A Duty Protest Campaign "Down Under."
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By Our Australian Correspondent.
ust at the time of writing, the v, hole community is very much exer riiid the appearance of a somewhat. revised tariff imposing duties on motor. In the past, chassis manufactured in the United Kingdom have been admitted to Australia duty free, whilst those the product of other lands have been subject to an ad valorem of 5 per rent. It is now proposed to levy a duty 10 per cent. on British chassis and 15 per cent. on Continental makes.
I linve more than once dealt with the '.:Ireat importance of improved transport in the Commonwealth of Australia, and, by the number of letters I have received reoently from English manufacturers statine that important representatives of their firms are about to visit or are now visiting the Commonwealth, I think that the good spade work done by Tea COMMERCIAL MOTOR in assisting trade has not been without effect. At the time of writing, protest meetings are 'being energetinitily organi zed.
From the fact that unassembled parts oi motorcars are to be admitted duty free. it is evident that the powers that be have some vague idea that by imposing this duty they will encourage the importation of motorcars in parts and their local erection. It is, of course, ludicirms to imagine for one moment that any manufacturer would consent to sell his car in pieces to he erected possibly by amateurs in Australia. He woo Id have to stand all the blame of any arsless ss8emb1111g. anti his reputation would suffer if the agent grows lax. As for nianufacturiug motorcars in Cue Commonwealth, at the present the idea is worthy of an in of a lunatic asylum. \Vs have neither the designers, managers, nor workmen to undertake the work ; capitalists cannot see their way to pay the necessary money to import them ; there is no machinery capable of turning motorcars out commercially, and, lastly, if all these things were present, there is not the market-nor is there likely to be for many years to come. I might also add one idea of my own, which is that motorcar building to European experience is one of those arts better left to temperate countries where it is possible for all those engaged mete easily to lead strenuous lives, Another aspect of this new tariff question, which vitally affects commercialvehicle users, is the tire question. Unciar the old tariff, solid tires paid a duty of 25 per cent. ad valorem; under the new one, they pay that or 1s. 6d. per lb, weight-whiciiever returns the higher rate of duty. Needles to say, the. latter is the higher, and the net result, from careful experiments which I have made, is that the rate of duty is increased approximately 150 per cent,, or from 25 per cent, to a little short of 70 per cent. Here, I am most strongly of opinion that the clause dealing with it has been framed by somebody who has never seen a motor lorry and has intended it to apply only to pneumatic tires. Of course, whether it will be realized in time, or the mistake admitted, is quite another matter, but, if it L4 not, the commercialvehicle industry in Australia, has received what must virtually prove to he its death blow. The tire question has always been a debatable one in Australia, where tires ‘'.ost something like 20 per cent, more than at home, and, on account of the climate and roads, wear less time. With such an increase in the price as that foreshadowed, it is impossible to think that users will be able to continue to run their vehicles commercially to any
large extent. In Australia, legislators are paid to legislate, and they do it-in
this way. When transport feels the effect and motors begin to diminish, the fact that all is not right may begin to dawn on somebody. I believe that the tariff is really aimed at private ears only, and at rich men.