IS DISSOLUTION THE SOLUTION?

"One thing that a captain - of anything from airliners to political parties - needs to know is how to recognize the point of no return; the stage at which further retreat means defeat." - Editorial, "The Australian," April 8th.

The daily press throughout Australia has been having a bonanza over the past few days with their headlines and stories concerning the wheeling and dealing that have been going on in Canberra. The political commentary "industry" has been working at full revolutions; a jolly good time is being had by all with the possible exception of some members of the political parties, who won't be sure until the final figures go up in the tally rooms whether they did the right thing or not. We certainly haven't the time, space, nor desire to re-hash all the voluminous copy that has been churned out by the media. All readers are by now familiar with the salient facts.

The Melbourne "Sun" (April 18th) had a very clever cartoon by its cartoonist "Jeff", which portrayed Mr. Snedden ushering the "victim" portrayed as the Senate, up the steps to the guillotine; aptly named "Double Dissolution". Mr. Snedden is shown to have a crown, with the letters "P.M." on it, enclosed in a cartoonists balloon, stemming from his (Mr. Snedden's) head. The meaning is stinging; Mr. Snedden is sacrificing the Senate to get the Prime Minister's crown on his head. As we write it is not certain that there will be a double dissolution of the Commonwealth Parliament. By the time readers have this issue of On Target, all will be known; except the result. Our feelings are that the Liberals may be making a long-term strategic error in forcing a double dissolution by blocking the money Bills; certainly the image of the Senate will be damaged, and a bad precedent set.

The Australian (April 8th) claims that it is too late now for the major contestants to turn away from a double dissolution, and that the battle is joined. We are still not wholly convinced: it will be interesting to see whether any of the Liberal, and Country Party Senators defect at the eleventh hour - there is uneasiness in the ranks, which has been given voice by Mr. D. J. Killen (Lib. Qld.) One question that the media seems to have ignored, or overlooked, is the possible; even probable influence of a double dissolution of the Socialists' Referendums. It seems obvious to us that if there are elections for both Houses of Parliament much attention will be diverted away from the Referendum proposals, and the general public is confused enough about them already. To help clarify at least some of the issues involved we are sending with this issue of On Target a specially prepared brochure on the Senate elections and the Referendums. We urge all League supporters to scrutinise this carefully, because these proposals are gimmicky in their wording and most likely to confuse, whether this is the intention or not. We then urge supporters to give this brochure the widest possible distribution - the details are printed at the end of the wording on it.

W.C.C. (WORLD COUNCIL OF CHURCHES) REVEALS LATEST ALLOCATIONS TO COMMUNISTS

From the Canadian On Target (April 1st.):- "The March 14th issue of the American religious journal, Christian Beacon, carried the following report under the above caption: 'Details of the World Council of Churches' latest allocations to the Communist groups, the so-called liberation front have been revealed from Geneva. The entire operation is carried out under the shield of Fund to Combat Racism. 'The guerilla groups in Africa received a total of $322,000. The Mozambique Institute of Frelimo, whose identity with Red China is freely acknowledged, was given $60,000. The revolutionary groups seeking to sever Angola from Portugal got $23,000. Two exile organizations opposing the white controlled Government of Rhodesia got $15,000 each. The Sixth Pan American Congress received $12,000. The sum of $100,000 was turned over to the African Independence Party of Guinea and Cape Verde Islands. 'This decision was made by the Executive Committee of the World Council of Churches' meeting behind the Iron Curtain in East Germany. Metropolitan Nikodim has been the spokesman for the Russians on this Committee since 1961!

"The British On Target, in its March 16 issue, under the caption. 'Christian Aid Going Political', published the following article by Bernard Smith: 'that was the front-page heading on a recent issue of the Anglican Church Times (23/11/73). It seems that Alan Booth - director of Christian Aid - is finding old-style charity work a bit tedious. He is busily working out new and exciting ways of spending the charity's three million pounds annual income. One way is forming a 'team of voluntary advisers' to decide on possible areas of political campaigning within the U.K.

