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MENZIES TELLS AUDIENCE
THAT "LABOUR IS OUT"
MELBOURNE, Nov. 30: "Labour is out." said the
Leader of the Opposition (Mr. Menzies), waving the
news of the New Zealand election before a cheering
audience of over 900 in the Sunshine Hall tonight.
The news changed the whole
tone of the meeting, which
earlier had been punctuated by
a constant stream of interjec
tions against the Liberal candi
date for Lalor (Mr. Bellair)
and Mr. Menzies.
"Today it is New Zealand,"
Mr. Menzies said. "On Saturday
week it will be Australia, and
next year Great Britain."
Mr. Menzies was warmly re
ceived by the audience, but as he
began to speak a voice called:
"We didn't all clap, Bob." The
same interjector asked: "What
about the Maori vote?"
It was marvellous what straws
a drowning Labour man would
cling to, Mr. Menzies said. A few
weeks ago they were so sure they
would never be "out." Now they
were so depressed that they talked
about Maori seats in New Zealand
which Labour had held for years.
When the news of the New
Zealand vote was nded up to Mr.
Menzies he said: 1ell, now, you
fellows at the back of the hall,
we are more than tven about the
Maori vote. Labour is out in New
Zealand."
For the first ten minutes of Mr.
Menzies's' speech an interjector
called repeatedly: "Why. did you
resign in 1941?" Mr. M nzies said
warmly: "You concern yourself
about my forthcoming election. If
I'm in you hate me, and if I resign
you blame me."
"RUNNING AWAY."
Mr. Menzies said that there was
nothing more pathetic, a fortnight
before an election, than to find
the Labour Party running away
from its platform of socialisation.
Were these the big strong men
who wanted to rule Australia, he
asked. "If I believed in national
ising the banks I would not be
crawling around trying to make
people forget it," he said. "I would
be honest and straightforward
about it."
-Mr. Menzies said. that at least
Mr. Ward (the Minister for Ex
ternal Territories) had spoken out
bluntly about bank nationalisation.
Interjector: A good man is Ted.
Mr. Menzies: And you won't
get me to say anything against
him. Mr. Ward has the most en
gaging habit of calling the bluff
of his colleagues.
Attacking the Labour Party
claims to a watertight plan for
full employment, Mr. Menzies said
that it was wrong to believe that
Labour Governments hkd created
full employment, and 'dangerous
to expect them to maintain it.
Full employment was the result
of the pent-up post-war demand
for goods not produced during
the war. The Chifley Govern
ment had had no more effect upon
high prices for wool and wheat
than upon the state of the wea
ther.
The Chifley Government's full
employment plan. in the White
Paper tabled in Canberra pro
vided for a public works pro
gramme of £750,000,000, he said.
The Liberal Party did not criti
cise this prograt1me, but insisted
that this alone would not prevent
depressions.
Mr. Menzies said that this would
involve manpower controls to take
a man from his present-day work
and his home and friends, to work
in some remote place like the
Kiewa -Valley.
At this point a howl of derision
drowned Mr. Menzies's voice.
"Yes, you'd howl louder," he
replied, "if you were asked to
do it. You can't guarantee work
for workers in their present jobs
unless you have a Government
eager to encourage. private enter
prise, which keeps four out of
every five Australian workpeople
in their jobs."
HUMAN VALUES.
Socialists were not concerned
about the individual problem or
human values..
Interjectors: "That's not a true
statement."
Mr. Menzies: I call your at
tention to unhappy Britain, which
has suffered under socialists since
the end of the war and is now
in a financial crisis and forced to
adopt the compulsory direction of
labour.
Interjector: But Labour has won
every by-election in Britain since
the last election.
Mr. Menzies said that the truth
could not be avoided that social
ist Britain had found itself driven
to conscript labour. "The last
thing I want to do in a state of
peace is to preside over a country
so lost in pride and freedom as
to tolerate industrial conscription,"
he said.
Mr. Menzies met all interjections
with a smile and addressed seve
ral of the audience as "lack." To
one fmnal interjector who asked
what union he belonged to,. he
said: "I can't belong to' a union,
you know, because I work more
tnan 40 hours a week.:
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