BACKLASH AGAINST PARTIES GROWING

The sleazy activities of some of Australia's politicians are revolting to all decent people. And they make good copy for those journalists who are constantly looking for some scandal to write about. This saves them from probing much more serious questions. Whether or not Senator Richardson clings to office or is forced to stand down is relatively unimportant compared with Australia's deeply seated problems - economic, financial, social and spiritual. There is an old truism that people get the governments they deserve; they have used their political votes to elect party politicians with little thought as to how to control their paid servants.

There are encouraging signs that a growing number of electors have decided that enough is enough. The latest public opinion polls record a sharp decline in electoral support for the major political parties and a substantial increase in support for Independents. Labor was still reeling from the Wills by-election when Labor candidates in two South Australian by-elections finished third behind the Democrats. The Labor candidates were not assisted by the continuing South Australian State Bank Royal Commission.

Dr. John Hewson's electoral prospects have not been assisted by fellow Liberal Premier Greiner, hailed at one time as a rising star in the Liberal firmament, who clearly is in trouble. Not surprisingly, Liberal Party strategists would welcome the early election of a Carr Labor Government in N.S.W., while in Victoria the Kirner Government is being encouraged by their Federal Labor colleagues to have an early election and allow a Jeff Kennett Liberal Government have at least six months in which to demonstrate that it is no improvement on the Kirner Government. Such is the cynicism of party politics.

Irrespective of what they try, the Party strategists are now facing a completely new situation in Australian politics. Adding to the political ferment is the statement by Ted Drane of the Shooters' Association, just back from the U.S.A., that his movement is now going political. He points out the obvious, that multiculturalism has failed completely in the U.S.A. and that immigration is now a major issue. Equally important Drane says that his movement supports the principle of C.I.R., enabling the Australian people to have an effective say on the big issues confronting Australia. Other grassroots groups are emerging, including the recently launched Union of Farmers in South Australia.

We cannot stress too strongly that the major "acid test" which must be applied to the many candidates, which are certainly going to emerge at the next Federal Elections, are they in favour of the Citizens Initiative and Referendum concept, the minimum being at least support for the Electors' Veto.

The stock reply by the party strategists is to claim that Independents can do no good in Parliament. What needs to be widely publicised is that during the early dark days of the Second World War, there were many Independents in Australia's Parliaments, particularly in South Australia, where W. McGillvray of Chaffey was responsible for having a motion passed in the South Australian Parliament calling upon the Federal Government to use national credit to finance the war effort to the maximum.
Published in booklet form, the McGillvray address was distributed in hundreds of thousands around Australia and was a major contribution to the national grassroots movements demanding financial reform in order that a maximum war effort might be prosecuted.

This movement was responsible for the 1940 Federal Elections finishing with the balance of power held by two Independents, A.W. Coles of the famous Coles Stores, and Alex Wilson from the Mallee, Victoria. Wilson was prominently associated with the financial reform movement and eventually decided that national survival depended upon bringing the John Curtin Government to office.

Only a political ignoramus would dispute that the Curtin Government's liberal use of national financial credit enabled Australia to maximise the war effort, with both primary and secondary industries stimulated. It was the same Curtin Government, which broke with financial orthodoxy to implement a system of consumer price discounts which eliminated inflation in Australia for five years. Australia's situation is even more critical today than it was during the dark days when Australia was fighting for survival against the Japanese thrust south. The nation pulled itself together during that critical period. The Independents played an honourable role at this time. Independents can do the same again today.

THE MONARCHISTS CALLED TO ACTION

by David Thompson
From the strongly emotional response in defence of the flag, it now appears that even Mr. Keating acknowledges that it is a politically dangerous issue for him. He has commented that there are other issues of higher priority. The former A.L.P. pollster, Mr. Rod Cameron, has confirmed the view that "Keating went too far" on the flag issue, and went about it the wrong way. "Messy and silly" were Cameron's remarks. "He can't courageously continue, because it would be pointless. He isn't going to change the flag - he isn't," said Cameron.

But nothing can be taken for granted certainly where Paul Keating is concerned. He is an unpredictable opportunist. It is almost certain that the real target is not the flag, but the Monarchy. It would be extremely dangerous to confuse any perceived success in defence of the flag with similar support for the Monarchy. It may have been assumed by some that the huge Anzac Day crowds, with thousands of Australian flags being waved, was a pointed rejection of the Prime Minister's attack upon the Monarchy and the flag. This is most deceptive.

