ONE RULE IN AUSTRALIA.

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXVIII, Issue 20992, 1 October 1931, Page 11

ONE RULE IN AUSTRALIA.

LABOIJR PARTY'S POLICY. MINOR ROLE FOR STATES. HINT OF EARLY REFERENDUM. By Teleg.-aph—Press Association—Copyright. (Rece ved September 30, 10.45 p.m.) CANBERRA, Sept. 30. The P -irne Minister, Mr. J. 11. Scullin, to-day made it quite plain that, tho Federal Ministry was definitely opposed to any constitutional change which would mean an increased number of self-govern-ing legislatures. Indeec, he s;iid the Government's aim would bj directed toward unification, giving the Commonwealth Parliament complete sovereign powers and delegating purely bcal powers to provincial councils. Mr. Scullin made a reply in these terms to a de egation from the United Country movement, led by Mr. Charles Hardy, who sponsored tho case for separation in the Riverina. Mr. Hardy stated that the country folk were most determined to obtain constitutional reform along the lines of the recent igitatinn in the north and south of New South Wales. The Riverina people ,vere most anxious for a convention to disciss the subdivision of the existing States. Mr. Scullin rejected this idea also, but indicated that tho people would have an opporti nity in tho near future to express their views concerning the constitutional change > now isuggested. The Prime Minister promised to submit all the representations to the Cabinet, and hinted that the delegation could expect no assistance from the present Government is attaining its object. Bills embodying the Government's proposals for increasing the powers of the Commonwealth were submitted to Parliament last year and rejected by the Senate. The most sweeping proposal was that the Commonwealth Parliament should be empowered to alter the Constitution withott further reference to the electors. The bill in which this proposal was embodied provided for the insertion of the follow.ng new clause in the Constitution after clause 128:—" Notwithstanding anything in the last preceding section the Parliament shall have full power to alter the Constitution in the following man-ner:—-The proposed law for the alteration thereof must,, after the lapse of one month from its origination in a House of the Parliament, be passed by an absolute majority of each House of tho Parliament and assented to by the Governor-Gen-eral.' 1 The effect of such an amendment to the Constitution, if approved by the peopls in a referendum, would bo to abolii h the referendum system. Tho Scullin Ministry has two further proposals for altering tho Constitution, one to provide that the Commonwealth Parliament niay intervene in industrial disputes within the boundary of any one State, and the other providing unrestricted power to legislate in regard to any matter affecting the trade and commerce of Australia, except railways. Bills incorporating these proposals also were rejected by the Senate last year.