>
<page.no>8972</page.no>
<type>adjournment</type>
</debateinfo>
<subdebate.1>
<subdebateinfo>
<title>Financial Statement - Northern Territory : Administration: Suggested Royal Commission - Censorship of Broken Hill News - Transports : Wireless News Service</title>
<page.no>8972</page.no>
</subdebateinfo>
<speech>
<talk.start>
<talker>
<page.no>8972</page.no>
<time.stamp />
<name.id>K0F</name.id>
<electorate>Western Australia</electorate>
<party>ALP</party>
<role>Minister for Defence</role>
<in.gov>1</in.gov>
<first.speech>0</first.speech>
<name role="metadata">PEARCE, George</name>
<name role="display">Senator PEARCE</name>
</talker>
<para>. - I move - </para>
</talk.start>
<para>That the Senate do now adjourn. </para>
<para class="block">We shall meet to-morrow. A Works Supply Bill will come up from another place, and has to be passed. </para>
</speech>
<speech>
<talk.start>
<talker>
<page.no>8972</page.no>
<time.stamp />
<name.id>K7D</name.id>
<electorate>Queensland</electorate>
<party />
<role />
<in.gov>0</in.gov>
<first.speech>0</first.speech>
<name role="metadata">STEWART, James</name>
<name role="display">Senator STEWART</name>
</talker>
<para>. - Will an opportunity be given to discuss the financial proposals of the Government ? </para>
</talk.start>
</speech>
<speech>
<talk.start>
<talker>
<page.no>8972</page.no>
<time.stamp />
<name.id>10000</name.id>
<electorate />
<party />
<role />
<in.gov>0</in.gov>
<first.speech>0</first.speech>
<name role="metadata">PRESIDENT, The</name>
<name role="display">The PRESIDENT</name>
</talker>
<para>- The honorable senator had a full and complete opportunityjust now. The motion was, " That the paper be printed." That motion was seconded, and I put it very slowly and deliberately in order that honorable senators might have an opportunity of discussing it if they so desired. It is quite out of order for <inline font-weight="bold">Senator Stewart</inline> to debate it now. </para>
</talk.start>
<continue>
<talk.start>
<talker>
<page.no>8972</page.no>
<time.stamp />
<name.id>K7D</name.id>
<electorate />
<party />
<role />
<in.gov>0</in.gov>
<first.speech>0</first.speech>
<name role="metadata">STEWART, James</name>
<name role="display">Senator STEWART</name>
</talker>
<para>- I wished to discuss these proposals, but did not desire to do so until I had them before me in print. </para>
</talk.start>
</continue>
<interjection>
<talk.start>
<talker>
<page.no>8972</page.no>
<time.stamp />
<name.id>K0F</name.id>
<electorate />
<party />
<role />
<in.gov>0</in.gov>
<first.speech>0</first.speech>
<name role="metadata">PEARCE, George</name>
<name role="display">Senator Pearce</name>
</talker>
<para>- The honorable senator could have moved the adjournment of the debate. I would not have opposed it. In fact, I was told by the Government Whip that the honorable senator was going to move the adjournment of the debate. </para>
</talk.start>
</interjection>
<continue>
<talk.start>
<talker>
<page.no>8972</page.no>
<time.stamp />
<name.id>K7D</name.id>
<electorate />
<party />
<role />
<in.gov>0</in.gov>
<first.speech>0</first.speech>
<name role="metadata">STEWART, James</name>
<name role="display">Senator STEWART</name>
</talker>
<para>- Can it not be done now with the consent of the Senate ? </para>
</talk.start>
</continue>
<continue>
<talk.start>
<talker>
<page.no>8972</page.no>
<time.stamp />
<name.id>10000</name.id>
<electorate />
<party />
<role />
<in.gov>0</in.gov>
<first.speech>0</first.speech>
<name role="metadata">PRESIDENT, The</name>
<name role="display">The PRESIDENT</name>
</talker>
<para>- I cannot put the question again. I have already declared the motion carried, and I cannot now, after a subsequent motion has been submitted, reopen it. </para>
</talk.start>
</continue>
</speech>
<speech>
<talk.start>
<talker>
<page.no>8972</page.no>
<time.stamp />
<name.id>JXV</name.id>
<electorate>SOUTH AUSTRALIA</electorate>
<party>ALP; NAT from 1917</party>
<role />
<in.gov>0</in.gov>
<first.speech>0</first.speech>
<name role="metadata">NEWLANDS, John</name>
<name role="display">Senator NEWLANDS</name>
</talker>
<para>. - I crave the indulgence of the Senate whilst I discuss several matters of importance in relation to a portion of the Commonwealth which, unfortunately, has been for some time neglected by this Parliament. A few weeks ago, I visited the Northern Territory, and during my sojourn there I took advantage of the facilities that were provided to enable me to inquire into the conditions which obtain in that part of our continent. This afternoon I desire to place before honorable senators some recommendations for the better government of that Territory. </para>
</talk.start>
