State Library of NSW
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112
with beards, and came from adjoining electorates.
With no women present, the standard of speech followed the Australian Male's traditional repetitive use of words which are intended to be either obscene or blasphemous. Neither Catholics nor Marxists seemed constrained in employing the language.
" Order!" Yelled the President , banging his gavel on the table, "let's get on with the fucking ballot."
The door was closed, with a trusted attendant outside to guard against eavesdropping. The din subsided and the faces became serious. We were engaged in the real business of politics.
It was moved that the Leader and the Deputy Leader (Wran and Ferguson) should be re-elected. There was no opposition and the motion was passed by acclamation.
Wran stood up and thanked us for our support. He said that our big victory was no reason for complacency--we had to get on with the job of good government, to lay the foundations for long period of Labor administration and to achieve worthwhile reforms. There was a heavy load of legislation to put through Parliament. For the first time this government would have a majority in both Houses. This was due to the recent reform which had altered the nature of the Legislative Council from an appointed body to an elected representation which reflected the state-wide support of the parties.
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