THE FUNDANENTAL ISSUE

Contrary to the view of the party politicians, lavishly publicised by the media, taxation is not the most important issue which should be exercising the minds of Australians at the 1987 Federal elections: much more important is the question of how can electors regain control of a Constitution seriously subverted by a long-term Fabian programme aided and abetted by both Labor and non- Labor governments. It was the Fraser government that made the revolutionary decision to place South West Tasmania under the United Nations World Heritage Commission, this resulting in a High Court decision that contrary to Section 100 of the Constitution, the Federal government had the right to stop Tasmanians from building a dam on the Franklin River.

Slowly but surely the traditional Westminster system of government has been undermined. As in so many other areas, conservative parties have followed the lead of the Socialists in regimenting Members of Parliament to the point where loyalty to the party takes precedence over loyalty to electors. Parliament is no longer an institution where politicians, irrespective of party, can freely debate and vote on legislation.

Sympathetically reviewing Professor Walker's book on the Swiss constitutional system, Professor Geoffrey Blainey (Herald, Melbourne, May 7th) points out that back in 1924, eight of every ten pieces of legislation were thoroughly debated, and amended, by Members of the House of Representatives, meeting as a committee. During the Fraser era only two out of every ten pieces were debated. Sir Marcus Oliphant, former Governor of South Australia, has correctly described the governments of Australia as "elected dictatorships." The Federal government is the worst of these dictatorships. The people are without effective sanctions.

Even if Mr. John Howard's tax promises persuade a majority of Australians to vote for the Opposition parties in July 11th, there will be no improvement in the worsening national situation. Unless the Opposition parties break with financial orthodoxy, they would find themselves in office breaking the promises they have made, and, of course, blaming the Hawke government for leaving them with major problems. Mr. Bob Hawke and his colleagues have said the same thing, about their predecessors.

The basic problem confronting Australians is how to devise effective sanctions to control their elected representatives, and how to prevent those representatives from imposing unwanted policies and legislation. The answer is the adoption of the principle of the Electors' Veto, as used in Switzerland. This must be made a major issue at the elections. The electors must take the initiative and confront every candidate on the issue in every possible way, making it clear they will not give their vote to any candidate who will not give a firm commitment on this issue.

MASSIVE NATIONAL PROGRAMME

NO DISCUSSION ON IMMIGRATION

BRIEF COMMENTS

The Barbie trial in Lyons, France, is being staged for the same reason that the Demjanjuk trial is being held in Israel: to advance a programme of psycho-political warfare. Those promoting the trials assume as a matter of fact that both will be found guilty, and make it clear that both events are primarily ceremonial, providing a forum from which the untested allegations of the alleged victims of the "holocaust" can be uttered for worldwide circulation. These trials could not be staged in any common law country. Assuming that Barbie did commit "crimes against humanity", what about all the other crimes committed during the Second World War? A Polish Communist now admits that the mass murder of thousands of Polish officers at Katyn was carried out by the Soviet. There are no suggestions that action should be taken against those responsible, if they are still alive.

And there is the case of Harold Macmillan (Lord Stockton) who, as shown in Nickolai Tolstoy's book, The Minister and the Massacre, was the British Minister responsible for using reluctant British troops to force thousands of refugees from Stalin's hell, men, women and children, back to death and cruel punishment at the end of the Second World War. Macmillan may, as some have suggested, have been haunted by this hideous affair, but he expressed neither remorse nor explanation. Macmillan was the man, who, as head of the Macmillan Publishing Co., said that British historian David Irving's book on Churchill would only be published over his dead body. Well, Harold Macmillan is dead, but we are reliably informed that all attempts to prevent the Churchill book from being published have failed.

The British elections resulted in the election of three blacks of revolutionary backgrounds. One said in his victory speech that Britain could never be free until South Africa was free. The shape of things to come.

The Opposition parties do not deserve to win the elections. A firm promise to slash interest rates, and to provide adequate credit at low interest rates, would result in a surge of electoral support in the "mortgage belts" throughout Australia. These are in the marginal electorates. Such a policy would gain far more votes than a promise to cut taxes without convincing electors that any gains will soon be eroded by various higher charges.

Mr. John Howard and his 25,000 new migrants! This, of course, is the result of holding the delusion that "migrants mean money". One million migrants would be better still: the more migrants the more money. That's the delusion. The thinking "runs" that all the new migrants will need new homes, white goods, clothes, etc., etc., and all manner of services; plumbers, auto mechanics, insurance, etc., etc. It just isn't so. They'll have a strictly limited amount of money when they settle in Australia; some will go on to Social Security of one form or another; others will incur debts. Many of them will also push up the unemployment figures, unless they have a job in advance - and how likely is that? We never suffer from any shortage of delusions.

A retired N.S.W. judge; Mr. Justice Moffitt, has written in the current Institute of Public Affairs Review that political parties were seeking to control the major institutions of justice by appointing individuals sympathetic to their interests. Judge Moffitt stated that all law bodies and personalities must be independent, and of the utmost integrity. There is a saying among lawyers that "justice must not only be done, but be seen to be done." A moment's thought will convince the layman that this must be necessarily so if the people at large have no confidence in our legal institutions, and do not trust legal people (courts, judges, solicitors, barristers, etc., etc.) then it would not be long before the systems of justice would be most seriously undermined, with disastrous consequences for the nation. Judge Moffitt claimed that some public appointees to high offices suffered passionate rebuke when they acted independently of the party, which appointed them;- e.g. Sir John Kerr, Mr. Frank Costigan, Q.C., and Mr. Ian Temby, Q.C. Judge Moffitt sounded this warning: "Governments now often select for promotion from a lower to a higher court, or to a higher office within a court, a judge not the most senior and seen by others as not the most able, so that keeping in favour with the party in government comes to be regarded by many as necessary for judicial advancement..."
All electoral comment authorised by Eric D. Butler, 145 Russell Street, Melbourne.