LABOUR PARTY

Press, Volume LXXVII, Issue 23301, 10 April 1941, Page 6

LABOUR PARTY

Annual Conference Next * Week (P.S.S.) WELLINGTON. April 9. A wide range of current questions will come before the twenty-fifth annual conference of the New Zealand Labour Party, which will be opened by the president, Mr J. Roberts, in the Town Hall, Wellington, on Monday morning. No fewer than 1023 remits were forwarded by branches for consideration by the conference; but to facilitate'the handling of them they have been grouped under 59 headings. The proceedings, which will not be open to the press, are expected to last until Thursday. _ On Monday the reports of the president and the national executive will be read to the conference, and it is possible that the Prime Minister (the Rt. Hon. P. Fraser) will address the delegates, of whom there will be more than 500. This will be the first occasion on which Mr Fraser will address this conference as Prime Minister. On Tuesday evening a social is to be tendered the Prime Minister in the Town Hall. . . Particular interest attaches to the contests for offices at this conference. All of them will be decided on the preferential voting system. Inaddition to the present national president there are two contestants, Dr. D. G. McMillan, M.P., and Mr A. S. Richards, M.P. , Dr, McMillan at present holds the office of vice-president, for which he is again nominated. There are also the following 12 other contestants for this position:—Messrs C. Carr, M.P., C. W. Boswell, M.P., H. E. Combs, M.P., D. W. Coleman, M.P., J. O. Johnson, L. G. Lowry, M.P., R. Macdonald, the Hon. A. H. Nordmeyer, M.P., Messrs J, O’Brien, M.P., A. S. Richards, M.P., James Roberts, and J. Robertson, M.P. There is particularly keen competition for the five positions on the central executive, the nominations totalling 35. The present members are the Hbn. T. Brindle, M.L.C., P. Dowse, R. Eddy, Mrs M. Semple, and the Hon. D. Wilson, M.L.C., all >of whom have been nominated again. The (other contestants are Messrs F. C, Allerbey, K. Baxter, J. Blewman, H. Burrell, E. Canham; C. H. Chapman, M.P., J. G. Churchill, J. H. Collins, H. E. Combs, M.P., A. W.' Croskery, A. M. Edwards, G. Farrow, P. A. Hansen, Mrs Ethel Harris, Mr C. J. Hay. Mrs M. Hayman, Messrs R. Holland, J. 0. Johnson, E. H. Langford, R. McKeen, M.P., F, G. Molesworth, Mrs D. Palmer, Mr A. Parlane, Mrs B. Reid, Messrs J. Roberts, A. Shearer, J. A. Stead, Mrs C. Stewart, M.P., Mr S. Thompson, and Mrs G. Unsworth. The national secretary, Mr M. Mpohan, has again been nominated, along with Messrs W. L. Robertson and J. A. Stead.