THE BUDGET

A DYING WHITLAM CABAL STILL ABUSING 'EXTERNAL AFFAIRS' POWER

"Several States will fight the Federal Government in the High Court to try to stop crimes becoming subject to Federal Law. The proposed law changes, foreshadowed by the Federal Minister of Health, Dr. Everingham, on Monday, were attacked as unconstitutional by three premiers last night." - The Australian, August 13th.

Here is another "law", cooked up in the dark recesses of Canberra by plotting and subversive "whiz kids", the principal object of which is to still further vitiate the powers of the States. Dr. Everingham said in Alice Springs a few days ago that Australia had agreed in principle to two international agreements on drug laws, and had "no option" but to change the country's law. This is first-class Socialist bilge. We are of the opinion that so-called "laws" based on "international agreements" are unconstitutional. Dr. Everingham, was, of course, referring to a possible Australian commitment to United Nations Declarations or Agreements under the terms of Australia's membership of the United Nations.

As a signatory to the United Nations Charter, argue the Socialists, we are bound to enact the various United Nations provisions into Australian law. But such is not the case at all. There is the awkward (for the Socialists) little matter of the Australian Constitution. And there is no provision in the Australian Constitution, which proclaims that Australian law, shall be over-ridden by some sort of international law. Some Americans just a few years ago, alarmed by the whittling away the American Constitution by various United Nations pronouncements, did make an effort to put a stop to a highly dangerous situation, and Senator John Bricker (Ohio), concerned that treaties entered into by the President superseded The (American) Constitution put forward what has come to be known as the Bricker Amendment, which forbade the President to enter into any treaty that would supersede the Constitution of the United States, and deny any citizen the rights guaranteed by it. The Bricker Amendment was specifically aimed at the United Nations Charter, which is a treaty. Unfortunately Article 6 of the American Constitution lays it down that approved treaties "shall be the supreme law of the land". We have no "Article 6" in the Australian Constitution; thank God.

Incidentally, supporters will be interested to know all the stops were pulled out by the Enemy to defeat the Bricker Amendment (just as we'd expect); but the man who was responsible for the defeat of the Bricker Amendment, by ONE VOTE, was, (wait for it:) -- Richard Milhous Nixon. Supporters will recall that the heinous Racial Discrimination Bill was rammed through both Houses of Parliament into law (it is now the R.D. Act) and that the basis of this "law" is the "external affairs" power which the Whitlam Government claims that the Australian Constitution allows. Supporters will also recall that the R.D. Bill was severely amended by the Senate to expunge the criminal provisions which placed the onus of guilt on the individual; i.e. a person was guilty under the provisions of the Racial Discrimination Bill (now Act) unless and until he/she could prove otherwise. How British: How democratic: A little taste of Gough Whitlam's "open government" for you.

This Bill, evil as evil can be, was drawn up by ex-Senator Lionel Murphy (now a judge of the High Court of Australia!)Mr. Al Grassby; now the Commissioner on Race Relations on $32,000 yearly (very approx.) - and yes Miss Junie Morosi. She had a hand in it too. No one with any sense will object to drug-offence laws being considerably tightened. In fact, our view is that a pusher of heroin is no better than a murderer, and the death penalty could be argued for this crime. Communist nations have a short way with drug pushers and addicts. There is no drug problem at all in Communist countries. Even in China, traditionally and historically wracked with opium addiction, the drug scourge has been all but wiped out. How? The rifle! Drug pushers are shot! And this, mark you, when Red China is feeding the heroin supply in many Western countries. But that's different.

Until these laws, based on the "external affairs" power of the Australian Constitution are challenged in the High Court, then we can expect still further attempts by the Whitlam Socialists to abuse this fuzzy power" to push centralisation of political power on Australians. In the unlikely event of High Court validation of such legislation, then Australia must have its own "Bricker Amendment" to the Australian Constitution to protect us from plotting and scheming subversives. And it had better not be defeated, for all our sakes.

LEAGUE DIRECTOR AT ADELAIDE CONSERVATIVE CLUB

GROWING FARCE IN AFRICA

While the Europeans, accompanied by Mr. Trudeau and President Ford basked in the glory of the Communist-dominated betrayal at Helsinki, an equally farcical conference was held in Kampala, capital of Uganda, where the Organisation of African Unity met under the benign leadership of General Amin. It was the same General Amin before whom two British Generals crawled on their hands and knees, pleading the life of a fellow Britisher whom Amin had sentenced to death for daring to criticise him. Pax Britannica has given way to bootlicking.

However, the Kampala Conference was not as well represented as it might have been. Several members refused to send delegates because they feared for their safety. Tanzania did not attend, but proposed in absentia that countries with a record of oppressive internal government should be banned from membership. President Nyerere found it unnecessary to explain what had happened to 10,000 unfortunate Arabs in his own country in 1964 on the Island of Zanzibar, or the shocking discrimination against Arabs in Dar-es-Salaam who refused to allow their daughters to marry the Africans, and were publicly whipped in the streets for their beliefs.

One delegate never got home. General Gowon of Nigeria was replaced in a coup, and a Brigadier Murtala Mohammed now runs Ghana. There has been no so-called 'majority rule' in Ghana since Nkrumah threw the Opposition, headed by Dr. Danquah, into goal shortly after independence.

