THE LYNCH-FRASER SLEIGHT- OF-HAND ACT

The basic reality to emerge from Federal Treasurer Lynch's long speech in the Federal Parliament on Thursday of last week (May 20th), was that one section of the community will (temporarily) receive increased incomes at the expense of other sections of the community; that the Fraser Government's "new Federalism" means that the States will be forced to increase their taxes and charges; that there will be no real improvement in the state of the economy; and that with the basic cause of inflation left untouched, inflation with all its disastrous results must continue. Unemployment will continue at a high level.

Coming events must, unfortunately, continue to confirm the prediction made on March 13th, in the League of Rights special brochure, FRASER GOVERNMENT ON ROAD TO DISASTER. To date we have no record of one Liberal or National Country Party Member of Parliament, Federal or State, being prepared to go on record as stating that the Fraser Government's policies will produce results contradicting our predictions. (Supporters who have not made use of this penetrating brochure should do so immediately. Members of the Federal Government and is supporters must be challenged to accept personal responsibility for their policies).

It is true, of course, that Mr. Fraser, Mr. Lynch and their colleagues continue to insist that they are 'fighting" inflation. In Canada Prime Minister Trudeau promised that he would "wrestle" inflation right into the ground. But neither "fighting" nor "wrestling" inflation has had any real effect on it anywhere, the reason being that inflation is the result of financial policies. It is those policies that must be changed.

Instead of changing the policies causing inflation, Mr. Lynch has provided Australians with what is a type of sleight-of-hand trick. Mr. Lynch denies this in a classic piece of political double-talk. "The Sunday Press" (Melbourne) of May 23rd, quotes Mr. Lynch replying as follows to the question: "Is it true that the government has just given with one hand and taken with another?" "No. Overall this has been a very balanced package of measures, which are designed to combat inflation...."
If Mr. Lynch does not know that the $1,125 million for increased child endowment payments will come out of the pockets of many taxpayers, he is more hopeless than many think.

It is unbelievable that the Federal Treasurer does not know that in many cases it will be simply a case of reducing the husband's income after taxation while increasing his wife's income. We strongly support the PRINCIPLE of increased child endowment, for both social and economic reasons, but have always stressed that child endowment should be financed by new financial credit which, not being a cost in industry as increased wages are, would be a non-inflationary increase in the community's purchasing power. Robbing Peter to pay Paul must always intensify social frictions. This destructive policy may well increase family tensions, with some husbands reducing their wives' housekeeping allowances to offset the Lynch policy.

Broadly speaking, the mythical "average" Australian, with a wife and two children, earning $160 a week, emerges from the Lynch exercise 7 cents a week worse off. Our own assessment is that over 50 per cent of the Australian taxpayers will be worse off under the Lynch "package". Our assessment is based upon examining all the facts, such as the abolition of tax rebates for children and increased charges for health insurance. And the major problem of inflation remains.

While claiming that they are setting the stage for an attack upon inflation. Mr. Lynch and Mr. Fraser are doing the very reverse. The new Medibank policy will result in people in higher-income groups re-joining private health funds and paying the higher premiums. This will increase the Consumer Price Index and, under wage indexation, automatically further increase wages.
At the same time that Mr. Fraser is preparing to stimulate more inflation, he is also appealing to the Trade Unions to practice "restraint.

In the most disastrous recession since the end of the Second World War, Mr. Fraser and Mr. Lynch, reflecting the views of the Federal Treasury "experts", continue to be obsessed by the alleged necessity to reduce the Federal deficit and to curb the growth of the money supply. They resolutely turn their backs on any suggestion of increasing purchasing power immediately by a policy of reducing or abolishing Sales Tax, and of lowering postal and telephone charges. The use of consumer discounts, a feature of the "Petersen Plan", is shunned as if it were of the very Devil.

A complete captive of the Federal Treasury "experts." Mr. Lynch has had to resort to sending a Treasury memorandum to Federal Members and Senators, instructing them on how they might answer the "Petersen Plan". The Treasury effort is a mind-boggling document, arguing that a policy of reducing prices would cause inflation! If Mr. Lynch, Mr. Fraser and other Government Members can regard this type of incredible nonsense seriously, they should not be surprised as an increasing number of disillusioned electors react violently against them.

And the State and Local Governments are also going to become increasingly critical as they attempt to pass greater financial burdens to the taxpayer.

The most encouraging feature of a rapidly deteriorating situation is that the most influential section of the Federal bureaucracy, the Federal Treasury and the Central Bank "experts", many of them Fabian Socialists, has been forced into the open to attempt to fend off the mounting pressure on the "Petersen Plan". The special memorandum produced by the Federal Treasury is a tribute to those who have campaigned relentlessly for the only type of policy that can constructively reverse inflation and remove the threat of even greater disasters for the Australian people.
This is the moment to intensify League campaigning at every level right throughout Australia.

It should also be noted that the one political leader in Australia whom the Marxist subversives really fear, Premier J. Bjelke-Petersen of Queensland, is pressing the case for the "Petersen Plan" at every possible opportunity. His flow of Letters to the Australian press appears to be increasing.

We predict that before 1976 is ended, the Fraser Government will, unless it changes direction on financial policy, not only be under heavy pressure from an outraged electorate, but will also find itself in direct conflict with the States. No genuine federalism or any other worthwhile objective, including adequate military defence, something desperately needed, is possible until inflation is reversed. More than sleight-of-hand acts are required.

