THE BARBARIANS WITHIN THE GATES

by Eric D. Butler
During the past Easter Season we have seen earnest and well meaning Christians seeking in various ways, including street walks and open air services, to attempt to bear witness to their Christian Faith against what is often described as "the gross Materialisms" now dominating so much of man's life. The reality is, of course, that what could once be described as a Western Christian Civilisation, with its roots deep in the Greco-Roman Civilisation, now lies in almost complete ruins.

A feature of every dying Civilisation is that the great majority do not even know that it is dying. How can we expect the products of a secular humanist training system, misnamed as an education system, to understand that a Christian Civilisation is dying when they know little or nothing about that Civilisation, or how it grew out of a revelation which over time completely transformed man's relationship to government, to art, to every aspect of man's activities.

What was once described as a "liberal education", a term generally used before the First World War, was designed to produce what was called a "Christian gentleman", one with a broad knowledge of history, philosophy and the arts. Modern education is increasingly designed to produce what might be described as "technical barbarians" who can be slotted in to some narrow specialist activity in what is euphemistically described as "the work force".

The policy of "full employment" rather than self-employment is used to drive mothers from the home and to deny them their most creative role, the nurturing of the future generations of the nation. The basic tragedy of the situation is that the well-meaning, appalled by the growing violence, the sheer vulgarity of events such as the recent display of Her Majesty the Queen and Prince Phillip as nudes on a Canberra park bench, or a New York publication depicting a business-suited Easter Bunny crucified on a taxation form, fail to attempt to come to grips with the basic evil threatening Civilisation.

The author of Social Credit, C.H. Douglas, related the comment of one Christian theologian, who said that many of the better publicised sins of man were but like pimples on the skin compared with ultimate sin: the robbing of the individual of his most divine attribute, creative initiative, by the use of centralised power, thus driving him down the scale of life.

The philosophy undergirding the modern mass production system, imposed by a financial system, which generates increasing debt, is blatantly anti-Christian with its insistence that the individual exists to serve the system. Christ insisted that 'the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath'. It is true that a spiritual revival is urgently called for, but such a revival can only take place when the individual is genuinely free and secure. Christ, the Son of God, claimed that He had come that man might enjoy the life more abundant. He taught that man should pray that God's will be done on earth as it was in heaven, and that God the Father should make available the bread, the physical basis of life.

One of the central features of the Christian revelation is the stress on the importance of love. The practical application of the doctrine of love produces a specific Christian culture. But how in today's world can such a culture be sustained when every child is taught that the main aim in life is to be highly successful in competitive living, that his value can only be measured in his survival value in the struggle for power. Christopher Skase is of no more value than a humble tradesman building a house. A sick society does need ambulance workers, but well-meaning and basically decent people can exhaust themselves in never ending ambulance demands unless they devote some of their energies towards grappling with that evil which produced the Crucifixion.

Christian Civilisation is being crucified by the policies of the Anti-Christ. The resurrection of that Civilisation requires that professing Christians carefully heed the warning that Faith without works is Death. The modern barbarians have long since breached the walls protecting Civilisation; they are now firmly established inside the gates, often invited in by those who should have inspired campaigns of resistance to keep them out.

It was during the first modern revolt against a Christian State, the French Revolution, that the term, "The treachery of the clerics" became widely known. It was the treachery of Judas, which preceded the Crucifixion. The resurrection of Christian Civilisation can only take place by facing the reality outlined by the great Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, that there is spiritual wickedness in high places, and that it is futile to look for effective Christian leadership from those who have established themselves in those high places.

THE GLOBAL MARKET AND CULTURAL SUICIDE

by David Thompson
Australia's blind commitment to the "global market" demands a continuing deregulation of all aspects of industry and commerce in order for Australia to be financially competitive with Third World economies. Last week's signing of the National Competition Policy by State Premiers and the Commonwealth was hailed as setting the stage for dramatic savings for consumers as agricultural marketing authorities, the taxi industry, the professions, and State monopolies like power, gas and water facilities are "reformed".

The truth is that far from being primarily for the benefit of Australian consumers or ratepayers, such de-regulatory "reforms" are designed to position Australia to be more fully integrated into the "global market". If the consumer ever sees financial advantages in such reforms, this will be an added bonus, albeit likely a fleeting one.

