THE FEDERAL FIGHT

Otago Daily Times, Issue 18748, 29 December 1922, Page 9

THE FEDERAL FIGHT

COMPLEX POSITION IN AUSTRALIA. jJTsou Oub Own Cobbespondent.J SYDNEY, December 20. Tlie aftermath of the Federal election fight has left people wondering whom they are to look to for their next Government, for as a result of the voting no party is likely 'to have anything near an absolute majority. Although the counting is not yet complete, it looks likely that ift a House of 75 the Nationalist Party will have at the most 31 seats, the Labour party two or three less than that number, with the remainder split up among the Country Party, Liberals, and Independents. This will bring about an almost impossible position, whch is regarded as likely to lead to another election at no distant date. There seems to be only one solution of the trouble —the deposition of Mr Hughes from the leadership of the Nationalists, for it is a personal objection on the part of Dr Earle Page towards the Prime Minister that stands in the way. of a fusion of the Nationalist and Country Party forces. Whether or not this can be brought about is doubtful, but Mr Hughes’s position has become all the more difficult because of the defeat at the poll of all but one of his personal followers—those Labour men who broke away, with, him over the conscription issue, and, with, the Liberals, formed the National Party. But for Mr Hughes and fiia solitary follower the party is now almost as much a true-blue Liberal section as it was befoie the coalition. Although Labour has gained half a dozen seats or more, and, in all the States but Queensland, has topped the poll in the Senate voting, its hope of gaining the Government benches is negligible, for it can look for no support from any of the other parties. Strangely enough, it has received, its greatest set-back in Queensland, which in former years was its stronghold. Its loss hero may be attributed to the injudicious and irritating legislation of Mr Theodore’s Labour Government. In the other States it is likely that Labour will gain, many Senate seats, for, guoh is the method of counting the preferences, that the candidate at the top of the poll is almost certain to swing the vote for the rest of his group. In New South Wales a feature of the voting was the utter rout of the Majority Labour Party, formed by Mr Catts when he broke away from the Official Labour Party as a protest against what he described as their corrupt methods, Mr Catts and 11 of his candidates scored lowest in every electorate contested, and most of thorn, having failed to reach a fifth of the winning candidate’s total, will be required to forfeit their deposits of £25. Although Mr Hughes defeated Mr 1 iddington for North Sydney, the latter succeeded in making a remarkable reduction in previous Nationalist majorities there. Mr Hughes had to contend with bitter personal attacks from a section of the press, particularly in regard to his acceptance of a gitt of £25,000. But his endurance gave out when a Sydney daily attempted to connect the present with the acquisition of land in Australia by Japanese. Mr Hughes s reply was the issue of a writ for £IO,OOO against tlie newspaper. The incident probably helped to gain a good deal of sympathy for the Prime Minister. Members themselves are more anxious than anybody else regarding the development of the political situation, for having come successfully through a gruelling and expensive fight, not one of them is anxious to face another election. The present complex situation, however, may leave them no choice ’