<para>In the first place, I wish to stress the great disabilities under which the people suffer at the very front door of the Territory. At the Port Darwin jetty, for example, the facilties for handling goods are deplorably inadequate, and, as a consequence, the cost of landing them there is relatively higher than it is in any other part of the Commonwealth. Only a little time prior to my visit, the jetty had been seriously damaged. Two vessels had collided with it, and, as a re- suit, a considerable portion of it bad been rendered absolutely useless. This jetty is an L-shaped one, and at the heel of it there is a turntable. Every truck going alongside a ship has to be pushed on to the jetty, turned on the turntable, and then run along the wharf. The same process has to be repeated in order to return the truck to the shore end. This involves a very considerable delay in the work of transhipping good&. At the present time, Messrs. Vestey Brothers are doing the stevedoring work on the jetty, and their manager assured me that this delay, when a full gang of sixty men is employed, is equivalent to a loss of thirty-three hours per day. At the rate of wages paid in Port Darwin this constitutes a very serious handicap. After the goods have been landed, there is very little store accommodation for them in the station yard. Altogether the facilities provided by the Government are utterly inadequate to enable the trade to be economically dealt with. The bonded stores and the free stores are merely sheds about 40 feet square. One can imagine the conditions which obtain on account of this insufficient store accommodation when a vessel arrives with a cargo of 300, 400, or 500 tons. I understand that there is a project afoot for an extension of existing harbor facilities at Port Darwin, but, in my judgment, that extension will prove altogether inadequate. </para>
<para>The next matter to which I desire to direct attention is that of the railway. The railway plant at Port Darwin exhibits every evidence of neglect on the part of the authorities. The rolling stock is badly out of repair - it is dirty, un,painted, and altogether unsuitable for the work it has to perform. Of course, it is narrow-gauge rolling stock, and I am not anxious to see it replaced, because I am hopeful that that gauge will be altered in the near future. The workshops are <inline font-style="italic">1\</inline> miles distant from the township, but no facilities are provided for taking the workmen backwards and forwards. They have either to camp at the workshops, or to walk to and from their employment. Whether this walk be undertaken in the wet or dry season it is a very uncomfortable one indeed. As a matter of fact, in some portions of the wet season it would be impossible, because the roads are then inches, if not feet, under water. </para>
<para class="block">The workshops are not sufficiently . commodious for present requirements, nor are they properly constructed, because during the time I was there temporary repairs were being undertaken to combat the ravages of the white ants, which are very destructive in that part of Australia. I found also, when I went over the workshop, that the superintendent had to perform his own clerical duties, and was not even provided with the services of a shorthand clerk. I ask members of the Government if they think it wise that a man in such a responsible position, and drawing between £400 and £500 a year, should be required to do his own clerical work and under such unsatisfactory conditions as at Port Darwin ? The Government should see to i£ that this particular officer is provided with clerical assistance. I found that excellent work, equal to anything done in any other part of the Commonwealth, is' carried out in the Darwin work-shops. Indeed, some work which I saw in progress is not done in many of the large shops elsewhere. The manager has a small blast furnace. The workmen make their own patterns for mouldings, and while I was there they were using up all the old scrap-iron to make castings for the work in hand. It is only fair that employees of the Government doing such excellent work as is done at Darwin should get the full credit for it. Now, I want to say something with regard to the plant that the officer in charge has under his control. Included in that plant are three locomotives purchased from Queensland, and built in 1891 - twenty-five years ago. Those engines are quite out of date, and the cost to the Commonwealth was altogether out of proportion to the life they still have to run and the work they are called upon to do in the Northern Territory. Their original cost to the Commonwealth was about £1,730 each. In addition to that, they cost £38 to strip at Brisbane, and £31 lis. 6d. f.o.b. Brisbane, or a total of £1,799 lis. 6d. at