Key faction supports Hawke challenge

Press, 15 July 1982, Page 8

Key faction supports Hawke challenge

NZPA Sydney The battle for leadership of the Australian Labour Party became tighter yesterday when the challenger, Mr Bob Hawke, gathered support from a key New South Wales faction of the party. However, the leader (Mr Bill Hayden) who has gained the commitment of 25 Leftwing votes, still appeared to be able to withstand the challenge and re-emerge as party leader after tomorrow's caucus vote. Mr Hawke, who has based his long-awaited bid for power on the strength of his personality and communication skills with the electorate, and the corresponding ability to get Labour into government, spent three .hours yesterday persuading the Right-wing moderate New South Wales faction led

by the party’s state president (Mr • Paul Keating) to back him. • Mr Keating said that New South Wales members believed that the best interests of the Labour Party “and the millions of Australians who deserve and need a Labour victory and the end of Fraserism” would be best served by having Bob Hawke as leader. Mr Hayden, who gathers his 1 main support from the Centre and Left of the party, told the National Press Club in Canberra that he was confident he would still be leader after the meeting of the 79-strong caucus. "I intend to hang in there," he said. Mr Hayden said that at most Mr Keating could swing a maximum of five votes against him.

“I'm being quite candid with you ... and you might notice that my index finger is shorter than it used to be,” he said amidst laughter. A key factor in Mr Keating’s moderate Right-wing group swinging in behind Mr Hawke, rather than as earlier predicted -staying with Mr Hayden, appeared to be the open endorsement by prominent trade unionists of the party leader.

The New South Wales group was reportedly angered at the stand taken in the challenge by Mr John Halfpenny and Mr Laurie Carmichael, who backed Mr Hayden in the endorsement given by the powerful Amalgamated Metal Workers and Shipwright's Union. Neither is a member of the Aust. Labour Party, and Mr Carmichael is a member of the Communist Party.