PREMIER R. HAMER OF VICTORIA JOINS THE SMEARERS

"He (Mr. Hamer) attacked three extremist groups at a meeting of the Victorian Jewish Board of Deputies in East St. Kilda. He said the Victorian Government took every possible and every action to prevent violence in this state. The groups he attacked were Croation political extremists, the Nazi Party, and the League of Rights." - The Sun, Melbourne, April 3rd.

Immediately following the nation-wide publicising of Premier Hamer's inane comments about The Australian League of Rights, a supporter of the League asked in dismay, "How can the League of Rights possibly ask us to keep the Victorian Liberal Party in office when it is led by a man prepared to get in the political gutter along with the Communists and other smearers of the League?" Mr. Hamer's views are those of a lightweight politician, obviously not his own master, who unfortunately happens to be Victorian Premier at a time when some real conservative leadership is required. But while he will in time pass from the stage, the basic eternal issue the League of Rights is concerned about will remain. That issue is the control of power.

One of the greatest guarantees of the individual's rights and freedoms is the division of power. We urge our supporters to keep their eye "on the ball" of principles and not be too diverted by personalities, however nauseating they sometimes may be. The Holding Labor Party must be defeated next month. The Australian report of Mr. Hamer's attack stated that Mr. Hamer "condemned the activities of the League of Rights, from whom he said he had received some ridiculous letters recently. "

If we start from the promise that Mr. Hamer is a responsible person, he must then be criticising activities he has studied. He would know that the League of Rights has been intensifying its educational work on the subject of the Communist challenge which the League believes has increased, not decreased. He would know that the League has consistently defended State rights and the Free Enterprise economic system. He would also know the type of educational material being published in League journals. He would know that the League of Rights strongly upholds the Rule of Law, and has consistently protested against all forms of violence. He would also know that at present a Division of The Australian League of Rights, The Australian Heritage Society, whose Patron is Sir Raphael Cilento, is engaged in a national campaign to defend the Australian flag, the Crown and the Federal Constitution. If, as Mr. Hamer suggests, he is familiar with all these activities, non-Socialist electors - in Fact all electors with any sense of ordinary fair play - are entitled to ask why has a Liberal Premier deliberately engaged in baseless smearing. They might also ask why he felt it necessary to engage in his smearing when speaking to the Victorian Jewish Board of Deputies.

The long record of vilification of League of Rights Christian patriots by certain Zionist spokesmen is well known. The Victorian Jewish Board of Deputies was associated with the production and distribution of the Mike Richards article in The Age, Melbourne, early last year. It was at a Marxist-sponsored meeting in the Unitarian Church Hall, East Melbourne, last year where Mr. Richards appeared with Dr. Jim Cairns and similar people to discuss the League of Rights, the Ustasha and other "fascist" movements. Mr. Hamer now follows the same line in attempting to link the League of Rights with the alleged Croatian terrorist movement and the Nazis. What purpose did he feel he was serving by raising the Croatian issue on the eve of Senator Greenwood's attempt to defend himself and the former Federal Liberal-Country Party Government at Canberra?

The Jewish vote is not likely to be a decisive one in the Victorian Elections, so the only conclusion is that Mr. Hamer felt he would receive some other type of support by an address that could not help but receive widespread publicity. Mr. Hamer will recall, we are sure, what happened before the 1971 League of Rights National Seminar in Melbourne, when The Australian Heritage Society was launched. Mr. Hamer's colleague, Sir (then Mr.) George Reid, who had already spoken at one League Dinner on Australia's Constitutional Heritage, was listed to give a Paper on this subject. According to a columnist in the Melbourne "Jewish News", Mrs. Pamela Ruskin, a deputation of Melbourne Zionists saw the Attorney-General and tried to pressure him against presenting his Paper. The report said that members of the deputation were told to mind their own business. Mrs. Ruskin then said that the next step was a deputation to see Mr. Hamer, at that time Acting Premier with Sir Henry Bolte overseas. Apparently Mr. Hamer was much more receptive. Whatever the real truth, the Victorian Attorney-General was highly embarrassed, and did not appear at the Seminar. But he insisted on providing his Paper, which was read by Mr. W. G. Manifold, J.P. a member of the Liberal Party from the Western District. (The text of Sir George Reid's Paper is available 22 cents posted.)

