PRIME MINISTER FRASER FOR MOSCOW

Those anti-Communists who do not understand the realities of finance economics are always at the mercy of the Communists, whose teachings on the vital importance of economic warfare can be studied in numerous Marxist textbooks. A number of explanations have been advanced for Mr. Fraser's recent announcement that he was contemplating a visit to the Soviet Union. But it is certain that a major consideration is the possibility of sending more Australian beef to the Soviet Union.

Last year the Soviet took approximately the same amount of Australian beef as Japan, only the U.S.A. taking more. Australia also supplies sugar, grain and wool to the Soviet. Based on the insane doctrine that a nation becomes wealthier if it sends more out of the country than it brings in (the "favourable" balance of trade) the Soviet, like Red China, is seen as a possible outlet for Australia's beef production. As we have shown in the past, some of Australia's meat exports to the Soviet Union have been at subsidised prices.
If it is true, as stated by some observers, that Mr. Fraser's present interest in visiting Moscow stems partly from his failure to persuade the European Economic Community to take more Australian beef and other primary products, there will be an ironic situation with both Australia and the EEC urging the Soviet to take more of their beef. The EEC has heavily subsidised sales of meat, wheat and butter to the Soviet Union.

The basic weakness of the Soviet economy is its agriculture. But as pointed out by Solzhenitsyn and others, by helping the Soviet to overcome this weakness, Western nations have made it possible for the Soviet strategists to devote themselves to expanding their armed forces and to sustaining international pressure against the Free World. If Mr. Fraser is prepared to yield to the prompting of Foreign Minister Peacock to visit Moscow, accepting the view that more exports to the Soviet are desirable, and that the Soviet's interest in obtaining fishing rights inside Australia's 200-mile zone can be used to gain these exports, then he stands self-condemned as another victim of economic determinism; a politician prepared to provide increased aid and comfort to the Communist danger he has warned about in the past.

It is an appropriate time to recall Mr. Fraser's past statements on the Soviet threat. In a major foreign policy speech on June 1, 1976 Mr. Fraser said: "The Soviet leaders now have a strategic and political reach - a capacity to influence and even to intervene - well beyond the periphery of the established zones of Soviet security interest ... The Soviet Union is engaged in a major political offensive backed by the known presence of force, by training and by propaganda… It is for the Soviet Union to show that the conclusions so easily drawn from its actions are wrong, that its basic purpose is world peace...."

In the two-and-a-half years since Mr. Fraser uttered these warning words, the Soviet's international offensive has been intensified, the most graphic example being the naked thrust into Africa using the Cuban client troops. Mr. Fraser's visit to Moscow will merely help confirm the Soviet criminals' well-known view that the West is decadent; that political leaders like Mr. Fraser can always be relied upon to eat their own words in their striving for the "favourable balance of trade". Mr. Fraser may have no difficulty in reversing himself on the Soviet Union. But what about his Liberal Party supporters?

JAPAN TO DEVELOP RED CHINA

Jeremy Lee reports from New Zealand
"New Zealanders are beginning to ponder on the implications of the situation in Japan in regard to trade and exports. With a current account trade surplus of A$9.8 billion in 1977, as compared with A$3.2 billion the year before, Japan's exports increased by 20% in the 12 months. In consequence, Japan has faced increasing resistance from Western nations seeking to rectify their own stagnant economies by the insane policy of increasing exports and reducing imports. New Zealand is no different.
Deputy Prime Minister Brian Tallboys has been exhorting New Zealanders to "export their way out of trouble". There is an added urgency to his plea, as the E.E.C. trade preferences for New Zealand lamb and butter come to an end.

The "export or perish" philosophy of modern politicians creates the trade wars, which are the prelude to military wars. Japan, faced with increasingly stiff trade barriers to the West, has only two alternatives within the rules of current orthodoxy. Firstly, she must divert her export trade to communist markets; alternatively, she could divert her peacetime industries into military expansion. A decision is being forced on Japan.

Comprehensive press reports (Australia Financial Review 15/2/78) reported over a million unemployed in Japan - not high by Western standards percentage wise, until one considers the work ethic, which has turned the machine into a god for the Japanese worker. Many start the day by singing hymns to their company and their workbench. Strikes in Japan have been held against a contemplated reduction in working hours. Thus, the rising unemployment in Japan is accompanied by a record number of bankruptcies and suicides.

The New Zealand Herald, (3/3/78) contained a detailed appraisal of Japan's military build up. This years defence allocation is over $4,000 million. The report went on: "As the world's third major economic power, Japan has a vast industrial base that could be geared to armament production. It already makes aircraft, helicopters, warships, tanks and almost all its ammunition and artillery. From 1980 Japan will mass-produce its own air-to-ship missiles with a sophisticated guidance system to be fitted to its homemade fighter plane, the F-l. And it will soon be able to make its own antitank missiles and short range ground-to-air missiles, now supplied by the United States...."

The military build up, however, is not sufficient on its own to maintain the momentum of the Japanese economy. An added chill has been generated by the publication of a report on the same day in the New Zealand Herald, which appeared in The Australian on February 17th, detailing a new trade pact for $20,000 million between Japan and Communist China. In return for 47 million tones of oil and 8 million tones of coal to be provided by China, Japan will send back an increasing flow of consumer goods.

New Zealand press reports contained two items which were missing in the Australian article: firstly, the Japanese exports to China will involve massive financial credits; and secondly, China's oil industries are being developed by "United States interests"! One wonders who could possibly be involved!

The full implications for Australia and New Zealand have yet to be realised. But if either country believes it will be able to bludgeon Japan into accepting more beef exports, or increased quantities of coal and iron ore, they are likely to have their illusions cruelly shattered before long.

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