SPLIT IN THREE

Evening Post, Volume CXXX, Issue 39, 14 August 1940, Page 7

SPLIT IN THREE

N.S.W. LABOUR PARTY

SUSPENSION OF EXECUTIVE

LANG HOPES RAISED

(By Trans*Tasman Air Mail, from "The Post's" Representative.) SYDNEY, August 7. The Australian Labour Party has suffered another of those internecine clashes which have balked it in its quest for political power in the last eight years. The Federal executive of the party has suspended "lock, stock, and barrel" the New South Wales executive, mainly because of criticism of the Federal Labour politicians for voting with the Menzies Government on the National Security Emergency Bill, and partly because of the growth of militant elements in the State •executive.

• As a result of this suspension, there will be for the first time three bodies in New South Wales purporting to represent the Labour Party. These three are the new executive that will be elected by the Federal executive, the suspended executive, which will probably become a new industrial Labour Party, and the Lang Non-Communist Party. Mr. Lang, the depression-time Premier of New South Wales, broke away from the official party with a coterie of loyal followers when, in March last, the State party's annual conference carried its "Hands Off Russia" resolution as a part of Labour's war policy. The "non-Com-munist" label merely cloaked a typical Lang bid to regain control which he had lost after long and bitter party strife. His supporters are jubilant at the latest development and are confident that Mr. Lang will re-emerge as the New South Wales Labour, leader.

THE PARLIAMENTARY GROUP.

The situation is likely to become the most confused in the New South Wales Labour Party's stormy history. One reason for this is the attitude of the State Parliamentary Labour group. Supposed to take orders from the State executive, this group, headed by Mr. W. J. McKell, M.L.A., has acted independently on many matters and in concert with the Federal executive on others. It has frequently made it clear that it stands by the Federal conference and the Federal executive. Mr. Lang's seven or eight stalwarts are, of course, outside this group. State Labour members do not minimise the seriousness to the whole movement of the Federal Executive's suspension of the State executive, but most assert that the action was justified because of the "white-anting" activities of many members of the State executive.

The present confusion has an important bearing on Federal politics. Hope of the formation of a National Government, with Labour included, has been abandoned, and the elections due this year will take place. But the present strife in the New South Wales Labour Party will probably induce the Menzies Government to seize a Heaven-sent opportunity and go to the electorate much earlier than the due date towards the end of the year. It would not be surprising to find the election date fixed for next month, a lew weeks after the present month's session of the Federal Parliament ends. If that happens, Labour's prospects of gaining office will be bleak. New South Wales is the key State in Federal elections, and with three Labour parties bidding for votes and thus dividing the Labour effort, it is difficult to see how Labour can win more seats than it now has. The Federal executive's decision to suspend the New South Wales executive was made after acrimonious debate, lasting two days, between the twelve delegates representing the six States. Many charges and countercharges were made, including some of corruption and many of betrayal of party aims. The vote resulted in only two of the delegates—those from New South Wales—voting against the suspension. The suspended executive comprised the president, two vicepresidents, the general secretary, the organising secretary, and 32 members. DOOR LEFT OPEN. The Federal executive was careful to leave the door open for readmission of most of these members, and use of them to form a new State executive. The suspension of the general secretary, Mr. W. Evans, on a charge of disloyalty, will stand, no matter what happens to the others. But during the next nine or ten days, officials of the Federal executive will strive to do some "underground engineering" among the other suspended members in the hope that, at a meeting fixed for August 16, a majority of these members will announce their loyalty to the Federal executive, in which case they would probably be appointed to a new official State executive. On the other hand, the , principal suspended officers arc trying to maintain their executive intact "in a final showdown over the fundamentals of Labour policy." mmmmmmmmmmmm