As the "reform" process begins to take place, we are likely to see many aspects of it that have so far been played down, such as foreign control or ownership of what were previously Australian instruments, operated by Australian governments for the primary benefits of Australians. For example, in a few months Qantas will go upon the auctioneer's block, and the "privatisation" of Qantas, as with the "privatisation" of most of the States' banks, is grossly misleading. Rather than being "privatised", Qantas is much more likely to be corporatised, since it is not the individual (private) shareholder who will invest in Qantas, but other airlines.

This simply means that instead of the State exercising monopolies over key infrastructural elements in the economy, for the benefit of Australians, corporate monopolies will take over, for the benefit of transnational corporations with no concern for Australian taxpayers. What will be the benefit to Australians if, for example, Japanese companies buy our ports, our gas pipelines, our energy generation systems or water supplies?

CULTURAL SUICIDE

The lessons of the past indicate that a switch from State monopoly to corporate monopoly is no improvement. State monopolies may be inefficient and bureaucratic, but there is at least some semblance of domestic political control. The introduction of the experiment of the corporate state prior to the Second World War in such countries as Italy, became a political and social disaster, and produced the fascist state. Mussolini's trains may have run on time, and the economy become more efficient, but the cost in human terms is still counted today.

The de-regulation of finance, communications, transport, etc., will have an enormous human impact in Australia, ultimately measured in cultural terms. Already the largely deregulated television industry has provided opportunities for corporate monopolists like Mr. Rupert Murdoch, which were previously undreamed of. Almost single-handedly, Murdoch has dismembered rugby football by dangling huge sums of money before players and officials. Even the "amateur" football code has now been destroyed as a result of "super league going global".

While football as a component of a nation's culture may be superficial, it is nevertheless a significant first step. It is now financial clout that will begin to determine what Australians see on their television screens. Other sports must succumb to the Murdoch type bribery, as will the arts. All distinctive Australian aspects of sport, the arts, etc., will begin to disappear, as are distinctive Australian industrial and commercial aspects. For example, how many will remember that one of the world's safest airlines began in a tin shed in the Australian outback: the Queensland And Northern Territory Air Service (Qantas)? And when railways are corporatised, what will become of the famous Ghan, the Gulf Savannahlander out of Cairns, or even the more viable, but still unprofitable rural rail services?

SERVICE VERSUS POWER

For the corporate giants such as Mr. Murdoch, who traded his Australian citizenship to comply with American media legislation, there is no place for such considerations. Business is business. But what are Murdoch's motives? Is he motivated by service to his fellows, or power for Rupert Murdoch? Silly question.

The motivation of the volunteer and the amateur differs from the professional. The volunteer is motivated by service. The professional is primarily motivated by money, as many of the rugby footballers have demonstrated. The essence of Christianity is service - a manifestation of Christ's command to love our neighbour. It is this spirit that produced what is best in Australian culture, reflecting a spiritual health that is in its death throes.

BI-PARTISAN BETRAYAL OF AUSTRALIAN INTERESTS

Press headlines for September 27th, 1994, indicated, "Keating commits nation to Asia". Press headlines for April 14th, 1995: "Howard commits Liberals to Asia".

In what is merely a pale imitation of the A.L.P. foreign policy, Mr. Howard has effectively provided a "bi-partisan betrayal" of Australia's best interests. Although Mr. Howard seems uncertain whether the retention of the Crown will be acceptable to Asians (whoever they are) this remains the only significant difference between him and Mr. Keating. The Liberal commitment to "Asia" is accompanied by a shift in education priorities for schools.

The Commonwealth's Curriculum Corporation is urging all schools to redress the "imbalance" between the teaching of Asian studies and "Eurocentric" subjects, and give equal recognition to the study of non-Australian and non-European countries and cultures. As yet, the Curriculum Corporation does not have the power to make such studies compulsory, but funding pressures can be massive. The obvious result is that the education system will produce a generation of children who can barely read English, with little or no knowledge of their own heritage, but a garbled and "non-discriminatory" understanding of some Asian nations with which Australia has little historical or cultural connection.

