PM Transcripts

NEW COMMIIONWEALTH CASH AND CONVERSION LOAN
Broadcast by the Prime Minister, the Rt,
Hon. Sir Robert Menzies
on 9th October, 1963.
Good Evening Ladies and Gentlemen
I am speaking to you in my capacity as Chairman of
the Australian Loan Council. I therefore speak on behalf of the
Commonwealth Government and also on behalf of the six State
Governments, all of whom, of course, have a direct interest in
the success of the new Commonwealth œ-60M cash loan and the
associated conversion loan which will open tomorrow.
Subscriptions to the cash loan will form part of the
1963-64 Loan Council borrowing programme of œ C27214. The largest
single portion of the year's borrowing programme will be spenlt by
the State housing authorities and building societies in providing
new homes for our rapidly expanding pcpulation. Some œ C5014 will
be spent in this way. An amount of the same order will be spent
on schools universities, and the like requirements for education,
The remainaer of the programme will be applied mainly to
hospitals, railways, extensions of town and country electricity,
gas and water supplies, irrigation schemes and sewerage and
drainage works. So you will see that most people have, directly
or indirectly, a stake in the success of the Loan Council programme,
I have been asking you to subscribe to the Loan because
you will thereby help to finance expansion of our economy, but
perhaps I could also point out that the securities offered in the
Loan represent a very sound investment for your savings. You can
obtain yields ranging from per cent, on long-term
securities to about œ E4.6.0 per cent, on medium-term securities
and œ 3.16.6 per cent, on short-term securities. In addition, if
you are a taxpayer9 you will have the advantage of a tax rebate
of in the œ C which of course greatly improves the net yield
from your securities, You may also happen to be one of nearly 100,000 holders
of the œ 144-M 39" per cent. securities which mature next Tuesday.
In that case, you inre invited to convert into the some securities
as we are issuing in the cash loan. I hope you will do this
because in an important sense, conversions are no different from
loan subscriptions. If instead of converting, you redeem your
securities the money paid to you will have to be found by your
Commonwealth or State Governments from their own resources which
are, of course, those of the people, including you.
I would like also to mention the advantages offered
by Special Bonds which are continuously on offer. We devised
these a few years ago, They are specially designed for comparatively
small investors. They give very good returns and they
can be cashed in full at short notice from next April onwards,
For these several reasons, I hope that we will have your support
for the Loan, whether as a cash subscriber or as a converter
of existing securities, This is, I repeat, very much a community
enterprise and one in which your interests both as citizens and
as individuals march together.