§ Sir N. MOOREasked the Under-Secretary of State for Dominion Affairs whether he will state what progress has been made in regard to the proposal to settle some 8,000,000 acres of wheat land in the neighbourhood of Southern Cross, Western Australia; the conditions under which the land can be acquired by prospective settlers; the area it is proposed to allot to each individual settler; the contemplated total expenditure that would be incurred; and the respective contributions by this Government, the Commonwealth of Australia, and the State of Western Australia?
§ Mr. PONSONBYIn reply to the first part of the question, I understand that certain proposals put forward by the Western Australian Government for developing wheat-growing land in the neighbourhood of Southern Cross, Western Australia, are now under consideration by His Majesty's Government in the Commonwealth of Australia, but I have not yet received from the Commonwealth Government any recommendation in favour of any such scheme under the360W agreement between that Government and His Majesty's Government in the United Kingdom. In the absence of any such recommendation I am not in a position to reply to the rest of the hon. Member's question.