Fair Dinkum, but Fair Enough?

When Prime Minister John G. Gorton recently toured northern Australia's coal, oil, iron and bauxite fields, the trip turned out to be less than a happy inspection. The assessments that the fields are among the world's richest new natural resources are fair dinkum. But at each stop, when Gorton asked his hosts about the Australian share in their projects, the answers were disheartening.

At the Queensland Alumina Ltd. operation, for instance, Australian ownership is less than 1%; the remainder is held by British, Canadian, U.S. and French companies in consortium. Mount Goldsworthy Mining Associates, which ships 4,000,000 tons of iron ore to Japan annually, is 8% Australian and 92% British and American. The only large project in which Australians hold a majority interest, Gorton was told, is the Mount Newman iron mines, where their share is 60%.

Visibly Vexed. Gorton flew back to Canberra visibly vexed and more determined to implement a policy that he calls "economic nationalism." Australians want foreign capital and investment. Indeed they desperately need it, since there has never been enough local money in a predominantly agricultural country to develop a large industrial capacity. Nonetheless, Gorton and his countrymen are distressed by the fact that foreign companies now have about $6 billion invested in Australia and own one quarter of all its commercial assets.

The invasion from outside has be come a political issue as well as an economic one. Deputy Prime Minister John McEwen, leader of the Country Party, holds that Australia year by year is "selling off a part of the farm." Gorton's Liberal government denies that, maintains that without such investment Australia would be like Mexico, Bolivia, Indonesia or the Congo, allowing stubborn national pride to strangle national interests. Still, the Liberals would like foreign investors to be less stubborn too. Gorton, who often takes an oar in one of the lifeboat teams that Aussies love, would like to see the same sort of teamwork in the economy. David Fairbairn, Minister for National Development, notes that many large companies, "particularly in oil and motor vehicles, have been established here for many years, making substantial profits from Australia's political stability and sound economic management." But, says Fairbairn, they have not made many moves to take in Australian investors, partners or managers. "This is not partnership," he says.

Marshaling Money. One way the government hopes to counter the problem is by increasing Australian capital available for new investments. It recently started the Australian Resources Development Bank, a semigovernmental institution that marshals local funds and directs them to new projects. In its biggest project so far, the resources bank helped the Australian backers of the Mount Newman iron mines raise development money. Now some federal officials would like to establish a similar organization that would borrow funds outside Australia on behalf of Australian investment. For his part, Gorton has so far not taken threatened legislative steps to provide for larger local investments. For the moment, the government is merely stressing strongly to outsiders that "some local participation both in ownership and management" would be "prudent and useful."

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