"All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing"
Edmund Burke
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28 October 1988. Thought for the Week:
"…The Welfare State, so called, is only necessary (and indeed
possible) because the vast majority of people are kept so
poor that they are unable to make provision for themselves.
In order to grasp, in post war policy, the continuation of
pre-war policy it is essential to understand this matter.
Poor does not mean poor in the sense of lack of material possessions;
it means poor in the sense of lack of financial independence.
Now since depression in the pre-war sense is politically inexpedient,
if not impossible, the progress of the industrial arts makes
an expanding production inevitable. But if it can be arranged,
as it is, that the 'standard of living' absorbs their total
income for the majority, then the minority whose income is
significantly greater than their 'cost of living' can be dealt
with by Progressive Taxation to maintain the Welfare State,
and by inflation...."
Dr. B.W. Monahan, in The Last Chance: A Conspectus (1960) |
'THE AUSTRALIAN' DEFENDS THE AUSTRALIAN LEAGUE OF RIGHTS' RIGHT TO EXIST AND FUNCTIONAll League of Rights supporters should know by now that the League is under attack from the Federal Parliament. Members of the Liberal, National, and Labor Parties have all vilified the League of Rights in recent days. An Investigating Committee of the House of Representatives may be formed to investigate, particularly, the League's finances. We dealt with this in the last issue (October 21st.) of On Target. The Editorial of The Australian (October 18th.) is so important that we shall reproduce it in full for all supporters to read. We cannot recall ever having so reproduced an Editorial in full in On Target previously, which we do now."A WHIFF OF McCARTHY""A few months ago the Australian League of Rights was described in the Senate as 'racist, anti-semitic, and neo-Nazi'. "This is the sort of language which is sometimes used by the ultra-Left to castigate its opponents but on this occasion the speaker was Senator Ron Boswell, of Queensland, a member of the most conservative branch of the most conservative party represented in the Federal Parliament, the National Party."As would be expected, Senator Boswell's strictures aroused no demur from his fellow senators belonging to the Labor Party and there are few members of Parliament from either of the conservative parties prepared to defend the League of Rights. "For almost half a century the League has propounded a conspiracy theory of history according to which Jewish capitalists, Asians, Fabians, and an odd assortment of allies have conspired to establish a world government dominated by international Jewish finance. "The League denies that there was mass murder of Jews by Nazis, opposes Asian immigration and any recognition of Aboriginal land rights and has consistently seen virtue in apartheid even when it was practised most oppressively. "Some of these opinions might be shared by many Australians but most would reject the League's tactics of setting up front organisations such as the 'Citizens' Electoral Councils' and of infiltrating established political parties. "But whether popular or unpopular, desirable or undesirable, these activities are not illegal. Nor should they be. "Australia is a democratic, pluralist society in which there is no official ideology. Our political system is based on a belief in free institutions within the rule of law. It is a sound democratic principle that, while violence and conspiring to commit violence and urging the commission of violence, treason, espionage, and similar denials of other citizens' rights should be illegal, the expression of opinion and organising support for ones opinions should not be illegal. This principle will be breached if the House of Representatives Standing Committee on Legal and Constitutional Affairs carries out its intention to set up a sub-committee to investigate the League of Rights. "According to Mr. Alan Griffiths, the Labor M.P. who is chairman of the committee, organisations in which the League is involved 'only operate on the extreme fringe of the Rights of Australian politics'. This is no doubt true, but so what? Australia has many fringe organisations on the extreme Left as well as the extreme Right. If they breach the law, they should he dealt with according to the law. If they do not, they should have the same rights as all other citizens. What Mr. Griffiths proposes has a whiff of McCarthyism about it. There should be no place for his committee in an open and democratic society. If the policies of the League of Rights are to be resisted, they should be resisted in open debate, not by the device of an investigating committee, an odious precedent that could lead to the similar persecution of all those who hold minority opinions." |
PRESS RELEASE FROM JEREMY LEE: FORMER ASSISTANT NATIONAL DIRECTOR AUSTRALIAN LEAGUE OF RIGHTS(October 18th.) "Former Assistant National Director of the Australian League of Rights, Mr. Jeremy Lee, today hit out at allegations recently made in the Federal Parliament."What we are now seeing in Australia is an abuse of parliamentary privilege for political purposes that has nothing to do with responsible government', Mr. Lee claimed. "He was commenting on moves for a committee of inquiry into the League of Rights, proposed by A.L.P. member, Keith Wright. "Mr. Lee said the League's National Director, Mr. Eric Butler, has already written to the Speaker of the House, Joan Child, stressing the League's fullest co-operation with any properly constituted inquiry. The League has been a responsible and law-abiding organisation in Australia for 42 years, fully committed to accepted principles of a free and democratic system, and had nothing to hide. "Mr. Lee added the setting up of a