MORE ANTI-SOVIET WRIST-SLAPPING BY DR. KISSINGER

"Oslo, Thurs., AAP - The U.S. Secretary of State, Dr. Kissinger, today warned over the build up of Soviet military strength. He told a closed meeting of NATO foreign ministers that Soviet Union's military might could tempt it to get involved in conflicts outside its traditional zone of influence". - The Herald, Melbourne, May 21st.

A number of responsible students of the Marxist conspiracy believe that Dr. Henry Kissinger is a long-time Soviet agent. If this is true it would not be surprising. Traitors in high places in the West - Kim Philby, Alger Hiss, Harry Dexter White and many others - have played a vital role in betraying the West and assisting the Communist advance. Whatever the truth about Kissinger, his record has been one of consistent support for Communism.

Occasionally Kissinger does a little harmless anti-Soviet wrist slapping, as he did when the Soviet used Cuban troops to invade Angola. But having "warned" the Soviet, he then visited Africa to encourage the mounting attack on Rhodesia, today holding one of the West's major front lines against Communist global strategy.

In warning about the Soviet military build up, Dr. Kissinger did not mention that without the massive economic blood transfusions being financed by his masters, the Rockefellers, and associated international financial groups, there would be no major Soviet military build up. Neither did he point out that the West could bring the Soviet to its knees by refusing to provide any further grain supplies. Instead, according to "The Herald" report, he told the NATO meeting "the Soviet Union was not actively seeking world domination".

It is chilling that an American Secretary of State can, following Vietnam and Angola, make such a statement. However, it is encouraging news that American Republican Ronald Reagan has scored his most impressive electoral victories against President Ford following his trenchant criticism of Dr. Kissinger. Clearly an increasingly well-informed American public - thanks to the best-selling works of Gary Allen, "None Dare Call It Conspiracy", and "The Rockefeller File", together with other explosive exposures - is coming to regard Dr. Kissinger as one of its major enemies.

HIGH-LIVING UNITED NATIONS OFFICIALS

"United Nations officials were living on money that was supposed to be for the Third World poor, the Primary Industry Minister, Mr. Sinclair said yesterday. Mr. Sinclair's criticism at the ANZAAS Congress was aimed at members of the Food and Agriculture Organisation. 'I am concerned about the large part of the FAO budget that is going to administrative bureaucracy' he said. 'A significant proportion of the members spent most of their time in Rome. They travel and live in a manner totally unrelated to those they are meant to help. The result is that the aid given is significantly watered down"'. - Ann Westmore, reporting from Hobart in "The Sun", Melbourne, May 14th.

We rarely find ourselves in agreement with Mr. Ian Sinclair, the man who tried to smear the League of Rights with the "Nazi" label before the 1972 Federal Elections. But Mr. Sinclair has rendered a service by drawing attention to an aspect of international bureaucracy which League journals have published in the past. When the present UN Secretary-General Waldheim first took up his position he did make some attempt to prune UN extravagances. At the time the annual UN cocktail bill alone was over $10 million!

Provided with land in New York by the Rockefellers, the UN has from the beginning been an international Communist front organisation. The non-Communists pay most of the bills to maintain an organisation that is used to destroy them. The only realistic way to end the international bureaucracy Mr. Sinclair complains about is to close down the UN and associated organisations.

BRIEF COMMENTS

One of the few good aspects of rural rallies which have taken place in recent years, is that they provide League of Rights actionists with an opportunity of distribution literature outlining constructive policies for removing the basic cause of the rural collapse. Most of the spokesmen for the disintegrating dairying industry are offering no real solutions. Neither did the spokesmen for the wool industry, the first rural industry to collapse. Having rejected any suggestion of the "Petersen Plan" concept, which would enable consumers to eat more beef if they so desired, while providing producers with a profitable price, one spokesman for the beef industry in Queensland has suggested that graziers should shoot one out of every three of their animals!
The destruction of food, or the drastic curtailment of production by forcing primary producers off their properties, in order to try to force prices up, is not only extremely shortsighted, but also most immoral. Surely there are a few Christian Church leaders left who are prepared to advocate that surplus beef, butter or powdered skim milk be distributed to needy Australians, and that Governments make the necessary financial adjustments to permit this to be done?

The President of the Australian Council of Local Government Associations, Cr. W. J. Thwaites, announced at Canberra this week that with the Fraser Government severely limiting grants to Local Government, all Local Government rates would have to be increased by at least 5 percent to make up the deficiency between the requested $176 million and the $140 million being provided.
But further rate increases are going to be strongly resisted by property owners already unable to meet present rates. The sophisticated rate revolt in the Shire of Eltham, Victoria, has resulted in Eltham Councillors now publicly informing ratepayers that they "are only too willing to listen to balanced, rational proposals for reduced expenditure and activity within the Shire".

It appears probable that in September of this year Swedish electors are going to say they want a change from their much-publicised "Socialist Utopia". In spite of comparatively high material standards of living, Swedes feel that they are now getting too close to George Orwell's 1984. At birth each Swede is given a "person-number" - a computerised identification number that is tagged to the citizen until he dies. Police records, driving licences, tax forms and hire purchase applications are kept at the State computer bank outside Stockholm. Even the cosseted Swedes are starting to revolt against the Welfare State.