Political Labour Conference.

Taranaki Daily News, Volume XLVII, Issue 7733, 8 February 1905, Page 3

Political Labour Conference.

Australia's Fighting Platform. (Received Feb. 7, 9.22 p.m.) 1 SYDNEY, Feb. 7. The) Political Labour Conference adopted a fighting platform comprising the following planks : —Economic government, including the abolition. of Legislative Councils, State Governorships, ; closer settlement, resumption to be at owners' valuation for taxation purposes, plus ten per cent. ; cessation of Crown land sales; thefamalgamation of existing savings banks and advances to settlers boards into a State bank ; water conservation and irrigation ; free education r progressive land value tax: full civil rights to Federal and State municipal , employees ; local government ? cessation of borrowing, except for redemption of debts and completion of works already authorised, and undertakings which pay interest from the beginning and provide one per cent, sinking fund. The conference carried general resolutions urging the establishment of State sugar mills, and that not less than 900 Square miles be allocated to the Commonwealth Government for a Federal site, All other proposals dealing with > Federal matters have been remitted to a conference of inter-State politicians and trade unions delegates in Juiie next. They are:—The abolishment of indirect methods of raising Federal revenue by taxing food and clothing, and the substitulng of a tax on the unimproved value of land : that antagonism to the importation of alien foreign productions and a high protective tariff be one of the fighting planks of the Federal and State Labour pasties at the next elections ; that there be heavy tariff on all goods which can be manufactured in the CominonAvealth ; thai the whole Australian shipping trade ho manned and owned b.V Australians or Britons only; a clause to be inserted in the Navigation Act to compel owners to insure the lives of their crew ; the establishment of a Federal national i»nk ; and that all manes in Australia be controlled by directors within the Commonwealth.