It is reported that news of General Gowon's replacement prompted at least six other delegates to the Kampala conference to remember unexpected urgent appointments at home! Nevertheless, despite the confusion, and the sadly diminished ranks, the motley gathering passed further venomous resolutions castigating Rhodesia and South Africa. Meanwhile, reports of growing disruption in Kenya increase.

The Bulletin (August 9th, 1975) reported: "For nearly 10 years the big political question in Kenya has been what happens when President Jomo Kenyatta dies. Will there be a bloodbath or a peaceful transition? Now, in the middle of Kenya's most serious political crisis since independence, the big political question is what will happen if President Kenyatta doesn't go soon. And the answer, more often than not these days is a bloodbath. Kenyatta is desperately holding rallies to boost his popularity, and his chief rival, Josiah Karioki, was found murdered recently, but the old black magic is no longer working in the absence of sound government and economic prosperity. A number of bombings in Nairobi have added to the feeling of desperation. None of which, one fears, will deter the incompetent and dishonest gaggle of Marxists that make up the Whitlam Government from pursuing the current witch-hunt against Rhodesia and South Africa.

BRIEF COMMENTS

As Australians brace themselves for the shock of horrific postal and telephone charges, they might ponder on the following facts: During the latter stages of the Second World War, the Post Office worked with the Royal Air Force and Royal Australian Air Force to produce a postal service between the United Kingdom and Australia by means of "airgraphs". Letters on a standard form were microfilmed, flown by propeller-driven Lancastrian planes, and then "blown up" to a readable size. There was an enormous saving in weight. This mail was often delivered in Australia three days after posting in the U.K. After thirty years of "progress", mail from the U.K. is lucky to be delivered six days later. There was a time when surface mail to the U.K. was sent by rail to Freemantle, shipped to Italy and then railed overland to arrive in the U.K. one month after being posted in Australia. Now surface mail takes three months or more. Anyone for still more Socialism!

We have received a first hand report of pre-budget briefing of N.S.W. Liberals by Mr. Phillip Sydney Jones, Treasurer of the N.S.W. Liberal Party, described as a merchant banker. The report confirms our worst fears concerning the failure of the Federal Liberal Party to produce a constructive alternative to the Labor-Socialists. Mr. Jones is reported to be urging that greater productivity is the answer to inflation. The Liberals do not see indexation of personal taxation as a possibility. This would mean a Government deficit of $5,000 million. But it is admitted that wage indexation must be a failure without tax indexation. Increasing numbers of Liberals are beginning to realise that the leaders of the Liberal Party have no concrete programme for turning the Socialist drive. They continue to ignore the one anti-Socialist leader, Premier J. Bjelke-Petersen, who makes the commonsense proposal that the only way to reverse inflation is by reducing financial costs and by introducing required new credits through lower prices, via consumer discounts. The N.S.W. Liberal Party is certainly showing evidence that some soundness is returning to the ranks, at least in N.S.W. It wants to remove and destroy all photographs of the Prime Minister, Gough Whitlam, which are displayed in public buildings. Good. The N.S.W. Liberal Party wants all these photographs to be replaced by pictures of the Queen. Good, again. Resolutions, which were carried at the Party's Annual Convention, were one opposing a Capital Gains Tax, and another urging the abolition of death duties.

The American Chain and Cable Company has announced that an Italian subsidiary has received contracts totalling $47 Million to provide material handling systems for two tyre factories to be built in the Soviet Union. Thus does the West rejoice to co-operate in its own destruction, just as Dmitri Manuilsky, foremost Communist theoretician, predicted in 1930. This was quoted in On Target (July 25th).

The United Nations rears its ugly head yet again. Dr. Moses Cass is now the Minister for the Media (but not much longer, we hope. This Ministry of the Media should be totally abolished) and has been very "cute" in putting forward the concept of a "press council", which is "credited" to a Mr. Rosenbloom an assistant to Dr. Cass. From the very outset of the Socialist Whitlam era, the Ministry of the Media meant to us the Ministry OVER the media. We believe that most of the media people are starting to wake up now, nearly three years after the plot was hatched. The image of the hard-nosed, shrewd calculating press baron is quite false. In our experience the so-called hardheaded businessmen are surprisingly naive, politically. The trained Communists regard them as a joke: Saul Alinsky Communist activist, expressed well the highly-trained Communists opinion: - "As for businessmen, I could persuade a capitalist on Friday, to bankroll a revolution on Saturday, that will bring him a profit on Sunday; even though he will be executed on Monday". Dr. Cass and his shadowy cohorts are putting over a cunning little "swifty"; or they think they are. The wily little Doctor has circulated a series of "options" to Australia's newspaper proprietors for consideration, if the press council, not yet instituted, - and almost certainly unconstitutional failed to bring about a "meaningful reform" of the press. Now, would you believe the "options" are derived from a UNESCO (United Nations) paper?! They are circulated only to "stimulate informed discussion", mind! The dear Doctor, himself, doesn't agree with all the options and even thinks some of them are crazy. He is so urbane and reasonable but his message should be loud and clear to the press barons: viz. "accept the press council concept, or we'll flatten you with these UNESCO options". We hope the press proprietors call his bluff and fight for their freedom. We think they will.

Cancellation of Money