PM Transcripts

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FOR PRESS PM. No. -5/ 1% 7
CA PRICORNIA BY-ELECTION
Comment by the Prime Minister, Mr Harold Holt
It is not surpr. sing that the Labor Party has retained
in a by-election a seat it has held for the last six years.
No doubt it w4ll try to make much of its victory, but
a close analysis of the poll figures at Saturday's end of count gives it
little cause for encouragement. Compared with the count at the same
stage in the general election of 1c6,. the Labor vote has increased by
less than 1 per cent, that for the Government parties is up by 6 per
cent, while there was a decline of 4 per cent in the DLF vote.
The Labor vote of 53. 4 per cent is still appreciably
below the percentage of 56. 1 per cent it gained in the general elections
of 1C63, when the Liberal/ Country Party coalition secured a majority
of 26 seats. By-elections notoriously run against governments and
there can be few on record when a government has actually ga. ned a
better percentage of the vote than " t did at the preceding general election.
A 11 parties stressed the issue of development. V. hile
the circumstances of a by-election offer the Government small prospect
of success, it is to be regretted that Central Queenslanders have passed
up the opportunity to place in the National Parliament an able spokesman
in the Derson of Frank Rudd who has devoted so much of his time and
energies to furthering the objectives of development in that area.
CA NBERRA,
1st October, 7