Complex sentence: The loss turned out to be a blessing in disguise to Butler, as Labor was forced to deal with the Depression while Butler could work on his pet project: namely, the amalgamation of the Liberal Federation and the Country Party.
Split into simpler sentences: The loss turned out to be a blessing in disguise to Butler, as Labor was forced to deal with the Depression. Meanwhile, Butler set to work on his pet project: namely, the amalgamation of the Liberal Federation and the Country Party.