N.S.W. Labour Factions Fight for Control

Press, Volume XCII, Issue 27735, 12 August 1955, Page 11

N.S.W. Labour Factions Fight for Control

(Australian Correspondent N.Z.P.A.) (Rec. 8 p.m.) SYDNEY, August 11. The eyes of all political parties will be turned on Sydriey this week-end when a conference will decide which of two factions will control the New South Wales Labour machine. For all parties— Labour, Liberal and Communist —the conference will have great significance. The meeting which is causing so much interest is a conference of the New South Wales branch of the Australian Labour Party and it will decide the composition of the new State executive. In other words, it will decide whether the party in New South Wales will be controlled by the present pro - industrial group faction or a pro-Evatt and anti-group camp. Officially termed a “unity" conference, the meeting is the result of disunity in the Labour Party. The holding of the conference was ordered by Federal party officers, who earlier this year conducted an inquiry into the New South Wales executive to see if it was under the influence of the Catholic Action organisation, known as the Movement, as thb pro-Evatt “rebels” in the State alleged.

The Movement is alleged to work through the industrial groups, which have been in official disfavour with the Labour Party leaders since a conference of the Federal executive at Hobart early this year withdrew the party’s support from them. Political commentators are referring to the week-end conference as a “knock ’em down and drag ’em out affair’’ in which neither side will give quarter, knowing well that if it is vanquished it will get none. The conference is to be controlled by Federal party officials—an unusual procedure for a State conference. As a preliminary to the conference, Dr. Evatt's supporters staged a big raliy at the Sydney Town Hall last Sunday. It was thought the rally would do much to clarify the relative strengths of the opposing factions—but it did not. The meeting was well attended, but the Premier (Mr J. J. Cahill), all his Cabinet Ministers, most State Labour politicians and many prominent union leaders, were not on the platform. Mr Cahill told a caucus last week that he and his Cabinet would not attend the rally, but would abide by the decisions of the new executive. Both sides in the wrangle are now putting up a bold front and claiming that they have the numbers to rule the conference. But. both sides are nervous and nobody can be sure, for voting will be in secret so that

promises made now might mean little when the ballot papers are filled in. One thing is certain—that if the pro-Evatt faction wins, political heads will roll. One method of carrying out any “executions” would be a review of pre-selections for future elections. The Communist Party, naturally, has an interest in the conference because of the fate of the industrial groups which were formed to fight communism in the unions. The “Sydney Morning Herald” political correspondent says that the Communists are throwing everything they have and everything they know about political tactics, behind those who, for the moment, they regard as their allies against the industrial groupers who now have control. .He says that the conference could open the door to a complete and triumphal come-back by the Communists. * The Liberal Party, too, will watch with keen interest to see in what shape the Labour Party will come through its internecine strife.