MR. CALWELL DISMISSES THREAT OF COMMUNIST CHINA

"I firmly believe that Communist China does not constitute a threat to Australia or to any other country now, or in the proximate future...The basis of our Government's case for our continued involvement, alongside the United States, is that unless the war in Vietnam is won China will soon conquer the whole of South-East Asia and, ultimately, Australia. This is just so much unadulterated nonsense. China is in no position to attack anybody and, particularly, Australia separated, as we are, by thousands of miles of ocean." Mr. Arthur Calwell, M.P former Leader of the Australian Labor Party Opposition, in The Herald, Melbourne, January 23.

Since returning from his trip overseas, during which he was persuaded that Australia was a "hillbilly" country compared with the wonderful Soviet Union, which is bristling with "progress", Mr. Arthur Calwell has been given adequate opportunities to outline his views on a wide variety of subjects. The Communist Tribune is delighted with most of Mr. Calwell's views. He fosters the Communist propaganda "line" that the war in Vietnam is really only a civil war in which Americans and Australians have no part.

In his Herald article quoted above, Mr. Calwell falsifies history by stating that, "The Vietnam war began as a civil war when the National Liberation Front was formed to oppose the corrupt Diem regime." Mr. Calwell has apparently not heard of the irrefutable evidence provided by the Communists themselves, that when the Diem regime refused to collapse, as was confidently anticipated, it was formally agreed in Hanoi that a campaign of revolution and terror had to be unleashed against South Vietnam.
If we were to believe Mr. Calwell, we should ignore the worldwide revolutionary rnovements being fostered and supported by both Peking and Moscow. And we should not take too seriously the authoritative directions by Communist leaders.

Let us briefly examine some of the evidence concerning the revolutionary intentions of the Chinese Communist leaders. On April 29, 1954, Republican Senator Knowland read into the U.S. Congressional Record Mao-Tse -tung's strategy for world conquest as taken to the Soviet Union in 1953 by Chou En-lai. No Communist leader has ever denied the authenticity of this strategy. Mao Tse tung stressed that a major conflict had to be avoided because of the greater strength of the West. "The United States must be isolated by all possible means. Britain must be placated by being convinced that there is a possibility of settling the major issues between East and West and that the Communist and capitalist countries can live in peace. Opportunities for trade will have a great influence on the British mind.
"France" must be made to feel a sense of greater security in co-operation with us than with the Western countries."

Then came the suggestion that after South-East Asia had been "liberated", 20 million well-trained troops should be available to "force the capitalist countries to keep on increasing defence expenditure until economic collapse overtakes them."
After pointing out that "The experiences in Korea tell us that so long as there is foreign intervention and so long as we have no naval support, military operations alone cannot achieve the objectives of liberation. Once foreign intervention is out of the picture (in South-East Asia), vigorous propaganda, infiltration, the forming of united fronts with progressive elements in and outside the reactionary regimes will accelerate the process of liberation. A firm stroke of force will complete the task."

Mao Tse-tung went on to say that after the "liberation" of Vietnam, Burma and Thailand would capitulate, and that Indonesia would fall to the Communist camp like ripe fruit and the Malay peninsular would be encircled. Unfortunately for Mao the Americans did eventually provide an intervention in Vietnam, and the Chinese-backed coup in Indonesia in 1965 backfired through a miracle. We presume that Mr. Calwell has heard of what happened in Indonesia, when the Chinese Communists, although a long way from Indonesia, were able to come within a hairbreadth of taking over Indonesia. If they had, Australia would now be sharing a border with the Communists in New Guinea.
But the Chinese Communist leaders have not given up.

We recommend for Mr. Calwell's reading the address by Lin Piao, Mao Tse-tung's minister for Defence, as published in the Peking Review of September 3, 1965 and subsequently republished in booklet form. Here we have outlined the current concept of global strategy with the "global cities" of Western Europe and America being encircled through the "global rural areas" of Asia, Africa, and Latin America.
Lin Piao concluded that, "In the final analysis the whole cause of world revolution hinges on the revolutionary struggles of the Asian, African and Latin American peoples...."

We wonder if Mr. Calwell has heard of the Communist trained and equipped terrorists operating in Africa, Latin America and South-East Asia? At the Tricontinental Conference held in Cuba in January 1966, attended by top Communists from both Moscow and Peking, the leader of the Peking delegation, Wu Hsueh-chien said, "The most effective weapon to defeat U.S.A. imperialism and all reactionaries is to use revolutionary violence… and wage people's wars."

