MASTER OF DIALECTICS

It was the great Marxist master of dialectics, Lenin, who spoke of taking one step backwards in order to take two, or more, steps forward. No doubt Prime Minister Hawke is familiar with the subject of dialectics, as witnessed by his bland assertion last week that he is retreating from the Government's original stand on asset tests for pensioners. Hawke also insists that he is not retreating from the "principle" involved - namely, that there are some drawing pensions who do not really need them. The suggestion has been that the majority of pensioners would be better off if some were denied pensions.

Prime Minister Hawke demonstrated last week his capacity to make a virtue out of breaking promises, or of retreating from what was originally described as a matter of principle. Mr. Hawke told the National Press Club, when reviewing his first year in office that "I promised you that we would make mistakes". The "mistake" which concerned Mr. Hawke, was the Government's handling of the controversial assets test on pensions. But what was really worrying Mr. Hawke was the strong manifestation of "grey power" - the pensioners' lobby, which has demonstrated that it is still possible for electors to exercise some influence over politicians.

That shrewd political manipulator from N.S.W., Mr. "Nifty" Wran, who has a few extra problems at present, was one of those who impressed upon Mr. Hawke that his pension policy was a certain vote loser. And Mr. Wran himself is preparing to face the N.S.W. electors later this year! Late last year Mr. Wran demonstrated how sensitive he is to public opinion when he announced that he was dropping his amalgamation programme for Sydney Councils following Labor electors set backs at Sydney municipal Elections.

Prime Minister Hawke's overall strategy is to have an early election at the first possible opportunity, with a view to increasing his majority in the enlarged House of Representatives, gaining control of the Senate and carrying the referendum of simultaneous elections. This means that Mr. Hawke has got to try to defuse every issue on which there is strong electoral feeling. With Mr. Hawke demonstrating that he is willing to take steps backwards, the way is clear for electors to make the Aboriginal land rights, immigration and constitutional issues so sensitive that before the end of the year Mr. Hawke may be forced to make massive retreats, not merely take a few dialectical steps backwards.

(Those wishing to study the subjects of "Dialectics" should read Mr. Eric D. Butler's book, "Dialectics", $1 posted).

WHO ARE THE JEWS?

This is no academic question. The Middle East crisis and the constant threat to the West's oil supplies, (over one third still coming from the Arab world), are directly related to the policies of the Zionist State of Israel. The Anglican Dean of Perth, Dean Robarts, is an authority on the Palestinian-Israeli question, having had considerable first hand experience in the Middle East. Mr. Isi Leibler, president of the Executive Council of Australian Jewry, has complained to Mr. Ken Myer, Chairman of the Australian Broadcasting Commission, because he claimed that Dean David Robarts in a religious programme last year had made "racist" and "anti- Semitic" comments. In his radio talk, Dean Robarts had asserted that Jews have no right to national entity in the Middle East. In a letter to Mr. Myer last year, Mr. Leibler said, "Robarts repeats a standard outrageous thesis of classical anti-Semites that European Jews are not Semites, but descendants of a Russian tribe called Khazars who converted to Judaism in the Middle Ages".

Dean Robarts has also been charged with referring to Zionism as "that powerful movement within international Jewry", and with saying that Christians "have no commitment to an Old Testament genocidal God". There is, of course, nothing "outrageous" about what Dean Robarts says. He is referring to well established history. This was dealt with by the famous Hungarian Jewish writer Arthur Koestler in "The Thirteenth Tribe", a book that shook the Zionist establishment. Koestler's book soon disappeared from the bookshops and became "out of print". But it has been covered adequately by the courageous American Jewish businessman, the late Benjamin H. Freedman in "Facts are Facts". Price: $6.00 posted. Essential background reading on the Middle East is also provided by Dr. Alfred Lilienthal, distinguished American non-Zionist Jewish expert on the Middle East, "The Zionist Connection" Price; $18 posted.

BRIEF COMMENTS

Now that Dr. Bob Brown of Franklin River fame is going to widen the scope of his activities, with nuclear energy one of his major targets, it is to be hoped that a visit to two Communist nations, the Soviet Union and Czechoslovakia, are high on his priority list. The Soviet Union backs its agents and dupes around the world to campaign against nuclear energy, while the Soviet has now moved to the position where it has the third largest nuclear capacity of all nuclear countries. Only the U.S.A., and France have greater nuclear capacity. Communist Hungary is doing likewise.

A recent Gallup Poll shows that 56 percent of Australians believe that Australia should buy an aircraft carrier. 38 percent do not want Australia to buy an aircraft carrier. While expressing sympathy with those who want an aircraft carrier, we must stress that the best type of military defence is a matter to be resolved by experts, not by public opinion polls. Assuming that the great majority of Australians desire adequate defence of the nation, they should unite in pressing for such a policy, leaving methods to the proper experts. Much more realistic was the Gallup Poll which revealed that 70 percent of Australians believe that the British aircraft carrier, HMS Invincible, should have been allowed to dock in Sydney for repairs.
(Those interested in a realistic defence programme for Australia, one covering much more than military preparedness, should consult the late Brigadier R. Eason's book, "An Effective Strategy for the Defence of Australia", $1 posted).

Writing in "The Age", Melbourne, of February 25th, Louise Carbines, described as "community affairs reporter", reports: "Shivering and smiling," Indo-Chinese refugees arrived in Melbourne yesterday, eager to see their relatives and their new country". The report suggests there are many more to come. A recent report states that 42 percent of all migrants for last year were Asians. Australians who express their concern about an immigration policy, which deliberately limits the number of Europeans, are, of course, "racists". A classic example of the psycho-political warfare being waged against Australians who reject multiculturalism, is provided in the same issue of "The Age" in an article entitled, "Facists and Refugees", by a Lesleyanne Hawthorne, who claims that "Our Asians will be as alien as we keep them..." And, "If there is trouble in the future, it will probably be of the racists' making". Those responsible for fragmenting Australia with a growing Asian influx are generating a rising tide of resentment that before long is going to explode into a major political issue.

Large advertisements in the daily press, carrying well known names from the so-called conservation lobby, clearly warn that the recent attempted blockade of the Errinundra Plateau in Victoria was but the first shot in a new revolutionary assault. Professor David Bellamy, who was brought out from Britain to play a major role in the Franklin River campaign, is one of those heading the large number of those whose names are listed in the advertisements. As usual, there is big money behind the campaign, the type of money that The League of Rights finds it hard to come by.

There has in recent years been a spate of material concerning the erosion of what is described as Aboriginal culture. As pointed out by Mr. Geoff McDonald in his bestseller, "Red Over Black", ($7 posted) much of Aboriginal culture was barbaric and few Aboriginals wish to return to it. But there is little lament concerning the erosion of tradition Western Christian culture, an erosion that is taking place in all forms of literature, art and music. There is mounting violence, much of it the result of television, while elementary courtesies and good manners are for many a thing of the past. Civilised Europeans should be described as an endangered species.

PROFESSOR LAUCHLAN CHIPMAN ATTACKS (NEW) DISCRIMINATION BILL