BRIEF CAMPAIGN

Wairarapa Times-Age, 15 February 1940, Page 7

BRIEF CAMPAIGN

THE VICTORIAN ELECTION PREMIER & HIS PROBLEMS. ATTITUDE OF OTHER PARTIES. By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright. MELBOURNE, February 14. The dissolution of the State Parliament granted by the Governor, Sir Winston Dugan, at the request of the Premier, Mr Dunstan, is unique in Victorian political history in that the Government was not threatened on the floor of Parliament, where it had a working majority with the support of the Labour Party and was never endangered. Only four at most of the members of the Parliamentary Country Party are supporters of the coterie in the party's Central Council, which de-1 manded the right to dominate the Ministry’s actions. With the election on March 16 the campaign will be swift. The Premier will give his policy speech at Bendigo on February 26. Mr Dunstan said today that his war policy would be full support for the Commonwealth Government's efforts. Though Mr Dunstan has not yet said so, the main issue will be the Government's right to resist control by organisations outside Parliament. Mr Dunstan has been in office nearly five years. A large section of the Central Council of the Country Party is strongly behind him and deplores the breach caused by persons within the party ranks. . Labour is unlikely to oppose any of the sitting Country Party members. The United Australia Party regards the election as entirely unnecessary. The Leader. Sir Stanley Argyle, said the use of the Parliamentary machine to setle an internal faction squabble was unpardonable,