WOOL MARKETING COMMITTEE OF ENQUIRY
Statement by the Prime Minister? Rt. Hon. R. G. Menzies.
Late last year L-announced that in view of the
importance of the wool. industry the Government had agreed to the
request of all the federal wool growing organisations that an-ejquiry
be arranged into -Australian wool marketing methods.
After mature consideration the Government has deqided
to appoint an independent Committee of Enquiry comprising a Chairman
aAn d two._ members. The Chairmanwill be Sir R. slyn Ph] i p Justice
of the Supreme Court of Queensland and the members will be Mr. A, M. C.
Buttfield, who recently retired from the position of General Manager
of the Australian Mutual Provident Society, Sydney and Mr. D. H. Merry;
B. Com., Chief Economist of the Australia and Now Zealand Bank,
Melbourne. The organisations all requested that the Chairman
should be a member of the Judiciary.
The Government will be guided by the Committee itself
as to whether it may perhaps be necessary or desirable at some stage
to formally retain consultants to assist the Committee in the conduct
of the enquiry. The terms of reference of the Committee of Enquipy will
be to enquire into the present systems of marketing and
of promoting the sale of the Australian wool clip and
matters relating thereto, and to report upon the
efficacy of these systems;
to report upon the merits of any other systems or of
modifications of the present systems which may be
advocated to the committee of enquiry or which the
committee itself considers would be of long-term
benefit to the woolgrowing industry and in the best
interests of the nation.
The Government considers that the terms of reference
of the Committee are sufficiently broad to provide for a full scale
enquiry into the problems of disposing of the Australian wool clip
to the best advantage. If it should transpire however that they
do not fully cover all matters of importance the Government will be
prepared to look at them again.
It is expected that the Committee of Enquiry will have
its first meeting early in February to consider the general arrangements
for the conduot of the enquiry and the procedures to be adopted,
including the taking of evidence.
In view of the great national importance of this enquiry,
having regard to the key role of wool in jur economy, I appeal to all
organisations and others concerned with the outcomie of the enquiry to
co-operate fully with the Comriittee in the complex and arduous task
ahead of it.
[Exact date unconfirmed]