AUSTRALIA -50 years on.

By

John Roberts

Being reflections on changes in Australia over the last 50 years.

(January 2007).

INTRODUCTION

It is almost 50 years since my wife and I set foot in this land of Australia. We had travelled with our two small boys, in an old tub of a steamship, called the “SS Orontes”. It rolled about a lot and generated much sea-sickness but arrived here safely, on 14 February 1957.

We spent our first 18 months or so, in a former US Army Camp at East Hills, named “The East Hills Hostel”. Both my wife and I worked and we were fortunate to have a Kindergarten on the Hostel, for the boys.

Australia at the time was going through the initial period of influx of thousands of Migrants from Europe, including many from the Balkans, Greece and Italy. The Snowy Mountains Scheme was well under way and many people moved to the Snowy region to work. We, however, stayed in Sydney and did not move far from there during the next fifty years.

After working for a couple of years at various clerical jobs in Sydney, I obtained work with the Public Service, in the Mines Department, at Circular Quay. This was where the settlement of Australia by the British commenced in 1788, of course. From there I gravitated, after a few months, to the Child Welfare Department and stayed there for the next thirteen years. My wife worked as a Shorthand-Typist with Otis Elevator during the first four or five years and thereafter found a more satisfying job as a School Clerical-Assistant, when these were first appointed in the early 60’s.

At this time, Australia was experiencing it’s most progressive phase, so far as industrial relations were concerned. The Public Services of the Commonwealth and the States employed by far the greatest number of people. A job with these Services meant a job for life, subject to “good behaviour”, with long-service leave after ten (or twenty years), a month’s holiday each year and 30 days sick-pay each year. Local Government employees did even better: they could accumulate sick-leave and receive a lump-sum, on leaving or retirement. The Public Service was the backbone of Australian life, and as all Public Utilities were directly owned and conducted by the community, there being adequate revenue to keep things running, without the need for additional taxation.

A system of “Awards”, setting out working conditions and salaries, operated for all workers and these ran for about five years. After this period they were reviewed by the Industrial Arbitration Tribunal and the Award revised. As it took sometimes a year or more for the new Award to be negotiated, one had to wait for the “Back-Pay” to arrive in due course. A low inflation rate produced a boost to one’s income every few years and was an additional financial help to families with Mortgages and other debts to pay.

1

Early days

During the years from 1960 to 1975, Australia enjoyed the highest living standards in the world, so far as the ordinary working people were concerned. In 1960, the population was still mainly composed of people of British or North European origin. There was a small “Chinatown” at the bottom end of George Street, Sydney, in which lived and worked many Chinese people, descended from the original Chinese “diggers” of the mid-19th Century. There were no visible Social tensions between the various ethnic groups at this time. In subsequent years many more migrants came here from the Mediterranean Countries of Greece, Italy, the Balkan States and, later, from Turkey, Lebanon and the Middle-East.

It ought to be pointed out that there is still very little “Class Consciousness” in Australia, compared with such places as the United Kingdom. Even today, Australia is, perhaps, the most Socially well-adjusted place on Earth.

2

Industrial Relations

Working conditions in Australia have generally been very good, for well over a Century. Ever since the Gold Rushes of the l850’s, wages in this Country have been maintained at a level much higher than in the old countries of Europe, where such a thing as a “Basic Wage” was, and probably still is, unknown. A low population and many employment opportunities throughout the 20th Century have generally ensured that everyone who wanted to work could obtain employment. Even during the Great Depression of the 30’s, Australia did not experience anything like the hardship of the workers in European Nations. There was no history of Starvation in this blessed land. Workers enjoyed at least two weeks holiday per annum, plus a minimum of five days Sick Leave a year. The only people really experiencing financial difficulties, at this time, were the many abandoned Wives and unmarried mothers, whose meagre Social Security allowances barely permitted them to pay rent and feed their children. Later, when Housing Commission homes were allotted to them on a subsidized rental basis, it was still virtually impossible for them to afford the cost of furniture and fittings for their houses.

