Wairarapa Times-Age THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 1943. POLITICAL NON=CO=OPERATION.

Wairarapa Times-Age, 30 September 1943, Page 2

Wairarapa Times-Age THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 30, 1943. POLITICAL NON=CO=OPERATION.

QN the day on which he announced that New Zealand troops had moved into a forward area in the Pacific, the Prime Minister (Mr Fraser) declared also that the Labour Government, for which he claimed a “definite, decisive and full mandate’’ from the people, -would carry out its programme for the war period and the post-war period “without any hindrance, even if it is proffered as help, by any person or party.” This is something more than a fiat and uncompromising rejection of the idea of making any attempt to form a National Government. It reads as a rejection, expressed as emphaticaly as it well could be, of any political co-operation whatever. There are grounds far removed from any question of party contention or pretension on which decided exception may be taken to the Prime Minister’s declaration. The first of these is that he has a duty, not only to his party and its supporters, but to the whole population of the Dominion—a duty he surely should be most anxious to carry out loyally and to the full. Had the people desired the Labour Government to take the stand now declared by its leader they would presumably have given it an overwhelming majority. Instead of doing that, however, they cut down appreciably the majority with which it went to the polls, and of the votes cast in last Saturday’s election, substantially more than half were cast against the Government. This surely should provide Mr Fraser and his colleagues with a reason rather for seeking co-operation than for refusing to have anything to do with it. In his article in the official organ of the Labour Party, the Prime Minister made denunciatory references to some of his political opponents. The reduction of his party majority was brought about, however, by the exercise by the electors of the Dominion of their democratic powers, and of this he has of course no right or reason to complain. In another part of his article Mr Fraser observed that “when our country was in danger from Japanese invasion, when full mobilisation was necessary, the Labour Party did everything possible to achieve national political unity in our war effort.” Having accused the National Party and its leader of smashing that unity, the Premier added that: “Today the situation is entirely different. The danger threatening our land has receded considerably.”

This is an oddly limited outlook. It is true that the danger of an invasion of our home territory by the Japanese has “receded considerably,” but the fate of New Zealand is and will continue to be completely at stake in this war until the forces of evil have been overcome finally and decisively and firm safeguards of future peace and security have been established. We are entering on what is probably the crucial phase of the war. The foremost leaders of the United Nations and their military advisers today are emphasising the dire results that would be invited by any weakening of the democratic war effort. The demand of these leaders is that the effort for victory shall not only be maintained unremittingly, but shall be extended and increased where that is possible. This evidently implies, amongst other things, that in every Allied country the universal aim should be to still or set aside political contention and to concentrate undividedly on the things that matter most. It may be left to the people of the Dominion to decide for themselves whether the Prime Minister’s latest declaration of policy is appropriate in these circumstances. At any time now, as information stands, our fighting-forces may be engaged in a full tide, of battle in the Pacific and somewhere in the European theatre as well. Are our political representatives simultaneously to be locked in the grim ferocity of party conflict?