The Southland Times TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 1941. Conscription Issue in Australia

Southland Times, Issue 24601, 25 November 1941, Page 4

The Southland Times TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 1941. Conscription Issue in Australia

. TN THE AUSTRALIAN House of I Representatives last Friday the i Prime Minister, Mr J. Curtin, ap- * pealed to the people “to refrain from • controversy on conscription.” At the ; week-end the Minister of the Army ’ and the Minister of Munitions made further pleas, insisting that conl scription would divide the country; and the Australian Council of Trade Unions adopted a resolution in a ! similar vein. These may be the first ' clear signs of an approaching politii cal storm. There can be little doubt ‘ that the appeals of Government and ; Labour Party leaders will be disregarded. Conscription is not an ■ issue which can be confined to the ’ thin atmosphere of theory: it threatens to be a dilemma, and may well become a necessity. Australia retained the voluntary system throughout the last war; but in those days Japan was an ally, and the home front made no serious demands on man power. Undei - the present system military training is compulsory, although only for home defence. The Australian Imperial Force, whose achievements in the Middle East have earned it a proud name, continues to depend for reinforcements on the recruiting depots, and there is evidence that too many eligible men are holding back. Lieutenant-General Sir Thomas Blarney has commented bluntly on the situation since his return to Australia. “Everything out here shows the spirit of carnival,” he said in Melbourne 10 days ago. “When will Australians realize that we are right up against it, that we must fight or perish? A falling-off now in reinforcements for the A.I.F. means that in the inevitable campaign next spring our A.I.F. might not be as effective as it could be. That is a very serious thing.” Other prominent Australians, inside and outside Parliament, have advocated conscription, and the Returned Soldiers’ League decided recently to make it the objective for a nation-wide campaign. The Government’s position is made difficult by its adherence to the Labour Party’s traditional opposition to compulsory service. An attitude which can be maintained consistently by a party in opposition may become a source of weakness when the party assumes the responsibilities of office. The Government has to think and plan for national requirements; at the present time there is more at stake than a party tradition. Troops are needed in the Middle East and in Malaya, and no Government could survive the inadequate reinforcement of divisions already in the field. Presumably the Prime Minister and the Cabinet are convinced that the voluntary system will continue to satisfy all Australia’s requirements. But there is the further question of equality of sacrifice. As the war makes heavier demands on man power, and as industrial mobilization enters a more advanced phase, the immunity from service of a privileged minority will disturb public opinion—in the Labour movement as well as outside. Moreover, a sudden climax to the Far Eastern crisis might create an atmosphere of urgency which would force the Government’s hand. So far the Labour Ministry appears to have taken over the direction of Australia’s war policy with vigour and efficiency. The political scene has been noticeably quieter, and the public is apparently ready to give the new Government a fair trial. Possibly the Prime Minister has little to fear from normal manoeuvres; but he knows that the conscription issue split the Labour Party in the last war, and that it could easily do the same again. It should not be impossible, however, for a wise leadership to overcome the difficulty. There are no safe analogies between the situations today and in 1914-18. The Government may yet discover that there are worse things than inconsistency, especially if the choice lies between party policy and national security.