It wasn't very clear what was meant by this and Alan Booth's subsequent letter to the paper didn't make it any clearer. But perhaps what Christian Aid is doing in Chile is more helpful. It has spent 17,500 pounds to get so-called 'refugees' out of Chile and has promised the W.C.C. another 10,000 pounds for the same purpose. In Open Eye2 we pointed out that these 'refugees' - there are 13,000 of them - are mostly fugitive revolutionaries from other South American countries. They had been invited to Chile by the late President Allende in readiness for a Marxist military take-over. They were the mercenaries for whom he had stockpiled 20,000 Czech and Russian weapons imported from Cuba. The politics of these 'refugees' may be inferred from the fact that some of them have elected to leave Chile for a safe haven in Soviet Russia, Cuba, and the Eastern European countries.

"Christian Aid makes no secret of the sort of people it now regards as 'refugees'. David Clarke, who is in charge of its affairs in Latin America, has said that most of those being helped are 'radical Christian activists'. Christian Aid's involvement, he said, was on humanitarian, and not political grounds (Guardian 23/11/73). There need be no surprise at Christian Aids political activities; the charity is, after all, an agency of the W.C.C.'s Inter-Church Aid, Refugee and World Service. The only surprising thing is why the Church Times puts a question mark at the end of that headline.'

Our (Canadian) purpose in reproducing these reports is to show that it is not only in Canada, but throughout the Western World, that the Church is being used for ends far removed from its original mission to spread the gospel of salvation and redemption through Jesus Christ." We (Australian League of Rights) remind supporters that we have copies of Bernard Smith's "The Crooked Conscience" (Are the Churches Politically Bent?) price: 32 cents, post free from all League offices.

THE AUSTRALIAN HERITAGE SOCIETY

Mr. Jeremy Lee, National Secretary of the Institute of Economic Democracy, a Division of the League, and Queensland State Director of the Australian League of Rights has forwarded the following letter to a number of State and Federal political leaders in Australia:-

THE NATIONAL ANTHEM
"I am enclosing with this letter a copy of a letter just sent to the Prime Minister, the Hon. E. G. Whitlam Q.C. The contents need no explanation. It has been suggested that the issue of the National Anthem is purely a Federal one. I believe, on the contrary, that loyalty knows no artificial boundaries. The sovereign States in Australia owe their allegiance to Her Majesty the Queen as Queen of Australia, just as surely as any other tier of government, or any individual. It would, I believe, be a pity if the question of a National Anthem became a party-political issue. The thousands of votes we have received have come from Australians in all walks of life, and from supporters of all parties. There are many Labor voters who wish to retain the present National Anthem. What is now needed is an expression of loyalty from representatives of all parties, and from each tier of government, on behalf of those who wish to retain, or at least be given a choice on our present anthem.
The Liberal and Country Parties are to be congratulated on supporting the present Anthem. The Labor Premier of Western Australian (no longer...Ed) Mr. Tonkin must also be congratulated on his public stand.

At the coronation of the Monarch - a religious, rather than a political ceremony - in which the new King or Queen pledges to serve the people, and to propagate the Gospel - part of the coronation service refers to the crowning of King Solomon, recorded in the Old Testament. 1 Kings 1, verses 39-40 says: 'Zadok the priest, and Nathan, the prophet, anointed Solomon king; and all the people rejoiced and said, God Save the King, long live the King, May the King live forever.'

It can thus be seen that the National Anthem is an ancient scriptural prayer evoking the basic philosophy, which undergirds our system of government, our Constitution, our institutions and our present freedoms. In a recent address to a large church fellowship in Melbourne, I took the opportunity of pointing out that prayers for the safety and well-being of our Queen and her governments, offered by many denominations on Sundays were of little value unless action was taken to defend the same on Mondays. Parliamentarians and representatives who take the oath of allegiance on assuming office should, I believe, act now in accordance with that oath. I therefore respectfully request that you do everything possible to prevent the erosion of our Heritage, and to ensure that no hasty or ill -considered change is made without the deliberate and informed consent of all Australian people. I look forward to your early reply."

