In recent years the periodic conferences of the Premiers of the various States and the Prime Ministe: of the Commonwealth have assumed increasing importance. These conferences are not part of the constitutional machinery of the nation, but afford an opportunity for discussion of matters of interest to the various Governments, At the last conference, held in Adelaide, the Premiers were confronted with issues of unusual dim culty. An adverse decision by the Privy Council has (as I explained last month) invalidated the Commonwealth's marketing regulations, and in Adelaide the Prime Minister sought the ce-operation of the State Governments in support of 'a referendum to amend. Section 92 of the Constitution. As this would increase the powers of the Commonwealth in other respects as well as enable it to control marketing effectively, the smaller Slates, always jealous of such encroachment, urged the Commonwealth to use Its excise powers to meet the diftculty.
Abuse of Excise Powers Possible Under this arrangement, the Commonwealth would Impose an excise duty on production, and distribute the proceeds in the form of @ bounty on exports. This, the Commonwealth claimed, would be an abuse of its excise powers. However, as the Commonwealth Is unwilling to: spon. sor a referendum without the un= animous approval of the States, the deadlock remains. The conference revealed only the irreconellabllity of the conflicting points of view, and in the middle of a somewhat acrimon!- ous debate the Premier of South Australia (Mr. Butler). walked out and rejected all overtures to return.
Although the States differed among themselves on the referendum Issue, they were in agreement in holt criticism of the Commonivealth's monopoly of several most profitable elds of taxation. In the matter of tax gathering the Commonwealth has been resourceful, and for several yeats it has been raising revenues beyond ite own requirements, and distributing its surplus between the States, This is widely condemned. Theorists maintain that the authority which sperds the money should also have to justify the tax that raises the revenue, but it must be admitted, the States are actuated by the more practical consideration that the pres: ent arrangement places them in the humiliating position of mendicants dependent' on the Commonwealth's munificcness.
Stir in the Navy White tls Prime Minister weathering the storm of State erititism and seeking an escape from the referendum impasse, the Minister for Defence (Sir Archdale Parkhill) has troubles of his own, His recent appeal for additional volunteers for the militia met with a response exceed-Ing all expectations, but Sir Arch-Gale's triumph was cut short by Sensational rumours of sabotage the Navy. During a visit to Brisbane the breech-blocks disappeared from Canberra, the flagship of the Austra-lion Squadron. On arrival at Bris: bane the police were called in to take fingerprints on the guns, and these are being checked with other Angerprints taken from the ratings' pay envelopes. So far as can be seertained the offenders have not been apprehended, but it has also been inclosed that the boat falls were cut during recent manceuvres on the same ship.
This is m traditional way of expressing a grievance in the Silent Service, and earlier fears that for eign agents might have instigated the acts of sabotage have been dimissed ug groundless, It is now. assumed that the rutings probably have some legitimate but unimportant grievance that can easily be remedied, though it-has been suggested in some quarters that 9 public enquiry may be desirable to clear the alr.
Text read from the printed page and cleaned; old type leaves the occasional error.