The abandoning of Australian cultural and constitutional traditions will do us no favours in Asia, where heritage and identity - "face" - is important. The Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dr. Mahathir, made a penetrating comment in October last year, in response to Mr. Keating's posturing on Asia: "Australians shouldn't think they can become Asians simply because Asia is wealthy and has lots of money. When Europeans were rich, you Australians were Europeans. Then you became Americans when America was rich. When Asians get rich, you become Asians - is that what you are saying?"

It is impossible not to identify an unmistakable note of contempt in such comments. It is well past time that Australians went back to being Australians, instead of betraying their heritage and national identity.

THE HIGH COURT AND FOREIGN TREATIES

In yet another revolutionary ruling, the High Court has held that Federal bureaucrats must take into account the many international treaties Australia has signed, when making administrational decisions. It ruled that when the Government decided to deport a serious drug offender, it could not disregard the effect on his children, because Australia was a signatory to the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child, even though Parliament had made no laws to implement the Convention.

Even Professor Tony Blackshield, with whom we seldom agree, said the ruling was "quite explosive in its potential". "What's new in this case is the idea that Commonwealth bureaucrats....are expected to be guided by the treaties Australia has made internationally - even though those treaties haven't been made into Australian law," he said.

Again, this severely undermines the sovereignty of Australian Parliament. Why bother having a Parliament at all, if the Executive signs the treaties, and the High Court requires the bureaucrats to give effect to the provisions of such treaties? Constitutional Professor RH. Lane, from Sydney University, said that the case departed from precedent, in that previously "what's done at international level by governments doesn't affect citizens until Federal Parliament is prepared to take it on board You can see what's happening here: the judges are taking it on board".

In the debate about the republic, the more urgent constitutional problems, like Commonwealth abuse of the external affairs power, are being swamped.

$500,000 CUT BY COUNCIL

from The Maryborough District Advertiser (Vic.), March 28th
"To achieve a reasonable rate level in the 1994-95 budget, former City of Maryborough (Vic.) councillors had to make cuts of around $500,000. "The cuts meant that many worthwhile projects referred to estimates did not go ahead, for example the underground power in Stoneman's Festival car park, painting of lower town hall and screens, disabled recreation program, civic square forecourt improvements, sealing works at Hedges Park, street lighting, streetscapes, recycling and hard rubbish collection, equipment and improvements for Adventure Playground and others in city, further development of Hamer Estate, works at Cal Gully, grandstand floor, Princes Park ticket box, Fire Brigade training track, etc.

"Commissioners are now faced with making huge budget cuts where there are no excess funds, therefore assets and services have to be examined. Staff cuts are inevitable. "I am concerned that this community could be seriously disadvantaged by drastic cutbacks. "Savings from cuts, according to Mr. Hallam (Minister for Local Government in Victorian Parliament - O.T.), will be passed on to the community. If rates are lessened, surely that means the level of service is lessened. What do people prefer, lower rates and reduced services, or a level of rating that ensures adequate services are maintained?

"Council owns a considerable number of facilities. Which ones are going to be disposed of? Obviously, the dollar return to council is the main concern, as against any cost. Everything comes down to money. "Looking at city facilities which could be sold we have: Creative Arts Centre, Brass Band Hall, Library, Town Hall, Senior Citizens' Centre, Youth Club, Community Information Centre, Tuaggra Place Building, Worsley Cottage, East Maryborough Neighbourhood Centre, and Indoor Recreation Centre.

"Council's assets are the community assets. What is the role of a council if not to service the needs of its community? Can the sale of buildings be justified when they are homes for community groups who in many cases have worked hard on a voluntary basis towards their provision, and who, as committees of management, have been responsible for their upkeep and day-to-day operations?

Many people have worked tirelessly over the years to ensure the community has these facilities for cultural, social, recreational and historical purposes. "I hope that before our commissioners make decisions relating to the disposal of council-owned buildings, there is ample opportunity given for meaningful consultation with the community, in particular the people who are current occupiers and users. There needs to be both understanding and acceptance by the community of the outcomes of any drastic changes of this nature."
(Margaret J. Harrison, Gladstone Street, Maryborough, Vic.)

COUNCILS FACING A TOUGH TEST

SELECT YOUR (RESERVE) BANK

FROM THE ECONOMICS DEPARTMENT OF THE RESERVE BANK OF NEW ZEALAND