POLITICS TO-DAY

Otago Daily Times, Issue 23515, 1 June 1938, Page 10

POLITICS TO-DAY

KEEN PUBLIC INTEREST ELECTIONEERING SEASON SELECTION OF CANDIDATES Although the general election is still almost six months away, interest in the doings of the two main parties—Labour and National —is high, and daily the respective chances of the two are eagerly discussed. 'Until a month or two ago the view appeared to be held generally that the Government, with almost 60 seats in the House of .Representatives, would be extremely difficult to unseat, but since that time there has been a swing in popular opinion in the direction of a belief that when polling day comes the forces of Labour, now in power in New Zealand for the first time, may find themselves once more in the political wilderness. Whatever the outcome of the election may be —and it is impossible at this stage to make any prediction that may not be upset during the next few months —one thing is certain. The anti-Labour element in New Zealand is organised to a greater extent than ever before, and as the political consciousness of the people is probably greater than ever before the next few months cannot fail to be interesting. Sporadic electioneering has taken place already, and as time draws on this will be intensified. The last session of any Parliament is always regarded as being to a large extent an electioneering one, and during the session that is to be commenced in Wellington at the end of .this month, it will undoubtedly be necessary for the public to take with a very large grain of salt a great many of the statements that will be madeThe Use of Radio A new factor in politics which is being exploited more and more in this country is the radio, and indications are not wanting that the public is taking a keen interest in the broadcast expositions of the policies of-the parties contending for office. The broadcasting of parliamentary debates, which has been in practice since 1936, has given the people an illuminating, if not always an impressive, insight into the doings of those who are sent to Wellington to represent them for better or for worse, but possibly the steady and no doubt monotonous serving up of stock debates has aroused less interest than the political addresses which have been given over the air during the present recess. The Prime Minister (Mr M. J. Savage), the Minister of Finance (Mr W. Nash), the Leader of the Opposition (Mr A. Hamilton), and Mr H. Atmore (Independent. Nelson) have all had the ear of the electorate by wireless during the past two or three months, and the public was also enabled to hear the “debate” on the respective merits of the guaranteed price and the compensated price systems which took place in the Waikato between Mr Nash, in his capacity as Minister of Marketing, and Mr J. H. Furniss. advocate of the compensated price, which has been adopted as a plank in the policy of the National Party. At an early date Mr Hamilton, probably also from the Waikato, will broadcast a reply, to the speech recently given at Lower Hutt by Mr Nash, and it is suggested that the task of replying to him may be assigned to the Minister of Education (Mr P. Fraser), who will probably find less opportunity there than he does iri the House for the invective he sometimes uses with considerable effect. The Chalmers Seat Due to the decision of the Boundaries Commission in eliminating the Chalmers electorate, there will be one fewer seat to be contested in Otago at the general election this year. This will leave the sitting Government member, Mr A. Campbell, of Port Chalmers, without an electorate to represent, and it has been rumoured for some time that room may be found for him on the red plush benches of the Legislative Council —a course that would be thoroughly in keeping with a procedure that has been established for many years. Support for the view that he will not be permitted to vanish entirely from political life may be obtained from the statement made by Mr Savage at Dunedin in August last year that the people “ would not lose Mr Campbell.”

Of the Otago seats, there are still three for which both the Government and National Parties have not nominated candidates. Two of these —Dunedin Central and Dunedin South—are in the city, but as nominations for candidates to oppose the sitting Government member for Dunedin Central were to close yesterday the National nominee should be announced at' an early date. The date of closing of nominations for Dunedin South has been extended to June 21. In Dunedin North the sitting member, Mr J. W. Munro, is to be opposed by the National candidate, Mr A. S. Falconer, who, at the last election, was 1700 votes behind Mr Munro in a threecornered contest. Mr T. K. S. Sidey, who contested the Dunedin South seat at the last election against the oresent Postmaster-general (Mr F. Jones), is standing for the National Party for Dunedin West, which is held by Dr D. G. McMillan, the Government member. So far Mr Jones, in Dunedin South, and Mr P. Neilson, Government member for Dunedin Central, are unopposed. Labour On Defence

In Central Otago the Labour Party has nominated Mr J. M. Mackay to stand against the sitting National member, Mr W. A. Bodkin, in whose electorate the boundaries have been radically changed. Mr D. Barnes, the sitting Government member, is opposed in Waitaki—-partly in Otago and partly in Canterbury—by Mr D. C. Kidd (National). The Rev. A. H. Nordmeyer, Government member for Oamaru, who is chairman of the committee which recently heard evidence on the Government’s proposals for a national health and superannuation scheme, is to be opposed by Mr M. F. E. Cooney, formerly Mayor of Oamaru, who is standing in the interests of the Nationalists. In Clutha, Mr J. A. Roy, National sitting member, has been challenged by Mr H. A. Brough, standing as an Independent candidate. During the coming session of Parliament and in the election campaign Labour will be on the defence, really for the first time. Hitherto it has always been the attacking side, and some of its members have developed through experience into virulent attackers, sparing none of their opponents in the bitterness o£ their invec-

tive. Three years in office, however, have enabled the Labour Government to accumulate sufficient political sins to provide a wide target for its opponents, and as soon as the session starts the fight will be on. It will be interesting to see how the forces which clashed at the last election will fare this year with their positions reversed.