FEDERAL ELECTION

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23332, 26 October 1937, Page 9

FEDERAL ELECTION

PROBABLE STATE OF PARTIES GOVERNMENT’S POSITION MAJORITY REDUCED BY FOUR (United Press Association) (By Electric Telegraph—Copyright) SYDNEY. Oct. 25. The state of the parties on the present figures appears to be: — United Australia Party .. .. 26 United Country Party .. •• 15 Labour .. 28 Doubtful 5 Of the five doubtful seats, the Sydney Morning Herald expects Labour to win two Thus the Government will have a majority of 14. instead of 18 as in the last House The Daily Telegraph expects the Government to lose only one seat to Labour, but the Labour Daily says the Laboui Party is likely to annexe the five seats from the Government The Senate position is still ob but indications are that in Victoria and Tasmania at least the Labour teams will be successful In Western Australia the vote appears to be favouring Labour, while in Queensland f he retiring Labour Senators have a slight advantage over their ipponents. Labour also has a slight lead in New South Wales, but the United parties at present are ahead in South Australia. The prospect appears to be that Labour’s representation in the Senate will increase from three to twelve There is a possibility that Labour may have even greater representation, and in that event there will be important political repercussions, as both parties would have almost equal representation The seven Senators who did not retire are all Government supporters. Mr Lyons, broadcasting from his home in Devonport, said: “I take the vote as an endorsement of the Government’s policy of co-operation with Britain in the interests of world peace.” THE INVESTMENT OUTLOOK LONDON, Oct. 25. (Received Oct. 26, at 0.15 a.m.) The Financial Times says that with a reasonable guarantee of a sane and moderate Government for the next three years, the prospects of Australian investments are encouraging and will undoubtedly attract the attention of British investors.

THE SENATE POLL

LABOUR SUCCESSES SYDNEY, Oct. 25. (Received Oct. 26, at 1.45 a.m.) Although the Government’s position in the House of Representatives is assured (its former majority of 18 is likely to be reduced by probably no more than three or four seats), the latest Senate figures indicate that Labour may sweep the Senate poll in all States. If this happens their majority in that Chamber will be two, which it is feared may produce a first-class constitutional crisis. But as the new Senators will not be eligible to take their seats in the next Parliament before July, the Lyons Government will be able to carry on in the meantime without fear of a hostile ScnstG Labour’s success in the senate campaign is described as inexplicable, except that it might be due to the fact that they adopted an ingenious plan of selecting candidates whose names in each instance began with the letter “A,” which brought them into one group at the top of the ballot papers, where they were more likely to obtain a preponderance of primary votes and the early preferences of unwary electors If the plan does succeed three Ministers will be defeated —the Minister of External Affairs (Senator Sir George Pearce), the Postmaster-general (Senator McLachlan), and the Assistant Minister (Senator T. C. Brennan). The senate count will not be completed for some days. The Minister of Defence (Sir Archdale Parkhill) still appears to be certain of defeat by a barrister Mr P. C. Spender, who is an unofficial United Australia Partyite. Only the distribution of preferences, which will be begun when the postal and absentees votes are in hand, will de dde the issue. The Social Credit Party’s nominees polled poorly, receiving less than 100,000 votes out of a total enrolment of nearly 4,000,000. The Communists polled fewer than 20,000.