WILL LABOUR WIN?

Grey River Argus, 7 May 1926, Page 2

WILL LABOUR WIN?

QUEENSLAND ELECTIONS. To-morrow’s Contests. To-morrow (Saturday, May Bth), a happening is occurring that should be of interest to all workers in New Zealand, and that is the election of Government for the State of Queensland in Australia. The Labour Party are 'making their fifth appeal to the people to bo returned as the Government. They have been in charge of the government of this State for the last cloven years, a record that has not been achieved by any other political party in any other part of the world, and everything points to their being returned again with a greater majority than ever before; as it appears that the opposing Party is a conglomeration of persons from Country, Liberal, National, and Tory Parties, styling themselves Progressive United, Country and Nationalist Party, but nevertheless we .will, to shorten the name, give them their correct appeliation; we will call them the Tory Party, and even with their own long sounding name, they are far from being a United Party, as in many instances more than one of them, arc standing in opposition to the accredited Labour candidate, although great pressure has been brought to bear to prevent three-cornered contests occurring; the same cry used, as was used in the recent by-election at Mount Eden, that by two Tory candidates standing for the seat, it was making the return of the Labour candidate assured.

Labour goes to the country with a majority of fourteen; they will come back after May Sth with a larger majority, as they expect to win at least six seats already held by the Tories, and they expect no casualties. The nominations closed on April 15, and show that Labour has walk-overs in Burke, Bareoo, Gregory and Warrego, and the Tories in Cooroora. Labour is contesting all the other electorates with the exception of three —Fassifern, Toombul, and Wide Bay—and in these electorates, another Tory candidate is opposing the sitting Tory.

There will be three cornered contests in 12 electorates —Albert, Bulimba, Carnarvon, Dalby, Ithaca, Kennedy, Lockyer, Murilla, Murrumba, Nananga, Port Curtis, and 'Sandgate. Of these Labour already holds three —Bulimba, Kennedy and Port Curtis —and arc opposed by two Tories, so that there will he little chance of their being defeated; whilst the Tories hold eight—Albert, Carnarvon, Dalby, Lockyer, Murilla, Murrumba, Nanango, and Sandgate—and in one electorate the sitting member is not contesting the seat, and as the Labour candidate has two Tories against him, Labour ought to ca P’ lure this scat, as well as win Albert, Lockver and Carnarvon.

Labour will also win Nundah, where ■Vie Kearhey, the young Labour candidate of twenty-two years of age, is opposing the sitting Tory, W. Kelso. The young candidate, and hc.js the youngest of them all, has made a great impression on the electorate, and all old hands at the political game predict he will win handsomely.

Labour, since it became the Government of Queensland, has' been fortunate in its leaders, and has produced somrt wonderful men, the calibre ci which has not been excelled, so far as statesmanship is concerned in any other part of the world, when, on first attaining office in 1915, that wonderful man, J. T. Ryan, became Premier. There have been E. Theodore, who followed J. T. Ryan, when he resigned the Premiership to enter Federal Politics, and then W. N. Gillies, who followed E. Theodore, when the latter resigned to enter the Federal arena; and then the present Primo Minister and Leader of the Labour Party, W. McCormack, who entered into this position when W. Gillies resigned to take a scat on the Board of Trade Bench, and Arbitration Court.