SYNCHRONISED ATTACKS ON LEAGUE BY COMMUNIST PRESS

"Direct Action" is the weekly organ of the Socialist Workers' Party and Resistance. It supports the position of Leon Trotsky in the World Communist Movement, and significantly, the issue of May 23rd. carries an article: "Tribute to Pierre Frank…Account of the political life of the French Trotskyist leader, by Ernest Mandel". Mandel was a colleague of Frank. Headed - "Black land rights under attack" the journalist asserts that "Some of the richest, most powerful organisations in this country have ganged up against one of the poorest communities - the Aborigines". Moreover, "The huge Western Mining and Conzinc Western Mining and Conzinc Rio Tinto corporations, the National Farmers' Federation and the Australian Mines and Metals Association aim to roll back land rights victories won by Aborigines in recent years".

We have recently heard Sir Roderick Carnegie, of Conzinc Rio Tinto, sound warnings on Aboriginal Land Rights. Perhaps Sir Roderick and Mr. Bob Hawke aren't as friendly as they once were: we can recall that Mr. Hawke, in his early political life, on more than one occasion referred to "lunch with Rod Carnegie" on T.V. interviews. But now we move down the article to that "League of Rights". We read that, "While the big business bodies prefer to maintain a veneer of respectability avoiding public links with avowedly racist organisations, their campaign is linked to a concerted operation of a notoriously racist outfit, the League of Rights".

Then follows the usual vituperation that has been trotted out over the last 30 plus years. We read that the League of Rights is now "a racist sect" which organised the Save Victoria Committee to fight Aboriginal Land Rights legislation. The Save Victoria Committee, we learn, has now changed its name to "Save Australia, 1984", and the crime of this latter organisation is that "It organised meetings in country towns and lobbied shire councillors with material that is full of lies". Terrible!

We can accurately report that the overwhelming numbers of Local Government councillors do not agree with the opinion of "Direct Action" but agree with the factual research presented, particularly by Mr. Geoff McDonald, in his two exposes of the Aboriginal Land Rights swindle, viz. "Red Over Black", and "The Evidence" ($7.00 posted and $5.00 posted respectively from all League bookshops). So much for "Direct Action".

On the very same day, viz. May 23rd, "The Tribune", the organ (weekly) of the Communist Party of Australia, headed its anti-League article - "League of Rights whips up rural fears on land rights issues. We learn that, "The ultra-right League of Rights is currently experiencing something of a revival, at least in Victorian country areas".
We are ourselves convinced, that our political and ideological opponents have only the sketchiest of notions of the real structure and workings of the League. Nevertheless, "Tribune" has got the message that, "the League of Rights has stepped up its campaign, targeting farmers to whip up fears that, landowners are at risk from future Aboriginal Land Claims (which they most certainly are).

Dr. Ken Coghill, who is spearheading the Cain Government's Aboriginal Land Claims Bill, "has been attempting to stem the tide of an orchestrated backlash against land rights". Yes, he has been assuring farmers that privately owned land would not be affected. Yes, he has been smearing the League everywhere he goes; but he is wasting his time: as rural farmers and graziers and Local Government councillors are vitally concerned with the FACTS of the Aboriginal Land Claims (and Rights) movements, as set out in Geoff McDonald's books, and not with smears against the League of Rights. He has been told so by councillors.

What Dr. Coghill and his cohorts do not understand is that when people's assets are threatened, they close ranks, and they don't care a rap what he or anyone else says about the League of Rights. If the League of Rights can alert sufficient numbers of land owners in time, and help to provide the political expertise to take on Mr. Cain's Socialist Victorian Government, then these people will support the League of Rights (and are!) and the more who discover the truth of the League's position on Land Rights, the more will they turn against the Cain government.

There is no doubt that Aboriginal Land Rights will be a major issue at the next Victorian State elections. Already, many Liberal and National parliamentary are "sniffing the wind", and we understand that many will be present at the Warrnambool Save the Muldoons meeting on June 6th. Not that there is anything wrong with this; if they wish to identify themselves with the Muldoons, well and good. The Muldoons are the family under threat of eviction by the Cain Victorian Government to make way for an Aboriginal Reserve.

Dr. Coghill has made much of the argument that, another family, the Fields, voluntarily sold their land to the Victorian Government and were given a very good figure for same. We know that Mr. Field did not wish to vacate his land, but did so because he thought he had no other option. This Field land was acquired under other than Aboriginal Land Claims legislation, which is not law yet. But this is only nit-picking, as the intent is the same; and that intent is to dispossess people of their land if such is claimed by relevant Aboriginal organisation - the name of the Act under which it is acquired is irrelevant. "A rose by any other name smells just as sweet!" What's in a name?!

