POLITICAL CRISIS

Otago Daily Times, Issue 25173, 13 March 1943, Page 5

POLITICAL CRISIS

AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT EARLY ELECTION POSSIBLE <Ree. 11.30 p.m.) CANBERRA. Mar. 12. A deadlock between the House of Representatives and the Senate on the Bill to impose £40,000,000 additional income taxation appears to have precipitated a rapid political crisis which may possibly provoke an early election. The cause of the dispute is a clause making the operation of the Tax Bill [ contingent on the operation of the National Welfare (Social Security) Bill." The Senate objection to the clause is that it unconstitutionally binds it to the acceptance of the Welfare Bill. The Senate regards the linking of the Welfare Bill with the Tax Bill raising funds for the war as “ subterfuge and election window-dressing.” The Government offered not to complete the passage of the Taxation Bill until the Welfare Bill had been considered by the Senate, but the offer was not acceptable to the Opposition Senators, who hold a majrity of two. The Prime Minister, Mr Curtin, stated i earlier that he would make the retention of the disputed clause in the Tax Bill a vital issue. After the Senate Opposition to-day blocked the Government attempt to avoid an immediate showdown and rejected by 15 votes to 13 the Government demand that it would leave the contentious clause in the Tax Bill, the Senate Opposition Leader, Mr G. •McLeay, declared: “We will fight to the last ditch.” The courses of action now facing the Curtin Government are as follows: (1) An election on the ground that Parliament is unworkable. (2) The presentation of a new tax Bill, removing the proposed taxation on lower incomes, in return for which taxpayers in the low income groups were to receive social security benefits. (3) A showdown between the House of Representatives and the Senate, with the former insisting that the Senate has no right to press requests on money Bills. Government acceptance of the Senate’s request that the disputed clause be deleted is possible, but it would be difficult and a bitter pill in view of Mr Curtin’s earlier statement making the clause a vital issue. By following the third course, the Government would ignore the Senate’s demands and present the Bill as it stands to the Governor-General for his assent. The House of Representatives must now consider the tax Bill for a third time. Angry Ministers after the Senate vote are reported to have declared in the lobby that one solution would be to withdraw the Bill, completely redrafting it without taxing the lower income groups, and then blame the Opposition for the delay in the introduction of the National Welfare Scheme. No official indication, however, has yet been given of the attitude to be adopted by the Government. Political correspondents point out that while the development is technically a deadlock between the two Houses of Parliament, actually it is a fight between the Government and the Opposition. No further major developments are likely now until the House of Representatives again receives the Bill next Tuesday. The correspondent of the Sydney Sun says a factor operating against an early election is that the date for the double dissolution of both the Senate and the House of Representatives has expired. If the House of Representatives went to the country immediately the Government would have to fight a second election for the Senate before the year was out.