AUSTRALIAN ELECTIONS

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 19148, 14 October 1925, Page 14

AUSTRALIAN ELECTIONS

CAMPAIGN IN FULL SWING. MR. BRUCE'S POLICY SPEECH. WAR AGAINST THE EXTREMISTS. [from ot;r own correspondent.] SYDNEY, Oct, 9. The campaign for the Australian Federal elections is now in full swing. In every electorate there is great signs of activity, and practically every candidate is known, although nominations have not yet closed. The outstanding events, of course, have been the delivery of their policy speeches by Mr. Bruce, Leader of the Nationalist Party, and Dr. Earle Page, Leader of the Country Party. Sir. Bruce delivered his speech at Dandcnong, a small country town about 40 miles from Melbourne, in the. heart of j his own electorate, Flinders. The hall in which he made it could only hold 600, and hundreds were unable to obtain ad- ] mission. But Mr. Bruce had a far greater j audience than those in the building. Arrangements had been made to broadcast S the policy speeches of the leaders of the three parties in Victoria and New South TV ale*. A land line, 600 miles long, brought his words to a Sydney broadcasting station, and so hundreds of thousands in these two States heard the intentions of the present. Government if it is re-elected. Mr. Bruce was emphatic in stating that the paramount issue in this campaign was the maintenance of law and order and the supremacy of constitutional government. He was able to lend point to his remarks by showing how mob rule might ensue on the plottings of industrial extremists by quoting the raids by strikers on the steamer Deniodocus at Fromantic. The Government, he said, was determined to defeat th-e nefarious designs of extremists, and armed with the mandate of the people would take all necessary steps to accomplish, this end. But, in addition to indicating the Government's intentions regarding this issue, Mr. Bruce presented a sound policy of constructive government. His announcements in regard to the Empire, defence, finance, primary and secondary industries and migration were as expected, the continuation of the policy pursued in the last three years, but what has been termed the human side of Nationalism caused some surprise. It is proposed to submit the subjects oL'a uniform working week in all States and child endowment to Commonwealth and State Judges for decision. The Government will arrange with the Commonwealth Bank to finance manual workers and people of small means to build their own homes. And, perhaps the most surprising of all, Mr. Bruce announced that the Government will restore to the trade unionist control over his union, its officials, its funds, and its act by legislating for secret, ballots. Dr. Earle Page delivered to his constituents at Grafton the policy of the Country Party. With the exception that j this emphasised the issues most impor- I tant to the man on the land. Dr. Page's speech was on similar lines to Mr. Brace's, j especially in the matter of curbing industrial extremists. He made it evident that the Country Party was heart and soul behind Mr. Bruce in the determination to remove the cause of labour unrest. Another interesting event this week was the resignation of Mr. T. J, Ley, a prominent Nationalist in the State Parliament, to contest the Hlafarra seat against the present Labour member. Mr. Ley is given an excellent chance of success. He is the third Stale member to resign to contest a Federal seat. (he others being Mr. E. G. Theodore, in Queensland, and Mr. if. Kneebonc, in South Australia.