AUSTRALIAN POLITICS.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXII, Issue 19207, 22 December 1925, Page 14

AUSTRALIAN POLITICS.

COMING FEDERAL SESSION. GOVERNMENT'S STRENGTH. LEGISLATIVE PROGRAMME. SOME IMPORTANT MEASURES. fFBOsr oi7i mv.v corrf.sponpent.l SYDNEY, Deo. 11. Now that the counting of the voting in the election of both Houses of the . Federal Parliament has been completed. | thoughts are turning to the arduous j session ahead. When the new House meets, the Ministerialists will be "» «"> | overwhelming majority in both the House of Representatives and the Senate. In the former Mr. Bruce ( will have 37 Nationalists, an Inde- j pendent Nationalist and 14 members of | the Country, Party to steer through the | Government's lengthy and important | legislative programme in the face of oppo- j sition from 23 Labour members. In the j Senate the Government's majority is even j more decisive, for against eight Labour j members there will be arrayed 24 Nation- j alist and four Country Party members. | The programme announced by the I Prime Minister in his policy speech is now j being translated into bills which the j Government intends to pass before the j session, which commences on January 13, concludes. /It will bo a session of \%oik. j Although Mr. Bruce has promised not to j use his majority in a brutal fashion, the j Government will not- countenance time- j wasting tactics, anci the many bills will j have to be passed before Mr. Bruce leaves j for the next Imperial Conference in Lon- j don in September Among the first duties of the new Par- j liament will -be the revision of the new j tariff, which was postponed because of the j sudden decision of the Government to j go to the country. Since the new duties j have not given complete satisfaction, there | i is certain to be considerable debate when j they com e/ up for ratification. Foremost j pn the Government's legislative programme j will be measures to consolidate Australia's ) industrial position by the elimination of | ruinous strikes. The bills to be introduced during the ) early stages of the srss'on are designed (1) to amend the Conciliation and Arbitration Act, giving Judges life tenure and extending their authority over industrial matters within the Federal jurisdiction; j (2) to regulate trade unionism mainly by enforcement of the secret ballot, thus giving unionists complete control over their organisations; (3) to create a North Australian Commission to develop part o; the Northern Territory, Western Australia and Queensland above the 20th j parallel; (4) to partition Central Australia, giving control -over domestic and ad- j ministrative matters to a council presided j over by a resident administrator; (5) to appropriate money for the construction of the first section of the southern part of tli9 South-North railway; (6) to authorise a new loan for redemption and other purposes; (7)' to amend the Commonwealth 1 Bank Act- to enable the bank to assist, workers and those of small means to acquire their, own homes; (8) to prevent duplicatioh and overlapping of awards by Commonwealth and State industrial tribunals; (9) to establish a scheme of national and social insurance, providing for old age, invalidity and sickness; (10) to give effect to a scheme of child endowment recommended by Federal and State Arbitration Judges, and endorsed by the State Governments; (11) to provide for j unemployment insurance by co-operation j with the States; (12) to give further j assistance in regard to the marketing of our surplus .primary products; (13) to appropriate from customs revenue derived from motor imports £20,0-30,000, to be expended over a period of 10 years on road construction; (14) to provide health j legislation on lines recommended b} r a j recent Royal Commission; (15) to give effect to plans for partitioning of Federal end State authority agreed upon by conferences with the State Premiers. I' This list of measures contains no outstanding Imperial question, but its nature is of immense importance to Australians, j Identified with the bills are most of our j greatest problems, and although Mr. j Bruce would be the last to claim that j those problems would be solved by the 1 enactment of the measures, they will cer- J tainly relieve much that has been ham- ] pei'ing the country's development.