Mr. Jeremy Lee, as Assistant National Director of the Australian League of Rights, has sent the following letter to the Prime Minister:

"Dear Prime Minister.
THE NATIONAL ANTHEM

Upon your announcement that a new National Anthem was to be selected for Australia, the Australian League of Rights agreed that Australian citizens should be provided with an opportunity to affirm or reject our present Anthem, God Save the Queen before accepting an alternative. The decision was in accordance with our first objective, which is "To promote loyalty to God and the Crown, and to the country as part of the British Commonwealth of Nations."
Accordingly, through the Australian Heritage Society, one of the League's Divisions, small advertisements were inserted in a number of national papers, providing space whereby readers could express an opinion on the issue. These advertisements were paid for through voluntary donations, and consequently we were unable to give the project the coverage we felt it deserved. Those who 'voted' were in turn asked to contribute towards an extension of the project, and from a modest beginning we have now been able to increase the coverage in papers and journals, in an effort to provide all Australians with an opportunity to express an opinion. The result has been that the number of 'votes' has continued, and is still continuing to increase. In each State volunteers have helped us to deal with a volume of mail that our own organization could not possibly handle. We have quite clearly provided a means whereby a large number of people - a percentage, we believe of the silent majority - has been able to express its opinion.

I believe that the results we have obtained indicate clearly that your Government misjudged the real feelings of the Australian people when it was stated that surveys and opinion polls showed a desire by the majority for a change. I believe and hope that our work will enable you, as elected representative of the people, to forestall your Government's policy to change the National Anthem, at least until such a time as all Australians have been given an opportunity to sanction or to reject such a change. The results obtained at the time of writing are:

The figures are by no means final. Each mail in each State brings further votes. We will be endeavouring to publicise the results so far. As they come in and are sorted, we will continue to forward all figures to the Governor-General. I would be grateful for your early consideration and reply to the matters I have raised, and respectfully hope for a change in your Government's policy. We will naturally do our best to inform the public of your decision."

The Development of the Politically Aware Individual

"A physically flabby individual does not build himself up by merely going into a gymnasium and passively watching a superbly fit manager exercising. The gymnasium offers the facilities, including advice, on how the individual can build himself up. But he makes no progress until he actually starts to make use of these facilities; starts to exercise his muscles. He must start by using his will. The more he makes an effort to exercise, the stronger he becomes.

The League of Rights can in some ways be compared with a gymnasium; it offers facilities and expert advice to those individuals who wish to play a meaningful role in their numerous associations. The League is not just another political organization suggesting to bewildered and frustrated individuals that it has a neat blue-print for solving all their problems, and that all they have to do is to sign on the dotted line, pay a membership fee, and then go home to await results from the League. That is to abdicate his responsibilities by permitting others power to make decisions in his name. The League is not competing for power; it is seeking to encourage the individual to develop his own power; multiplying it in association with other individuals, so that he has control of his institutions and the policies they pursue.

From Hansard: The Senate (March 12th)... "It might interest honourable Senators to know that the maps currently selling in the equivalent of the Department of Foreign Affairs in Peking - it is not called that; I forget its correct title - show Chinese territory extending not only to include all Korea, but right down to include the whole of Indo-China, Singapore, Malaya, and part of Indonesia, and of course, the whole of Burma. These maps are on sale in Peking now.... Last week in this very chamber we had a representative of the K.G.B., Lieutenant- General Pitouranov, who had been invited into this country by a Government which keeps out girl guides from Rhodesia, and boy scouts from South Africa, but brings in men like Pitouranov, a former general in the K.G.B....Vice Admiral Peek had a few well-chosen words to say about the way in which the Navy is being virtually destroyed. The morale of the forces, as Denis Warner pointed out, has never been lower, and this at a time when the Russians have at least 20 large naval vessels in the Indian Ocean."
Mr. Fox (House of Representatives, March 12th)... "but why did not the Govt. give the people an opportunity to vote on whether they wanted a new National Anthem? It did not do so for two good reasons. Firstly, Big Brother in the form of the A.L.P. decided that it wanted a new National Anthem. Secondly, the Government was afraid of the result of the poll. It knew that the people would vote overwhelmingly in favour of the present National Anthem. The next thing that the Government will probably want to do is to change the design of the Australian Flag."