POLITICS IN WAR

Evening Post, Volume CXXXIV, Issue 39, 14 August 1942, Page 4

POLITICS IN WAR

AUSTRALIAN IREND

FEAR OF SOCIALISM

. (0.C.) SYDNEY, August 7. There is evidence of a move by the United Australia Party and Country Party Opposition to challenge Labours, right to govern in the Australian Federal Parliament. A series of attacks on Labour administration has been launched by * Opposition leaders, who formerly were quiescent while the present Government mustered the resources of the country for a total war effort. Now- the Opposition reads into the Government's administration an / attempt to implement a party policy of socialisation, for which it had no mandate at the elections. ■, The proposed 4 per cent, limitation of company profits gave the Opposition and those sections it represents a nasty scare. Organised and weighty protests forced the Cabinet to throw over the plan, even at the risk of. dissatisfying the left wing of its party and the unions. It skilfully nullified the Opposition "victory" by explaining that, no matter how desirable was some such form of profit .control, the difficulty of finding a working formula had not been overcome. , • CAPITALISTIC SYSTEM.

■ The Opp9sition fired another shot, this time directed at the Minister for War Organisation of Industry (Mr. J. Dedham), whose socialistic leanings are well known. Stating the views of the Federal"Parliamentary Opposition executive,-, the Opposition leader (Mr. A. W, Fadden) charged Mr. Dedrnan with trying to introduce socialism by the, "back door." (This department decides which industries and their products are essential and which are not.)

The Prime Minister came back in swift defence of Mr. Dedman. "Apparently there are those who assume that any interference with capital and industry should be left to the Japanese," he said. "I tell the country quite plainly that interference with the capitalistic system is as inescapable *in the organisation of the nation for war here as it is in any other country." Mj. Dedman also spoke irt his own defence, outlining functions of his Department and its records as compared with that of the previous Governments. ' ■■. .

Mr. Fadden followed with an attack on the administration of manpower problems, accusing the Government of failing to find essential war-time occupation for all persons Called up, misplacing of many in unsuitable jobs, and bias on the part of the Minister of National Service and Labour (Mr. E. Ward).