AUSTRALIAN APATHY

Greymouth Evening Star, 2 April 1943, Page 5

AUSTRALIAN APATHY

LIBERTY LOAN LAGGING MR. CURTIN'S CENSURE (Rec. 11.50 a.m.) . CANBERRA, April 2. Australia’s third Liberty Loan of £100,000.000 is lagging badly. This was revealed by the Prime Minister (Mr. Curtin), speaking on the adjournment of the Federal Parliament, when he asked every member to devote all his energies to advancing the progress of the loan. “The slow progress of the loan is an affront to our nationhood,” declared the Prime Minister in a warm speech. “It represents a triumph for selfishness and complacency over the obligations of a countny in deadly peril. Failure of the loan would represent not only injury to us as a nation—it would be a severe blow to the United Nations’ cause. Hundreds of thousands in the past few days have cheered the Ninth Division, who fought valiantly for us overseas and have returned to fight at home. Is our appreciation of these men to stop at cheering, flag-waving, and lipservice? Is the civil population, suffering nothing and sacrificing little, to take refuge in all manner of excuses for failing to measure up to the standard of Australianism which our fighting men have set? It is nonsense to talk of taxation as a reason for non-participation in the loan. While racecourses attract record crowds, while outside theatres queues wait for admittance, while money is still being spent recklessly on all kinds of things that could, and should, and must wait, there can be no such excuse as that. Australia must produce tangible evidence of its strength of purpose or this nation cannot, with justice, put a case to the leaders of the United. Nations for assistance to hold out.”

PREFERENCE TO SOLDIERS

GOVT. AGAIN SUBMITS

(Reed. 12.40 p.m.) CANBERRA, April 2. The Government has accepted in the form insisted on by the Senate, the amendment to the Repatriation Bill, providing for preference to returned servicemen in Commonwealth employment, after the war. By doing this’, the Government capitulated for the third time in the last three weeks to the Senate Opposition. After the amended Bill had passed, Parliament adjourned until June. t _ In the last three weeks, the Opposition in the Senate, holding a majority of 19 to 17, has forced the Government to drop its proposal to retain income tax refunds, cancelled the clause linking the Social Welfare Bill with Income Tax Rates Bill, and has now insisted on a clause giving preference only to soldiers in the Repatriation Bill. The Government had agreed to compromise with the Senate on its preference clause by suggesting that preference should be extended to include merchant seamen and civil aviation pilots, who served in combat zones, but the Senate declaring preference for civilians had no place in the Repatriation Bill rejected the Government s suggesAt a meeting of the Labour Pally caucus to consider the Senate i ejection. Mr. Curtin is reported to have told members that he and °thei Ministers were mentally and physic . ally exhausted, and in no state to continue fighting with the Senate. Pointing out tnat soldier P e ’™Xnnn -would be deprived of nearly £-200,000 in increased pensions for every montn the Bill was held up, he suggested that the best course was to accept tne Senate’s demand and introduce a comprehensive preference Bill latex. This course was agreed to. “The preference issue has ended in the defeat of the Government and its retreat into the recess,” comments the “Sydney Morning Herald,' editorially. “Licking their wounds,., the Ministers may reflect that they will be at least acquitted of the charge ox pursuing party warfare to the point at which either the genuine interests of ex-servicemen would. have had to be sacrificed by the withdrawal oi 'the Repatriation Bill, or a premature dissolution of the House of Representatives brought about. Political circumspection is not one oi the qualities for which Senator McLeay and his friends of the Senate Opposition are renowned. They insisted on humiliating as well as defeating the Ministry ignoring the fact that petty party triumphs of this kind in wartime may bo purchased at too high a cost to the reputation ol the Opposition. Unless the Senate majority abates its preferences for party politics at all costs, it will • bring grave damage upon the Opposition cause.”

OPPOSITION SPLIT

LETTER TO MR. HUGHES

(Recd. 1.10) CANBERRA, April 2. The recent strife within the federal Parliamentary Opposition boiled over when seventeen members of the United Australia Party formed a breakaway group. They announced that they would remain within the framework of the party, but were dissatisfied with its leadership, and would refuse to attend party meetings. Members who have broken away are calling themselves the National Ser- \ ice Group. They include the Leader of the Senate Opposition (Senator McLeay) and the former Prime Minister (Mr. Menzies) who was previous! v defeated in the attempt to oust the veteran politician. Mr. Hughes, from the party leadership. A letter to Mr. Hughes, signed by all the breakaway members said: “We, the undersigned members .of th«e United Australia Party, fee) it necessary to record our grave anxiety at the recent drift of events. We draw attention to the refusal of the Government to create one Australian army to render maximum service to the 'Allied cause; inadequate appreciation of the war effort of Great Britain; the alarming rise in prices which the Government is failing to control; allocation of huge sums of new taxation to social services instead of to war; grave incidence of coal strikes, wharf troubles and absenteeism; dis•organisation in food and man-power, and the reluctance of the Government to give service people adequate preference. In view of. these grave developments, we consider it is essential to reorganise the United Australia party, under new and vigorous leadership, but in order to avoid dissension. we intend to act within the party ps the national service group.” Political observers believe that one of the purposes of the move is to return Mr. Menzies to some form of political leadership.