A.L.P. STILL DIVIDED

"The Federal Opposition Leader, Mr. Whitlam, predicted last night (Adelaide) that Labor would get more votes in Victoria than for fifteen years at the November 21 Senate election." The Age, November 3rd, 1970.

These are brave words, and only a little more time will elapse before Mr. Whitlam's claim is proven or disproven. However, we feel that all is not roses on the A.L.P. front. There is no doubt at all that the sterile policies, or rather non-policies, of the Federal Government on such issues as the rural industries, inflation, Commonwealth-States relations, are turning many normal L.C.P. supporters towards the A.L.P. At the same time Mr. Whitlam's optimism should be tinged with caution.

As the editorial of The Australian (3. 11. 70) pointed out, the continuing dogfight between rival factions in the Victorian branch of the A. L.P. is doing harm to Labor's prospects in the Senate election campaign. In spite of the dismissal of the former Victorian State executive by the Federal A.L.P. executive a few weeks ago, a rank and file meeting in Melbourne a few days ago showed clearly that the former Victorian A.L.P. officials still command strong support and a counter-attack by them is by no means an impossibility.

Whatever the voting trends may be at the impending Senate election, it would seem to us that they will merely intensify recriminations; charges and counter-charges. From Mr. Whitlam's point of view, the best thing all round for Federal Labor will be a solid victory at the polls at the next election for the House of Representatives. This will surely magnify his status as the undisputed master of the A.L.P. parliamentary machine, which will have the effect of pulling the Victorian "rebels" into line, and at the same time dealing a very severe jolt indeed to the D.L.P.

HOME TRUTHS FROM T.V. LEADER

"The managing director of the Channel 7 television network, Mr. Bruce Cyngell yesterday strongly attacked the television and advertising industries for their "double standards of morality". The Australian 3.11. 70.

It's not before time that the spotlight is turned on to the morality of the mass-media, not only T.V.; and the advertising 'industry'. Mr. Cyngell did make one interesting revelation; that of "the growing lack of credibility in television advertising, and in our failure to reach the 18 to 25 year olds". This lack of credibility, surely, is to the credit of today's young people. Much of the current T.V. advertising is so absurd as to be an affront to the intelligence of the hapless viewer.
Perhaps the 18 to 25 year olds have not been subjected a sufficient length of time to the sick brain-washing which passes as legitimate advertising, with its now heavy emphasis on sex.

A cynic may well ask himself whether or not the real reason for this soul-searching is a sudden flood of recognition of a double standard in morality, or a sudden flood of recognition of the lack of credibility in T.V. advertising. What really did amuse us was the statement of Mr. W.S. Gilbert, (what a musical comedy a former bearer of that name could have created on the subject of modern advertising) president of the Association of Advertising Agencies of Australia, which was that "the advertising industry had great potential for solving the community's social and environmental problems". We would like to be informed of one problem of a social or environmental nature, which the 'advertising industry' has ever solved. No doubt it helps to lower the incidence of lung cancer by advertising cigarettes; perhaps it assists in lowering the slaughter on the roads by advertising alcoholic drinks. What nauseating piffle!

The coup de grace came from Mr. Gilbert in a thinly disguised plug for Government business; what a well-padded contract that would be! He said that," the advertising industry's immediate concern perhaps ought to be to make the Government aware of the industry's use in helping to solve some of Australia's great social and environmental problems".
We can well imagine that there would not be any shortage of empire-building bureaucrats who would leap with glee at the opportunity to create another Department.

ASK - AND YE SHALL RECEIVE

"The Federal Department of Education and Science, and the Commonwealth Railways came under fire yesterday for requesting large amounts of Government money without adequately assessing their needs". The Age, 3.11.70.

This criticism was made in the 124th report of the Joint Committee of public accounts. The Commonwealth Railways were also criticised for making "grossly inadequate" submissions in giving evidence. Nevertheless, the money will be provided.
The shortfall in expenditure by the Education and Science Department was $1.4 million. If private businesses were run with the inefficiency of some government departments, they would not stay afloat for twelve months.

Always a glowing warmth in the bosom of the bureaucrats is the certain knowledge that the necessary millions will be found from somewhere to maintain the bureaucracy; but not for pensioners!

21 MILLION HAVE DIED IN RUSSIA

"British author, Robert Conquest…estimates that at least 21,500,000 million people have been executed or killed by communist officials in the Soviet Union since the 1917 Revolution." The Age, 2.11.70.

This revelation is no revelation to students of the Communist conspiracy, and moreover the figure given is highly conservative. Many authorities place the number of people who lost their lives during the forced collectivization of agriculture in the Soviet Union, and the purges, during the thirties, as in excess of thirty million.

