WEAK PARTIES

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIV, Issue 82, 7 April 1943, Page 5

WEAK PARTIES

FEDERAL POLITICS , WARTIME COMPROMISES (0.C.) SYDNEY, March 30. But for the overriding necessity of the war effort, it is probable that ' both the Government and Opposition : parties in the Federal field would fly ' to pieces. Although in a minority of two in the Senate, and dependent for its bare majority in the House of Representatives on the vote of two IndependenjjS, the Government has succeeded in diverting to the war effort the resources represented by almost half Australia's national income. In doing this it has had, of course, to interfere drastically with trade and industry and the private lives of citizens. One would think that everyone would appreciate that such interference is vastly better than, becoming the slaves of Japanese militarists, but there are always some people too shortsighted or too selfish to realise it. It is, perhaps, less surprising that the Government should have made enemies in business circles than that there should be among its own supporters some who, feeling the pressure of prices that are rising faster than wages despite price control and of unprecedented heavy taxation which now takes in people who earn as little as £2 per week, and annoyed by the growing scarcity of disappearance of many common necessities, are falling for the propaganda of the Langites, who do not hesitate to put their own private schemes ahead of the peril to their country. The chief L.angite spokesman in Parliament is a Victorian member, Mr. Calwell. He has been attacking the Government so frequently that in caucus the other day Mr. Curtin threatened to resign, walked out of the room and would not return until Mr. Calwell had sent him a letter of apology. Mr. Fadden's Troubles But the Opposition is not a much happier family. In Parliament last week the Opposition Leader, Mr. Fadden, publicly rebuked some of his followers for not supporting the national war effort as Mr. Curtin had done when he was in opposition. In caucus, Mr. Fadden also rebuked certain Senate Opposition members who have been showing a tendency to run their own show. He said that either he was leader or he was not, but if he was they must pay some attention to him. After two unsuccessful attempts on previous bills, Opposition Senators succeeded in defeating the Government on the Repatriation Bill. In their first attempt they forced the Government to compromise on a minor issue connected with the Income Tax Bill. In their second effort they sought to increase soldiers' pensions by 50 per cent, instead of the 20 per cent which the Government proposed but failed by one vote. Many Opposition members in the House of Representatives had already voted against the 50 per cent plan on the ground that 20 per cent was a reasonable and practicable increase—to which it might be added that when in office the Opposition never showed any signs of anxiety about soldiers' pay or pensions. The Opposition Senators, however, succeeded in carrying an amendment to the Repatriation Bill for straightout preference to public service employment for soldiers, and the Labour caucus to-morrow will have to decide what it is . going to do about it. Hughes and Menzies The issue, of course, is not as simple as the Senate Opposition has represented it to be, not only because there are many civilians working in operational areas, but because in this war the manpower authority says whether a civilian may become a soldier or not, and, if he may not, what work he must perform. To meet this new situation the Government, in 'a last minute attempt to prevent the Senate amendment, Introduced in the House of Representatives its own preference bill to allow for these new factors. But the Senate Opposition carried its amendment and seems to think that it has found what would be a good election catch cry. This may be doubted, and in any case it is not likely that the Government will allow itself to be forced into an election on this particular issue. Finally, the Opposition has its own split within its own ranks, as represented by the unsuccessful effort of the Menzies' followers to have him appointed Leader of the U.A.P. instead of Mr. Hughes, thus preparing the way for Mr. Menzies again to become Opposition Leader. The Menzies' supporters said that Mr. Hughes, at 78, was too old to give effective leadership, but Mr. Hughes, knowing well that even at 78 he still has far more public appeal than any other leader the Opposition could produce, just sat back and waited for the vote which, as expected, was in his favour.