NEW FACTORS

Evening Post, Volume CX, Issue 68, 17 September 1930, Page 11

NEW FACTORS

COMING ELECTIONS

NATIONALISTS FAVOURED

(From "The Post's" Representative.) SYDNEY, 11th September.

Next week New South Wales will settle down to what promises to be one of the most strenuous General Election campaigns in the history of the State, already famous for the wrath that enters its polities. Many new factors will enter into the campaign, aud the result will attract wide attention as being the first General Election since the depression overtook the country. Labour, of course, will endeavour to place all the blame for the present state of affairs on the Nationalists, but if the Leader of the Opposition (Mr. Lang) is going to insist that the depression is artificial, brought about with the sole object of reducing wages, he is going to meet with nothing but ridicule, for everybody now knows that it is something very real. Already Labour has been greatly embarrassed by the action of the extremists and their talk of a general repudiation of the National Debt. There are thousands who associate all Labour candidates with these extremists, and as the majority of Australians are thoroughly honourable this is going to make Labour's task all the more difficult. Mr. Lang has already advised Labour candidates to keep away from financial problems when they address their electors, but how they are going to do that when the finances of the country are uppermost in all minds is difficult to see. Of course, may be heis going to give them a lead. At present he is posing as the strong, silent man, and has announced that he will not make public the Labour policy until after the Premier has announced the policy of the Government. This Mr. Bavin will do towards the end of next week. Even if Mr. Lang ignores the repudiation policy, he will be on difficult ground when he deals with the A.L.P. policy for a repudiation of the policy for economy reached by the Premiers and Treasurers at Melbourne two weeks ago. MR. LANG'S POSITION. Then igain, Mr. Lang is bound to announce that the Labour Party is against wages cuts of any description, but he will find it hard to justify any alternative policy. It has been made quite clear to the people, and most of the people believe what they have been told, that costs generally • must come down if Australia is to save anything from the mess in which it has found itself. On the other side oil the ledger it is of importance to note that for the first time for many years Labour will go to the country thoroughly united as far as its general forces are concerned. The Australian 'Workers' Union will be behind the A.L.P., which was not the ease at tho last election, and this has given Labour reason for added optimism. However, to the outsider there is no evidence that the A.W.TJ. is as enthusiastic as it might be. The old wound has not been properly healed. The Nationalists will fight the election on the issue that they have done the utmost, and are still doing their utmost, to meet the extraordinary demands of the situation which has made the problem of Government so difficult for them. It cannot be doubted that the Government has a fine record, for it was the first of the many Governments in Australia to realise early the trend of events. Reasonable people must give it credit for facing boldly the grave problems that presented themselves. It was the first to re-in-troduce the forty-eight hour week, the first to reduce the salaries of the Civil servants, the first to reduce the salaries of the Ministers and members of Parliament, the first to effect any real economies, and the first to provide a definite scheme for the alleviation of unemployment. Even its enemies admit that it has been unfearing in all that it has done. The most unpopular decisions have been made irrespective of the effect they were likely to have on its masters, the electors. NEW BOUNDARIES. The elections will be contested on new boundaries, and these should favour the Nationalists. It has been computed that there are thirty-three seats in which the Nationalist Party, on the basis of tho voting at the last election, and after allowing for the alteration in boundaries, would gain a majority of more than 1000 votes. Of these five swung to Labour at the last Federal elections. Smaller majorities are likely in other electorates, but on the basis of tho last election applied to tho new boundaries the Nationalists should win 42 seats, againßt 35 held at present. These are exclusive of Country Party scats, of which 13 are now held. Tho rest of the House at present is made up of 40 Labour men and two Independent Labour. By-elections during the term of tho present Parliament were contested by Nationalists and Labour men, and produced the following Nationalist majorities in each case: __Ashfield 21S, Parramatta 616, Lane Cove (held recently) 2170.