Tractors in the streets

Press, Volume CXV, Issue 34009, 25 November 1975, Page 19

Tractors in the streets

(By

ALAN GRAHAM,

N.Z.P.A. staff correspondent)

SYDNEY, Nov. 24. “Agri-power” has made an appearance in Australia. Dozens of farmers drove tractors into country towns in Victoria to block the main streets in a dear demonstration that the rural vote will matter in the coming elections. Farmers in Australia are angry, and by driving tractors into main streets — and

threatening to drive them right into Collins Street in the heart of Melbourne — they are making their presence felt. Unlike New Zealand farmers, Australian farmers wield only limited political clout. Still, their vote is important. The National Country Party holds six Senate seats (out of 60) and 21 House of Representatives seats (out of 127), and almost all of its vote comes from the rural sector. ; The party is strong in

Queensland, where it holds three Senate seats and five House seats, as well as controlling the state Parliament in Brisbane by way of the Country Party, which is led by Mr Johannes BjelkePeterson. It may be almost unknown in Tasmania and South Australia, but it is strong in New South Wales, Victoria, Western Australia, and the Northern Territory. Where the N.C.P. really scores, however, is in its association with the Liberal Party, which lacks the ability to control the Federal Parliament (or several state parliaments) without the help of the N.C.P. Such an alliance would probably not work in New! Zealand, since the parties; would take votes from each; other at the polls, giving Labour a field day. Australia uses preference voting, however, enabling the parties to live more or less in harmony. The Liberals and N.C.P. tend not to field candidates against each other, but when they do, they are able to ask their voters to extend their second preferences to the coalition partner, to defeat Labour. There has been an onagain, off-again split between the Liberals and the N.C.P. in Western Australia, but at national level they co-operate to the extent that in the last non-Labour Government of Mr William McMahon, there w r ere seven country men in the 27-man Cabinet, and three in the 12-member inner Cabinet. A National Country Party man usually becomes deputy

Prime Minister to the Liberal leader. Once it was Sir John McEwan, and if the Liberal-N.C.P. coalition wins on December 13, the N.C.P. leader, Mr Douglas Anthony, will become Deputy Prime Minister to Mr Malcolm Fraser. There is little doubt that rural people will vote against Labour, for unemployment in agriculture is high and has affected many areas. Farmers are annoyed that superphosphate assistance has been cut and not re-1 stored. Real net farm income (adjusted for inflation) will be only s7som this year against $llO9 million last ; year and $2042 million the! year before that. I Beef, dairy and sheep' farmers are all up in arms! about prices. They are also' angry about Labour plans to' adjust electoral boundaries! to take away some advantages that have long been held by country districts —- plans that would cut N.C.P. representation in Canberra by about a third. Their anger will tell in the ballot box, but scores of tractors in the streets of Melbourne is one way of bringing farm annoyance to a wider audience.