There was continuing conflict, so far as the “Wharfies” (Dock Workers) were concerned. They had a strong Union and resented attempts to limit or control their activities and conditions of work. They were subjected to intense criticism from the Conservative side of Politics, which wished to return to the bad-old-days of casual labour, when men were selected on a daily, as required basis, with no certainty of regular employment. The Wharfies, together with the Australian Workers Union were the backbone of the Socialist Movement at this period. The latter Union was a vigorous opponent of the irresponsible re-development of old Sydney Town, at this time. Their leader Jack Munday was responsible for saving much of Woolloomooloo, Paddington and The Rocks from the developer’s hammer and has, in recent years, been Publicly Recognized for his work in this field.

The “Golden Era” of Australian Social Prosperity reached its zenith in the period of the Whitlam Government of the early 70’s. Gough Whitlam is a tall, well-built, charismatic figure, who headed a progressive “Labor” Government at this time. I think it was he who introduced a Holiday Pay “Leave-loading” for all workers, which added a bonus to their annual holiday pay of 12 1\2%. He also introduced free Medical Treatment and Tertiary Education for all Australian people. There was resistance from the Medical Profession to his enlightened plans for the Medical Service. ( In the UK experience after the Second World War, when Clement Atlee established the National Health Scheme throughout Britain, the Doctors did their best to sabotage the scheme. They did not want “Nationalized Medicine!”) However, Whitlam succeeded in getting his scheme up and running in Australia, leaving Doctors free to conduct their own private practices.

In a move to secure the votes of the numerous Italian newcomers to Australia, Whitlam appointed an Italian as “Commissioner for Multicultural Affairs”; one Al Grasby ( which is a strangely “British” name for an Italian immigrant). Following the murder of a British-Australian, anti-Marihuana activist in Griffith, NSW, on the orders of a local Drug Baron, Grasby went on to assure all Australians that there was no “Italian Mafia” here. ( This was, no doubt, a great comfort to the victim’s family. ) Donald McKay, a well-respected Griffith businessman, was killed in a style that could only be described as a classical “Mafia Hit!”. His body was never found, the only evidence being a pool of blood in the car-park in which his car was parked. Subsequently, charges were brought against the Assassin and his employer in this most dastardly crime. Another appointment by Whitlam was that of (psuedo-Irishman), Lionel Murphy as Attorney-General. He was, actually, an Hungarian-Jewish gentleman and was described to me by a young lady, who knew him, as ‘an extremely repellent character’. (In fact he was my Boss, at this time, as I had obtained a job with the Australian Legal Aid Office at Wollongong. I never had the honour of meeting him personally, as he failed to turn-up at the opening of that Office in l974.)

In addition to introducing the above-mentioned innovations, Whitlam brought in an host of protective legislation, to ensure a “Fair-Go” for all Australians. It was too good to last. The Conservatives scratched their heads and decided that, as Whitlam had sought funds overseas from a dubious financier, he could be removed from office. A conspiracy between the then “Governor General” John Kerr and the leaders of the Conservative “Liberal Party” (so-called), resulted in Whitlam being sacked by Kerr, without proper warning of his impending dismissal.

A subsequent election, (prior to which Whitlam was denigrated, by the Capitalist Media, as someone who had wickedly and dishonestly conspired to bring about the Bankruptcy of the Country, by borrowing money at high interest from an Arab “Shyster”), brought in the Liberals under the leadership of Malcolm Fraser, (about whom, the less said, the better). Under this and subsequent “Liberal” Governments, much of the progressive work of Whitlam was undermined. However, sufficient remained of his Educational, Medical and Social reforms to maintain the superior standard of life in this Country, for some years to come. It must be admitted that the Conservative Parties in Australia, at that time, were not so dedicated, as they now are, to the destruction of the influence of the Trades Union Movement and of the long-entrenched protective provisions in respect of worker’s pay and conditions. It was not until the disastrous advent of that female predator, in the United Kingdom, Margaret Thatcher, (who initiated wholesale plunder of Public Utilities), that the Conservatives in Australia realized what “ripe cherries” were there for the taking, in the shape of the Publicly-owned Government Departments in this Country.

