SIX PARTIES

Otago Daily Times, Issue 21905, 17 March 1933, Page 8

SIX PARTIES

SOUTH AUSTRALIAN ELECTIONS A COMPLEX POSITION. (From Our Own Correspondent.) SYDNEY, March 9. With the Labour Party split into three camps, and a record number of independents offering, the South Australian election campaign, now in full swing, is one of the most unusual in the history of the State. The elections will not take place until April 8, but already much campaigning has been done, and there is great public Altogether six parties are running candidates. The Parliamentary Labour Party, which is in power, and the Liberal and the Country Party, under the Leader of the Opposition (Mr R. L. Butler, a former Premier), both favour a continuance of the Premiers’ Plan for the balancing of Budgets, and their policies agree in the main essentials. Repudiation of this plan is advocated by the State Labour Party and the Lang Labour Party. The other parties are the Single Tax League and the People’s Party. Labour took office after the last elections with 30 followers out of a total of 40 in the House of Assembly. Trouble began in the party when the then Premier (Mr L. L. Hill) started to put into operation the economy, scheme of the Special Advisory Committee on Finance. The definite split occurred later when the Premiers’ Plan was adopted by the Government. Eight members left the caucus and those who supported the plan were expelled from tire State Labour Party. Three of them have since been readmitted, and are now standing as endorsed Labour candidates and opponents of the plan. Mr Hill faced another caucus crisis at the beginning of the present year when he failed to get his followers to endorse his election policy based on the principles of co-operation and the sinking of all contentious party issues. The Outcome of this was the decision to send Mr Hill to London as Agent-general for the State. The contest in the Cabinet led to the resignation of one of its members, who himself was a candidate ; for the 'Loudon position. _ j The Government is going to the j country on a moderate policy in the forefront of which is a continuance of | the present financial administration. Its , new leader (Mr R. S. Richards), who succeeded Mr Hill as Premier a month , ago, is 40 years of age, and was once a i newsboy. He was a mine before his election to Parliament. His followers have been concentrating on the seats already held. In many of the | electorates the fight will be between ! the rival Labour organisations, and it is | difficult to say how the results will go. , It would not be surprising in the circtun T \ stances if the Liberal Party, which has ! already had a taste of power, should be returned. The Liberals are very strong in the country areas, and, providing there is no surprise, at least five of them will j be returned unopposed. j