/ 62/ 080 For Press. 691.
FINANCE FOR STATES 1962/ 61
STATEMENT BY THE TREASURER RT. HON. HAROLD HOLT
The massive programme of works, housing and special
development projects agreed upon between the Commonwealth and
State Governments undertaken in association with the improvement
already appearing in production and employment should help to
ensure a high level of economic activity throughout 1962/ 63.
The amount of funds being provided for State Governments is œ 14
million greater than the high total to which provision for these
functions w. s lifted by the measures of last February.
The ordinary State borrowing programmes for works and
housing next year will be œ 250 million against the œ 247.5 million
agreed in February for 1961/ 62, the non-repayable interest-free
grant of œ 12.5 million which we will make to the States next year
compares with a special œ 10 million grant made in February. We
have already notified approval for expenditure of approximately
œ 16 million on projects like the Mount Isa Railway, the Western
Australian Standard Gauge Railway, coal handling Port facilities
in New South Wales and Queensland and beef roads, on which
expenditure this year was under œ 7 million. Total provision
for these categories in 1962/ 63 is estimated to be œ 278 million as
as against œ 264 million in the current financial year.
But this is far from being the whole story. The
provision by the Commonwealth Government for roads is likely
to rise this year œ 4 million to œ 54 million. The approved
borrowing programme for semi-governmental authorities those
seeking to borrow œ 100,0O or more has been fixed at œ 105.15
:: illion. This is higher than the exceptionally high figure of
œ 104 million to which these programmes were raised, in three
successive steps during 1961/ 62. It is 20% greater than the
borrowing programmes of th-se authorities in 1960/ 61.
got the bonefit of 3ubstantial incrcoses in Commnn e1, t h
contributions to develo-onrnta! irojccts like the Munt Isa
Railwayo, beef roads and the Port of Gladstone. This is being
done for two rood reasons. One is the recognition that jicensland
offers very considerable potential for export devcelopm. nt. The
second is th!. at we bolieve that ther. is -encral public acceDptancce
on
of the neod to pushi/ rapidly with vworth-while development in ttke. a
northern pnrts of Australia. Takon with what the Coilmonw~ alth is
doing on those lines in the Northern Territory, nd in conjua. ction
with the State Goveorlnent in the Ylorth-w,-est of \ hst Austr;. ll if the
total programme is now assurring substn-tial di 2eusio4
Canberra 29th June, 1962.