3

The Decline.

Following Whitlam’s downfall in 1975. the rot began to set in, with a vengeance. In the State of New South Wales, the two prime plums for “Privatization” were the Rural Bank, successor to the State Bank of NSW, established in the 20’s by a staunch Labor leader, “Jack Lang” and the “Government Insurance Office”. The latter was responsible for providing most of the cover in respect of Third-Party Motor Vehicle Insurance, throughout NSW. At that time it provided its long-term customers with conditions that were superlatively attractive.

The GIO, in the 60s and 70’s was the target of an extensive fraudulent scam, which took the form of staged “Traffic-accident injuries”. Most claims were settle by negotiation, rather than by recourse to the Courts. These conspiracies were not discovered until it was realized that the liabilities of the GIO had sky-rocketed immensely. It cost the people of the State of NSW many millions of dollars, before the Government awoke to the real situation.

Both the Rural Bank and GIO were, subsequently, purloined from the people of New South Wales, under the euphemism of “Privatization”. The Conservative Premiers responsible for this were, Nick Greiner, (another gentleman of Hungarian-Jewish origin), who was followed by John Fahey; a man of Irish-Australian background.. The latter went on to the Federal Stage, as Member of Parliament for Goulburn, NSW. He was, evidently, very quiet in Federal Politics.

Since that time, the looting of Public Property by various Governments in New South Wales, both Conservative (Liberal) and “Labor” has continued, until there is virtually nothing left to steal. Once the proceeds of this type of “theft” are spent, subsequent Governments, deprived of necessary revenue, are obliged to increase Taxation to fill the gap. This, in fact, is what has happened at all levels of Government. Everything is ripe for the taking and if one has the cash, the sky is the limit. Thus, has much of the Publicly owned property in Australia been alienated; a great deal of it going overseas to wealthy foreigners. In this manner has the property of the people of Australia been taken over by American and Global business interests. Even in the private field, many of the products sold in our Supermarkets, that have long-standing Australian names, eg Arnott’s, Cottee’s, Monbulk, etc., are (I believe) no-longer owned by Australian Interests but by US-based multi-national Corporations. In fact, this Country has been well and truly sold-out to US Capitalists.

At the Commonwealth level, in the late 60’s and 70’s the Country was rocked by what was known as the “Greek Conspiracy”. In my duties as a Child Welfare Officer, during this time, I had often visited Greek homes in outlying areas of South Western Sydney, in connection with allowances for Pensioners. (The States usually supplemented Commonwealth Pensions by additional allowances for Children). Whilst it did not occur to me, at the time, when the “Conspiracy” allegations broke out in the early 70’s, I thought that there had been quite a disproportionately large number of Greek Nationals on the books. However, the substance of the matter was that several medical practitioners and a larger number of recipients of Commonwealth Pensions were charged with offences relating to falsification of Claims for Pensions. The matter dragged on for a year or so, without much happening. It became a Political “Hot-Potato!” After much “hullabaloo” and more delay, the cases were finally dropped by the Commonwealth Police. A considerable sum of money was, eventually, paid to the Doctors and Patients, whose “honour” had been calumniated by the abortive proceedings. Greek-speaking Solicitors from the Legal Aid Office had even been sent to Greece to interview persons who had returned to their own Country. The whole affair cost the Federal Government a great deal of money, in addition to much “loss of face”.

That there is clear evidence of a decline in Public Morality affecting Australia, lies in the indications of moral turpitude in countries like the United States of America and Great Britain, which once prided themselves on the maintenance of principles of Justice and Fair Play in dealing, both with their own citizens and the rest of the World. This decline is nowhere more in evidence than in the loss of civil liberties in the USA following the Sept ll disaster and the establishment of the US “Concentration Camp” at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba: conveniently situated in foreign soil. “Yankies” know how to deal with “Felons” and they have been particularly severe with these fellows. Mild forms of torture: sleep deprivation: exposure to bright lights, 24hrs a day; beatings; being kept chained and manacled continuously; continuous noise; harsh discipline; little or no proper exercise: solitary confinement in tiny cells for most of the day.. Most of these people were kidnapped from Afghanistan, during the murderous bombardment and invasion and of that country, in which, whatever was not smashed by the Russians was finished-off by the Americans. Here again, there was no evidence of complicity by the Taliban or other Afghans in the unfortunate events of 9/11. It was all a golden opportunity for the USA to batter and take over another Middle-Eastern Nation. There was an imperative “revenge” element, of course, and all Muslims were proper targets for GW Bush.