Brisbane. Then there was the freight, £239 7s. id., making a grand total of £2,038 18s. 7d. for each locomotive landed in the Northern Territory. This is an outrageous price to pay for an engine that had done so much work in Queensland before it was bought by the Commonwealth Government. In addition to the cost already mentioned, there would also be the expense of assembling them at Port Darwin, and effecting whatever repairs may have been necessary before they commenced running. Those engines were supposed to haul a load of 170 tons, as compared with 156 tons by the engines supplied by the South Australian Government during the time the Territory was under the administration of that State. This difference in haulage power is not very great, and, moreover, the South Australian engines had been running for a great number of years, and had done excellent work. Another objection to the Queensland engine lies in the fact that its wheel base - 10 ft. 4 in. - is too long. This is a serious disability on the Northern Territory railway, where the curves are so short. The South Australian engines, with a wheel base of 7 ft. 4 in., give rauch better working- results, because the bearings of the Queensland engines, which have a longer wheel base, are continually running hot, and they require a great deal of lubricating cil. The Darwin work-shop is also undermanned. I cannot blame the Government for this, except to the extent that engine-fitters are difficult to get, and difficult to keep, because the living conditions are not made sufficiently attractive for the men. As the result of the work-shop being short-handed, repairs are hung up for many months. When I was there, I saw an engine that had been on the stocks for several months, and there appeared to be no possibility of it being sent out to work for some considerable time. The Government should take action to make the living conditions for their mechanics more attractive. At present it is impossible to get married men to go there. The bulk of the men are living in huts and tents in the neighbourhood of the work-shop and under conditions that are altogether unsatisfactory in every respect. I would suggest that the Government, with the idea of overcoming these difficulties, should erect cottages for the workmen. Such buildings, designed for Northern Territory conditions, cost not more than about £400 each, but the workmen, as a rule, have not sufficient money to go to that expense, and at present there is no legislative provision by which the Government can make advances to workmen who may desire to erect homes for themselves. The Government should take this matter into consideration, because, if homes are provided, married men may be persuaded to take their wives with them and settle in the Northern Territory. Population is urgently needed there, and this is one of the means by which it may be obtained. </para>
<para>During my visit I saw the portion of therailway line from Pine Creek to Katherine River which is under construction, and I found that a large number of men employed on that section were working under what is known as the butty-gang' system. Industrialists in Australia areopposed to any system of contract working. I had an opportunity of interviewing several of the men working on this system, and they were making as much as £50 per month. A price is set for theremoval of spoil from cuttings and so on, and the men take the work at that price. They are not allowed to work for more than eight hours per day, but they work early in the morning and late in the afternoon, and put some push into their work; and, as a result, they earn wages at the rate I have stated. The Government are not paying an excessive price for the work, because it is paid for only at current rates for such work, but under the system adopted they get the work done more quickly, and the men have the advantage of earning so much more money than they would otherwise earn. I donot mention this as an argument in favour of either the contract or butty-gang system, but because I think it is my duty to say what I found in the Northern Territory. Any honorable senator can confirm my statement by applying to the pay office of the Railway Department at Port Darwin. I found that a number of Patagonians, Spaniards, Russians, Greeks, and others were employed on construction works in the Territory, and I assert that these incompetent foreigners are responsible for the cost of the North-South railway. </para>
<interjection>
<talk.start>
<talker>
<page.no>8974</page.no>
<time.stamp />
<name.id>KMP</name.id>
<electorate />
<party />
<role />
<in.gov>0</in.gov>
<first.speech>0</first.speech>
<name role="metadata">GRANT, John</name>
<name role="display">Senator Grant</name>
