The result of the elections to the Australian Commonwealth Parliament
gives the Labour party the balance of power, that party having secured nearly half the seats in the Senate, and in the House of Representatives having increased its member- ship from sixteen to twenty-two. It is a remarkable achieve- ment in view of the vigorous anti-Labour campaign which was conducted during the election. One striking fact is that Victoria, where the great railway strike took place last spring, has returned all her Senators from the Labour party. We discuss elsewhere the chief features of the Labour programme, which contains many valuable proposals, combined with a great deal that is extravagant and partisan. It is generally assumed that the result means a new Federal Ministry, with Mr. Kingston at its head, and some compromise with the Labour leaders as to the policy to be followed during the forthcoming Session.
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