Evening star., 1943-08-28
Curtin's Victory


his Labor Government have won a
decisive victory in the Australian
general election. He waged his cam
paign on the conduct of the war eff
fort, which quite naturally included
the governments ability to secure
Allied aid for Australia. The oppo-
sition included both the United Aus
tralian party and the Country party.
1t sought to return to power the Con-
servative coalition which controlled
the government in 1941 under the
leadership of Arthur William Fadden
OF the Country party.
The vote in the general election
was tribute to the Prime Minister
and his conduct of affairs in war
time. 1t was not without its signifi-
canoe. Mr. Curtin took office in
October, 1941, with a bare majority
OF two. Last June his government
survived a motion of mo confidence"
by only one vote. 1t was then that
Mr.. Curtin decided to let the voters
determine whether the Labor admin
istration should remain in power.
The Labor party in Australia is no
spring chicken. 1t was organized in
1890, and whether in power or out, it
has for years been a powerful influ-
ence. 1t has been relatively conserva-
tive. as compared to the Labor party
In England. Now, for twenty-one
months Of war, it has been in the
saddle and has won the approval of
the electorate. The charge that the
Curtin trade union group had used
the government to advance state So
cialism failed to register effectively.
The general election in Australia
was a full dress affair. There was
no light vote" owing to the war or
to any lack of interest on the part of
the voters. Indeed, in Australia, all
such elections bring out the vote.
Voting for all citizens, men and
women, twenty-one years of age or
more is compulsory. Any citizens
who fail to enter their names on the
electoral rolls face a penalty of five
pounds-about $40. Those who fail
to register within the first twenty
one days after becoming qualified
are penalized ten shillings. For fail
ure to vote in an election, the penalty
is from ten shillings to two pounds.
Unless good cause can be shown why
a voter did not 60 to the polls, the
penalty is imposed. The effort is to
bring about as near 100 per cent vot-
ing as possible.
The Australian election laws lay
emphasis on the fact that the right
of franchise carries with it duty-a
duty which all citizens must perform.
In the United States, this duty is too
often ignored. Millions of Americans
in the past have failed to register
and failed to vote. 1t may be said
that a citizen should have right to
stay away from the polls, particu-
larly II he does not approve of any
OF the candidates who may be run
ming. But the duty of a citizen to
take part in his Government through
the exercise Of the vote is of major
Importance. 1t is not something to
be lightly discarded-as the Austral-
ians have demonstrated. In the re-
cent election Australians in the
armed forces were given an oppor-
tunity to vote, no matter where they
happened to be. Furthermore, in
this particular election all citizens in
the armed forces, who had served
during the present war, either inside
or outside Australia, had the privi-
lege of voting. That went for the
boys of sixteen or seventeen as we'll
as for those of twenty-one.