Menzies Appeals To Watersiders

Press, Volume XCIII, Issue 27874, 24 January 1956, Page 13

Menzies Appeals To Watersiders

(Rec. 12.10 a.m.) CANBERRA, Jan. 23. Mr Menzies appealed to the waterside workers tonight to settle the nationwide strike by the “independent judgment” of the Arbitration Court. He said the strike would have “evil consequences” for the Australian economy and added: “If the strike is prolonged, those conse>quences can be disastrous for our balance of trade and our overseas reserves.” Mr Menzies, in his first statement since the strike began, warned that if the dispute continued “its character as a dispute between the Arbitration Court and direct action” the Government would quite plainly find itself involved in a struggle. The Government would be required to take whatever steps within its power to uphold the principle of arbitration. “In a strike of this magnitude, the consequences and destructive power are out of proportion to any gains that can possibly accrue to the waterside workers when the stride ends, as it inevitably will,” he said. “As the leader of a democratic Government, I do not feel, nor do my colleagues, that punitive action should have first priority. On the contrary, believing as we do in the good sense and responsibility of the Australians directly or indirectly concerned in this dispute, we believe and expect that a simple statement of the material facts will restore sanity of judgment and lead to a termination of this utterly useless dispute.” Mr Menzies said he did not propose to say or do anything “at this stage” which would impede a settlement of the dispute or prevent the “characteristic good sense of the Australian people” from having its prompt and inevitable effect. But he said that if the strike went on even for a few weeks, it would inevitably produce mass unemployment in many industries.

In Sydney, more than 5000 waterside workers today attended a meeting at the Leichhardt Stadium and unanimously endorsed the strike action. They decided to picket all wharves. Pickets took up their duties during the afternoon. In Melbourne, uniformed police are stationed in the editorial corridors of the “Herald and Weekly Times”

after an “invasion” of the building earlier today by striking waterside workers. The men left the building after a group of six of their leaders had talked for half an hour with newspaper executives. The group called on more than 250 waterside workers who had jammed into the corridors of the editorial department to leave quietly after the talks. As the men filed out in an orderly fashion, a band of uniformed police moved in and took up positions. They are expected to stay there a few days to make sure no further invasions are made by the strikers.