ELECTORAL WARNING TO LIBERAL - COUNTRY PARTY COALITION

"The Leader of the Labor Party, Mr. Whitlam, last night refused to concede defeat, but predicted that if the Liberal - Country Party formed a new government it would not last the full three year term." - The Australian, October 27.

The final results of the Federal Elections may not be known for two weeks. But the general picture is crystal clear: The Gorton Government has received the major electoral thrashing, which it deserved. What is now necessary is a realistic examination of the basic causes of the electoral rebuff, and not a concentration upon superficial questions. In spite of what is being said about the "Whitlam image" we know from our nation-wide grass-roots contacts, that even before the campaigning started, there was widespread resentment against the Government amongst traditional Liberal and Country Party voters. These electors did not vote FOR Mr. Whitlam; they voted AGAINST the Government.
We predict that no change of leadership by the Liberal Party can halt the erosion of electoral support for the Coalition Government while there is no change in policies.

The Federal director of the Country Party, Mr. P.P. Warrick, has claimed that the election result showed the remarkable ability of political support for the CP." (Vide The Sun, Melbourne, October 28)... What is remarkable is that this type of statement can be made in the face of a major decline in electoral support for Country Party candidates in every electorate they contested. Unless a solution is found to the cost-price squeeze, rural pressures against the Country Party are going to continue to mount.

Mr. Whitlam may well be correct that the Coalition Government will not last three years. And he now has the initiative. If the ALP received the same electoral support in twelve months time, at the Senate Elections, it could then dominate the Senate and force the Government to another election for the House of Representatives at the most opportune time. Time is therefore not with the Coalition Government, and it must start to act immediately if it wishes to regain lost electoral support. We will be examining this question in detail in a coming special issue of On Target.

The overall result of the Federal Elections has improved the political situation compared with what it was previously. Power is much more divided, League of Rights supporters who helped to produce this situation can take heart from the fact that an informed and dedicated minority has played a major role in the political life of a nation.

GOOD-BYE MR. ST. JOHN!

"Mr. E.H.St. John, QC, former MP believes he has been vindicated nationally but rejected by the people of his own electorate." - The Australian, Oct.27.

In spite of good publicity through the mass media, comparatively heavy sales of his book, A Time to Speak, and the services of a Public Relations organisation, Mr. Edward St. John was strongly rejected by the electors of Warringah. Perhaps Mr. Isi Leibler could now provide Mr.St.John with a farewell party!

Mr., Leibler, Zionist spokesman and obsessed by either a hatred or a fear of The Australian League of Rights, was most concerned in 1966 when Mr. St. John, the endorsed Liberal Party candidate, was being strongly challenged by Independent Liberal Mr. Keith Chambers. The following interesting information is provided on page 55 of Mr. St. John's book: My friends of the extreme right would perhaps have been rather surprised if they could have been present to observe the little company which gathered for dinner in Melbourne at the invitation of Isi Leibler...and his wife a few weeks after my election. The guests comprised Bob Santamaria, Frank Knopfelmacher and myself." The above item is interesting in more ways than one. It could help explain why the DLP gave their second preferences to Mr. St. John, instead of to the endorsed Liberal candidate. The DLP also supported Mr. St. John in 1966.

There has been some criticism of the DLP for supporting Mr. St. John. It is probably true that the charges brought against Prime Minister Gorton by Mr. St. John, originally in the Federal Parliament, and detailed in his book, A Time to Speak, had some impact during the Federal Elections. The Liberal Party cannot ignore the fact that over 8000 electors in Warringah probably most of them normally Liberal Party electors, clearly accepted Mr. St. John's charges. Mr. St. John has been a persistent critic of Rhodesia and South Africa, and believes in weakening Australia's traditional immigration barriers. We can shed no tears about his removal from the Federal Parliament.
In his book he refers to On Target as "a scurrilous little rag."
This "scurrilous little rag" is playing an increasingly important role in Australian politics. It will continue to serve the Australian people long after the St. Johns have been swept from Parliament.

LEAGUE OF RIGHTS' ROLE IN DEFEAT OF MR. GORDON FREETH

"The DLP staged an active campaign against Mr. Freeth, but even more pronounced was a campaign conducted by the Australian League of Rights, an extreme right wing organization. The League distributed literature in the electorate aimed at the defeat of Mr. Freeth, and the reduction of Mr. Gorton's majority in Parliament," - The Australian, October 27.

During nearly a week of campaigning in Mr. Gordon Freeth's electorate, League of Rights National Director Mr. Eric Butler correctly predicted that he was satisfied that although it would be difficult to defeat Mr. Freeth, he could be given a major "nudge." In a radio interview from Bunbury, Mr. Butler severely criticised the erratic foreign policy of Mr. Freeth and Mr. Gorton.

All League supporters throughout Forrest campaigned solidly against Mr. Freeth making effective use of the special election issue of On Target. Mr. Freeth's vote dropped approximately 2 percent more than the Western Australian average loss for Government members. League actionists also distributed the special election issue of On Target in the electorates of the defeated Government Members Chaney and Cleaver. Neither will be any loss. League members generally supported "rebel" Country Party Member Don Maisey, who was successful.