</talker>
<para>- How many of them are there in the Northern Territory? </para>
</talk.start>
</interjection>
<continue>
<talk.start>
<talker>
<page.no>8974</page.no>
<time.stamp />
<name.id>JXV</name.id>
<electorate>SOUTH AUSTRALIA</electorate>
<party>ALP; NAT from 1917</party>
<role />
<in.gov>0</in.gov>
<first.speech>0</first.speech>
<name role="metadata">NEWLANDS, John</name>
<name role="display">Senator NEWLANDS</name>
</talker>
<para>- I do not know, but there must be some hundreds of them. I wish to all public attention to this condition of affairs. Every honorable senator is agreed that Australia shall be a white man's country; but if it is not to be a white man's country, let us get" rid of these Greeks and Patagonians, and introduce Chinese. I would infinitely prefer Chinese to the class of men who are entering the Northern Territory now and working on our railway there. </para>
</talk.start>
</continue>
<interjection>
<talk.start>
<talker>
<page.no>8974</page.no>
<time.stamp />
<name.id>KKZ</name.id>
<electorate />
<party />
<role />
<in.gov>0</in.gov>
<first.speech>0</first.speech>
<name role="metadata">GARDINER, Albert</name>
<name role="display">Senator Gardiner</name>
</talker>
<para>- The honorable senator also objects to Chinese. </para>
</talk.start>
</interjection>
<continue>
<talk.start>
<talker>
<page.no>8975</page.no>
<time.stamp />
<name.id>JXV</name.id>
<electorate>SOUTH AUSTRALIA</electorate>
<party>ALP; NAT from 1917</party>
<role />
<in.gov>0</in.gov>
<first.speech>0</first.speech>
<name role="metadata">NEWLANDS, John</name>
<name role="display">Senator NEWLANDS</name>
</talker>
<para>- I do, absolutely ; but if we must have alien labour, I would give my vote for the Chinaman before I would give it for the Greek any time. The foreigners to whom I have referred are altogether unsuitable for the Northern Territory. They cannot work, and they will not work. It is true that thev are members of the Australian Workers Union and are getting the current rate of wages, but that is because that organization must admit them for its own preservation and the maintenance of a fair rate of wages in the Territory. The Government have established a store at Pine Creek from which the workmen engaged on the railway are supplied. There are a comparatively few Britishers there, and a few Russians, to whom no great exception can be taken. But- the storekeeper assured me that the account between the Greek workmen and the store amounted to, in many cases, not more than £1 per month. That should give honorable senators some idea of the kind of citizens these people are. </para>
</talk.start>
</continue>
<interjection>
<talk.start>
<talker>
<page.no>8975</page.no>
<time.stamp />
<name.id>KKZ</name.id>
<electorate />
<party />
<role />
<in.gov>0</in.gov>
<first.speech>0</first.speech>
<name role="metadata">GARDINER, Albert</name>
<name role="display">Senator Gardiner</name>
</talker>
<para>- They should get a vote for thrift. </para>
</talk.start>
</interjection>
<interjection>
<talk.start>
<talker>
<page.no>8975</page.no>
<time.stamp />
<name.id>KMP</name.id>
<electorate />
<party />
<role />
<in.gov>0</in.gov>
<first.speech>0</first.speech>
<name role="metadata">GRANT, John</name>
<name role="display">Senator Grant</name>
</talker>
<para>- What do they live on? </para>
</talk.start>
</interjection>
<continue>
<talk.start>
<talker>
<page.no>8975</page.no>
<time.stamp />
<name.id>JXV</name.id>
<electorate>SOUTH AUSTRALIA</electorate>
<party>ALP; NAT from 1917</party>
<role />
<in.gov>0</in.gov>
<first.speech>0</first.speech>
<name role="metadata">NEWLANDS, John</name>
<name role="display">Senator NEWLANDS</name>
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<para>- They live on anything that flies, or crawls, or runs. It does not matter whether it is a crow, a hawk, a lizard, or anything else, they all go into the pot. I am assured of that by men working alongside of these people living in the Territory, and I believe the statement. </para>
</talk.start>
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<interjection>
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<page.no>8975</page.no>
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<name role="metadata">MCKISSOCK, Andrew</name>
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<para>- Do not they find any use for the white ant? </para>
</talk.start>
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<talk.start>
<talker>
<page.no>8975</page.no>
<time.stamp />
<name.id>JXV</name.id>
<electorate>SOUTH AUSTRALIA</electorate>
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<name role="metadata">NEWLANDS, John</name>