4

Squeezing the Lemon.

A particularly noxious imposition upon the people of Australia is John Winston Howard’s: “Goods and Services Tax”, (modelled on another Thatcher innovation) in which virtually everything we buy is taxed at the rate of Ten per centum. Howard wanted to include all food items in the list but the minor Parties wisely objected to the inclusion of food. Eventually, basic food items were excluded from the Tax. Whilst the imposition of a GST was, technically, opposed by the Opposition Parties, it is now a fact of daily existence and it is hardly likely that a subsequent Labor Government will abolish such a lucrative money-spinner; which has provided the funds to enable Howard and his cronies to carry out their pernicious schemes for the Militarization of Australia. Adding insult to injury, the people have been promised “Income-Tax Cuts”. The benefit of these has, it appears, been confined to those receiving higher incomes, as people on low incomes, are paying more, not less, Income Tax. Our jolly Treasurer, Mr Costello, who enjoys clowning about in Parliament, is not so droll when it comes to showing his contempt for the workers of this Country; whilst handing out massive Tax Cuts for his own wealthy friends, who already have the advantage from freedom from financial anxiety and could well afford to make their own contribution to the National Purse. It is common knowledge that wealthy folk are in a privileged position as regards the reduction of their Tax liability, whereas workers on fixed incomes pay up to one third of their gross pay in Income Tax.

In the years subsequent to the Whitlam era, the achievements of his Government have been progressively eroded. There is now a truncated and delay-plagued Medicare system, paid for by a substantial levy on Wages, which is complemented by a highly expensive and enormously wasteful system of numerous Health Insurance Companies: all, no doubt, paying their administrators large annual salaries. Even now, Private Patients are often required to pay substantial additional “Gap” Fees, to Doctors, to cover the difference between the fees actually charged and the “Scheduled Fee” determined as the appropriate fee, by the Federal Government.

If you want a University Education in Australia, at the present time, and are not the offspring of rich parents, you will be in debt for many years to come: that is, if you are able to contemplate commencing University, at all. Many of our hopeful young students will be left out in the cold.

4

Terrorism in Australia.

Here in Australia, although there has been, up to the present time, no tangible evidence of “Terrorism” against the people of this country, a vast sum of three billion Dollars (Australian) has been expended by our reactionary Government, in turning Australia into something approaching a “Nazi style” Police State. This has been accompanied by a deluge of false propaganda, alleging all manner of danger to the people of this country from Muslim terrorists, including one or two trials on relatively trivial matters, blown out of all proportion and upon alleged offences that, only a short time ago, did not exist in this “democratic” land. It should be born in mind that the Bali bombings, that caused so much loss of life and distress to Australia, were not directed specifically at “Australians” but towards white, non-Muslim peoples and “Americans”, in particular. (Semi-literate Indonesians could not be expected to differentiate between the two Nationalities.)

The fact that this Terrorist activity occurred in an adjacent nation, some thousands of Kilometres from our shores, does not give us the right to direct the course of justice in Indonesia, or to dictate what should or should not be done to those who commit offences in its jurisdiction. Here again, there appears to be an attempt to impose double standards: we oppose the Death Penalty upon our own territory, but would not object to such a sentence being carried-out in an overseas jurisdiction, especially in situations in which our own nationals are killed or injured. Our leaders, who show such concern for the lives and well-being of those Australian Citizens, who happen to get themselves involved in dangerous games in places like Singapore, have no compunction in sending our boys and girls overseas to be, possibly, killed or maimed, fighting our imagined enemies. The same argument applies whenever we send soldiers overseas to kill and maim foreigners. We are, in fact, turning our lads (and lasses) into “Hired Assassins!.

