AUSTRALIAN LABOUR

Grey River Argus, 1 February 1946, Page 3

AUSTRALIAN LABOUR

Party’s History An Australian Labour M.P., Mr. George Weir, in "Fifty Years of Labour in Politics.” divides the political history of the Australian Labour Party into the following periods;— Before 1S90: Formative influences. 1890-1900: Emergence as a political force operating primarily as a third or “cross-bench” party, demanding concession in return for support. 1900-1910: Development into the official Opposition. 1910-1916: Period of dominance as Government in Federal and State spheres. Period ends with expulsion of Labour leaders Hughes and Holman. 1916-1929: Labour in Opposition in Federal sphere, with intermittent periods of office in State spheres. 1929-1932: Labour in office again during the great depression, culminating in internal strife within the organisation. 1932-1941: Back in Opposition. Period ends with disintegration of Conservative parties. 1941-1943: Labour in office again during war years. 1943: Renewed public confidence in Labour. From the Eureka massacre ,to Labour in chalianged power at Canberra is a long and thrilling story, and Mr. Weir tells it well in his book. One of the proudest chapters was in the nineties of last century when the Australian trade unionists subscribed no less than £30,000. to help the London dockers in the great dock strike. The Book is published by the Henry Lawson Memorial College at Sydney, Australia, and the price is Is.