Communications and transit > Enquiry on national public works

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III. Methods of Finance.
Commonwealth works generally are financed from parliamentary appropriations
from revenue or from Commonwealth loan funds. . . .
The Commonwealth Bank and the Australian Broadcasting Commission finance
works undertaken on their behalf. . , , ,
Federal Aid Roads are financed from Customs and excise revenue on petrol, etc.
IV.
Bv reason of the wide diversity in character of the works undertaken, and of their
distribution between country and metropolitan areas throughout the Commonwealth,
and owing to the fact that they have been carried out mainly by contract, it is not possible
to estimate the allocation of expenditure between labour, wages and miscellaneous social
expen^mre^ I'Tmi^t be stated, however, that practically the whole of the expenditure
on material benefits local industry.
V.
It is difficult to gauge the effect of the Public Works programme on the resumption
of economic activities. The works, being mainly for postal, defence and bank purposes,
are of economic value only as providing a certain amount of employment m their construc¬
tion The postal and bank works provide public facilities and, as such, are of econo
importance, and the sharp upward swing in the postal building programme would certain y
be indicative of the resumption of economic and industrial activities.
\s to the effect on unemployment, the works programme is too widely distributed,
and moreover mostly carried out by contract, to enable a close study of the position
to be madT The nature of the work is such that the skilled tradesmen receive most
benefit as against the masses of the unskilled unemployed.
Commonweaeth Raieways.
The large railway works completed since I929 are as ^0^0WS *
1 Construction of the railway from Oodnadatta to Alice Springs, 293 miles,
onened for traffic on August 2nd, i929- This railway was built by contract
The completed cost (includfng additions and betterments since the hnew^ opened)
to June 30th, 1934, is £1,715,963 (loan £1,714,5441 revenue £1,419)- See Oodnadatta
to Alice Springs Railway Act, 1926. .
2 Construction of the railway from Emungalan (Katherine River) to Fndum,
117 miles- opened for traffic on September 4th, 1929. This railway was built un
thl day-labour system. The completed cost Northern
since the line was opened) to June 30th, 1934, is £1,146,170 (ah loan), bee JNortnern
Territory Railway Extension Act, 1923.
2 Construction of the railway from Kyogle to South Brisbane, and rebuilding
and strengthening the railway from Grafton to Kyogle; distance: new construction,
ormiles rebuilding and strengthening, 84 miles. Opened for traffic on Sep¬
tember 27th 1930. Portion built under contract and portion under day-labour
system. Completed cost, £4,362,074 (all loan). See Grafton to Kyogle and South
Brisbane Railway Act, 1924, also 1926, 1929, i93°-