AUSTRALIAN ELECTIONS

Taranaki Daily News, 13 September 1934, Page 11

AUSTRALIAN ELECTIONS

ISSUES BEFORE THE VOTERS CANDIDATES AND PLATFORMS. . POLLING DAY ON SATURDAY. Several features lend an unqsual amount of interest to the Australian Federal general election to. be held on Saturday. The keenness which the contest has aroused throughout the Commonwealth is reflected in . the record number of candidates offering, which is 329, cmopared with 233 at ■ the last election, in 1931, and observers of the situation find an added interest in the de- u meanour of the rival Labour factions. The world at large, however, takes most interest in anticipating what use Australians will make of their opportunity to endorse the policy of stability pursued by the Lyons Government. ’ Broadly speaking, the contending interests fall into four parties, the United Australian Party, under Mr. J. A. Lyons, which has held office since December, 1931; the Australian Country Party, under Dr. Earle Page; the Australian Labour Party, under Mr. J. H. Scullin, Leader of.the Opposition and ex-Prime Minister; and the Lang-Labour, or Stat® Labour, Party, under Mr. J. A. Beasley.. Mr. Lang is not seeking election. MANY OTHER GROUPS. , The foregoing parties account for 187 of the 262 candidates who will' contest seats in the House of Representatives and.for a majority of the 67 who are seeking places in the Senate. The other candidates are campaigning under the following banners: United Country, Country Party, Progressive, Douglas Credit, Independent Labour, Independent Australia United, Communist, Socialist and Independent. Mr. A. E; Green, Labour, has been returned unopposed for Kalgoorlie, Western Australia, leaving 74 seats in th® House of Representatives to be con- > tested. There are 18 vacancies to be filled in the Senate, only half the total number of Senators retiring at one time. Following is the classification of the candidates, showing the numbers in each group:— House of Representatives: Australian Labour, 71; United Australia, 61; Country, 27; Douglas Credit, 34; Communist, 20; Lang-Labour, 28; others, 21. Senate; United Australia, 21; Australian Labour, 18; Lang-Labour, 3; Douglas Credit, 9; ungrouped, 16. LANG-LABOUR PARTY. ' The Lang-Labour Party is confining its energies almost entirely to New South Wales, and has not put forward a single candidate in Victoria. It has been in strong conflict with the Australian Labour ‘ Party, but a recent cooling-off in hostilities lias led to the belief that a belated understanding has been reached between- the two parties. The trend of the policy speeches delivered indicates that six main issues are being placed before electors. They are banking, unemployment, industries, tariffs, marketing and social services. The attitude of the four principal .. parties to these matters may be summarised as follows:— .... , United Australia Party: No political interference with currency, banking and savings. Vigorous works policy to absorb the unemployed.'Special help for unemployed youths. Fostering of exports, continuation of protection and subsides, guarantee to wheatgrowers and recovery loan for debt relief. Reciprocal agreements with foreign', countries and an Empire trade drive. No restriction of production. Financial assistance to reduce maternal mortality. COUNTRY PARTY’S AIMS. Country Party: Inquiry into exchange, / hanking and currency and credit reform, and expansion; National insurance, development of rural exporting industries under a council of agriculture. Development of exports, reduction of tariffs and freights, abolition of land tax and a loan of £12,000,000 for rural debt relief, pi- • vestigation of tariff, downward revision of duties and greater Empire preference. Application of Ottawa principles and. world trade treaties with Empire first. Combination of all social services in a national insurance scheme. Australian Labour Party: Nationalisation of banking by expanding the Commonwealth Rank under a governor to be appointed by Parliament. Bold policy to provide work. Development of North Australia by Government help. Wheat pool controlled by growers with Government guarantee. Restriction of tobacco imports. Three years’ stabilsation plan for industry. Adequate protection to develop manufacturing and local markets. Orderly marketing schemes, finance of pools by Copimonwealth Bank, review of Ottawa agreement and no restrictions. Full restoration of all “cuts.” National unemployment and accident insurance.

“COMMONWEALTH MORATORIUM.”

Lang-Labour Party: National control of banking. Public credit under Government control. National unemployment insurance, shorter working week and restoration to employment, at full wages, of every idle worker. Writing .down of farmers’ debts, a Commonwealth moratorium, refinancing of mortgages and reduced interest rates. Scientific tariff protection to, promote industry. Controlled marketing on the lines of the British and Australian Wool' Realisation Association, supported by the Cominonwealth Bank. Repeal of the property provisions of the Pensions Act, with full restoration of the pension rate. National insurance. Candidates will be elected on a preferential system of voting, as opposed to the “first-past-the-post" in vogue in New South Wales, where, however, the elector is given the option of a preferential -vote. An elector under the Federal preferential system must vote for all candidates in his constituency, marking their names 1,2 and 3 and so on, in the order of his preference. The state of the parties in the House of Representatives when Parliament was dissolved on August 7 was as follows:— United Australia Party, 37; Country Party, 16; Labour, 14; Lang-Labour, 5; Independents, 3. The representation in the Senate was as follows:—United Australia Party, 19; Country Party, 6; Labour, 7; Lang-tabour, 3; Independent, 1.