FEDERAL LABOUR PARTY

Evening Star, Issue 24916, 14 July 1943, Page 5

FEDERAL LABOUR PARTY

NO LINK WITH COMMUNISTS MR GURTIN DEFINES HIS POSITION (N.Z.P.A. Special Aust. Correspondent) SYDNEY, July J 3. The Prime Minister, Mr J. Curtin, has dissociated himself from any link between the Australian Labour Party and the Communist Party. His statement is regarded as of great importance because of moves in some of the States for a united front between the Labour and Communist Parties in the coming Federal election campaign. Mr Curtin defined his position when he was asked if he would support Mr C. A. Morgan, the endorsed Labour candidate and the sitting member for the Sydney electorate of Reid, against Mr J. T. Lang, who is standing as an Independent. " Labour candidates like Mr Lang or any other nondescript or Communist candidate stand outside the Labour Party, and take no part in Labour policy," said Mr Curtin.

The Keid Federal electorate includes the Auburn State electorate, for which Mr Lang is the sitting. member in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly. Mr Lang, a former State Premier, was recently expelled from the Labour Party. The influence of both Mr Lang arid Communist Labour had been seen by some political commentators as an important factor likely to eliminate " moderate " support from Mr Curtin at the polls. The New South Wales State Labour Party has strong factions of Lang and Communist supporters, while the Commonwealth JndustrialLabour movement haas fallen increasingly under the influence of Communists. At the last meeting of the Australian Council of Trades Unions the Communist element forced the council's agreement to a united front pact. " This may be as fatal to Labour aft the Russian-German pact has beeu t« Hitler," comments the ' Sydney Morning Herald's ' political observer. "Today a number of important Australian unions, such as the miners, iron workers, waterside workers, road transport workers, and seamen are dominated by Cohimunists; whoso policy of opposition to democracy remains as violent as before. These gentry are now anxious to keep the wheels of Australian industry moving—though maybe not to build lip reserve stocks, for example,.of coal. In spite of the great industrial output We have achieved in this Avar, no Australian will be able to forget the many stains and blotches upon our industrial record in the year of Australia's greatest peril. Industrial peace is one of the three vital matters on which Labour has failed this country. The other two aro a single army, and finance."