Evening star., 1950-01-16
Australia, New Zealand Revolt
Against Prosperous Socialism
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prosperity is bolstered with "tht
most advanced social services il
the world"
People Are in Revolt.
If there is any country in the
world-outside the United State.
where, one would think. people
should be happy and contented, il
Is in these two dominions.
But the peoples of both coun.
tries, today, are in revolt. They
want changes, and are prepared t.
pay a stiff price to get them.
Within the past six weeks, bott
New Zealand and Australia have
fired the governments unde
which all this prosperity has COM
about.
In New Zealand, the sedate ane
tranquil little England of tn,
South Seas, the voters marched
quietly to the polls and threw ou
the socialistic Labor government
of Prime Minister Peter Fraser
which had been planning" ane
creating a Socialist Utopia for Il
years.
In Australia, they voted more
rambunctiously, and with more
grim bitterness on both sides.
The result was the same. Tht
Labor government of Prime Min
lister Joseph B. Chifley, committed
to full program of specialization
on the British model, which hac
carried Australia through eigh'
years of war and peace, wa.
thrown out of Office with an en-
thusiasrn which leaves it, even TO-
day, stunned and mystif1ed.
Outward Expression of Revolt.
These elections, startling as they
were, are only the outward ex-
preston of a revolution-or. az
the Marxists would say, counter.
revolution.
In Australia, particularly, every
man in the street knows that last
months elections were only the
first step on a hard new path.
It's new government, headed by
Prime Minister Robert G. MenZies
today is mapping the step-by-ster
program that it will pursue in the
new direction Australia has
chosen: and it knows even better
than the man in the street thai
it faces hard task, and bitter
fights.
Already, in its first two weeks
in office, it is faced with a water
side strike of dockworkers whose
union is Communist controlled. Al
this is written, 80 vessels are
standing idle over a seemingly
frivolous complaint involving the
first-aid men for the stevedore
crews.
There will be more such strikes;
many more. There will be indus
trial disorders, in all probability
on a scale and of a bitterness
which even Australia has not seen
before.
Australians Undismayed.
The prospect does not dismay
Australians. They weighed this
chance when they cast their votes
They voted to run this risk, with
their eyes open.
Seldom has any party, anywhere
stated it's purposes more clearly
and with less mumbo-jumbo ane
"bait" to unthinking voters, thar
the combined Liberal and Country
Parties in the elections just past
Every voter was told, in the
firmest possible language, that 6
vote for the Liberal-Country Party
ticket would be vote for "fret
enterprise" against the socialis
state.
He would be voting for the out.
lawing of the Communist party
and the purging of Communist
trades union officials.
He would be voting for a firmel
hand in dealing with unjustifiec
strikes which have crippled Aus.
tralian industry. He would be vot.
ing for a program aimed at more
production through wider use O.
such devices as incentive pay
ments," anathema to the socialis
state.
He would be voting against s
program of full employment
based on public works; he woult
take his chances on the full EN-
ployment growing out of healthy
productive industries.
Voting to De-Socialize."
He would be voting, finally, t,
"de-socialize" much that has beer
done in the past eight years-t'
fight side by side with the bank
GmagineD in repeating the legis
lation aimed at creating stat
banking monopoly; to restor
competition between national an,
private airlines and shipping com
panies; to wipe out the govern
ment monopoly in FIN broadcast
ing and television.
And in exchange, he got onl
these few promises of concret
benefits"
The social services (many O
them first introduced by the Lib
eral Party would be retained, an,
the benefits would not be reduced
Their cash value would not b
raised, but their real value-an
the value of all wages-would b
increased by putting value bac
into the pound"
The Child endowment" for fam
flies would be extended to give flv
shillings (about so cents) a wee
for the first child. Cali others ar
already receiving 10 shillings).
In industrial relations, the EN-
phasis would be on ending clas
warfare through firm insistence o
u