NEXT MONTH'S AUSTRALIAN ELECTIONS

Hawke's Bay Herald-Tribune, Issue 209, 20 September 1937, Page 4

NEXT MONTH'S AUSTRALIAN ELECTIONS

The coming month is to see two general elections held in • Australia. The earlier, which is dated for next Saturday week, will be for the House of Representatives of the State of Victoria. The other, which is to take place three weeks later, will be for the Federal House of Representatives of the • whole Commonwealth. While the Federal election will come in the ordinary course because the statutory term of the present House has expired, that for Victoria has been precipitated in advance by the present State Government purely as a matter of party tactics, for there the normal period does not run out until March next. It is for a like reason that the Victorian Premier, Mr Dunstan, has chosen a date that will obviously to a great extent clash, so far as his State is concerned, with that for the Federal House, which cannot be further postponed. In this he is breaking for the first time the "geritlemen's agreement" that State elections would be so arranged as not to interfere with the Federal. The present position in Victoria is certainly rather peculiar, When the last previous State election came to be held the Government in oflice was based on an actual coalition • between the United Australian Party, headed by the Premier Sir Stanley Argyle, and the Country Party led by Mr. Dunstan. These two parties went before the electors on the assumption that this combination would be maintained. In the result, however, the U.P.A., though still the biggest party group, lost a little in its numerical representation, . while the C.P, gained a little. In this Mr. Dunstan saw the chance of gaining the premiership for himself by deserting his leader and forming a new alliance between C-P- and • Labour members. With the aid of the Labour vote Sir Stanley Argyle was duly ousted from office and Mr. Dunstan installed as Premier, but with a Cabinet chosen entirely from his own party, Though there have been several threats of a rupture between him and the Labour Party, these conditions have been maintained ever since, the Government having, of course, to dance.a good deal to Labour's piping. This situation is, of couise, in complete contrast to that in the Federal Patiiaroent, where we have a coalition" government; corisfifuted from the United Australia and Country parties under the leadership of a U.P.A. Prime Minister, Mr. A. J.-Lyons. It is ttius a perfect anomaly that Mr. Dunstan, a State Country Party leader, has now to appeal 1 to the Victorian electors on the footing of an understanding with Labour, with the U.A.P. in opposition, while the Federal election 21 days later will presumably be contested on the basis of a continuance of the U.A.P. and C.P. coalition as against Labour in opposition. What effect the result of the Victorian election may have upon the voting in the Federal is a matter of some doubt, but it is sure to create some complications. Mr. Dunstan was rather hard put to it to find a pretext . . for. claiming a dissolution and a new election before its due . date. He, however, found it in the action of the State Legislatfve Council in rejecting for a second time a Constitution Reform Bill which had been twice passed by the House of Representatives. This, however, provided no really valid reason, since the defeat of this measure by the Upper House did not affect the Government' s competence to carry on the country's affairs. Moreover, it is to be noted that the coming- election will not alter the present personnel of the Legislative Council, which may thus be expected to make no change in its attitude towards the Constitution Reform Bill, whatever the outcome of the Lower House election may be. The present representation of the three parties in the Victorian Lower House is as follows : — United Australia Party 28 Country Party 20 Labour Party 17 It will be seen from one of to-day's messages that sitting members for no less than 20 of the 65 seats have been returned without opposition. Of these 11 belong to the Country Party, 4 to the United Australia Party and 5 to the Labour Party. This, on the face of it, would appear to give Mr Dunstan and his supporters a very favourable handiacp at the outset which it will probably be very diffrcult for the U.A.P. to overtake. However, it is said that there is a good deal of restiveness among adherents of the Country Party about being yorkechalong with the Labour Party, so that there is at least a possibility of a substantial turn-over with respeet to the contested seats.