N.S.W. ELECTIONS A TURNING POINT

It is not often that we find ourselves in agreement with Premier Barrie Unsworth of N.S.W, but he made a valid and significant point in an ABC AM radio programme last Monday morning when he said, in essence, that the loss of electoral support for his party, which was witnessed by the Morgan Poll, was not automatically flowing to the Opposition parties; that there was a wide disenchantment with the main political parties. Both Premier Unsworth and his Coalition opponents are haunted by the very real prospect that a small group of Independents will hold the balance of power in the next N.S.W. Parliament.

As demonstrated in the recent Adelaide by-election, where it is estimated that the majority of thousands who refused to vote were traditional Labor voters, there is a growing feeling among electors that the major political parties are out of touch with the aspirations and views of the majority of the electors. This is a situation in which the Swiss Electors' Veto concept, when explained, makes a big appeal to the frustrated elector. This concept does enable him to have a direct say on major issues like gun controls, immigration, and heavy taxation.

All our readers are urged to seize the opportunity to inject the Electors' Veto concept into the N.S.W. election by participating in the type of programme, which the League of Rights will be supporting in every possible way. There were four Independents in the last N.S.W. State Parliament, the longest serving of these being Mr. John Hatton, who represents the former Liberal stronghold of the South Coast. Mr. Hatton displayed outstanding integrity when in 1976, the Wran Government with only a majority of one, offered him an extra $4,000 a year as assistant minister with a car, and a world trip. Mr. Hatton declined.

The best possible result in the N.S.W. elections would be a Parliament with the balance of power held by a group of Independents pledged to press for the immediate introduction of the Swiss Electors Veto concept in N.S.W. Such a development could see a turning point in Australian politics. A rebuff for the Unsworth Government will confirm that the Hawke Government is on the way out. And it would deliver a message to the Howard led Liberal Party.

MR. ROBERT NIXON ASSISTANT NATIONAL DIRECTOR

UN CONTROLS AND COMMONSENSE

History teaches that people rarely act in defence of their basic freedoms and rights until they perceive them to be threatened. Proposed gun laws have produced one of the biggest and emotional grassroots ferments seen in Australia for a long time but unless this ferment can be translated into effective political action, action taken inside the traditional constitutional framework, it could be exploited to further fragment social stability and create crisis conditions which in turn could be used to justify still more controls over the individual.

Those advocating anything resembling vigilante groups, with citizens coming into direct conflict with the police, are playing into the hands of the enemies of freedom. Generally speaking, the police are opposed to a policy of attempting to disarm the law abiding gun owners against their will. In a highly charged emotional climate, accidents can happen. Constructive constitutional action concerning gun legislation will ensure that there is a maximum harmony between the police and the people.

While modern governments tend to treat with contempt the common law rights of the individual, rights established in England even before the famous Magna Carta of 1215, the time has come for politicians to be reminded that inviolable common law rights stemmed from the Christian concept of the sovereignty of the individual. Over many centuries, it has been a common law right of every individual to possess a weapon, whether it be a sword, a spear, a bow and arrow, or a firearm for the purpose of either hunting or of self defence. Modern legislation has wisely sought to ensure that offensive weapons like machine guns, suitable only for organised armies under the control of the State, should not be available on an unrestricted basis to the individual.

Writing in Programme For The Second World War, C.H. Douglas said, "I have spent some of my life on, or beyond, the fringes of 'civilisation', where men carried guns and used them without hesitation. The social atmosphere of those districts was much better than that of policed areas. It is not in the wilds that the scum of the earth rises; it is in the towns. The denial of the right of the individual to carry arms is a fundamental infringement of liberty. Just as the bootlegger was the most enthusiastic supporter of prohibition, the gangster, both national and international, is a convinced adherent of disarmament by law."

The virtual disarmament of Great Britain during the Great Depression years, the result of both financial policy and the pacifist programmes of the Socialists, was a major factor in producing the Second World War. Electors of N.S.W. will have the opportunity to make the State Government's proposed gun legislation an issue at the coming State Elections. But Victorians do not have this opportunity. However, if Liberal Party leaders could find a little backbone, they should cease sitting on the fence, and state that there is such community concern about the far reaching implications of the Cain Government's gun control legislation, that they are prepared to stand firmly with the Nationals in the Legislative Council, blocking the Cain legislation on the grounds that the present situation concerning firearms should not be altered without a referendum of the Victorian electors. The Victorian Police Association is calling for a comprehensive inquiry into the rising tide of violence before any restrictive legislation concerning firearms is introduced. That is a commonsense approach.

BRIEF COMMENTS

With a display of integrity rare in these times, the February, 1988 issue of Christian Identity, P.O. Box 146, Cardwell, Qld., 4816, states that information to hand indicates that a widely circulated tape by a Jonathan May concerning international finance, is "as phony as a three dollar bill". Christian Identity says "As we have made this tape available, we felt compelled to issue this warning. Please pass this warning on to others who may have heard this tape." Reliable authorities in the USA have for a long time questioned the authenticity of the Jonathan May tape. There is a Biblical warning about Prophets whose predictions don't come true. As national and international tension increases, the voices of false prophets and the purveyors of disinformation will become louder. We refuse to endorse any claims which we have not satisfied ourselves are reliable.

Australian Foreign Minister Bill Hayden is proving just as gullible as his British and American counterparts, who are pouring aid into Marxist dominated Mozambique in an attempt to "wean" the government away from Moscow. Until the Portuguese left in 1975, Mozambique was an orderly province of Portugal with the capital, now known as Maputo, one of the most popular holiday resorts in Africa. People flocked there from the old Rhodesia and South Africa. Now Maputo is a shambles. As in all Marxist dominated countries, the ruling officials live the good life, while millions of those they control survive at near starvation level. The rebel Renamo army now controls an estimated one third of the nation's population and 85% of its territory. Leftist propagandists, aided by some Christian clergy, are attempting to present the Renamo movement as the creature of South Africa, engaged in brutal atrocities, which are the cause of Mozambique's problems. Once again Western suckers are invited to contribute towards propping up a Marxist Dictatorship. The ABC "red network" is, as usual, running true to form.

Unlike libertarian, Mr. John Bennett, Zionist Ron Casten Q.C., seeks to whitewash the Constitutional Commission established by the Hawke Government. Mr. Casten also argues that Premier John Cain's draconian gun laws do not infringe the individual's rights. As documented by Howard Carter in his excellent booklet on "The Constitutional Commission", ($4.00 posted from all League addresses) the Hawke Government has "stacked" this Commission with individuals whom it knew would be strong advocates of "change". The Commission is currently spending the taxpayers' money in an attempt to persuade them to support far-reaching changes to the Federal Constitution.

A Canberra actionist has sent us a clipping from The Canberra Times (29/10), which reports the Federal Attorney General's attack on corruption in Australia's banking system. We admit we did not notice this report in the Melbourne dailies that is if it did appear. Mr. Lionel Bowen stated that the national Crime Authority is horrified at the amount of corruption and evasion, which is transpiring in the banking structure itself. What pollies will be game to take on this Holy Cow?

WAR CRIMES AMENDMENT BILL