SOME COMMON SENSE FROM PRESIDENT OF QUEENSLAND NATIONAL PARTY

"The Federal Government's attitude on East Timor was misguided, "the President of the Queensland National Party, Mr. R.L. Sparkes, said yesterday.

We believe in giving credit where credit is due. Mr. Sparkes' remarks to the National Country Party Federal Council yesterday follow the line which the League took at the time of the Portuguese "revolution", when General Spinola (a useful fall guy), was used by the real revolutionaries in Portugal to topple the Caetano regime and release the grip on Portugal' s African Territories, to the delight of the Kremlin.

International Communism's strategy and tactics in the Portuguese revolution comprised a masterstroke - most brilliant. The West's "wall" against International Communism in Southern Africa was breached virtually overnight; we must bear in mind, however, that this "wall" had serious fissures just beneath the surface. The League warned eighteen months ago in On Target that East Timor would be a life and death issue for Australia to face; we knew that the crafty strategists in the Kremlin would have grasped the significance of former Portuguese Timor to the Indonesian and Australian sphere of influence a long time ago.

The League knew that Gough Whitlam's "Australian" Government would do nothing, and perhaps even assist the Soviet and/or Red China to establish a military and naval presence there. Therefore the only possible alternative was to allow the Indonesian occupation. This didn't please the Australian Left.

Mr. Sparkes is saying now what we said back in early 1975: viz. Indonesia would not allow a "Cuba" on her doorstep, even if the (then) Socialist Government of Australia would. We must also agree with Mr. Sparkes on the ridiculous compliance of the Commonwealth Government to United Nation dictates, many of which involve a double standard. He said: - "For example, we comply with UN sanctions against the Smith regime in Rhodesia, while no action is taken against Idi Amin's regime in Uganda." Quite so!

He added: "Apparently if the tyranny or the offence is perpetrated by coloured people it is acceptable, even laudable, but if by white people it is utterly damnable." Yes, indeed, but what are you doing to Mr. Grassby, Mr. Sparkes? Will officers of the Community Relations Commission, of which Mr. Al Grassby is Commissioner, now investigate the Queensland National Party for evidence of rank racism? Perhaps even issue an "Everyman's Guide to Racism in the National Party?"

We trust that the National Party leaders do not overlook the fact that it was they, with their Liberal Party colleagues, who allowed the Race Relations Act to become law, under which the Race Relations Commission was instituted. We warned them, and warned them at the time; but no, the mystical New Australian vote had to be placated at all costs, or so they imagined. They were strong, and now it will take more political courage than they possess to abolish the Commission, along with Mr. Grassby.

SUBSCRIPTIONS TO LEAGUE JOURNALS

BRIEF COMMENTS

Even the Rhodesia "Herald", no strong supporter of the Smith Government, expressed the view last week that the Anglo-American proposals for a settlement in Rhodesia "were not a package deal, but a confidence trick". The "Herald" charged that Dr. Kissinger had attempted to drive Prime Minister Smith into a corner. If Dr. Kissinger will not now back the agreement he made with the Rhodesian Government, this will be in keeping with the treacherous record of this disaster for civilisation. The Rhodesian's only hope now of extricating themselves from their present situation is to tell the whole world the full story of how they were blackmailed by Kissinger, and to appeal to civilised people everywhere to support them to make a stand.

Mr. Gough Whitlam expressed concern last week that Thai students in Australia were afraid to return to Thailand as a result of the military coup. Immigration Minister MacKellar said he could assure any Thai students who feared for their safety if they returned to Thailand that their applications to remain in Australia would be treated with the "utmost sympathy". Patriotic Thai students concerned about the Communist threat which precipitated the military takeover, should have no worries about returning to their homeland.

After two days of talks with Government leaders in Canberra last week, the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund, Mr. Johannes Witteween, gave a press conference, (Oct. 13th), at which he said that the Fraser Government was going the right way to "beat inflation". Following this pearl, Mr. Witteween said "economic recovery would be taking off on a world scale in a few months". Events will, of course, prove Mr. Witteween completely wrong. But the nonsense of the "experts" will not prevent Mr. Lynch and his colleagues from continuing to claim that, given enough time, they will solve the Australian finance economic crisis. A distressing feature of the destructive drama through which Australians are living, is that the politicians actually believe their own nonsense.

Mr. M. Dillon, President of the Assoc. Chamber of Manufacturers, at a conference on "Australia in the World Economy" in Sydney last week, indirectly conceded our point concerning a deficiency of purchasing power. Mr. Dillon charged that the Govt. was concentrating too much on reducing the Budget deficit. He urged the Govt. to introduce some "selective temporary increases in public expenditure." while such a policy would certainly stimulate increased economic activity; it would also contribute to continuing inflation. But if the Government increased public expenditure through a system of consumer price discount it would not only increase purchasing power, but would also reduce the Consumer Price Index and thus moderate wage increases.

Speaking at a University convocation lunch in Canberra on October 13th. Mr. Ian Hancock, senior lecturer at the Australian National University, warned that South Africa might collapse politically if European rule ended. Mr. Hancock made a point, which should be more widely known: South Africa was not a "single society temporarily divided by race", South Africa's history showed it to be a country consisting of many "plural societies", he said. Mr. Hancock said, "My fear is not that the attempt to demolish the present system may fail or at least be diverted, but that the act of demolition may leave the blacks with nothing substantial to put in its place." The demolition men are not interested in the African's well-being; they want to deprive the West of a major strategic base in Southern Africa.

The death of Senator Ivory Greenwood deprived the Commonwealth Parliament of one of its better types. In spite of some differences with him, we always felt that he was a man of integrity. He was a consistent supporter of the Rhodesian cause, a point ignored by those who praised him in the Parliament.

Prime Minister Fraser's pathetic performance on the East Timor question can only result in an increasing number of people accepting the view that he is a mediocre politician and leader, with little integrity. The hard fact about Timor is that Indonesia was the only power capable of preventing it from becoming a Communist base. Instead of trying to pretend that his original policy for an Indonesian withdrawal still stands, and being forced to provide example after example of double talk, the Prime Minister would be best advised to admit the reality of the situation and his acceptance of it.

It is a rare thing for the League to find agreement with Mr. Al Grassby the Commissioner for Community Relations, whose very existence is Dependent upon racial conflict in Australia. In fact, the more racial friction that is generated, the more secure, it would appear is his position. Vested interest? Most certainly. Addressing recently, the annual meeting of the Probation Officers Association of Victoria, he said, "Youngsters are encouraged to throw away a heritage of generations in return for a T.V. pop culture, based on a steady diet of killing and kissing in turn". We agree that the general level of T.V. 'entertainment' is atrocious.