COMMUNIST VOTE AT WOOMERA

Press, Volume LXXXIX, Issue 26987, 12 March 1953, Page 9

COMMUNIST VOTE AT WOOMERA

Reinvestigation Of AH Workers

(Rec. 10 p.m.) CANBERRA, March 11. Every worker on the Woomera rocket range will be reinvestigated for Communist affiliations as the result of the Communist vote of more than 100 in the South Australian elections at the range, which is Australia’s most closely-policed zone. But the authorities believe that the check will be merely formal, as every worker on the range has been checked from childhood onwards on his political affiliations. Their belief is that the heavy Communist vote was from persons who are not Communists, but had personal grudges against the Labour candidate, or from Liberals who refused to vote Labour and voted Communist. The Liberal Party did not contest the seat.

In the House of Representatives tonight the Minister of Supply (Mr H. Beale) said it had been ascertained that some people who voted for the Communist candidate thought they were voting for a Liberal-Country Party candidate. He said neither party had campaigned in Woomera. The Communist candidate never was there and the election was very apathetic.

Mr Beale said he felt no anxiety about the matter, but. as it was better to be sure, he had given instructions for an immediate examination to be made on the spot to see if tighter security arrangements could be made. A Federal Labour member said he did not believe there was a Communist at Woomera, and if there were any Communists they would not be so stupid as to call attention to themselves by voting for the Communist candidate.

Mr E. F. Johnson, the Communist candidate for the Stuart electorate, in which the Woomera rocket range is situated, polled 80 votes in Woomera village and 27 in Woomera construction camp in the elections, which were held last Saturday. The only other candidate was the sitting Labour member, Mr L. G. Riches, who polled 259 and 171 votes respectively in those areas.

Woomera village, set up by the Government as. the main housing establishment for range emnloyees. has a population of about 1700. The construction camp, about 20 miles distant, houses 700 men working on specific projects It is near the technical area —the “nerve centre” of the range, where the workshons. main assembly plants, and aircraft hangars are. No person may enter the village without a permit and only authorised persons who have been thoroughly screened are permitted on to the range.