PROTRACTED BATTLE FOR POSTS IN N.S.W. CABINET

Evening Star, Issue 26103, 17 May 1947, Page 8

PROTRACTED BATTLE FOR POSTS IN N.S.W. CABINET

(N.Z.P.A. Special Correspondent.) SYDNEY, May 18. The New South Wales Labour caucus, which met at 11 a.m.; yestoirdkyj ’sab until 1.30 a.m. to-day to elect the new Cabinet. Caucus was deadlocked for long periods totalling nearly 12 hours because in many ballots no member polled the minimum quota of 27 votes required for an elected .'Minister. To break the last deadlock, tfie Premier, Mr McGirr, announced at 1 a.m. that he would creite a new portfolio, increasing the number of. Ministers to 16, the largest in State history., . The only two new Ministers are Mr C. H. Matthews and Mr W; F.-’Shea-han. Cabinet members are As •’follows:—Messrs J. McGirr, J. M. Bdddeley, C. A. Kelly, C. It. Evatt, R. J. Heffron, S. J. Cahill, C. H( Matthews, M. O’Sullivan, E. H. Graham, G. Weir, Hamilton Knight, F. J. Finnan, C. E. Martin, W. F. Sheahan, R. R. Downing, and A. W. E. -Dickson. The new portfolio will be the Ministry of Building Materials, designed to step up the production of materials for the Government housing programme; Mr W. Dunn, Minister of Lands -in the last Cabinet, was the only retiring Minister not re-elected. Mr J. M. Baddelev was re-elected unopposed .a* Deputy , Premier, and Mr W. H. Lamb was elected Speaker. The protracted ballotting is believed to be unique in Labour history.’ In the first ballot Messrs Baddeleyy Kelly, Heffron, Evatt, and Cahill were re-, elected. Only four members, all retiring Ministers, were elected in the .next. 15 ballots, which extended till 10 p.pi. After this a complete deadlock ensued, chiefly because three retiring inembers were opposed by new election of Messrs Finnan, Martjn, Matthews, and Sheahan followed quickly on Mr McGirr’s announcement of the new portfolio. i-