WELLINGTON TOPICS

Hokitika Guardian, 12 August 1929, Page 3

WELLINGTON TOPICS

GOVERNMENT THREATENED

OPPOSITION VENTURE

(Special Correspondent.)

WELLINGTON, August 8

No doubt the notice given by the Right Hon. J.. G. Coates, the Leader of the Opposition, in the House ot .Representatives on Tuesday, to move an amendment in the Customs Bill reducing tiie proposed primary duty from two per, cent to one per cent is the . first fruit, of the discussions between the Reform leaders during the weekend recess. ~...1t. ~was, made obvious enough at\ the very beginning of the' debate upon the .Budget that the Opppsition had taken off the gloves to the Government and abandoned all notion of employing only the, soft pedal until Sir. Joseph Ward. and,, his colleagues had found their feet. The change of attack seems to have no 'terrors for the Prime Minister. He regards the whole position indeed with the utmost complacency. The fact that Mr H. E Holland, the leader of . : the Labour Party, was the .first to condemn the appearance of the primage.duty in the Budget does not perturb him at vail. He realises the strength of. the Labour Party- a,nd is content to await its expression. •“ -Whether or not the Opposition has taken a tactful step in challenging the financial . proposals of the Government so early in the debate remains to be seen. Mr Coates and his immediate advisers no doubt are more bent upon embarrassing the Labour . Party than they are upon immediately dislodging the United Party from the Treasury Benches. The result of:,their adventure, however, might be a dissolution of Parliament' and- another appeal to the elctors. This would be a development for which the Reformers are not yet fully prepared and ...with a good between -. (United and Labour, and with a defective system of election, they probably < would find themselves worse off than they are at the present time. There is, of course, no suggestion of a coalition between the United and the Labour Parties, but they both are definitely against Reform and having established a lead* of 182,000 votes at the general election in November it is scarcely likely that they would become a minority upon an early reference to the constituencies.

REFORM’S HAZARD

• The “ Dominion ” this morning dis- ' missing the position from the Opposi- ' tioii’s point of view does not hold out much prospect of’-the Reformers immediately supplanting the Uniteds on the Treasury Benches. “ The speech delivered by Mr Holland before the Freezing Workers’ Conference.recently,” it says, “ would appear to place a very definite obstacle in the way of his party ...supporting ;the Reform Party' on a noconfidence amendment. There Mr Holland made it clear that the Labour Party, would not vote with the Reform Party on such occasions. All this; bears out the interpretation placed upon it by the “ Dominion,” but at a caucus of the Labour Party held yesterday it was resolved that, the party would maintain its position in Parliament, entirely independent of other ■parties,, and. that it would . shape its policy as all the circumstances surrounding such situation would warrant.” The reservation that the party may shape iis policy ‘ 1 in accordance with surrounding circumstances” seems to leave Mr Holland and his followers free to place themselves beyond the meshes of the Reform net. THE KINGMAKER. The “Evening;Post/’,(discussing Mr Coates’ challenge to the Government, “ In the light of the amendment of which notice has been given by the Leader of the Opposition, and the statement made in the House by Mr Holland last Thursday,” it says, “ interest attaches to what Mr Holland said at a function at Greymouth last May. Following a remark by Mr J. O’Brien, Labour' M.P. for Westland, that the present Parliament would run its full term of three years, Mr Hol- ’ land said that he could not conceive :otf the Labour Party voting with the Coates Party on votes of no-confidence moved by Mr Coates, or vice versa, so that the tenure of Sir Joseph Ward’s Government was assured for the usual term of three years. He, as the Leader of the Labour Party in Parliament, was in the position of ‘kingmaker.’ ” This to, an extent is the ppsition; but Mr Holland is far too astute to.imagine that he can change from one iside to the other at his own sweet will. Nor is it his disposition.