This information was part of a study prepared by Robert Conquest for Senator Dodd, a member of the Senate (U.S.) judiciary sub-committee on internal security, for use in his election campaigning for the Congressional elections of November 3rd. One third of the U.S. Senate comes up for re-election simultaneously. Senator Dodd hopes to wean the student demonstrators away from their starry-eyed conception of Communism. We wish him well, but doubt whether his efforts will bear any fruit.

It seems to be a generalised failing of human nature that lessons to be well and truly learned, have to be learned the hard way. The starry-eyed dupes of the Communists have only to speak to a cross-section of those unfortunates who have actually lived under Communism to learn the truth. But no, the young are idealistic; which in itself is good, but tragically the very idealism of the young, in particular allows them to be so easily deceived by skilful but false propaganda. The young WANT their idealism, with their dreams of a better world and shut their ears to facts, which would dispel them.

WHAT IS MR. HEATH UP TO?

The Prime Minister, Mr. Heath. sprang a surprise last night by naming a Labour peer Lord Rothschild, as head of the new central policy review staff in the Cabinet Office". The Australian, 3lst October 1970.

This job is worth only $30,000 yearly, which would be peanuts to Lord Rothschild, a multi-millionaire What is interesting is that Lord Rothschild is a Socialist, and of course a supporter of the British Labour Party. By background he is a scientist; he retires from the captaincy of the Shell Group's Worldwide research organisation to take on this relatively speaking, low-paid post. He has never been very active in politics at all, yet he suddenly blazes into view to head a very important political post.
He is a Socialist and a Labour supporter yet he is appointed by a non-Socialist, perhaps even anti-Socialist, Prime Minister. Just what IS going on? Could it be that his appointment to this post in the Cabinet Office is window-dressing? Could it be that the real reason is for him to be the link between the Rothschild banking interests and the British Government? We wonder!

RURAL INDUSTRY IN COST PRICE SQUEEZE

"In the past decade the rural industry's productivity had increased 32 per cent and the volume of rural production by about 40 per cent. Net income to farmers had increased only 6 per cent while their costs had risen 62 per cent." - Mr. Barry Madden in evidence submitted to the Arbitration Commission as reported in The Sun. Melbourne, October 18.

As the Government's economic "advisers", politicians generally and "leaders" of the rural industries like Sir William Gunn, insist that "controlled inflation" is inevitable, it is elementary that another decade of rising costs will result in a large percentage of present Australian primary producers being eliminated as "uneconomic units." The Minister for Primary Industries, Mr. D. Anthony has stated that the wage structure will double in the next ten years. The primary producers will be forced to further increase production, thus increasing existing surpluses in a desperate attempt to survive rising costs, which they cannot recover through rising prices.

The hard facts of the situation make nonsense of Mr. Anthony's claim that the newly created Wool Commission is going to save the wool industry from its growing problems. If wool producers' costs increase by, say 50 percent over the next ten years does Mr. Anthony suggest that wool prices are going to increase proportionately?

It is to the credit of Mr. L. Irwin, NSW Liberal Member that he had the integrity and courage to be the one sole representative to vote against the legislation to establish the Australian Wool Commission. He said, "I think it will be a great waste of money and no advantage to the growers."

There is no doubt about the crisis facing the Australian wool industry. But this crisis could have easily been dealt with by an issue of new credit issued at cost, and paid direct to the wool producers as a form of price subsidy. However the wool crisis is being exploited to force it under bureaucratic control. It is significant that wool producers have been given no opportunity to vote as individuals on the Wool Commission.

AUSTRALIAN WHEAT GROWERS PRESSURED TO RECOGNISE RED CHINA

"Many people, farmers in particular, would prefer a more conciliatory attitude towards the giant Asian country (Red China). Why must Australia be in the forefront of countries issuing hard-line, aggressive statements against a country which is of such vital importance to our rural industries?" - E.J. Donath Lecturer in Geography, Melbourne University in featured article "Red Sales-the sunset", in The Sun, Melbourne. October 29.

Whether by accident or by design, the big Red Chinese wheat purchases from Canada immediately following the Trudeau Government's recognition of Peking has increased the intensity of the pressure in Australia in favour of a change of Australian policy towards Red China. Dr. Donath's article is a classic example of "experts" insisting that the Australian economy can only operate if an increasing amount of production is exported out of the country without an equivalent amount of imports - "a favourable balance of trade."

What does Australia require from Red China? Nothing. It is claimed that Australia obtains money from Red China in exchange for wheat exports, then why import money primarily for the purpose of using it to buy Australian production? If Australia like Canada recognises Red China simply to enable more wheat to be sent to Red China, it is another example of suicide under the pressure of Marxist financial policies.

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