industry. Chaired by Essington Lewis, the General Manager of BHP, the CMB was by the end of the war indirectly managing some of the largest manufacturing concerns in the country. The economic policies of the Labor government of John Curtin greatly stimulated the economy by increasing production and ending unemployment. Labor relations were good and strikes were avoided. A wide range of industries, including motor vehicles, metal processing, TCF (textiles, clothing and footwear) and chemicals, all benefitted from government contracts and regulations, but by 1943, a severe manpower shortage limited further industrial expansion. High profits, and the strict rationing of consumables led to a rapid increase in national savings and profits, which generated a surplus of domestic capital. To fund the war effort, in 1942, the Australian Government instituted the Uniform Taxation Act and removed the ability of the state governments to levy income tax. Higher taxation and successive bond drives meant that by 1945, the Australian Government had largely funded the war effort from domestic sources. In the immediate postwar period, Australia was able even to extend economic assistance to Britain, and the Curtin government could start planning for a comprehensive plan of postwar reconstruction. 1945-1972 Wartime measures and the expanded wartime economy provided the basis for rapid economic growth in the period after 1945. Postwar economic reconstruction was also aided by a policy of national development pursued by the Australian Labor Party (ALP), which formed the government from 1941 to 1949. That policy was in line with the general socialist ideals that the ALP held and were then widely supported within the broader labour movement. International conditions also favoured the policy as after the war Australia enjoyed favourable terms of trade and an increase in the amount of foreign (largely US) investment into the economy. However, it was assumed that the agricultural and mining sectors would be geared towards international markets, and manufacturing would serve the domestic "consumer" market. This continued into the 1950s and 1960s, and led government policy makers to implement import replacement strategies. During the war, Australia's international trade and investment position began to change. In 1944, Australia became a part of the Bretton Woods system, with major world currencies maintaining fixed exchange rates relative to each other and with the US dollar being pegged to gold. Australia maintained a fixed exchange rate which was effectively pegged to sterling until 1967. The exchange rate between