BITTER DEBATE

Wairarapa Times-Age, 28 January 1943, Page 2

BITTER DEBATE

ON CONDUCT OF WAR OPENED IN AUSTRALIAN PARLIAMENT. MR. CURTIN CHALLENGES OPPOSITION. - (By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright) ! CANBERRA, January 27. ( Uproar broke out only a few minutes after the Prime Minister, Mr. Curtin, I opened the new session of Parliament I this afternoon. He opened the proceedings with a motion affirming Austra- , lia’s loyalty and determination to prosecute the war. Opposition members questioned the reason for the motion. Mr. Curtin replied with a speech described by the “Sydney Sun’s” political' correspondent as “inflammatory,” in which he threw out repeated challenges to the Opposition to overthrow his Government (which remains in office only by the support of Independent members). He declared that the state of the country was such that the Opposition should either overturn the Government/ or make Parliament workable. The Prime Minister’s motion was, “That this House declares (1) Australia’s indissoluable unity with the British Commonwealth of Nations, its unswerving loyally to the cause of the United Nations and its’ admiration for the heroic efforts of the Allied forces; (2) its pride in the achievements of. the Australian forces in all theatres and its intention to make provision for their reinstatement and advancement, and for the dependants of those who died or have been disabled as a consequence of the. war; and (3) its determination to use the whole of the manpower and material resources of the nation in order to ensure the maximum war effort necessary to bring about victory.” The debate on the motion which is stated to have been framed to give Parliament an opportunity for discussing Australia’s war effort is expected to be bitter and to last probably for two days. The Sydney “Telegraph” political correspondent says the Opposition endorses the first two sections of Mr. Cprtin’s motion but holds that Australia’s manpower and material resources are not being used in the best possible way and that drastic reforms are necessary.