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<para>- I do not think they have come down yet to the use of the white ant for food; but if they did, there are plenty of them there for them. I speak strongly on this matter, because, if it is our intention to people the Northern Territory with white people, we should discourage the Patagonian and Greek from coming to Australia. </para>
</talk.start>
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<page.no>8975</page.no>
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<name role="metadata">GRANT, John</name>
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<para>- Are there many Pata gonians in the Territory? </para>
</talk.start>
</interjection>
<continue>
<talk.start>
<talker>
<page.no>8975</page.no>
<time.stamp />
<name.id>JXV</name.id>
<electorate>SOUTH AUSTRALIA</electorate>
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<name role="metadata">NEWLANDS, John</name>
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<para>- Not a great many, but there were a considerable number there. I do not vouch" for the correctness of the statement, but I was told that some two years ago a shipment of Patagonians left their homeland for the Northern Territory. This was before the war broke out, and the ship in which they were coming was commandeered for war purposes. They were nearly two years on their way between their homeland and Port Darwin, and it cost nearly £200 per man to land them at Port Darwin. I want to know if that is true, and, if so, who is paying this passage-money. I do not know under what Government they were introduced, but such statements as I have reported are made quite freely in Port Darwin, and if they are true they are a serious reflection upon some Government of the Commonwealth that was responsible for bringing those men to the Northern Territory at such a price. I know that men introduced in that way are supposed to repay their passagemoney, but whether the Patagonians have done so or not I am not in a position to say. It is clearly most unprofitable to bring Patagonians and Greeks to the Territory. I interviewed one of the bankers at Port Darwin, and asked whether he had any objection to tell me how much money was being sent from Port Darwin to Greece. He had no objection whatever, and he told me that from the commencement of the year till June or July no less than £3,650 had been sent to Greece through his bank alone. That money has been sent out of the country, and it would not be so bacl if we were satisfied that the men who received it actually earned it. I am convinced that they did not earn a fourth of it, because they are not capable of doing so. This sum is in addition to drafts sent to London, Paris, and elsewhere. What those drafts were sent for the banker did not know, nor did he care. It is better that we should spend the money of the Commonwealth in settling people of our own race in the Northern Territory, who may be trusted to spend the money they earn in the Commonwealth instead of sending it out of the country, as these Greeks have done. I heard it reported that a considerable quantity of gold and silver had also been sent out of the country, but t,// banker assured me that there was no gold there, and that there could not have been very much silver sent out of the country. On the question of the extension of the railway, I might be permitted, in passing, to refer to the report of the Public Works Committee presented to the Senate only to-day. 1 do not know what is recommended, but if it recommends any extension of the railway from the Katherine River to Bitter Springs, the Government should see to it that only European labour is employed on the next section of the line, and that provision is made to enable the men engaged on the work to live under reasonable conditions and to obtain clean food at a reasonable figure. We should do all that is possible to induce our own men to go to the Northern Territory to engage in the work, because if they do I am certain that a large number will remain to settle in the Territory, whilst the Greeks and Patagonians will not remain there for any length of time. </para>
</talk.start>