The Chinese Communists are engaged in carrying out their own advice. And yet there are men like Mr. Arthur Calwell who cannot see this. There is only one observation in Mr. Calwell's Herald article with which we agree. He writes that, "Russia is supplying more than 70 per cent of North Vietnam's war needs, . . .It suits Russia to underwrite Vietnam's independence because of her territorial interests in Asia." But then Mr. Calwell would have Australians believe that they have no worries because the Soviet Union is helping North Vietnam to prevent the spread of Chinese influence throughout Vietnam and other Southeast Asian countries.
The Soviet Union's primary purpose in pouring economic support and highly sophisticated weaponry into North Vietnam, is to do exactly what the Peking Communists wish: to inflict a major defeat on the West, so that Asian morale will collapse, and the Communist revolutionary movement can be speeded up.

As might be expected, Mr. Calwell has strongly supported Socialist Harold Wilson's speeding up of withdrawing British forces from South-East Asia and taken the opportunity of reminding Australians that he was opposed to Australian support for the British in Malaya in the past. To Mr. Calwell there is no Communist problem at all, anywhere.
By being in Vietnam Australians are serving "the cause of American monopoly capitalism." This is a straight repeat of Communist propaganda. It is disturbing that Australian press provides Mr. Calwell with so much space to spread this dangerous nonsense.

COMMUNIST "FRONT" TO FOSTER ANTI SOUTH AFRICAN PROPAGANDA

"Prisoners in South African goals are maltreated and tortured. Electro therapeutic machines are used for this purpose, according to ex-chief warders Theron and Harold Strachan. Intimidation is being used against the legal profession by striking off the rolls lawyers who are listed by the minister as 'communists'." - Alf Watt, who describes himself as secretary, Friends of Africa, in a letter specially featured in The Australian. January 23.

Neither Mr. Watts nor The Australian pointed out that Friends of Africa is a Communist "front" organisation, set up for the purpose of exploiting Australians who, while not Communists, have been badly misled by anti-South African propaganda. Mr. Watt also had a featured letter in The Australian of January 16, in which he made an appeal for support for the 37 terrorists tried for their murderous activities in South-West Africa. In his letter of January 23 Mr. Watt brushes aside the fact that The World Court had dismissed the appeal against South Africa's alleged violation of the terms of its mandate over South-West Africa, claiming that this was on "legal grounds, and not the merits of the case."
He goes on to say that the United Nations is "the more authoritative body."

It is true that shortly after the World Court handed down its decision in favour of South Africa the UN General Assembly carried a resolution calling for UN control of South-West Africa. But most of those who voted for this resolution represent Communist tyrannies, one-party dictatorships, and countries where there is no voting of any type.
Needless to say, the South Africans decline to take any notice of such resolutions, any more than Australia does (at present) on similar resolutions concerning Papua-New Guinea.

Southern Africa, which includes South Africa, Rhodesia and the Portuguese territories of Angola and Mozambique, are one of the main strategic targets of the Communists. The attack on South Africa is being concentrated on South-West Africa. The allegations by Mr. Watt are completely without foundation. They are no more reliable than those of the ex-warders he quotes, who subsequently had to admit that they had made false statements.
But a little thing like this does not worry Mr. Alf Watt, so beloved by the Communist Tribune.
Right around the world the various anti-South African organisations are nothing more than Communist "fronts."

MAJOR INDUSTRIAL BATTLE TO ERUPT

"In the past 10 days strike action has paralysed the Australian postal service; in the next 10 days further strike action could immobilise a large part of Australian secondary industry. This major clash - predicted with equal conviction by employers and trade union leaders - will be over the new rates of pay in the Federal Metal Trades award, which came into effect yesterday. " - The Age, Melbourne, January 23.

Constant clashes between employers and employees over wages appear to confirm the Communist teaching that these clashes are an inevitable feature of the class war. According to the Communists, a revolutionary situation only develops when there is extreme crisis, affecting both employers and employees. But the constant clashes between employers and employees are not inevitable; they are the result of a deliberate policy of inflationary financial credit expansion. The financial policy of most Governments is dictated by the Communists" philosophic brothers, the Fabian Socialists, some of whose leading spokesmen have frankly admitted that an inflationary credit expansion policy must inevitably produce social friction which can then be exploited to justify more Government controls. (See The Fabian Socialist Contribution to The Communist Advance, price 50 cents post-free)

The constant rise in the price level ("controlled inflation" is the term used to describe this) generates constant demands for higher wages. But higher wages do not permanently solve the problem because increased wage costs must be costed into higher prices. And so the vicious circle goes on, with the Communists exploiting the situation. In very few cases can increased wage costs be financed out of profits.
Even Government instrumentalities, not primarily concerned about profits, have to increase their charges from time to time in order to try to meet rising financial costs.

