SENATE VOTE

Press, Volume LXXXVII, Issue 26409, 1 May 1951, Page 7

SENATE VOTE

Government Win Possible (Rec. 10 p.m.) SYDNEY. April 30. The second day’s counting of returns in the Federal General Election has brought some changes in the first day’s figures. The Government’s chances of gaining a majority in the Senate are now much enhanced, and it appears that the Government has now lost only three seats in the House of Representatives. Seven seats are still doubtful. In the old House of Representatives the state of the parties was: Liberal 55, Country Party 19, Labour 47. The probable state of th? parties in the new Government, omitting the doubtful seats, is: Liberal 49, Country Party 17, Labour 48. Some authorities believe that these figures are conservative and that there is a distinct possibility of the Liberal Party counter-balancing the losses by gains at the expense of Labour. Two seats which Labour may lose are Barton, where the Deputy-Leader of the Opposition (Dr. H. V. Evatt) it being closely pressed by the New Zealand-born Mrs Nancy Wake, and Perth where a Liberal, Mr B. Mr Snedden, is leading the sitting member, Mr T. P. Burke, by 273. The Sydney “Daily Telegraph” suggests that the final state of the parties in the new House may be: Liberal 56, Country Party 18, Labour 47. This would leave the Government majority exactly the same as in the old Parliament.

On the first day’s count in the Senate election it appeared that the swing towards Labour in Victoria had reached such proportions that Victoria would return six Labour Senators. This was believed to have cancelled out the Government swing in Queensland and to have made likely a deadlock in the Senate of 30 Labour and 30 Government members. The counting yesterday and last night, however, indicited that Labour hopes of securing six of the 10 seats in Victoria would be disappointed. The Government, on the other hand, h«s the prospect of winning six of the 10 seats in Queensland and West Australia.

The position under the proportional voting system for the Senate is that any party polling between 45.46 per cent, and 54.55 per cent, of the total State vqtA, is assured of five of the State’s 10 Senators. In Queensland Government parties are polling at the rate of 55.04 per cent

Proportions of Vote The proportion of the total formal vote which the parties have now gained in each State is as follows: New South Wales, Government 46.33 per cent., Labour 45.08 per cent.; 'Victoria, Government 46.03 per cent. Labour 52.11 per cent.; Queensland, Government 55.00 per cent. Labour 42.05 per cent.; South Australia, Government 47.09 per cent.. Labour 52.13 per cent.; Western Australia, Government 53.53 per cent., Labour 44.61 per cent.; Tasmania, Government 51.53 per cent., Labour 48.04 per cent. The voting in many seat* is extremely close. In New South Wales the most colourful contest is nearing a climax at Barton, where Dr. Evatt leads Mr* Wake by 232 votes, with 4276 vote* outstanding. When 700 postal vote* were counted yesterday, Mrs Wake gained 225 on Dr. Evatt. In Eden, Monaro, the overn'ght majority of the Labour member, Mr A. Fraser, has been reduced, but he stiU has a lead of F 93 with about 0000 votes to be counted.

Gwydir has passed from being * doubtful seat to a Country Party gain. The member, Mr T. J. Treloar, who bed a deficit of 963 on Saturday night, now has a lead of 1084.

Hume, regarded as a certain Labour Sain, is now being watched hopefully y the Country Party. The sitting member, Mr G. C. Anderson, V.C., was 1309 behind the Labour candidate, Mr A. N. Fuller, on Saturday, but last night the deficit had been reduced to 688. with about 6000 votes to be counted.

In Lawson, where the Country Party member, Mr L. J. Failes, trailed the Labour candidate on Saturday, he now has a lead of 118. | Kingsford-Smith is still regarded a* a probable Labour win, but the Labour candidate, Mr C Anderson, is only 517 ahead.

Victoria:! voting still reflects a slight Labour swing, but votes from the remoter districts are assisting several Labour candidates. Mr R. Joshua and Mr P. J. Cleary appear to have carried Ballarat and Bendigo respectively for Labour, but in Corio the grip of the former Labour Minister M r J. Dedman, has been loosened. On Saturday this seat vzas regarded as lost to the Liberals, but counting yesterday reduced Mr Dedman's lead from 15'0 to one. with some votes still to be counted. At the last election Mr Hubert Opperman won the seat by 235 votes. In Wannon, the lead of the Labour candidate. Mr D. McLeod, has been reduced from 1183 to 885, with only 4000 votes to go A Labour vin is still regarded as likely. Queensland has three clcs ly-con-tested seats. In Capricofnlw. the Labour candidate, M- H S. Gardiner, is leading the Liberal member, Mr H. G. Pearce, by 379 votes, but there are about 12,000 to be counted. In Leichhardt the Country Party member is behind, but there are still 16,000 votes to go. The Maranoa seat may gj to Labour if the preference* drift. In South Australia, the Liberal member for Kingston (Mr H. H. Hsndby) appear* to have lost to the Labour candidate, Mr P. Galvin. The Wert Australian seat of Perth may fall to the Liberals. The Labour member. Mr T. P. Burke, is now trailing the Liberal, Mr B M. Sneddon, by 273 votes, with 4006 to be counted. In Darwin tTasmania), the Liberal candidate, Mr A. W. Luck, is still below the combined total* of his two Labour opponents, but the deficit has shrunk to 100, and his success is considered likely.