VICTORIAN POLL

Taranaki Daily News, 4 March 1935, Page 5

VICTORIAN POLL

LITTLE CHANGE MADE NATIONAL PARTY RETURNS LABOUR GAINS ONLY ONE COUNTRY PARTY SUCCESS MOST OF MINISTERS SAFE By Telegraph—Press Assn.—Copyright. Rec. 6.30 p.m. Melbourne, March 3. Voting in the Victorian State elections resulted in the return of the National Government led by Sir Stanley Argyle and composed of United Australia Party and Country Party Ministers. Labour won back only one of the 12 seats which were lost to the United Australia Party at the last general elections. The United Australia Party, however, appears to have lost three seats to the Country Party—Warrnambool, StawellArarat and Kara Kara-Borung. When counting ceased at midnight the figures indicated that probably the state of the parties in the new Parliament would be:— United Australia Party ... 26 Country Party • 19 Labour • 1 ‘ Independent 3 In the Kara Kara and Borung electorate the Minister of Education, Mr. Pennington, is behind two Country Party candidates on their aggregate votes. The deputy-Premier, Mr. Kasfailane, thus far is unable to get ahead of Lieutenant-Colonel Herring, his unendorsed United Australia Party opponent, in Brighton. The other Ministers appear safe. Mr. H. Hollins, the only Douglas Credit candidate, has polled 9595 votes against Mr. J. Gray (United Australia Party) 10,898 in Hawthorn. Four Communists received negligible support, and three of them seem likely to lose their deposits. Miss Mary Jones, the only woman among the 130 candidates, polled well in Port Melbourne, but has no chance of winning. Labour’s one gain was in Geelong, where Mr. Brownhill is leading Mr. Austin (United Australia Party) by 1468 votes.

A woman rushing into the Hawthorn town hall to record her vote just before the poll closed slipped on the polished floor and broke her leg. She was taken away without having complied with the compulsory voting provision of the poll. Little counting was done to-day. Mr. MacFarlane, Attorney-General, is now 400 ahead and is likely to win at Brighton, only 1500 absentee votes remaining. Mr. Pennington is in a precarious position. in his country electorate of Kara Kara, where the Country Party candidate, Mr. Cameron, is likely to win. Warmambool may be won by Mr. Bailey, the former Country Party holder of the seat.

Stawell has been definitely lost by the United Australia Party to Mr. MacDonald (Country Party). The city electorate of Caulfield was won by Colonel Cohen, who resigned from the Legislative Council to contest the Legislative Assembly seat. The public servants’ campaign against the Ministerial candidates owing to the refusal of a definite promise to restore salaries was without effect.