Common Roll

Labour Wants Common Roll

In P-Ng

'rom our Canberra Correspondent Vhere is the Australian

>our Party going on New

nea? [E House of Representatives debate on the Nasution-Menzies (May, p. 17) showed that so is West New Guinea is concerned Government and the Labour Dsition follow almost the same le only important difference ex ed was whether, if the Dutch Id decide to hand over West Guinea to Indonesia, Australia Id stand by. the previous talks with the lesian Foreign Minister, Dr. ndrio* Mr. Menzies made it clear he would not object to such greement, although he did not any such specific assurance in »ost-Nasution statement, e Opposition Leader. Mr. -11, who followed Mr. Menzies e recent debate, was specific, reiterated that Labour would no part of any arrangement i merely handed over primitive p from old colonialists to new ialists, it point apart, his statement left ir and Liberals standing near h to shoulder-to-shoulder on Zest New Guinea issue, on P-NG it’s a very different English For All recent biennial conference of LP —the party’s supreme policy g body— set out Labour’s views : Territory. * the Government, the ALP ;s that the only people who he right to determine the future island of New Guinea are the Guinea people themselves, on other points, the ALP went further than the present Gov at’s policies. aur declared that it wanted:— nmediate steps for a common al roll; qual voting rights for all adult 5 in local Government and tive Council elections; ree, compulsory education for Idren; nglish to be taught in all s

* Child endowment for all parents exercising a Legislative Council vote; * Free medical and hospital treat ment for all New Guinea people; * Government - owned shipping services and warehouses to help native co-operatives in competition with existing services; * Immediate steps to abolish gradually the native contract system and set up an improved industrial system supported by the Common wealth Government on advice from the Australian trade union move ment.

Before the conference was able to hammer out this manifesto. Labour leaders were involved in a sharp clash on P-NG policy, which the Government was not slow to seek to exploit in Parliament.

Full Award Wages The Government needled the Opposition on newspaper reports that there had been a clash between Mr.

Calwell and his deputy, Mr. Whitlam, over a report which had been pre pared by a group of Labour men and which was to have been presented by Mr. Whitlam.

The reports suggested these proposals included a plan for full award wages for native workers.

Territories Minister Paul Hasluck told the House that he had heard a story that a submission was to have been put forward by Mr. Whitlam, but that the submission did not take place “because of the superior wisdom of the Leader”.

The incident passed off quickly* but the Prime Minister was clearly pleased with the way in which Hasluck had scored.

And Labour men were pleased that Hasluck had not delved more deeply into the party’s internal differences.