AUSTRALIAN ELECTIONS

Greymouth Evening Star, 18 May 1943, Page 5

AUSTRALIAN ELECTIONS

MANY GROUPS INVOLVED “SAUSAGE KING’S” POLICY (N’.Z.L’.A. Special Australian Correspondent) SYDNEY, May 17. The date of Australia’s next Federal elections may be decided at a Cabinet meeting this week. The possibility of an early polling continues to be widely discussed. Already the staggering total of 27 political parties, excluding Independents, have urged their claims on the electors’ support. Whether all these groups will nominate candidates is doubtful. Several, however, are certain to do so. Australia now sets a world record for the number of political parties in proportion to population. Before the war France’s 40 parties among 25,000,000 electors was the highest figure recorded: but Australia’s 27 Federal parties have only 4,500.000 electors to whom they can appeal. “Every little group that has been hurt by the way is forming a party to look after its interests,” was the explanation given by one member of Parliament Eight of these parties-claim to devote" themselves mainly to the interests of former servicemen, and two aim at securing greater Parliamentary representation for women. Only one is primarily concerned with monetary reform. Sixteen of the new parties are less than a year old. Most of these have come to light in the last four months. Among them is the Middle Class Party, formed for the protection of the “forgotten man” of politics. This partv was founded at meetings convened by the Australian Bank Officials’ Association. Several other parties direct their main appeals to the “middle class.” and the former Prime Minister, Mr. R. G. Menzies, who leads a break-away group of 17 United Australia Party members, has also declared himself champion of the cause of “the great, sober, and dynamicmiddle class.” One of the most publicised of the new political groups is the “One Party for Australia Party.” sponsored by Mr. A. AV. Anderson, known as “Australia's sausage king,” the founder of a meat business with a turnover of £1.000,000. Mr. Anderson wants to eliminate “the immoral direct taxation of food.” His party seeks the recall of members who do not satisfy their electors, the election of Cabinet Ministers by open ballot in Parliament, and the establishment of an annual national holiday. to. be called “Family Day,” when politicians. Press, and pulpit would extol the virtues of family life.

But. in spite of all the new groups, the Australian Labour Party and the joint Opposition of the United Australia Party and the United Country Party will almost certainly be the only serious contestants for office. Heavy election defeats are expected among the newcomers, most of whom will not survive the polls; but political correspondents regard it as certain that some of the former servicemen's parties will weld together into an eventually powerful political force. The Prime Minister (Mr. Curtin) recently returned from a trip through Victoria. South Australia, and Western Australia, and the reports he received on Labour’s prospects in those States may be a factor in influencing the selection of the polling date.

POST-WAR. RECONSTRUCTION.

SYDNEY, May 17. “It will be for the people to decide how we shall go about our postwar tasks and what the general pattern of our post-war lives shall be," said the Federal Treasurer (Mr. Chifley). concluding an address on post-war reconstruction in Australia. “I believe you do not want, to return to that go-as-you-please kind of economic freedom which meant for thousands of men and women only perpetual and miserable unemployment. On the other hand, you do not want your lives to be continually hedged round by controls, restraints, and directions. The Australia we look forward to is very much the Australia we have always known.. There were many good things in. pre-war Australia which we do not want to Lose. Upon these we propose to build. There were some things which were bad. Those things we hope to change." Mr. Chifley said the mam function of reconstruction would be* to create conditions in which palliatives sue.r as unemployment benefits, sickness benefits, and pensions would become less and less necessary. The first I duty must be to the men and women of the fighting forces, but if servicemen and ammunition workers were to be provided with new jobs in a better post-war world there were a number of problems which must be tackled. Farmers must be given greater stability of income, and farming methods improved in efficiency to reduce the dependence ol primary industries upon subsidies. There must be an effort to decentralise secondary industries, bringing new markets closer to the farmers and providing a variety of occupational outlets for farmers’ children. A great number of new homes must be built, within the income capacity of the average worker. Slum clearance must be undertaken, an intensive national works programme instituted, the nutrition standard improved, and hospital and medical services radically bettered. For the achievement of these objectives there must be the utmost co-operation between the Commonwealth and the ° l “in S ' planning reconstruction at home we do not- intend to forget our responsibilities to the rest of the world," said Mr. Chifley. “We must i-prognise that our internal policy has a direct effect upon the economic prosperity ol other countries, and that our prosperity depends equally' on their internal policies. Ii is the Government’s view that our most important contribution to the prosperity of other countries is to maintain the Australian people in full employment at' the highest possible standard of living In this address I have not discussed questions of finance m rel lotion to reconstruction. The war has taught us that the real limits to achievement are physical, and not financial. It is manpower, materials, and willingness to work which set the limit to what we can do. If we want a better Australia we will have Ito work hard tor it."