Mr. Edward Rock Assistant National Director of The League of Rights, acted upon the Jewish News report by writing to Mr. Hamer, asking him if it were true. After a long interval of time, and no acknowledgement from Mr. Hamer, Mr. Rock wrote again, insisting upon an answer. Mr. Hamer then claimed that he had never received the letter. (It is interesting that it is always the difficult letters, which politicians do not appear to receive!) Mr. Rock immediately provided Mr. Hamer with a copy of his original letter. Mr. Hamer evaded Mr. Rock's question by suggesting he take the matter up with Sir George Reid.

Mr. Hamer has become a master of evasion on a number of issues, including the policy of mass-medication known as fluoridation of the water supplies. As for the "ridiculous letters" mentioned by Mr. Hamer, we presume he is referring to letters encouraged by the League of Rights, strongly supporting the firm stand by Chief Secretary Ray Meagher against the further moral pollution of our society. This is an appropriate time to recall that the Hon, Sir Reginald Sholl, former Member of the Victorian Supreme Court and Australian Consul General to New York, opened the League of Rights Heritage Seminar with some appropriate comments concerning League critics.

The Melbourne Jewish News has also published news items indicating how Sir Reginald was the victim of Zionist aggression merely because he pointed out in his Stawell Oration, upon returning from the United States, how formidable was the Jewish control of the American media strongly opposing an American stand against Communism in Vietnam. If, as The Australian report states Mr. Hamer said: "We (presumably the present State Government) condemn them utterly and will have nothing to do with their ideas", a Liberal Party leader is condemning a group of people attempting to uphold the very ideas which the Liberal Party was allegedly founded upon.
We are not concerned about these and similar ridiculous statements by Mr. Hamer. But when he goes on to say that The League of Rights will "have to be dealt with", we suggest that it is Mr. Hamer who is, like Senator Murphy engaging in a form of social terrorism.

National Director Mr. Eric Butler said in an ABC radio interview last Tuesday April 3rd, that if Mr. Hamer cared to state specifically, outside Parliament, that the League of Rights was engaged in or fostering support for terrorism in Australia, he would be quickly provided with the opportunity of attempting to prove his allegations in the Courts. Mr. Hamer told the Jewish Board of Deputies that he is "receptive" to banning the uniform and insignia of the Nazi Party. We would suggest that while he is considering what to do, if anything, about a small number of psychopaths who dress up like children, he might also consider sparing the community the indignity of having inflicted upon them people dressed up in childish "Dickey Bird" T-shirts in order to assist his State Election campaign.

THE INFLATION TIME BOMB TICKS MORE LOUDLY

"So far, things have gone extraordinarily well for the Labor Government on almost every front - except the one that really matters. With indications in the year's first quarter suggesting an eight or nine percent annual rate of inflation. Mr. Whitlam must be comfortably aware that his Government's busy programme of reform will amount to little unless the economic situation can be controlled." - Editorial, The Australian, April 2nd.

Mr. Rupert Murdoch's Australian is now discovering that the party it supported at the last Federal Elections has to grapple with an inflation time bomb, which was ignored while promises and counter-promises were made before December 2nd. It is true, as The Australian says, that the Whitlam Government inherited the inflation problem from the McMahon Government. But instead of showing any sign of dealing with the basic cause of inflation, the present Administration supports a substantial increase in wages through the national wage case, the increased wages again adding to financial costs in all sectors of the community, which will have to be recovered, if possible, through still higher prices. The Australian offers no solution; it merely warns against another recession as a result of reducing demand through higher taxes and reduced credit creation. It even suggests that an economy, under what it terms "boom conditions", might even support an inflation rate of 8 per cent - providing steps are taken to protect pensioners and the poor.
The truth is that this type of inflation can only result in a greater rate of social disintegration than is now so evident, not only in Australia but in all countries.

