The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 1928. FEDERAL POLITICS.

Hokitika Guardian, 22 November 1928, Page 4

The Guardian And Evening Star, with which is incorporated the West Coast Times. THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 1928. FEDERAL POLITICS.

Thk Commonwealth of Australia, like the Dominion of New Zealand has had its unsettling period due to the progress of the Parliamentary elections. The reigning or anti-Labour Government retains office, but its large majority of three years has been reduced. The cause of this according to an Australian paper, is not hard to account lor—the indifference of the electors—end the cable news this week confirmed that view. A telegram, published on Monday said that Saturday’s General Election will go down in history as about Hie quietest on record. Labour voters appeared to turn out well, but it appeared that tlicr were many hundreds of anti-Labour defaulters, who looked upon the return of the BruccPage Government as a foregone conclusion, and who later will officially lie asked for an explanation of their remissness, for voting is compulsory in Australia. According to the Melbourne “Age ’ the reason for the apathy bad another side to that mentioned in the cable: “The community lias been over-governed, over-taxed, and over legislated, and the electors have become tired of politicians and their promises,” says that journal. This is a bad sign, for when a community loses faith in its legislators and is inclined to lose faith in the Parliamentary machine, we have some of the ingredients of which revolutions are made. Not that Australia is within miles of that sort of tiling but nothing is worse for a people than to fall into a state of apathy over the choice of its legislators. People are governed just as well as they deserve, and until every elector takes bis vote seriously a country will never get good, stable government. Over in Australia the Labour movement is a much more important factor in Parliament than it is in New Zealand, and without taking sides, one must admit that when it got into power it did not come up to expectations. Tt is only the other day that New South Wales electors thrust the Lang Government out after a deplorable reign, and now the Victorian Labour Governmet lias been overthrown owing to its inability or unwillingness to deal with the maritime strike, which led to bloodshed at Melbourne. In Tasmania, the Labour Go-

verumcnt was defeated last June. Queensland and Western Australia both have Labour Govermncns. at the present, time. In the Federal Parliament Mr S. M. Bruce, the head of the Nationalists, has lor the past six years been carrying on with the assistance of Dr Earle Page, the head of the Country Party. This Country Party, a though it returns few members to the Federal House, holds the balance of power lvetween Labour and Nationalists, and was able to force the Nationalists to include Country Party memuers in the Cabinet. It is this Bruce-Page Government which has steered Australia hrough the past six troubled years. Although even its friends admit that Government has made mistakes there is a pretty general feeling throughout Australia that there is no one other than Air Bruce who would be trusted by the bulk of the people to take charge of affairs. The only alternative to the Bruce-Page combination is the Labour Party. “On the other side,*' says the “Age,” “is a party which nas—reluctantly, perhaps, but del.heratelv—adopted methods akin to those of Russia. The dropping of Mr 'Charlton was symbolical of the change that ban; come over the Labour party, ano the rise of Mr Theodore—despite the fact that he holds no official rank in the Parliamentary Labour party—is significant of the power of the bosses. The bosses'decreed that Air Theodore should be given the Dailey seat, for which, according to the Royal O.unihi*sioner’s report. £6OOO was paid in the interests of Air Theodore, and given it he was. The utmost malignity could suggest nothing in Air Bruce’s Parliamentary career comparable with Air Theodore’s translation from State to Federal polities. The objective of the Labour party of Alessrs Scullin and Theodore follows Russia in the socialisation of industry, production, and exchange. And Australia’s experience in the waterfront during the past two months was a prelude to what a Labour Government would mean. .Strikes and the tving-up of .ships, bombs and bludgeons for men who dare to work; these •re things that Alessrs Scullin and Theodore dare not denounce, and which they must condone in their supporters.” 't i.s rather strange that the apathy ■omnlained of should Ik; so marked, ■•onsidering that the nation has had the recent example of another dislocating strike towards which the Labour political leaders were more or less personally sympfhetie. It appears to take a good deal to awaken the pditieal conscience in some eases, and the Brilisli phlegmatic ways often supplies examples of the error of such indifference in the highly important matter of local and general government.