Swing from Labour in Queensland

Press, Volume CXIV, Issue 33712, 9 December 1974, Page 19

Swing from Labour in Queensland

(Neto Zealand Press Association —Copyright)

BRISBANE, December 8.

The Labour Government in Australia was dealt a staggering blow in the Queensland state election yesterday, when there was a 10 per cent swing against the party and the state Labour leader and his deputy were unseated.

The counting of the votes is continuing, but the National - Liberal Party coalition, led by the New Zealand-born Premier (Mr BjelkePetersen) is assured of continuing its 18-year-old regime.

With 80 per cent of the votes counted, the National Party is assured of 32 seats, and the Liberals of 30, of the 82 in the Legislative Assembly. The Labour Party, which had 33 seats in the old House, is certain of only 11 this time, but is expected to pick up several of the seven still undecided. The Leader of the Labour Opposition, Mr Percy Tucker, and his deputy, Mr Harold Newton were among the party members to lose their seats, but more significant in the view of political observers, is the blow to the Federal Labour Government led by the Prime Minister (Mr Whitlam), who visited Queensland thre: times to speak during the election campaign. It was Labour’s first polltest since the Federal Government was returned in May with a five-seat majority in the House of Representatives.

Mr Whitlam, battling against rising unemployment and inflation, had accused Mr Bjelke-Petersen of non-co-operation with the Federal Government, and of refusing SUSSOm in Federal aid for urban, welfare, and social programmes. Mr Bjelke-Petersen, who campaigned on Labour’s

economic problems, depicting Mr Whitlam’s Government as “dangerous Leftwingers,” said today: “The result shows that people were at the end of their tether with Labour. Mr Tucker was a victim of Canberra’s policies.”

There has been no comment from Mr Whitlam or his Federal colleagues, but Mr Robert Hawke, president of the party and of the Australian Council of Trade Unions, has spoken of “a grievous result” for the party, and has urged the Federal Government to change its planning “to ensure a lift in the economy.”

The Deputy Leader of the Federal Opposition (Mr Philip Lynch) has described the result as a vote of no-con-fidence in Mr Whitlam’s Government. State of the parties (previous figures in parenthesis): Country National Party, 32 (26); Liberal, 30 (21); Labour 11, (33); Independents, 2 (2); undecided 7. Unemployment in Australia rose by 22,380 to 211,626 in November in seasonallyadjusted terms, according to figures released today by the Minister of Labour and Immigration (Mr Clyde Cameron).

The November increase compares with rises of 45,508 in October and 20,127 in September.