FACTION FIGHT

Greymouth Evening Star, 7 February 1947, Page 6

FACTION FIGHT

LABOUR PREMIERSHIP OF NEW SOUTH WALES MR. McKELL_CRITIOISED SYDNEY, Feb. 6. Mr. James McGirr was sworn in to-day as Premier and Treasurer of New South Wales. He has not yet made any decision on the swearing in of his Ministers, but this will take place some time this week. The Governor-General designate (Mr. W. J, McKell) accompanied Mr. McGirr to the ceremony and formally resigned his office. Several aspects of the election of Mr. McGirr have drawn much comment in Sydney. The Daily Telegraph says rank-and-file members of the State Parliamentary Labour Party “bucked’ ’the party machine to elect Mr. McGirr. It is noted by all the newspapers that only two Ministers voted for Mx. McGirr, and that Mr. McKell, as Governor-General designate, ran the risk of censure in order to vote for Mr. R. J. Heffron’s election, and that the Attorney-General (Mr. C. E. Martin) informed the press beforehand that it was certain. The Daily Telegraph reports that after congratulating Mr. McGirr, Mr. McKell strode from the room, his face white with anger. Hinting that the defeat of Mr. Heffron was due to a last-minute whispering campaign that he was the nominee of big - business pressure groups, the Daily 1 Telegraph predicts a faction fight in ] the State Labour Party. The leader of the Opposition (Mr. V. H. Treatt) commented that the result of the election was a victory for the industral extremists over the moderates, and that the act of a Governor-General designate in asso- . dating himself with a political fac- ■ tion fight “set an all-time low m 3 political indiscretion.” . Recalling Mr. McGirr’s association ( with Mr. J. T. Lang,, he said the situation had all the ingredients for . a return to the conditions which . preceded the last Labour defeat m . 1932 Mr. Heffron made it clear he would loyally serve under Mr. Me- 5 Girr. ]