AUSTRALIAN LABOUR

New Zealand Herald, Volume LXXIII, Issue 22317, 15 January 1936, Page 8

AUSTRALIAN LABOUR

LEADERSHIP QUESTION LANG PARTY'S AMBITION FEDERAL CONTROL SOUGHT [from our own correspondent] SYDNEY, Jan. 8 January, 1936, will probably be an important month in the history of the Australian Labour Party. For nearly six years the party lias been torn by dissension, caused bv the breakaway of the Larig party in New South Wales. Now it would seem that the Lang party will at last achieve its ambitioncontrol of the Federal organisation. Decisions will be made at a special conference to be held in Melbourne on January 25 which are expected to result in the unity of factions. "While competent observers forecast that unity will be accomplished almost as soon as the special conference meets, they believe it will not be a unity of heart. Mutual fears and suspicions will not be laid in the dust at the waving of a political wand. The unity will be a forced compact, sponsored by the battalions of unionists who see no hope of political power while Labour's leaders wage warfare over the leadership of the Federal Parliamentary Labour Party. Although this question was kept in the background at special and other Labour conferences during the last year or so, it was obvious to impartial observers that behind and over all loomed the vexed problem of the leadership, which, they assert, has been the stumbling block to unity for years. This Month's Speicial Conference It has been obvious for a lon<; time that the New South Wales Labour Party has been determined to wrest the leadership from whoever was in possession, and the birth of unity will not banish the ambitions of the New South Wales party. Evidence of what lies ahead was provided in Canberra last October, when the representatives of the New South Wales State Labour Party saw the fruition of their plans to manoeuvre South Australia, Victoria and Tasmania into agreement to join them in conference before the assembling of the Federal executive. ]t was a remarkable development in Labour's history for recognition to be accorded an expelled branch—New South Wales —as was done in this case. Influential members of the Federal executive were perturbed. They watched while the four State groups planned for changes in the Federal constitution of the party. This preliminary conference agreed to submit to the special conference in (January proposals that the Federal constitution of the party should be altered to make the basis of representation at subsequent conferences one of membership, and not on the basis of States. The adoption of that sweeping change would enable the New South W ales party, in alliance with other powerful State groups, like Victoria and South Australia, to dominate Federal conferences and determine that the leadership of the Federal Party should be decided by conference. Already in New South Wales, the Labour leader in the State Parliament is chosen by the annual conference of the party, and it is only a step to the same -objective in the Federal zone. Leaders of the New South Wales Labour group visualise this as an impending change. Political Strategy The meeting of the Federal executive, held in Canberra the day after the preliminary conference of the four States, refused to agree to the decisions of that conference. Nevertheless, what the New South Wales State Labour Party was able to accomplish in the way of political strategy was an indication of what lay ahead when unity was achieved. Under the terms, agreed to at the meeting of the Federal executive in Canberra in October the re-admittance of the New South Wales Party is inevitable. They have made all the necessary assurances of loyalty to the platform, rules and constitution of the party, and there remains only the formal reiteration of those assurances to the full conference before the hand of welcome will be given them. Already there is speculation as to what political position Mr. Beasley, the leader of the Lang group in the Federal Parliament, will obtain as the aftermath of unity. It is generally agreed that a re-election of officers of the united Parliamentary Party will take place on the re-assembling of Parliament after Labour unity has been achieved, and it is known that Mr. Curtin, the present leader of the Labour opposition, would welcome another test of the party's views on the question of leadership. Supporters of the Beasley group feel that their leader should obtain some responsible position from tin? united Parliamentary Party, and it is suggested that if the leadership is not for him, he should at least receive the deputy-leadership, in placs of the present deputy-leader, Mr. Forde.