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<para>Another matter to which I wish to direct attention is the position of railway officers in the_ Territory. Many of them were previously employed by the South Australian Government, and were taken over by the Commonwealth on the transfer of the Territory. They considered rightly that when they were transferred they would be Commonwealth officers, and entitled to the same privileges as other officers of the Commonwealth. Many of them are, comparatively speaking, old servants in the employ of the Commonwealth now, because their status was not to be interfered with when they were transferred. They find now that they are losing status and cannot be transferred to the south. They are in the Territory, and they must remain there. That was not so when f.hey were under the South Australian Government. I was in the Railway Department there. Several of my friends were sent from Adelaide and other parts of South Australia to the Northern Territory, and it was recognised that after being five years in the Territory they were entitled to be transferred south. No provision has been made for transferring these men to the south now that they are Commonwealth employees. That is unfair. They should not be expected to spend the whole of their days in the Northern Territory, and put up with the climate there, which, though it is not a bad climate, might be very much better. I find also that increases of salary to these men approved by this Parliament were refused to them. Similar increases were paid to officers in other Departments in the Northern Territory. It took me thu best part of a month telegraphing back- wards and forwards to the Minister for Home Affairs to secure the payment tothese men of increases passed by this Pailiament. I wish to know by what authority - whether it be that of the Minister for Home Affairs, under whose control the railways are, or the Administrator of the Territory - these increases were withheld. As the result of about a dozen wires between myself and the Home Affairs Department I learned that the men got the increases due to them sinceJune on the day after I left Port Darwin. I hope that in future no similar complaint will have to be made. Every man at Port Darwin is a unionist, and these railway officers formed an association of their own in order to bring pressure to bear through the Administrator upon the Government in Melbourne. They met as unionists do in the usual way, and presented their case to the Administrator. </para>
<para>During the time I was in Port Darwin I had considerable discussion with the executive of the association on one or two occasions, and they placed in my hands a record of the whole of the proceedings between themselvesand the Administrator in the effort to secure a recognition of their status as permanent officers and the increases of salary due to them. The union was formed in order to securea status for its members, a recognition of the conditions of work, reasonable hours of employment, and the right of transfer to other branches of the Commonwealth Service. After appealing to the Administrator, and not receiving the satisfaction to which they thought they were entitled, they sent a petition to the then Minister for External Affairs, <inline font-weight="bold">Mr. Glynn,</inline> but did not receive a very sympathetic reply. After having been turned down by the Minister, they went a step further. They have furnished me with the following statement, in explanation of their attitude : - </para>
<quote>
<para>It was decided by the association that all members of the Northern Territory Public Service Clerical Branches ought to join the Commonwealth Public Service Clerical Association. Prior to this decision, the Northern Territory Public Service Association had endeavoured to get registered under the Commonwealth Arbitration Act, to appeal to the Court on a number of questions. In the reply of <inline font-weight="bold">Mr. Glynn</inline> to the association's petition, the Minister stated that the claim of the association that </para>
<para class="block">Northern Territory public servants were a branch of the Commonwealth Service could not bc admitted. The Judge of the Arbitration Court, through the Industrial Registrar, ruled (1) that their association, through its heterogeneous character, could not be recognised as an industrial union; (2) that members of the Northern Territory service should join the Commonwealth Public Service Association, and thus approach the Court. The latter recommendation shows that the Judge was at variance with the Minister in this, that he regarded them legally as Commonwealth servants. </para>
<para>Acting on the Judge's advice, they sought to join the Commonwealth Public Service Clerical Association. They received application forms, and found that it was essential to state page of gazettal of the name of each applicant before his application would be valid. In fact, clerical workers in the Northern Territory service had no chance of joining the association before the Northern Territory Public Service classification had been gazetted. </para>
