Legislative Assembly Hansard 1939
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Queensland Parliamentary Debates [Hansard] Legislative Assembly THURSDAY, 14 SEPTEMBER 1939 Electronic reproduction of original hardcopy 410 Paper. [ASSEMBLY.] Redistribution of State Electomtes, &c. THURSDAY, 14 SEPTEMBER, 1939. REGULA'J.'IO:'\S UNDER FRUIT l\Li.RKETING ORGANISATION ACTS. LAPSE OF NO'l'ICE OF l\foTIOX. Mr. SPl~AKER (Hon. E. J. Hanson, 1\Ir. NICI{L!N (Murrumba) (10.35 a.m.): Buranua) took the chair at 10.30 a.m. I do not in tend to move the notice of motion in general business standing in my name . AUDI'rOR-G ENERAL 'S REPORT. .fiir. SPEAKER: The motion lapses. LoANs S1~K1KG Fu~ns. Mr. SPEAKER announc-ed the receipt from REDISTRIBUTION OF STATE ELEC the Auditor-General of his report on the TORATES; COMPULSORY PREFEHEN opemtions of the various loans sinking funds TTAL VO'riNG. of the State for the financial year 1938-39. .Mr. l\IAHI~R (West Moreton) (10.36 Ordered to be printed. a.m.) : I move- '' That, in the opinion of this House, it is DISALLOW AKCE 01'' QUESTION. desiralJle that immediate action should be taken by the Government to bring about a }.IR. SPEAKER's HOLING. more equitable distribution of the State lUr. SPEAKER: In reference to the eleetonnes, haYing regard to community of <[L'Cstion on the business sheet in the name interests, and the introduction of compul of the hon. member for East Too>Yoornba, I sory preferential voting in State and local understand from the :\linister that this case authority elections.'' is now before the courts, and consequently sub judice. Therefore, I cannot allow it to 'rhe object of this motion is to giye to all be asked. politiml parties a fair chance at the poll. 'l'he present Government are operating under a redistribution of electorates tha.t was made FORM OF AKS\VERS TO QUESTIONS. to replace the very fair one instituted by the l\loore Government. That Government found :V1R. SPEAKER's RuLrxa. it necessary to have a redistrilmtion of State ~Ir. li!ORRIS (Kelvin Grove), without electorates bc,·ause of the very grave abuse notice, asked Mr. Speaker- that existed for many years, and enabled previou-s Labour Governments to succeed at '' Is it the usual parliamentary procedme the polls. 'l'he state of the electorates prior when an hon. member asks a question of to 1 9~9 was sc:rn(lalous. The Attorney the Minister that the reply should be General, now sitting on the front benches, charged >vith studied insolence towards the represented in this Parliament at one time questioner~ '' only 2,662 electors. There were only 3,387 lUr. SPEAKER: It is not usual for electors in the l\Iou·nt 1Iorga.n seat, whereas questions to be directed to the Speaker. at that time many hon. members of the Oppo sition held seats that were greatly over the quota. I have not the slightest doubt that by such means the Labour Party was able to hold QUESTION. po\Ycr in Queensland for a great number of SUBSIDIES TO KINDERGARTEXS. )'l'ars. Finally, the matter became an open scandal. Mr. MORRIS (Kelvin Grove), without notice, asked the Secretarv for Public Instruc- The Attorney-General: How did we tion- " manage to win in 1932, after your redistri ''~Will the :Minister consider the adYisa bution'? bility of subsidising all kindergartens in ~fr. JUAHER: That is a testimony to Queensland, and ~o assist this splendid the fairness of the redistribution. The fact work to continue'?'' remains that the Government, in ananging the distribution after 1932-pcculiarly suited The SECRETARY I<'OR PUBLIC IN to their own success-ran true to form, STRUC1'ION (Hon. H. A. Bruce, The Tableland) replied- because that has been their practice in the political history of the State. '' As the matter would involve the Government in n lar·ge expenditure I ask An analysis of the rolls on 31 December, that the hou. member give notice of the 1928, disclosed the following facts:- question.'' Govern Oppo ment. sition. PAPER. The following paper was laid on the Electorates above the statutory maximum allowed under the tablc:- Electoral Districts Act of 1910 3 10 Electorates below the statutory Regulations, dated 4 September, 1939, under rninin1um 17 the Pish Supply Management Act of 1935. Redistribution of StaJ;e Electorates; [14 SEPTEMBER.] Compulsory Preferential Voting. 