Australian Socialists May Amend Bank Act

Greymouth Evening Star, 17 August 1948, Page 5

Australian Socialists May Amend Bank Act

(Rec. 11.25 a.m.) CANBERRA, This Day. The Commonwealth Solicitor-General, Professor Bailey, will leave Sydney by air on Thursday for London to discuss with the AttorneyGeneral, Dr H. V. Evatt, the basis of the Commonwealth approach to the Privy Council for leave to appeal against the High Court decision, invalidating the Commonwealth banking legislation. The Federal Government is reported to be considering the introduction of legislation this year to amend the Bank Nationalisation Act by altering many provisions of the present Act, which the High Court declared illegal. The proposed amendments would not alter the basic principles of the Act, but would have a drastic effect on the methods proposed to put the principles into effect.

Labour members are anxious to exploit every opportunity of completing bank nationalisation, if possible, before the next elections. In a broadcast address, the Melbourne Liberal member, Mr Holt, said the Prime Minister, Mr Chifley, did not expect the Privy Council to reverse the High Court judgment, but hopes the Privy Council would indicate the limits of the Government’s constitutional capacity for enforcing its Socialist legislation. “Far from abandoning Socialism because of public hostility,” Mr Holt added, “Mr Chifley is determined to keep this Labour objective before the public. I believe he would willingly go down to defeat at the next elections if he could preserve this objective intact. He would do so, hoping that some time the swing of the pendulum would put Labour back in office so that his successor could claim a full mandate.”