What our Government is, in fact, doing, (and managing it very well), is alienating the Muslim immigrant population of Australia by their Warlike activities against Muslims, overseas, and their evident contempt for their, to us, old-fashioned and outmoded traditions. Howard, in his slavish mimicry of George Bush since the Sept 11 event, has, so it appears to me, baited Muslims on every possible occasion. The latter, who are sensitive and volatile people, are becoming so outraged, that there is bound, sooner or later to be a reaction. This is what we have witnessed during the past twelve months. The recent reports of the theft of arms from Military Depots, does not encourage us to feel more secure or confident that the Government has things under proper control. The fact is that the members of this Government, and many previous Administrations, have totally “screwed-up” in their understanding of the cultural differences between the various races that have been permitted to settle in this country. New migrants (and I know, as I am one myself) retain their love of their old country and its language and traditions, before all other things. Such is the complexity of our modern Society that it will be many generations before there is a universal consciousness of “Australian Nationality”, as envisaged by our present Leaders. In the meantime, whoever governs this Country, in the future, will be tormented by the Social problems created by policies going back over fifty years. At the present time, one could, perhaps, be excused for having an extremely pessimistic view of the situation.

There is no doubt, to my mind, that the constant “mouthing-off” of John Howard and crew, since the Sep 2001 disaster in the USA, has directly contributed to the enmity that is felt towards white, nominally “Christian” and Western Societies, by Muslims in Indonesia and Australia.

5

David Hicks

The astonishing callousness and cynicism of our Prime Minister, Foreign Minister, War Minister, etc., with regard to this most important facet of National Responsibility, call for serious comment.

The continued defiance by John Howard, of the expressed wish of the Australian people for the speedy return home of David Hicks, a white British/Australian convert to Islam, who was “Kidnapped” in Afghanistan, five years ago, by US Troops invading that Country. Hicks is still detained under inhuman conditions in Guantanamo Bay, without charges being brought against him. This is a disgraceful betrayal of both Hicks and every other Australian citizen. The abandonment of Hicks by our Prime Minister is further exacerbated by the fact that he had committed no possible offence, under either International or Australian Law, at the time of his arrest. Time and time again, John Howard and his associates have revealed their contempt for Hick’s civil rights, in their totally indifferent responses to pleas for Justice to be, not only done, but seen to be done, in his case. Attorney General Ruddock, who is a Lawyer, must understand quite clearly the immorality, wickedness and injustice of this case. Yet, his off-hand remarks, suggesting that Hicks will be “brought to Trial in the USA in the near future”, are an insult to the intelligence of the Australian people.

Has Howard no influence with the Bush Administration? Has he not remonstrated with George Bush as to the injustice of the situation with regard to the prisoners in Cuba? Is he afraid of Bush? Has he told Bush to do what he pleases with Hicks? One would like an answer to these questions.

The facts are plain: Howard and his associates MUST be well aware of the fact that Hicks has committed no crimes, whatever, under any jurisdiction, and is unjustly imprisoned by a vicious, paranoid and wicked US administration. They choose to ignore a clear situation of gross injustice to an Australia Citizen. (The same remarks largely apply to the case of the Arab-Australian, (Mr Habib),who was released after about three years confinement, without charges being brought against him. His discharge was in no way due to any supportive intervention on the part of our Government.

Hick’s crime, (it appears to me) in the eyes of good-Christians, John Howard, Phillip Ruddock and Alexander Downer,(our highly-intelligent Foreign Minister!), etc., is a grave one, indeed. It is that he unacceptably converted (being a white, Anglo-Saxon man) to the religion of Islam. Hicks went off to Afghanistan to train to fight against the enemies of his new religious faith. He may have been mistaken, even misguided, in this, but that was his moral and civil privilege. We believe in the right of religious freedom and should have the moral fortitude to stick to that principle through thick and thin. Whatever crimes Hicks may have gone on to commit, against anyone, can only be matter of mere speculation and cannot be imputed to him by his mere presence in another country. Subsequent legislation to tighten the law relating to “Terrorism” by making intercourse, overseas, with “suspicious” people, a crime under Australian Law, in the process abrogating all legal and moral principle, is a clear abuse of the civil liberties of the citizen. This is another step in the descent of this country into new-style “Fascism.”