411 I am pointing out that they perpetuated the At that election, taking the aggregate primary nnfair elcctontl distribu-tions and that the votes received, the a\ erage voting per elected Government were running true to form. member was- l:"ndcr wch a glaring condition of unfairness the Government were able to win successive Votes. elections. Labour Party 6,000 In 1932 the ::.Ioore Government sought to Country Party 9,896 ·remer1y that condition, and I ·well remember l:"nited Australia Party 18,582< the (]ebates that took place in the party at that time. The general feeling of the hon. Those figures show the marked difference members who supported the JVIoore Govern betiYecn the fair redistribution of the Moore ment was that we should give a lead to all Govcmmcnt and the unjust redistribu·tion that parties in the State by having a fair and was carried ont in"1935. equitable redistribution of the electoral boun 'fhe figures show the position to be unjust. daries. We felt that if >Ye led the way and Obviously, something is radically wrong when showed that there was a political party that the voting for members elected shows snch paid some regard to fair play and gave each a tremendous difference between three of the side an equal chance at the polls, it would be leading political groups. The rearrangement difficult for any succeeding Government to of electoral boundaries has not been carried alter that condition. On that basis we out with that degree of equity and fairness arranged the electoral redistribution on "Which that every political candidate has the right the 1932 elections took place. to expect. In the realm of sport there is a Tl1e, Attorney-Geum·al: Who did you sporting instinct. \V e like to see horses lined up at the barrier get away to a fair start, say arranged it~ and to see the horse with most stamina and Mr. MAHER: We appointed a com speed win the race. In the fistic arena we mission n hi eh determined the alignment of like to see the best man win. Generally, that elc~tora tes. is the instinct that penades the whole of the Australian community. There should be The Secretary for Health all!l Home fair play and each contestant should have Affairs: As Mark Twain used to say, an even start with the others. I am quite '• When in doubt tell the truth.'' satisfied, from c-lose observation of the elec lUr. JUAHER: Ministers are in a rather toral boundaries since the last change, that frivolous mood this morning. I hope, how we are not facing the campaign barrier on an eqnal basis. Parties opposed to the ever, that they will listen to the evidence that Government are unfairly handicapped, and I propose to submit, because, after all, the the principle of parliamentary government weight of evidence is the thing that convinces by the will of the majority of the people does the reasonable person. not exist. \\'hat happened at the '1932 election~ That fact is borne out by the figures I 'rhere >Yore 55 contested electorates, and the have quoted in regard to the average votes Country-Kational Party polled 205,758 votes per elected member in the 1938 elections. In and the Labour Party 217,389 votes. 'rhe those elections the Labour Party polled 47.5 estimated voting in the seven uncontested per cent. of the total primary votes, but electorates, on the basis of giving two-thirds obtained 44 seats out of 62, equivalent to 71 of the total enrolment to the sitting member, per cent. of the total members in the House. was 19,607 votes for the Country-National ObYiously, the system is not recording a true Party and 32,388 for the Labour Party, expression of the democracy of Queensland making the total voting in the 62 electorates under such conditions. 225,365 for the Country-National Party and 249,777 for the Labour Party. Under that It is not a question of gaining advantage alignment the Country-National Party won for this or that political party. The object 29 seats and the Labour Party 33, while the is to maintain the sacred principle of demo average vote required to elect a member cracy and ensure that the will of the majority and this is of importance-was 7,771 for of the people shall prevail, whether it is the Country-National Party and 7,569 for in favour of the Labonr Party, the Country the Labour Party. Those figures show that Party, the United Australia Party, or any the redistribution that was effected during the other political group. In our democracy we Moore regime was just and equitable and that have to allow for the fact that any kind of under it each party had a fair chance at the political group might spring up. Conditions polls. might necessitate the rise of a political party with a new outlook; it is right and proper ·what do >Ye find at the 1938 election~ At that that group should have the opportunity that election the seats of Charters Towers, of expressing itself eyen though it may be Darcoo, and Cunningham were uncontested, regardecl as unorthodox in the eyes of the and the total voting, again giving two-thirds great majority of people.