THE WHEAT AND THE COCKLE

"An all party parliamentary delegation will leave for the United States this week to lobby the U.S. Congress against the proposed sale of subsidised wheat to the Soviet Union and China, the Prime Minister, Mr. Hawke, said yesterday." The Australian, July 28th.

Some supporters may wonder why we used the word "cockle", often substituted with the word "tares" in the biblical reference. "Tares" and "cockle" in the biblical reference mean just weeds, to be separated from the wheat, the grain desired; the weeds, of course, not desired. We use the term in the sense of "claptrap", "bilge", "rubbish", because there is so much nonsense being talked by politicians and the mass media, and with so little understanding of underlying situation. The "Wheat" is real enough; we've got it, and we have to sell it. The wheat growers in the U.S.A. have also got it, and they are desperate to sell their wheat. The reality is that the American wheat growers don't vote for Australian politicians, they vote for American politicians; and if Mr. Ronald Reagan and his Republicans don't smooth the way for American wheat growers, as desperate as their Australian counterparts, then their votes go to the USA Opposition, viz, the Democrats; or many American wheat growers may not vote at all. Yes, Australia and Belgium are the sole two "enlightened" Western nations, which have compulsory voting.

Is the Aussie initiative likely to succeed? Well, we don't like its chances. The realities in politics normally prevail; the "cockle" can be swept under the carpet for so long. What is likely to be the result if the Americans go ahead with the sale of subsidised wheat to the USSR and China? Probably curtains, ultimately, for Messrs. Hawke and Keating. They have their hands full now, trying to contain the rural revolt. Mr. John Howard is on a winner in having Opposition members on the delegation (we have read that it was, initially, his idea) - if it succeeds he can take some credit; and if it fails he can claim that the Opposition was in there, fighting for the Australian wheat growers. The Hawke Government is now in really a dreadful bind, and we think is unlikely to extricate itself from a virtually impossible situation.

The World's Greatest Treasurer, Socialist Brother Keating, must now come up with some magic to reduce that Deficit, those overseas debts, that unemployment (set to jump again), and all the rest. He can't shrug it all off as economic problems he inherited from the previous administration; as an economic jigsaw puzzle, primarily of overseas manufacture, and well beyond our control. In all this time, the Hawke Government has been pressing ahead with its Socialism; kow-towing to Big Unionism; jacking up the taxes and generally destroying confidence. Hawke, Keating, and Co. are, repeat, are, to blame for a large part of Australia's present difficulties. The overseas financial hard heads didn't come down in the last shower. They can see the way the Canberra Socialist / Communist Government is taking Australia, and they think it stinks! So, pull out those investments; don't re-invest. That's the story.

Mr. John Stone, former Head of the Treasury, wrote recently in his regular column in The Herald (Melbourne) that the Hawke Government is not fit to govern Australia. We agree. We suspect that Messrs Hawke and Keating would like to go for a snap election at the end of this year for the usual reason: a play for time. We suspect that Messrs. Howard and Peacock would like them to stay in power for a while at least, until the "Labor" Government is thoroughly discredited. All a tricky business this. And what of the Chippocrats? We think the Australian electorate will sing them the "cheerio song"; as they have usurped a function (balance of power in the Senate) for which they had no mandate at all. They have survived on the votes of disaffected Liberal voters and to a much lesser extent, disaffected Labor voters. Most volatile political times lie ahead for Australians.

DESPERATE PREMIER CAIN ATTACKS LEAGUE OF RIGHTS

Right across the State of Victoria the anti-Municipal amalgamation campaign is gaining momentum. One media report claims that at a recent State Cabinet meeting it was seriously debated if it was politically possible for the government to continue with the amalgamation programme. Typical of the mounting hostility to amalgamation was the meeting in Bendigo.

