GOVERNMENT LEADS.

Manawatu Standard, Volume LX, Issue 254, 24 September 1940, Page 7

GOVERNMENT LEADS.

AUSTRALIAN ELECTION. FIVE DOUBTFUL SEATS. (Rec. 11.55 a.m.) SYDNEY, Sept. 24. The latest figures in the Federal election indicate the state of parties to be as follows : j Government ... 39 ; Labour ... 30 i Doubtful 5 J Labour may win all five of the 1 doubttul seats. ! At tiic present stage of the count- > ing the Prime Minister (Mr R. G. ! Aleuzies) lias gained the. largest indivi- i dual vote in the whole of Australia. The counting of the Senate - votes lias improved' tho Government’s position in all States, and a win for the Ministerial parties in every State except New,, South Wales is still expected.. The percentage of informal votes is very high. There are nearly 250,000 informal votes in the Senate returns for all States, excluding Western Australia.

The Prime Minister regards the election results as a clear mandate for the prosecution of the war with the utmost vigour. He declares that the setback to the Government in New South Wales alone could be attributed to sections of the Sydney Press which, while not actually advocating a Labour Government, had constantly decried the Government’s war effort and attacked individual Ministers. Mr Menzies said that had New South Wales been in line with the other States, there would have been a landslide in favour of the Government. “I expect the position in both Houses to be the. same as before,” he said. “We had been told it was impossible to win in the Senate election in five States, but it looks as though we have. 1 am not surprised at the New South Wales vote, where local issues and influences swung against us. My vote immy own electorate, Kooyong, is the greatest encouragement I have ever had in politics.” Mr Menzies declined to comment on the prospects of forming a National Government or a reconstruction of the Ministry.

NOTES ON CANDIDATES.

The official Labour' candidate (Mr S. M. Falstein). who appears to have won the Watson seat from the Government candidate (Mr Jennings), is a practising barrister. He visited New Zealand some years ago and participated in election campaigns there on behalf of Labour. He was on relief work ahd obtained employment on the Auckland wharves. , , Mr F. It. Lee, who is reported to be defeating Mr J. Curtin (Federal Labour Leader) in Fremantle, is a former journalist of Western Australia and a fluent speaker with unusual organising ability. At present lie represents London mining interests in Australia. The Fremantle seat has occasionally been held by a non-Labour re* presentative. Political circles in Perth report that should Mr Curtin be defeated in Fremantle, which is declared to be inevitable. Air A. E. Green, who is lmiljhealth, is prepared to resign the Haigoorlie seat in Air Curtin’s favour. Air Green is the only member of the last Parliament who was not opposed in Saturday’s election.