toothless committee, without even the power to subpoena witnesses, was a caricature of a fair inquiry, and would be widely interpreted as a continuation of well established Labor tactics to use privilege as a means of intimidating and silencing its critics. "They started the ball rolling a couple of years ago when former Communist, and now prominent Fabian, Ken Gott, was appointed to the public payroll on the Aboriginal Affairs Department to 'investigate' the League of Rights, Mr. Lee said. "Mr. Gott's efforts were a fizzer. He laboured like an elephant and didn't even produce a mouse. "Mr. Lee added that the Editorial in The Australian on October 18, had hit the nail on the head. While disagreeing strongly with the League on a number of issues, the Editorial commented. "Mr. Lee claimed this 'odious precedent' was the result of an increasing arrogance in all political parties, which had become so rigid there was little room left for individual conscience or proper representation of the electorate. There was, in consequence a widespread disenchantment and distrust of party politicians in the Australian community. Faith in political integrity and the honouring of election promises was at an all time low. The fact that a growing number of non-party speakers and commentators were receiving bigger and more discerning audiences than politicians themselves was producing a spiteful meanness from a few members who obviously resented and feared the fact that their own performance was under scrutiny…" |
CHAIRMAN, SYDNEY REGIONAL COUNCIL OF THE AUSTRALIAN LEAGUE OF RIGHTS SENDS THIS MESSAGE TO THE MEDIA(October 17th) "A great anxiety exists within the political parties of this country! "The electors are questioning the validity of a system which projects policies that suit parties, but have no relevance to the basic needs of the average elector. "There has been a revolt, insofar as the party system now has difficulty in getting supporters, and the electors are asking questions on real issues that candidates would like to avoid. The last N.S.W. State elections and recent by-elections have shown a renewed interest in independent candidates, particularly when they agree to 're-present' the policy of their electors in parliament. A very old-fashioned concept indeed.Since this has been the philosophy of the League of Rights from the time of its inception (1946) and one it has been advocating for 40 years, it is no wonder the party barons are getting upset. They cannot conceive how the League has gained so much support without the vast expenditure of money that the politicians have become accustomed to spending to gain office. In this respect, the League can set them a good example - another old-fashioned concept, 'service' with personal responsibility. The individual becomes the key to the nationwide activity to restore some sort of respectability to our parliamentary system. "As advocates of the Swiss system of Citizens' Initiated Referendum, this is the last straw for the party politician. Sacked by your electorate if you don't perform! Hardly cricket! Electors repealing law they don't agree with? Isn't this carrying democracy too far? "Party politicians have chosen to ignore the awakening among people to have a greater say within their government. In practice, the system of Citizens' Initiative has ensured a true reflection of public opinion. "Ignoring all the derogatory terms used to describe the League, this is the real issue that worries our politicians. It is the basis for their call for an all-party inquiry. Perhaps from this day they will learn how much can be achieved from meagre financial resources when the individual understands that it is his personal action and contribution that gets results...." |
20TH CENTURY MELTING POTThis letter is from the Rev. Rodney Rivers, of Toowoomba Published in The Chronicle (Toowoomba), October 18th:" Fanned by the hot winds of humanism, the United Nations of this 20th century is rapidly becoming a melting pot for the God ordained distinctions between nations. The eradication of God's absolutes for another man made super-state like the Tower of Babel. If the United Nations aims were to be a union of nations, while at the same time retains its own national sovereignty for the dispatch of its own cultural duties, then the United Nations would have embodied a Biblical ideal. But because this uniform world empire has departed from the absolutes of the Kingdom of God by demolishing the perimeters of these individual nations' sovereignty, then I am skeptical of the outcome of such a man-made empire, especially when its tentacles reach around the globe, even to the land called Australia. "As a Christian Aborigine, I hold to the truth that the sovereignty of Australia should not be tampered with, not by changing the present Constitution or by the signing of any treaty in some far off international forum without the consent of the total Australian population. Therefore I welcome 'Voters' Veto' as the best gift Australia could give itself for this 200 year birthday celebration. 'Voters' Veto' is the surgeon's knife that would cut off warts of added legislation, Fabian socialism, humanism; and the blistering boils of international intrusion that have made inroads into this once healthy nation." |
In BriefSELECTIVE ACTION ON WAR CRIMES The Sun (Melbourne) carries a report that some N.A.T.O. spies had been executed within Russia. The report states that these spies were citizens of the Soviet Union who had been passing Soviet military secrets to the West. A "highly placed" security source in Washington stated that "an unusually high" number of people had been purged by the K.G.B. since the coming to power of Mikhail Gorbachev. Please note his remarks: "It is important for people in the West to realise that Mr. Gorbachev is not a cuddly bear and that there is a dark side to the Soviet System." |