NEW SOUTH WALES POLITICS.

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18541, 29 April 1922, Page 9

NEW SOUTH WALES POLITICS.

Twelve days ago ' Sir George Fuller, leader of the Nationalist Party, was entrusted with the duty of forming a Government in New South Wales in succession to that composed of members of the Labour Party under Mr Dooley. The new Government has shown commendable promptitude in grappling with the dismal heritage bequeathed to it as the result of the political muddling of the Labour Party. Sound finance lies at the root of all good government, but the new Government, on taking office in New South Wales, was faced with an empty Treasury and with a deficit of between £5,000,000 and £6,000,000, which may. be increased by a possible loss of £500,000 on the wheat pool. To cope with the consequences of the frenzied finance of the past few years demands courage and firmness. /The new Government is committed to the practice of economies wherever these are practicable. But, the financial position being what it is, the relief from taxation which it hoped to be able to offer the public must in part be postponed. The difficulties of the new Government are not confined to those which will bo associated with the effort to balance satisfactorily the current finance of the State. The Treasurer is met also with the necessity of making provision for £6,900,000 of loan money which falls due in London in October. It is interesting, in those circumstances, to observe that in the swan song of his predecessor in office it was asserted that the outlook might have been muchworse and that the revenue was showing an improvement. “The estimated railway deficit of £1,000,000 may grpve excessive,” optimistically declared the late Treasurer. Mr Cocks, by whom he is succeeded in the new Government, is hardly likely to emulate him in the utterance of vague generalities respecting the public finances. It will be his duty to make sure that the affairs, of the State are conducted on sound business principles. The Labour Administration ‘Would almost seem to have been incapable of assimilating the ordinary rules of arithmetic. What would have happened if the party had been returned again to power and had attempted to carry out the grandiose programme which, with profligate promises, it placed before the electors, can only be conjectured. It is to be anticipated that, as a result of the change of Government, the State’s credit on the London market-will improve, and in this event, the renewal of the loans which will shortly fall due may be accomplished upon terms that’ will not be unduly onerous. The National Government will doubtless effect some farreaching changes in pursuance of its general policy. The era of experimental enterprises has proved very costly and the Minister in charge of State Industries has announced his intention of weeding out unprofitable ventures. It may be possible within a reasonable time to recover much of the ground lost through the administrative mistakes of the Labour party, but it is likely th|jt that party, chagrined by its defeat, will be obstructive of all the Government’s proposals, even though they may be directed to the object of retrieving the fortunes of the State. The comments of the Labour members on the election of the Speaker throw a curious light on the standard of political consistency held by the party. But for Mr Levy, who had been returned as a Nationalist, accepting the Speakership in the last Parliament, the Labour party could not have retained power. When, however, he was nominated this week for election as Speaker!of the new House, bitter was the criticism that came from the Labour benches. The most important point in the programme of the Nationalist Government for restoring prosperity to the State consists in the proposal f#r the development of the country. A comprehensive policy of rural effort has been outlined, and the contention of the Minister of Lands that “it is only an effective land settlement policy that can pull the State out of its present financial difficulties’* is one of the validity of which there can be very little doubt. There remains the larger aspect of this issue—the question of the peopling of Australia. Upon this qv >stion the new Government takes a broad and sane, view. “If they wanted to save Australia,” Sir George Fuller recently declared, “they mus£ join with Federal and Imperial authorities to see that her empty spaces were filled with people of the British race.” Fortunately for New South Wales, the change of Gov-

eminent affords the promise that she may regain her place as the most stable of the States in Australia.