The Age reported: "Almost 600 angry country Victorians used megaphones, thunderous applause and lawyers to test the patience of the Local Government Commission, Mr. Stuart Morris, at his first public inquiry in Bendigo ... And in Melbourne, the Premier, Mr. Cain, accused right wing political groups such as the League of Rights as stirring up opposition to amalgamation." Mr. Cain is also reported as having said it is one of the more noisy and unreasonable of the opposition groups." The Bendigo meeting was the most hostile Mr. Morris has yet faced, and resulted in Mr. Morris and his colleagues deciding that they would de- centralise the hearings in the Bendigo area.

The League was the first to warn of the motives behind the proposed amalgamation campaign in Victoria, and incurred the wrath of the Cain government with its special copy of The Intelligence Survey. League actionists have done a magnificent job right across Victoria, calling meetings, distributing tens of thousands of pieces of literature, writing letters and circulating League cassette tapes. These tapes have had a devastating effect in many areas. Thousands of people have been hearing the League's message.

Confirming the League's view that the real purpose of forced Council amalgamations is to further the philosophy of totalitarianism is the news that the Marxist Minister for Local Government, Mr. Simmonds, has left for Yugoslavia to study Local government structures there, before going on to other countries. This "study tour" will take a month. Perhaps the Communists running Yugoslavia will be able to advise Mr. Simmonds on how to deal with opposition groups like the League of Rights!

There is no doubt that the Cain government is "on the back foot" in the amalgamation battle. League actionists can take tremendous heart from a tremendous grassroots movement, which they have played a major role in generating. Now is the time to intensify activities.

THE RURAL MID BUSINESS REVOLT

from Chas. Pinwill
The Queensland State Director, Mr. Chas Pinwill, attended one of the many large rallies being run by protesting small business people and rural Australians. The speakers at this rally at Emerald in central Queensland were Katherine West, Des Keegan (both journalists from The Australian newspaper), Mr. Dougal MacTaggart, a Sydney businessman who has become known by running full page anti-tax advertisements in the Australian, and local figures. The "gospel" according to the 3 speakers named, who speak at almost all these type of rallies across Australia, comes in 3 parts:-
(1) The problem is insufficient production.
(2) The reason is inadequate incentives, or actually disincentives to produce.
(3) The answer is reduced taxes. The answer meets with, as it should, loud acclaim. Tax relief for families is especially welcome, as are other demands for the abolition of Federal duplication of State Governmental functions, the removal of tax from primary productions cost inputs, and a freeze of Government staffing levels and much else. Another well-received idea was to convert unemployment benefits to payments for work to reduce Governments' costs, e.g. caring for elderly people in their own homes, sweeping the streets, etc.

In spite of many good suggestions, Mr. Pinwill is of the opinion that the campaign is a disaster attempting to happen. C. H. Douglas once said that a problem correctly stated was already half solved. As anyone who bothers to think about it will know, the problem is not too little production. If B.H.P. and G.M.H. doubled their production in the coming year, they would both go broke financing their inventories. So too would any or all companies who followed their lead. Conversely, those who cannot correctly state the problem don't have even half the solution.

Shifting resources from the public to the private sector, however laudable, will not increase the aggregate effective demand, nor increase any production, which is limited by effective demand, and that is most production. Export industries would benefit as their demand is external, and this would help our balance of payments. However other factors operate here.

No acknowledgement is given to the deliberate policy of encouraging imports of cheese, passionfruit, pig meats, etc. etc. as part of the New International Economic Order to enable the Third World to pay international Bank debts. Australia is now being driven into debt in order to refinance Third World debts as Australian debts for products we don't need and can easily produce ourselves. Any worthwhile move towards lower taxes, such as that represented by Mrs. Thatcher, will end like her Government, in defeat either by the electorate or the abandonment of objectives, unless the practice of only financing increased demand by debt is abandoned.

The popular demand for reduced taxes is a positive development and must be encouraged. Nevertheless they've only seen half of the problem so far, and they must face the whole problem.

Supporters should make every effort to challenge concerned people to face the whole problem. A copy of "What Has to be Done" is a good way of doing this. They are available from all League Bookshops for $5 posted.