TURN FOR WORSE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 19 October 1940, Page 7

TURN FOR WORSE

IN FEDERAL POLITICAL DEADLOCK MESSRS BEASLEY AND CURTIN AT ODDS. REFUSAL OF UNQUALIFIED SUPPORT. (By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright i (Received This Day, 9.5 am..) SYDNEY. This Day. The Federal political deadlock has taken a turn for the worse as a result of a dispute between the Official Opposition Labour Leader, Mr Curtin, and the Non-Com-munist Labour Leader, Mr Beasley. The latter, on his return to Sydney, issued a statement saying that his group had refused, at the unity talks at Canberra, to give a pro< mise of unqualified support to the future decisions of Mr Curtin’s party. “We did claim that if we were to accept responsibility for a Labour Cabinet’s decisions, we must take part in them," Mr Beasley said. "Our attitude was not a bar to a Labour Government being formed, because Mr Curtin admitted that he could not command sufficient support from other parties to form a Government.” Mr Curtin, replying, declared that Mr Beasley’s statement revealed the real nature of the Beasley Group, whose total number' in both Houses was six, compared with Official Labour’s 46, elected by workers all over Australia, and not merely in New South Wales. Mr Beasley was insisting that the 46 should take orders from his coterie of six, which was the very antithesis of representative government. Mr Curtin concluded that Mr Beasley was living up to his political record. “If he can’t be boss he will destroy.”