The Grey River Argus SATURDAY, May 3, 1947. TO-DAY’S AUSTRALIAN POLLS

Grey River Argus, 3 May 1947, Page 4

The Grey River Argus SATURDAY, Ma y 3, 1947. TO-DAY’S AUSTRALIAN POLLS

TT probably is unprecedented in Australia that two general elections should be held on the same day, and no little interest attaches to those to-day in New South Wales and Queensland. There may be some justification for the anticipation of the Parties opposing Labour that in both States a swing in the votes will prove sufficient to unseat the Governments. The reason for that expectation is obviously a belief that industrial strife will have turned marginal sections of the electorates against Labour, and it lias been this week manifest that the U.A.P. and C.P. politicians exploited to the utmost the Victoria engineering strike. Unfortunately, the strike leaders have ignored the Australian Council of Trade Unions, which must be reckoned to have at least us good an insight into the situation as any of its sections. The resultlias been to play entirely into the hands of the Opposition Parties in both New South Wales and Queensland on the eve of the elections. It must be therefore assumed that those responsible for the critical transport hold up in Victoria are more concerned to push direct industrial action to the uttermost extreme than to consider tho political interests of the Labour Movement at a most vital juncture. This aspect of the matter is illustrated by the fact that, while the New South Wales affiliations of the strikers’ organisation have been called upon also to take strike action, their spokesmen have been non-committal in speech, and likewise in action. Nevertheless the very possibility of an extension of this hold up in traffic and other services must to-day exercise some influence in New South Wales, if not also in Queensland, whereas the use of conciliation and arbitration facilities would have had an ex cellent political effect, and possibly as good an industrial effect as the course being pursued. The Parties opposing Labour have, however, gone themselves to rather an extreme when calling on the Federal Government to reverse the policy of the Victorian Government-, and engage directly in a strike-breaking policy. To say that the strike is injudicious is not necessarily to deny there is any justification for it. As a matter of fact the workers of New Zealand are definitely better circumstanced as to wages and hours than the workers in Australia, and among the Victorian strikers there are very real grievances. They should nevertheless realise that the movement.has on the industrial side a duty to co-oper-ate with the. movement on the political side, and in so doing to avert industrial disruption as far as possible. No doubt there are a great many Labour supporters who are quite confident that the Party will remain in power both in New South Wales and in Queensland, and therefore feel that to prosecute claims by direct action cannot make any political difference. More, indeed, arc persuaded that the political aspect in any ease is only secondary. Furthermore, it is notorious that the press of Australia plays up quite as much as the press of this country any aspect of industrial disputes calculated to show the workers in in a poor light. This, of course, is well known to workers generally, and it is notable that at the polls in Australia Labour often has been only the more successful in the degree that the newspapers have put its standard-bearers in the pillory. It therefore is not so - much the action of opponents ! which is the great obstacle in l.Lc' way of the Labour Movement, but I;

rather mistaken. short-sighted and provocative action by those responsible for the leadership of Labour, whether politically or industrially. It ought in ordinary circumstances to be feasible for the Labour Governments both in New South Wales and Queensland to increase their strength ar. to-day’s polls. The majority of the people have been led to expect little of real value from the opposing elements as regards the working masses, who in the centres form the majority. Probably both Governments will be returned, and it will be interesting rather to note whether it will be with increased majorities. The Opposition, for all the. talk of Labour failings, has not commit-’ ted itself in either State to any confident forecast of success, and it may be trusted that the,traditional Labour sentiment of Australians will to-day be as much to the fore as ever.