Australian Experiment
Mr. Menzies' decision to ask the Governor-General for a dissolution of both Houses of the Australian Parliament is obviously right. The Senate's refusal to pass the dis- puted Banking Bill is only the immediate Zau:se of the 'crisis. There are plenty of other reasons. At the moment the Conservative Government is trying to pass one Bill increasing the powers of the Arbitration Court, whose awards are easy to disregard, to pass another removing, legal doubts about the powers of the Coal Industry Tribunal, and to find some effective means of dealing with the menace of-Communist sabot- age. In the first endeavour it is being frustrated by the Labour majority in the Senate, in the second by the Labour Cabinet of New South Wales, and in the third by High Court which, by a majority of six to one, has declared the Communist Party Dis- solution Act invalid. This is the sort of situation which obviously calls for a dissolution of both the House of Representatives and the Senate, as provided in the constitution in the case of pro- longed disagreement between the two. For although the attempt to reduce the barrier to effective government put up by organised labour is reasonable—and particularly in a dangerous world situation—it appears unwise to try to enforce such action with- out a deliberate reference to the electorate. The arguments by which the High Court invalidated the Communist Party Dissolu- tion Act—arguments which reject the Government's contention that a state of war between Australia and Russia already exists and which express a healthy suspicion of intervention by the executive in the sphere of the judiciary—appear to be sound and reasonable. But the problem of dealing with Communist sabotage in peace time remains, not only for Australia, but for the world at large. The Menzies Government are to be. com- mended for their courage in tackling it.
Previous page