"The Tribune" has its lash at the League of Rights, of course -"racism and clandestine fascist activism". According to the recent Morgan Gallup Poll on Immigration, no less than two thirds of Australians are racists. Two thirds of Australians don't want any more Asian immigration. Two days later (May 25th) The Age Melbourne ran almost a half page article on the "League of Rights versus land rights "This article lacked the venom of the Communist press, but was much fairer, although it pursued the proposition that the League is pursuing the Land Rights issue in order, mainly, to recruit new adherents. This is piffle, of course, but we couldn't care less what all the anti-League media scribblers and prattlers write and say: we have the truth, and more and more Australians are recognising it. "The dogs bark, but the caravan moves on!"

RUMBLINGS IN THE HALLS OF FINANCE

"In the past week, share markets in the major world centres have been battered, taking their cue from Wall Street...." - Editorial, The Australian, May 28th.

Readers of these pages over the years have been assured by us that the breakdown of the West's finance system is certain if present financial conventions are pursued. We see no evidence that there will be any change. Indeed, we are satisfied that the ultimate controllers of Finance in the West will fight tooth and nail to abort any remedial measures. It is now quite plain to observe that the controllers of Finance are having the greatest difficulty in keeping their system going in the face of mountainous debt structures, with inevitable inflation spinning off there from, and this in turn forcing up taxation to impossible levels. To this add the continual advance of technology, with robots replacing skilled blue collar human beings, and the silicone chip replacing skilled white collar human beings: meaning Super stagflation, i.e. very high cost inflation with rising unemployment.

(Remember those "experts" of 20 - 30 years ago who insisted that automation makes more jobs!). We suspect that Mr. Hawke himself fears that world economic conditions will plunge next year (1985) and that this is a major reason for his early Federal election. We can only advise our readers to do what they can to cushion themselves against a steady deterioration in the Australian economy.

BRIEF COMMENTS

Labor Member Lewis Kent, who attempted to excuse his recent revolting behaviour in the Federal Parliament, by referring to what he claimed the Nazis did in his native country of Jugoslavia, might care to confirm or deny that he is the same Lewis Kent who as far back as 1969 was working to change the traditional immigration policy of the Labor Party. The West Australian of May 12th, 1969, carried a report under the heading, LABOR AND MIGRATION. The report was from Melbourne, and, in part, read "The new Australian committee of the Labor Party is calling for a change in the party's immigration policy....Committee president Lewis Kent said today that present immigration was governed substantially by racial considerations. Labor's opinion, as expressed by some of its Federal members of parliament, did not differ from this." Having been accepted into Australia, a man claiming to be a refugee from Jugoslavia Anglicised his name and then proceeded to repay the hospitality he received by starting to work to change the traditional immigration policy of the Australian Labor Party. It is encouraging to note that Mr. Kent has been repudiated by other migrants from Jugoslavia.

With all the talk about removing "sexist" and "racist" terms out of the language, surely Mr. Hawke should be reprimanded for introducing "Advance Australia Fair" as the National Anthem? This could be taken as a "racist" term, "discriminating" against those who are not fair, but are dark!

Aboriginal Policy
The following letter was published in The Chronicle (Toowoomba, Qld.) May 24th, over the name of an "A.T.Leahy" of Toowoomba:
"I have received a letter from Mr. Kim Beasley, senior secretary for Mr. Clyde Holding, Federal Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, in which he conveys comments from Mr. Clyde Holding. "I do not agree with Mr. Holding's statement that Mr. Geoff McDonald's views about Australia's sovereignty are completely lacking in foundation. On the contrary: I believe that they are spot on, and a perusal of Mr. McDonald's book, 'The Evidence', gives documentary proof that what he is saying is correct.
"I have a copy of 'Aboriginal Past, Australia's Future'. 'Resolution moved in the Parliament by the Minister for Aboriginal Affairs, The Hon. Clyde Holding, M.P., December 8, 1983'. "Most of the resolution, and Mr. Holding's supporting speech appear to me to be, as is usual these days, written in plausible language, intended deliberately to delude the reader. "The wording is so vague, and so broad, nothing is specific, the possibilities of its interpretation are enormous.
"There is no suggestion of facing the facts of life as such: If Australia had not been colonised by the British, it most certainly would have been by the French, the Germans or the Dutch. "There is no mention, either, that if it had not been for the sacrifices of many men and women of my generation in the years 1940 to 1945, Australia would not have had an Aboriginal problem today. The Japanese would have solved it long ago.
"What is needed today is for Federal politicians to clear their heads of this socialist confusion; reject this idea of One World Government under the United Nations and consider what is needed for the good of all Australians, black or white, and to get back to basic Christian principles.
"For some years now we have had government of hypocrisy, which deplores Apartheid in South Africa, and is creating Apartheid in Australia. "Wakeup Australia, and speak out before it is too late...."

FROM HANSARD