PM Transcripts

FOR PRESS PM. No. 36/ 1969
CURTIN BY-ELECTION 2
Comment by the Prime Minister, Mr John Gorton t
I congratulate Mr Garland on winning the Curtin
by-election with what it appears will be an absolute majority.
Voting in by-elections traditionally goes against
the Government. In this particular poll, neither ourselves nor the
Labor Party can draw much comfort from the figures. Factors
influencing the drop in Liberal support included the large numbers of
electors who failed to vote ( which is not unusual in by-elections in
a blue ribbon seat) and the loss of Sir Paul Hasluck's personal vote.
An interesting aspect was the relatively large
vote polled by the Independent candidate, Mr Scoggins, who had
campaigned on a non-party basis with social service questions as
his exclusive issue. Social welfare is a matter concerning the
Government and one on which it is having a thorough examiraion
made. The figures can be of little encouragement to the
Labor Party, whose candidate improved only slightly. Indeed, it
is the smallest increase in Labor Party support in a Governmentheld
seat at a by-election this decade.
CANBERRA, April 1969