It is the responsibility of the Government to ensure that the monetary measure of purchasing power is not progressively debased. Increasing wage costs is no solution. Other methods of increasing purchasing power commensurate with increased production must be employed before mounting industrial unrest places the Communists in a completely dominating position in the Australian Trade Union Movement.

If the Government's present economic advisers are unable or unwilling to recommend modifications of financial policies which produce increasing inflation and friction between different sections of the community the Government should replace them.

ON TARGET BULLETIN

SUBJECT FOR DISCUSSION
Inflation and Revolution

In this week's On Target we refer to the urgent necessity of the Government insisting that its economic advisers fashion a financial policy, which does not produce increasing inflation, and the friction between employers and employees, which is being exploited by the Communists. From Lenin onwards all Communist leaders have taught that revolution is impossible without a "crisis" affecting the whole "capitalist" system. So long as increasing inflation, with all its disastrous social and economic results, is accepted as "inevitable", the Communists are left in a dangerous position.
It is important to note that in the post-war years, all Governments have endorsed the policy known as "controlled inflation."

It is true that in 1949 the first Menzies-Fadden Government was elected on a promise of "putting the shillings back into the pound." Brave words had been spoken about reducing taxation and the burden of Government. But this was impossible while the Government slavishly followed the advice of Fabian Socialists like Dr. H.C.Coombs.
It is elementary that there is something wrong when, as every producer and business man knows, he is reducing real costs of production, but is being forced to try to recover increasing financial costs which force him to rise his prices. Some, like the primary producers, are unable to do this, and so tend to look favourably on amalgamations in an attempt to alleviate their problems.
The basic cause of the problem is the prevailing method of expanding new financial credit, and a high taxation policy.

All taxation finds its way into higher prices somewhere in the economic system. It is no use blaming arbitration authorities when they grant wage increases. These increases are only granted because the authorities, after hearing all the relevant evidence, consider that inflation has so eroded the purchasing power of the wage earner that his wages must be increased. But the benefit from increased wages is comparatively short-lived, as most employers must pass on the increased wage costs in still further increased prices.
Every wage increase requires an expansion of new financial credit to finance them.

Actionists should make certain that they understand how the bulk of a modern community's money supply is created in the form of financial credit, the most efficient monetary system yet evolved, as it is primarily a question of book-keeping.

The basic question to be considered is this: As increasing financial credit must be created to serve an expanding economy, and to finance wage increases, is there no way of expanding credit without at the same time causing inflation?
It is the Government's responsibility to stop the value of the unit of money from falling, and those on fixed incomes, or with insurance policies, from being defrauded, in the same way that Government authorities ensure that weights and measures are kept accurate so that consumers are not defrauded.

As purchasing power cannot be divorced from productive capacity, we suggest that all further wage increases be based upon increased production (it would be relatively easy for the Government to have this information provided) and that instead of increases being paid through wages which increase industrial costs that they are paid outside the wage system in the form of what might be appropriately described as a "national production bonus."
Many individual firms already work different types of bonus systems, which they finance themselves. A national production bonus system would be one method of expanding the nation's money supply without in the process causing inflation; it would remove the bonus increases out of the political field, as they would be governed automatically by production facts.

Employers would have an incentive to increase their production confident that the increased bonus would be a genuine increase in their purchasing power, and not eroded by further price rises. The whole community would benefit.

Action groups and individual actionists are requested to consider this proposal and to forward to the National Co-coordinator any suggestions. Or raise any questions.

TARGETS FOR THE WEEK

Letters should be sent to the Prime Minister, Senator Gorton, congratulating the Government on its firm stand on the postal dispute.
It is encouraging that the latest attacks on Australia's immigration policy, initiated by Professor Nossal's Paper at the recent Citizenship Convention in Canberra, have been widely criticised. It is most important for Australia's future as a stable nation, based upon traditions and institutions, which have been tried over centuries, that a homogeneous population is maintained, and that no race problems are created where none exist at present.
Any "quota" system would be the "thin edge of the wedge", and should be firmly resisted now.

Actionists should write to their Federal Members, Senators, and to the press, stressing that Australia cannot help Asians, or Africans, by bringing some of them to Australia. Educated and skilled leaders from Asia should surely be in their own countries helping them to overcome their problems. This is a most important matter.

Note that, as usual, the Communists associate themselves with every attack on an immigration policy, which has prevented the creation in Australia of the type of problem the Communists have been able to exploit in other countries. Australians can best help other countries by remaining true to their own traditions.

Victorian actionists have been using their initiative in opposing the introduction of the principle of compulsory mass medication through fluoridating water supplies.
All Victorian actionists should write their State Members requesting that they remain loyal to their principles of freedom of choice.

NATIONAL CO-ORDINATOR OF VPA's