RETURN EXPECTED

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 253, 23 September 1940, Page 7

RETURN EXPECTED

MENZIES GOVERNMENT.

SMALL MAJORITY

(United Press Association —Copyright.) (Rec. 11 a.m.) SYDNEY, Sept. 23 On tlie latest returns the Herald expects that the Menzies Government will be returned with J b majority reduced from ten to eight. The Daily Telegraph says the latest count indicates that the Government is likely 1 to retain office with a majority of at least three seats.

The Herald gives the state of parties as:

United Australian Party ... 23 Country Party 14 Labour 30 Doubtful 7 Tne latest count increases the probability of the defeat of tlie Labour Leader (Mr J: Curtin) in Fremantle. Mr F. It. Lee is now only 34 votes behind. The blame for the reversal is attributed partly to over-confidence by Mr Curtin's immediate supporters and partly to Labour’s refusal to join the War Cabinet. Mr Menzies said the election must be ■ regarded as a clear mandate to prosecute the war witli the utmost vigour. '

Mr Curtin said the results suggested the Government had not had the conclusive testimony of public opinion. In view of his likely defeat he deputed Mr Forde, the Deputy-Leader, to speak on behalf of the Labour-' Party. The Telegraph’s Melbourne correspondent says fresh overtures to the Labour Party to form a National Government will be .made by Mr Menzies as a result of the elections. POSITION IN SENATE.

The Senate count is still too limited to make any accurate forecast. The Government may return its Senate candidates in every State, but New South Wales, which is the only. State in’ which Labour has a lead in the votes counted so far. It appears likely that three Labour senators will be returned. The New South Wales Government candidates are well ahead in all other States.

It is likely that Government candidates will be returned for all seats in these States. This would return 16 Senators supporting the Government and three suoporting Labour. The Senators who.did not retire,were: Labour ... ... 14 Government 3

The new Senate, therefore, is likely to be:—

Government 19 Labour 17 If, however, the Government loses its majority in the Senate the possibility of a' double dissolution iater arises. This problem will not have to be faced immediately because the retiring Senators will not complete their term until June 30 next.

There was a definite swing to Labour in New South Wales,, but this was not apparent in the other States. The outstanding feature of the polling was the reverse suffered by the “new blood” candidates who stood under t'he United Australia Party banner.

It appears that the Premier (Mr .It. G. Menzies) will secure an absolute majority in his electorate of Kooyong, but the Postmaster General (Mr H. V. Thorby) will probably iose his seat at Calare. The seats of all the other Ministers seem safe. Even Sir Frederick Stewart at Parramatta, who .washotlv opposed because of his administration of the Department of Supply, has a good majority.

MR STEVENS DEFEATED. The former Premier of New South AVales (Mr B. S. B. Stevens), who was hailed by the United Australia Party as the coming Federal Treasurer, failed badly against the sitting Labour member for the Lang electorate. Dr. Evatt, who resigned from the High Court bench, defeated the United Australia Party candidate in the Barton electorate by a comfortable figure.'

While there is a heavy swing to Labour in. New South Wales, this is offset by a mild swing to the Government in other States. At the present stage in aggregate Official Labour has secured the majority of the votes cast.

The total of the informal votes will be high.

NEW LABOUR GROUP FAILS

The newly-iormed New South AVales Labour Party made a poor showing. The Leader (Mr J. 11. • Hughes) came a bad last ot the three Labour candidates in t'iie Reid electorate. The seat will probably be won. by the sitting non-Comniunist Labour member, Mr Gander.

The former Minister of Customs (Mr Lawson) will probably be defeated in Macqilarrie by the official Labour candidate, Mr J. B. Chiffley. The Government’s desperate bid to regain Corio, which was won by Labour when Mr Casey went to America, failed. The former Davis Cup tennis player, Gerald Patterson, carried the Government’s banner, but his polling was not heavy. Labour expects to gain considerably from the soldier votes. Mr Beasley, leader of the Non-Communist Labour Party, has won \A 7 est Sydney. The Government lost Henty, a seat in Victoria, to an Independent, Mr E. Coles (Lord Mayor of Melbourne), but he is expected to support the Government. The seat was previously 'held by Sir Henry Gullett, who was killed in the Canberra air crash. Apparently Labour has retained only two of the four seats it held in. Tasmania. Darwin is likely to be retained by Colonel Bell, Speaker of the House. The Leader of the Country Party (Mr A. G. Cameron) has a substantial lead over the two other candidates in his electorate, Barker, in South Australia, where Labour has lost one seat to the Country Party. The sitting meml>ers are likely to retain the other South Australian seats.

Mr Er" S. Spooner, who. like Mr Stevens, resigned from the New South Wales Assembly and contested the Robertson electorate, has a good chance of displacing the sitting member, Mr Gardner. Both stood in the U.A.P. interests. The Federal Treasurer (Mr P. C. Snender) had a clear-cut win at AVarringah. v