*' 1c ti
FOR PRE~ CS: 20 FEB1968
/ RA P. M. No. 2C/ 1C63
ADDITICNAL FINANCE FOR THE SCTATES
Statement by the Prime Minister, Mr. John Gorton
The Prime Minister, Mr. Gorton, announced today that, in
resp onse to requests from the States, the Commonwealth had agreed to
provide special revenue assistance totalling $ 13 million to be distributed
between the four Statec still being affected by drought. The Commonwealth
had also indicated that it would be prepared to support an increase of
$ 23 million in the approved Loan Council borrowing programmes for Ctate
semi-government authorities. The States would thus have access to
additional funds totalling $ 33 million in 1967-68.
The Prime Minister said that the additional grants this year to
the four drought-affected Ctates would help them at a time when drought
had affected their revenues. Through the procedures of the Grants
Commission, such assistance would also help the budgets of the other two
Statec of V'estern A ustralia and Tasmania. Mr. Corton pointed out that
this assistance was in addition to that being rovided to meet the full cost
of State expenditure on drought relief measures; co far the Commonwealth
had , provided over $ 44 million under these arrangements and by the end
of the current financial year it was expected that the total amount made
available would be in excess of $ 50 million.
The Prime Minister indicated that the special revenue assistance
of $ 13 million, which would take the form of a non-recurring grant, would
be distributed between the four States concerned in proportion to their
chs. res of the 1967-60 financial assistance grants under the grants formula.
These had not yet been finally determined but, on present estimates, would
provide the following amounts:-million
New South V. ales 5.1
Victoria 3.3
Queensland 2.4
South Australia 1.7
13. C
As regards the proposed increase in the Loan Council borrowing
prcgramme for semi-government authorities in 1967-68, the Prime
Minister said that the Commonwealth had offered to support an increase
of $ 20 million notwithstanding the large increase from $ 268 million to
$ 311 million approved at the June 1967 Loan Council meeting. Conditions
in the loan market ap. eared to make it possible to raise additional
amounts in the current financial year and, in these circumstances, the
Commonwealth had agreed that advantage could be teken of this situation
to enable State authorities to seek loan funds to carry out additional / 2
2.
programmes of work which could include such important areas as
electricity, water and cewerage and roads. The Commonwealth had
advised the States that as this additional borrowing authority had a
special character deriving from conditions in the current financial year,
the Commonwealth would not wish it to be taken ac forming part of the
bacis on which the cemi-government borrowing programmes for 196C-69
would be determined. The . tates had agreed to the proposed increase.
The Frime Minister went on to say that the Treasurer, as
Chairman of the Loan Council, had obtained the approval of the Loan
Council to the additional borrowing allocation of million being
distributed as follows:-million
New South ales 6.36
Victoria 7.15
Queensland 3.97
South Australia 1. C
V/ estern Australia 82
Tasmania G. 64
C1: Meb3 RR
9th February, 1968.