AUSTRALIAN ELECTION

Taranaki Daily News, 23 September 1940, Page 6

AUSTRALIAN ELECTION

The issue of the Australian eleetion is still in doubt. When counting of the votes ceased early yesterday morning Labour had won four and lost three seats. It is considered that Labour may win six i more seats and in that case would have c. majority of four over the combined United Australia and Country parties. But as the voting is on the preferential system the earlier calculations may be upset by later allocation of votes, a procedure which usually takes some days to complete. Individual results of considerable interest are the return of the Prime Minister, Mr. R. G. Menzies, whose seat was considered to be in danger, the win for Labour of the Barton seat by Dr. Evatt, who resigned from the High Court Bench to contest the eleetion, and to whom many Labour leaders are looking as a leader who will heal internal dissensions in the Labour party. Mr. B. S. B. Stevens, former Premier of New South Wales, who was considered to have a good chance of eleetion, has been defeated. One Minister, Mr. H. V. Thorby, PostmasterGeneral, and on occasions a severe critic of Mr. Menzies' leadership, is considered likely to lose his seat. * # # * In New South Wales a definite swing to Labour has been demonstrated. In the bther States there has been little change. Labour has lost two seats in Tasmania and the return of the leader, Mr. J. Curtin, for a West Australian constituency was not certain when the counting ceased on Saturday. A feature of the eleetion is the defeat of many new coalition candidates some of whom had undertaken to make considerable alterations in their parties' outlook and policy, particularly in internal administration. Apparently the party machines h- j functioned effectively and the independent candidates have been unable to overcome the influence of the. party organisations. This predominanoe of the "machine" causes sober reflection to many who believe wholeheartedly in Parliamentary government. They see in the voting for candidates merely because they are "on the party's ticket" a tendency to mediocrity in the calibre of representatives elected and to the discouragement of offers of public service by men well qualified to give it, who cannot, however, obtain endorsement by the party organisation. The results of the Australian eleetion so far as they are known contain little encouragement to independent candidates who are willing to spend time and money in rn eleetion campaign. # # # # The three chief political parties in Australia have all placed first on their policy programme the vigorous prosecution of the war. The retiring Ministry considered that this effort was the only policy to be adopted until victory has been won. The Labour party supplemented its war poli"y with a "social" programme to be introduced at once if the party gained office, and to be completed when the war ends. Whether the present Ministry is superseded by a Labour Government , pr not New Zealand is assured of the heartiest co-operation of Australia in the Dominion's war effort by whatever Ministry is in charge at Canberra. That is the only outcome of the Australian eleetion in which New Zealand is vitally interested. The eleetion is a domestic question for the Commonwealth to handle. Its result is still in doubt and it may yet be xound that Mr. Menzies' forecast was correct, namely, that the margin between the parties in the newly elected House of Representatives would be so small as to make imperative the formation of a nonparty National Ministry. Such a Ministry, he said, could best solve many administrative difficulties, and in his opinion would provide the only means by which Australia's war effort could reach and maintain its full strength and efficiency.