Communists Pack up and Leave

Chronicle (Levin), 20 December 1949, Page 5

Communists Pack up and Leave

( N.Z.P.A. -

—Reuter.

CosvriQht) ,

SYDNEY, Dec. 19. Communist Party members spent the weekend carrying flies of documents, itooks and furniture from the partv 's ottices in Newcastie to a truck whicfi drove off in a westerly direction. About 2U men worked over an hour loading the truck. Cars were also used. The party headquarters occupy the entire floor of a city buililing to which the Communists have a private entrance. They have occupved the premises since the Federal Labour Government lifted the wartime ban imposed by the previous Menzies Govenrmetit. ' having held the tenancy through an agent during the ban. Miners Oust Reds Mr George Neilly, aged 33, descrih- . ed as a Labour Pactv sopporter and k ! vtgorous opponent of the Communists was elected president of the Nortbern Miners' Federation. He' is th6 youngest man ever to hold the position which became vacant when the former president (Mr W. Crook) stood for Federal Parliament. The Communists made a strong bid to capture the. position, but Mr Neilly beat the eandidate they sup- : ported (Mr J. Comerf ord) by a wide margin. Mr Neilly was almost unknown until the winter coal strike when he led the rank and file movement at Kurrx against the Communist strike leaders. He later campaigned throughout the coalfields, charging the Communists. with leading the miners into a politieal strike w-ithout justiflcation. Anti-Coin-, munists now hold all the positions on the miners' exeeutive and a majority of nine to two on the Northern Miners' Managament Board. The Northern Fed- ■ eration includcs 12,000 of 11,000 miners in the Australian Federation and produces 80 jrnr cent of the coal output.