An opinion poll conducted for "Quadrant" magazine, and published in Australia's biggest circulation newspaper, The Herald-Sun, last Sunday, indicated that 64% of those polled would support a republic. Even allowing for unusual inaccuracies of polls, and the deceptive way in which questions can be asked, this is a very ominous sign for Monarchists. It underlines, more than ever, that while there is an emotional attachment to the queen, no amount of emotion can sustain a gradual, long-term campaign to undermine the Monarchy. This poll showed, significantly that the proposition of a republic was supported most strongly by the young.

LONG-TERM EDUCATIONAL CAMPAIGN
The only answer to the undermining of the Monarchy is for those who support it to mount a similar long-term campaign. This must be an educational campaign, intelligently outlining the reasons why the Monarchy is so valuable. The young only reject the Monarchy because they do not know its value. They have never been taught such things - the education system has seen to that.

There is little doubt that any Constitutional changes to turn our political system into a republic would certainly result in the loss of the reserve powers' of the Monarchy. In the end, it could be that only the Monarch's reserve powers can protect Australia from being absorbed into the New World Order. What are these powers? How can they be applied? Who has access to them? These issues must be debated. How many Australians even know such powers exist?

There are other more dangerous people than Paul Keating opposing the Monarchy. Last week the head of the Australian Republican Movement, Mr. Malcolm Turnbull, actually attacked Mr. Keating for re-writing history in order to drum up support for a republic. Turnbull (a lawyer and merchant banker in partnership with Neville Wran) knows that a referendum must eventually be held to establish a republic. He also knows that there is little chance of this succeeding unless both the main parties support a change. Turnbull is concerned that Keating's "irrational, unfair comments" were leading people to regard republicanism as a "Labor versus Liberal" debate.

TURNBULL BLASTS KEATING
Speaking in Victoria last week, Turnbull is quoted as saying: "To talk about Menzies being a British bootlicker is frankly ludicrous unless you acknowledge that Curtin and Chifley were licking British boots at the same time," he said. "The A.L.P. has not been a great organ of Australian nationalism versus the Liberal Party being an organ of British colonialism. That is nonsense that is re-inventing history. Until relatively recent times, the most racist, the most anti-Asian, the most devoted to the British cause of all the Australian political parties was the A.L.P. The A.L.P. was the only one that ever had a White Australia (policy) on its platform. Jack Lang, who was Paul Keating's great hero, was not only hopelessly bigoted against Chinese and other Asians, but was also a raging anti-Semite to boot. In this sense Mr. Keating's contribution has been a negative for us, because it is confusing people into believing that this is a party political cause . . . In a sense, our battle is to win the hearts and minds of the Liberal and National Parties, because unless we have their support a referendum is going to be a doubtful proposition," Mr. Turnbull said (The Australian, 15/5/1992)

We have much for which to thank Mr. Keating. He has politically polarised the issue, as Turnbull says. He has drawn the battle lines in an unmistakeable way. Let us now proceed to give the republicans a long-term thrashing by arguing the practical advantages of the Monarchy, and challenging every republican assumption. The whole future of Australia could balance on this campaign. It must begin immediately.

A REVEALING LETTER ON THAT 'LEVEL PLAYING FIELD'

The following important letter by Mr. John Yates, of Favorite Plastics Pty. Ltd., N.S.W., appeared in a recent issue of the "Newcastle Morning Herald": "No wonder we are in a recession, and if my experience with the Federal Government is typical then it will be a long time before we are back to the Lucky Country status.
"On January 20, I wrote to the Prime Minister as follows: "'As a small manufacturer of polyethylene bags struggling to survive against the flood of imports from Asian countries, we seek your answers to the following: "'Your Government talks often about the 'level playing field'. Why is it that if we export Australian made polyethylene bags to Malaysia a duty of 60% is applied at the other end? "'Alternatively if Malaysian made bags are imported to Australia a duty of 10% is applied. "'Is the difference of 50% what you mean by a level playing field?'

"After two months I received a reply advising me that 'my letter has now been passed on to the Minister for Small Business, The Hon. David Beddall'. "Why does it take two months to be referred? How long will it take to receive an answer to my questions? "Is this another example of how our manufacturing industry is being destroyed because the Whitlam Government signed the Lima Declaration in 1975? "This was a U.N. Declaration to reduce manufacturing in Australia so that we could import more goods from Third World countries. "It is also, and I quote section 26, 'A program of action on the establishment of a New International Economic Order'. In other words a one world government....