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CHALLENGE TO
OPPOSITION
Mr. Curtin Hits At
critics
BRISBANE August 18
A challenge to the Federal Op-
position to try to defeat the Gov-
ernment if it was not satisfied with
"The Government is either right
or wrong he continued. "If it
is wrong it should be put out. I
am quite ready to invite the Opposi-
tion to take the necessary action.
Asked whether he would treat
any censorship debate in Parlia-
ment as a vital matter, Mr Curtin
said: - I shall treat any attack on
the Government in relation to its
conduct of the war as a vital issue.
I am not going to wait six months
for the crumbling and white-ant-
ing to set in, for the conjuring up
of labels such as 'Wardism' and
'Dedmanism'
'Parliament can either accept
my administration or get another
one, but while it accepts my ad-
ministration I expect support from
all sections, not consistent sniping
by men who, when in office, prac-
tised every one the vices which
they are apparently now discover-
ing.
I am more than ever convinced
that the Japanese had some know-
ledge of the Solomons attack.
There were men yelling offensives
when they knew that they were
being undertaken.
Capitalist 'Wolf"
Mr Curtin also said that news-
papers in this country were afraid
that when the war was over the
Labor Party would still be in con-
trol and the capitalist wolf qould
not be able to feed on the lambs
in the factories and workshops as
it had done for the past 50 years.
The country he said would get
on quite well without capitalists
but not without the people he re-
presented. They did the work
while the shareholders whom these
other people represented invested
a few thousand pounds and then
sat back.
When we try to limit excess
profits' he said 'these share-
holders are all found to be widows
or trustees or orphans. After this
war there will be a lot of orphans
and all the wealth of this nation
will needed to give them decent
conditions. There will have to be
a fairer distribution of wealth. I
am not going to defer to people
who want to restore an outmoded
political outlook.
In a final attack, obviously
directed against Opposition mem-
bers of the War Advisory Council
Mr Curtin said: "I know who
my critics are and what they have
been. One of them has been a
member of every political party
this country has known. Another
has spent most of his time in courts
pleading for the most part for the
rich. Another was so disgusted
with the UAP that he came into
Parliament by defeating that
party's Minister for Defence. Then
having defeated him, he imme-
diately joined the party which he
had so utterly despised. He sub-
sequently made himself a lieu-
tenant-colonel so as to give him-
self a title.
Opposition Meeting
Mr Curtin's statement which
has caused a stir in Federal poli-
tical circles follows two meetings
of the Opposition executive in
which a series of categorical
charges against Government policy
have been formulated.
Earlier today the Opposition
Leader (Mr. Fadden), who is also
in Brisbane announced the sum-
moning of a third Opposition exe-
cutive meeting. He declared that
while not anxious to depose the
Government, the Opposition de-
sired to combat 'Wardism and
Dedmanism' and general attempts
to introduce socialism without
electoral mandate.
In some quarters Mr. Curtin's
statement is accepted as an
indication that he is now consider-
ing a Federal election if Parlia-
ment adopts a policy which the
Government considers to be haras-
sing or obstructive
(Criticism of Censorship Page 7,
Col. 4)
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