The reports on inflation from all parts of the world are increasingly disturbing. They are linked with the mounting trade war as nations desperately seek to make their internal economies work by imposing their "surplus" production on other countries. President Nixon's last devaluation was a desperate attempt to be more successful in exporting American production. He now finds that one of the by-products is a soaring inflation, which could explode America internally.

Mr. W.H. Herbert, the well-known Queensland economist, has proposed that two steps should be taken to deal with inflation: abolish Sales Tax completely and replace it with a moderate consumer subsidy of only five percent on a selected number of basic items in the economy, and then observe the results. The fact that all present policies, including wage and price controls, irrespective of where tried in the non-Communist world, have failed to halt the rising level of taxation, is surely alarming evidence that a new approach is required.

But the full weight of the orthodox economists, most of them Marxists of one kind or another, is against any suggestion of increasing credit by reducing prices. This means that they know that such a policy would start to reduce inflation and the basic cause of that mounting social unrest which is used to impose still farther controls upon the free enterprise economic system. As the inflation crisis deepens, we urge that increasing attention be given to the necessity for a change in the current credit and taxation policies.

N.S.W. PREMIER WARNS AGAINST "POLICE-STATE' METHODS

"Sydney - The N.S.W. Government would not permit any repetition of the weekend raids by Federal and N.S.W. police in Sydney and Wollongong the Premier, Sir Robert Askin, said yesterday. Sir Robert, Minister responsible for Police, said he had supported the federal move only 'with some degree of reluctance'." - The Sun, Melbourne, April 3rd.

The stand by the Premier of N.S.W. and of Queensland, was most encouraging coming at a time when the unsubstantiated smearing statements by Commonwealth Attorney-General, Senator Lionel Murphy, aided and abetted by journalists and members of the ABC red-network, have seriously jeopardised the rights of the overwhelming majority of the Croatian community in Australia. Sir Robert Askin has said that from now on the N.S.W. police will make its own judgments "and will not be a party to any federal moves which savour of police-state methods."

Coming on top of Senator Murphy's damaging statements behind parliamentary privilege police raids on Croatian homes, in some cases apparently without producing warrants, late at night or in the early hours of the morning, have understandably produced widespread concern amongst all migrant groups, particularly those whose members have experienced Communist police-state methods. All attempts to establish an FBI Federal-type of police force in Australia should be strongly resisted. In the meantime electors in both N.S.W. and Queensland should stand solidly behind their Premiers against the Canberra bullies.

NO CHANGE OF POLICY BY HANOI

"Washington. March 29 - American reconstruction aid to North Vietnam would not deter Hanoi from its aim of taking over the South, Mr. Marshall Green said yesterday. Mr. Green said, however, that the aid would be a strong inducement to the North to avoid a new outbreak of fighting, While not altering Hanoi's aims, the aid could force a change in tactics, he told the House of Representatives' sub-committee on East Asia." - The Age, Melbourne, March 30th.

The essence of Mr. Green's viewpoint, reflecting that of the international financiers' man, Dr. Henry Kissinger, is that massive credits will be provided to help Hanoi rake over South Vietnam with the minimum of further military conflict. The Whitlam Government also proposes that Australia should contribute substantially to the "re-habilitation" of North Vietnam. Mr. Green should get along nicely with Mr. Whitlam when he takes over his position as American Ambassador at Canberra. Speaking in the U.S.A., Mr. Lee, Singapore Prime Minister, warns that he doubts the sincerity of Peking's alleged peaceful intentions. The Marxist-Leninists have not changed at all - as Australia is going to discover in the not-too-distant future.