FIGHTING FUND OFF TO GOOD START

CANADIAN PREMIER ADVOCATES ECONOMIC REALISM

"With more than 400 million bushels of unsold wheat clogging storage elevators, one of Canada's provincial governments is offering to barter the grain. Premier Ross Thatcher of Saskatchewan has told the British Trade Commission and the Japanese Embassy that tenders his government will soon call for two electrical generators will be payable in wheat. - The Herald Melbourne October 27.

When boys swap marbles they often use the old saying that "Fair exchange is no robbery." A boy who "swaps" ten marbles for six marbles realises that he has made a loss. But when be grows up and has a brainwash on "sound" finance, at a University he believes that by sending ten units of production out of a country and only receiving six units back (obtaining "a favourable balance of trade" that this is sound economics.
Two "eminent" economists in the U.S.A. no doubt well indoctrinated on Keynesian Socialist financial theories, are on record as saying that one of the great virtues of the American space programme is that it provides an unlimited export market into space, with no one trying to send anything back!

The true purpose of international trade should be to exchange surpluses between nations, so that there is a genuine benefit for all nations. Premier Thatcher shows some realism by stating that his Province will "swap" wheat for generators. But if this idea spreads there will be an inspired campaign to have it halted!

SOVIET'S INDIAN OCEAN STRATEGY MOVES FORWARD

"Russian advisers were with the Somali army throughout last week's bloodless takeover of power, it was disclosed here yesterday." - The Age Melbourne, October 28.

Initial reports from Somali, suggesting that the Soviet had inspired the Somali coup, have subsequently been played down by statements that the Soviet army advisers were merely doing their jobs. One statement says that "it is difficult now to see any communist aspiration in the announced aims of the Revolutionary Council," But it is admitted that the Somali army cannot operate without the Soviet advisers. And the members of the Revolutionary Council are still anonymous.

The Soviet has been steadily increasing its influence in Somali. Two major Soviet naval bases have been developed, at Mogadishu and Berbera. The Soviet build up in Somali is a major feature of the Soviet's developing Indian Ocean strategy. But this will not stop some apologists for the Soviet from claiming that the Soviet has "legitimate" interests in the Indian Ocean. We trust that the new External Affairs Minister is an improvement on Mr. Freeth.

TRIBAL CONFLICT IN KENYA

"For the first time since Kenya won independence from Britain almost six years ago, President Jomo Kenyatta is ceasing to be a symbol of national unity. A wedge has been driven between the patriarchal 77-year-old President and many of his people by a wave of blood-oath rituals among his fellow Kikuyu tribesmen, who form Kenya's largest ethnic group with about a fifth of the population." - The Age, Melbourne, October 28.

As Kenya now gains momentum down the same slippery and bloody slope over which have already passed most of the African "independent" States, we await with interest to hear the views of those commentators who have tried to hold Kenya up as the answer to Rhodesia. For example, would Mr. Rowan Rivett, based in Melbourne, please stand up and explain what has happened to that Kenya which be said, after visiting the "oppressed" State of Rhodesia, created such an impression of purity? Could we hear Mr. Rivett on the wave of blood-oath rituals among the Kikuyu tribesmen, and the growing tribal violence.

Reports state that President Kenyatta has been so shaken by developments that he agreed to mass oath-taking in an endeavour to ensure that the Kikuyu tribe maintains its dominance. Trucks full of Kikuyus started arriving at the Kenyatta's farm where men were charged $1.50 and women 75 cents, which went to the party treasury, and then made to drink a spoonful of goat's blood. The Kenyan flag was spread on the floor and the oath-takers required to swear the appropriate oath. These ceremonies were halted after a while, but one result was the administration of even more violent oaths by "free-lancers" who sat themselves up in business throughout the villages.

Early in September the situation was so serious that the pastors of Kenya's Christian Churches began to warn against the forced oath taking. This resulted in young Kikuyu toughs resorting to violence, one Presbyterian lay preacher being hacked to death with a panga. No responsible Kikuyu has as yet denounced the oath taking. President Kenyatta has put opposition leader Oginga Odinga under house arrest, along with seven of his colleagues.

In Moscow members of the Luo tribe have responded by violence against the staff of the Kenyan Embassy in Moscow. Soviet police did not intervene. The stage is being set in Kenya for eventual open tribal violence. The Communists are no doubt rubbing their hands in keen anticipation of what is to come.

MISS TODD USES THE BIG LIE TECHNIQUE

"Judith Todd, daughter of the former Rhodesian Prime Minister, Mr. Garfield Todd, and herself an outspoken champion of African majority rule in Rhodesia, arrived in Australia yesterday with the prediction that civil war was the long-term future for her homeland. The Smith regime is walking a road to suicide and its own political actions will precipitate it", she said at Sydney Airport." - The Australian, October 27.

Miss Todd's technique, both in New Zealand and in Australia, has been to tell the most blatant lies. Her statements concerning Rhodesia are so fantastic that they are self defeating. Even opponents of the Rhodesian Government have had to admit that it is nonsense to talk about a "police state", and that there is law and order with all groups able to make genuine progress. Miss Todd says she is despondent about the Australian attitude towards Rhodesia. Clearly she has sensed that there is a strong pro-Rhodesian sympathy in Australia.
Our Rhodesian friends will be interested to know that all Miss Todd's Rhodesian friends are in prison!
Election comment authorized by Eric D, Butler, 273 Lt. Collins St. Melbourne.