<para>The association, therefore, asked the Administrator for the gazettal of the classification to be expedited. This was in October or November, 1015. No satisfaction being received from the local powers that be, the association in March, 1916, wired to the Minister. The association has not even received the courtesy of a reply. This delay has been long enough to prevent the Northern Territory clerks from joining in time for the Federal Arbitration Court considering Northern Territory grievances, as the ease is now over, and a log fixed to cover some period ahead. The delay in the publication of the classification also gives the Administrator power to withhold all such increments as he thinks fit, all officers being, strictly speaking, temporary, and, therefore, not entitled to any privileges other than those Eis Excellency grants as a matter of grace. </para>
<para>In a letter to the honorary secretary of the association, the Government Secretary informed them that all officers are temporary until the classification is published. </para>
<para>They are, therefore, in a worse position (in spite of ordinance and regulations) than when the Commonwealth took over control. Prevented from joining the Commonwealth Clerical Association by the non-gazettal of the classification, they have no choice left but to join cither (1) the Federated Clerks' Union (of doubtful advantage to them), or (2) the Australian Workers' Union, which their members fear to join, as, owing to the floating and heterogeneous nature of the Northern Territory branch of the Australian Workers' Union, they hardly feel safe from being called out on a general strike. </para>
<para>As regards salaries, they are worse off than the Public Service in any part of Australia. The economic pressure in the Northern Territory is greater. Cost of living is very high, and rising apace. It was emphasized that meat and bread are 100 per cent, dearer than in 1912, and that hotel tariffs have risen enormously since the Commonwealth took over the hotels; also that most of the officers are single men, and have nowhere to stay but at the hotels. Not only are the wages not 25 per cent, more than southern rates, as promised bv <inline font-weight="bold">Mr. Thomas</inline> (ex-Minister) four years ago, but actually they can point to many men who are doing responsible work at sweating rates. This applies conspicuously to employees in the Accounts Branch, which is worked very hard, and has most responsible work. Officers in responsible jobs are paid less than barmen and labourers. Mention was made of the case of an officer until lately receiving £150 a year, just recently increased to £180 odd, but less than the minimum, his age being twenty-three. It was pointed out that he was a most efficient officer, worth £250 a year. </para>
<para>The absence of classification enables gross unfairness to take place. Certain men who have been induced to regard themselves as permanent, and have years of service behind them, are getting less wages than new hands in less responsible positions who are absolutely temporary, and, therefore, have to be paid the minimum wage. </para>
<para>Many officers, by their scale of wages entitled to increments, have been unable to get any increase for periods up to two or more years, while others, like the Government Secretary, have been jumped up enormously. In the last three years the Government Secretary's salary has been increased over £300, and his position likewise, while others, perhaps far more competent clerks in the Service, have probably not received £20 increase in the same time. This discrimination would not be possible if a classification were in existence. </para>
<para>It is chiefly the family men who object to the present hours- </para>
</quote>
<para class="block">Under the system instituted by the Administrator the men had to start work at 7 a.m., which is equivalent to 6.15 a.m. in Melbourne. Honorable senators will, therefore, realize how early these officers had to get to their work at Darwin. After repeated representations had been made to him, the Administrator agreed to allow them to come to work at 7.30 a.m. They leave off work at 3.30 p.m. There is little or no amusement to be had, and the only place to which single men can go is the hotel. Surely the Government do not think it a fair thing that single officers in the Territory should be encouraged to spend their long afternoons and evenings in hotels. </para>
<interjection>
<talk.start>
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<page.no>8977</page.no>
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<name role="metadata">SENIOR, William</name>
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<para>- The Minister for Home Affairs would not indorse that. </para>
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<page.no>8977</page.no>
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<name.id>JXV</name.id>
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