The Evening Star SATURDAY, OCTOBER 4, 1941. FALL OF A GOVERNMENT.

Evening Star, Issue 24007, 4 October 1941, Page 8

The Evening Star SATURDAY, OCTOBER 4, 1941. FALL OF A GOVERNMENT.

Some weeks ago Mr A. W. Fadclen expressed confidence that his Budget would find favour with the Australian Labour Party. If the subject matter of this very important political document was based on a move towards appeasement it seems to have been doomed to failure from the outset. It is quite apparent that the A.L.P. has never wanted appeasement or concessions in any shape or form. Nothing but power and elevation to the Ministerial benches has long been its ambition, and the existing close numerical state of the parties has afforded an opportunity for gaining its end much too tempting to be resisted. It is now a little over a year since an election was held which by no means put the Menzies regime in a better position for handling the affairs of the country untrammelled by the persistent fault-finding clamour of the strong Labour representation. When the fate of a Government lies in the hands of one or two Independent members of Parliament its position, to say the least, is most precarious. The obvious war-time solution was the formation of a national Government, but Laboui - , having rejected this practical kind of idealism, was encouraged by the unions, particularly those in New South Wales, to maintain an attitude of political niggling that should have had no place during a period of national emergency. The average wage earner in Australia was reported to be satisfied with Mr Fadden’s Budget, but evidence rapidly accumulated that the militant Labour movement in New South Wales intended to foster a hostile move with compulsory loans as the chief grievance. The wording of the amendment put by Mr Curtin in the Federal House on behalf of Labour was actually of little import. The main point about it lay in the fact that it was accepted as a motion of censure, the voting on which would decide the fate of the Government. When the division came it was found that the two Victorian Independents, Mr Coles and Mr Wilson, voted with Labour and thus were instrumental in putting the Government out of power by the margin of 36 votes to 33. Mr Wilson has had a loaning towards Labour for some time, biit from a reading of the cables to-day Mr Coles seems to bo a man with wavering opinions. On that score his future attitude in divisions may be watched with some anxiety by the party whoso cause he has espoused in the vital Budget division. Recriminations over this fait accompli will be of no avail. At all costs the war effort must be prosecuted with despatch and the utmost unity. Fortunately, the Labour Party has never shown any inclination to shirk its responsibilities in that direction, and Mr Fadden can be relied upon to fulfil his pledge to support the new Government in every way possible. Although Labour’s hold on power is likely to be just as shaky as that of the former Government, it is a good sign that Mr B’adden and Mr Curtin appear to be working in a spirit of mutual personal esteem. A conciliatory note in leadership should go a long way towards solving the political problems of the Commonwealth.