LABOUR WINS.

Auckland Star, Volume LXIII, Issue 138, 13 June 1932, Page 7

LABOUR WINS.

QUEENSLAND VOTE.

SMALL MAJORITY.

Moore Government Loses Maßy

Constituencies

NEW FEDERAL PROBLEM. (United P.A.—Electric Telegraph—Copyright) (Received 1.30 p.m.) BRISBANE, this day. The Queensland State elections on Saturday resulted in the defeat of the Moore Government. When the counting ceased early this morning the state of parties was indicated as follows;— Labour ...... 31 Government ~ 28 Independent 1 Doubtful 2 One of the two doubtful, together with one Independent seat, is likely to be ranged against Labour. So the final h'gurcs will probably be: — Labour 32 Anti-Labour 30 . Lang Plan candidates who. contested the metropolitan seats, polled only 559 votes between them. The Government suffered a severe reverse in the metropolis, losing eight seats. It "did better in the country, but at least four seats changed over. All the doubtful seats are in the country. Neither the Queensland party, the Langists nor the Communists won a seat. ■ The figures reveal a pronounced swing against the Government, particularly in the metropolitan area, where in some cases the Nationalists' majorities completely vanished and others dwindled so perilously that the sitting members are not the least optimistic of their prospects of re-election. So far two Cabinet Ministers have been defeated, Mr. Neil MacGroarty, the Attorney-General, and Mr. ]£. A. Atherton, Minister of Mines. The Premier, Mr. A. E. Moore, however, is safe.

The Labour Leader, Mr. W. Forgan Smith, hae a substantial majority at Mackay. Labour so far has not lost a single seat.

Mrs. I. Longman, the first woman member in Queensland, was defeated.

A poll in one safe Government seat has been deferred owing to the death on the eve of the election of the Labour candidate.

The new Labour Government creates a new problem for the Commonwealth Government.

To have become a Cabinet Minister 10 years after landiiiK in a country as an immigrant is the proud achievement of Mr. W. Forgan Smith, Leader of the Labour party in Queensland. Mr. Smith is a Scotsman from Perth. As a youth he was a paperlmnger, and followed this trade until his early twenties, whtn he decided to see what future Australia held for him. He settled in Queensland, and Moon became so well known in the trade union movement that in three years' time he was elected to the Legislative Assembly. In another four years he became Minister of Works in the McCqrmick Labour Cabinet, and eventually Minister of Agriculture and Stock, and deputy-Premier. The Queensland Council of Agriculture, a body which acts as a central bureau for the marketing of export products, owew its existence very largely to Mr. Smith, who framed the legislation under which the meat, dairy produce and other control boards carry on their work. He k 45 years of age. Mr. Smith visited New Zealand in 1928.