"NO LONGER UNITED

Wairarapa Times-Age, 2 April 1943, Page 4

"NO LONGER UNITED

FEDERAL OPPOSITION IN AUSTRALIA SEVENTEEN MEMBERS FORM BREAKAWAY GROUP. ALL ROUND CRITICISM. (By Telegraph—Press Association—Copyright) ■■ (Received This Day. 1.10 p.m. ) CANBERRA. This Day. : The recent strife within the Federal -Parliamentary Opposition boiled over -when seventeen members of the Unitbed Australia Party formed a breakaway group. They announced that -'they would remain within the frametwork of the party, but were dissatisfied with its leadership and would refuse to attend Party meetings. t The members who have broken away 1 are calling themselves the National “Sblviee' Group; They include the leader of the Senate Opposition, Senator McLeay, and the former Prime Minister, Mr. R. G. Menzies, who was pre•viousiy defeated in an attempt to oust -the veteran politician, Mr. W. M. Hughes, from the Party leadership. ■■ A letter to. Mr. Hughes, signed by all the . breakaway members, said: “We, ■ the undersigned members of the Unit--ed Australia Party, feel it necessary to .record our grave anxiety at the recent 'drift of events. We draw attention to "the refusal of the Government to . create one Australian Army to render maximum service to the Allied cause; 'inadequate appreciation of the war ;; effort of Great Britain; the alarming rise in prices which the Government hs failing to control; the allocation of huge sums of new taxation to social services instead of to the war, the grave .incidence of coal strikes, wharf troubles and absenteeism; disorganisation in food and manpower; the reluctance of the Government to give service people adequate preference. In view of these grave developments we consider it is essential to reorganise the United Australia Party under new and vigorous leadership, but in order to avoid dissension we Intend to act within the party as a national service group.'’ Political observers believe that one of the purposes of the move is to return Mr. Menzies to some form of ■ political leadership. y ' ~~