6

Future Trends

Since I have penned (on this Website) a series of articles on the degenerative condition of our world, within the last ten years or so, it has become increasingly evident that we are sinking deeper and deeper into the abyss of Nationalist-Militarism and social confusion. This is true of the whole of the Western World, or at least that part of is that is susceptible to the influence of the United States. America is running our world and makes it abundantly clear that she intends to do things her own way, without opposition from any corner of the Globe. The condition of Iraq is deplorably chaotic, with hundreds of its own citizens being butchered each week, in circumstances that, certainly, amount to “Civil War”. American soldiers are killing Iraqi men, women and children, motivated by the need for vengeance and are being increasingly slaughtered themselves by angry men, who still perceive the Americans as “Invading Assassins”: not friendly, supportive friends, who have arrived in the Country to bring peace and stability to an unhappy and chaotic environment. Such a situation may be likened to punching a man in the face and knocking him down, “putting-the-boot-in”, then offering comfort and assurances of assistance to him. He is going to take a lot of convincing as to the sincerity of his “new friend”.

The recent Trial and judicial murder (30 Dec 06) of Saddam Hussein, finalizes a very sad chapter in recent human history. His rise to power was promoted by the United States, fully aware of his potential for evil. He was supplied with arms, including chemical weapons, and encouraged to attack Iran, by a peeved United States, which was upset by the creation of an Iranian Islamic-Socialist State. This War lasted ten years and wrecked both the Iraqi and Iranian economies; killing upwards of two million people in the process. When Saddam used his nerve gas (made in USA) on the local Kurdish population, (c l988 (?) two US emissaries, sent by “B” Grade President Reagan (in the persons of Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeldt, then CIA “representatives”) informed him to the effect that, “…whilst the USA did not like his use of such weapons to destroy his personal enemies, it would “turn a ‘blind eye’ to the matter, at this stage”.

It is well known that, once Hussein had outlived his usefulness to the United States, his removal was conveniently engineered by George W. Bush: the country being attacked a second time, its infrastructure destroyed and thousands of its people butchered, by the USA and its co-conspirators. That Hussein had no links with the people who attacked America on 11 Sept 2001 was common knowledge but did not prevent him being labelled a “Terrorist” by Bush: the destruction of the Twin Towers being used as an excuse for the invasion of both Iraq and Afghanistan.

Mr Bush and his friends still frequently use the word “Terrorists” in relation to the Iraqi War, but all thinking people are, by now, well aware that the Hussein Government, was never involved in the Islamic Terrorist Movement: was no friend of Osama Bin Laden. This is a lie, so oft repeated and so blatant, that most folk in the West never question the fact. This is certainly the case in America and Australia, where our illustrious and dynamic Prime Minister, John “Winston” Howard, rarely opens his mouth without repeating some fatuous proposition of his proctor and mentor, George W. Bush, on the ever-present danger from “World Terrorism!” Those who think about these things are well aware that the true “Terrorists” are those who make War, for no good purpose, against innocent and peace-loving people.

It will bear repeating that Bush, Blair, Howard, etc., had no business, whatever, in interfering with the domestic issues in a country like Iraq, even though Hussein was reported to be such a “Monster”. The sole purpose of the invasion being, to secure Iraqi Oil for the benefit of the United States. We would appreciate a cessation of the continuous torrent of lies, issuing repeatedly from the lips of Politicians, both here and in the United States and Britain.

Those of us who have lived through several Wars of mass-murder and butchery on a massive, unprecedented scale, have no time for dissemblers, who tell us that we are heroically defending the right of all peoples to live in peace and prosperity. Particularly when we perceive our own “Defence Forces” sent out to kill, destroy and maim people in distant lands, with whom we can not, by any stretch of the imagination, have any quarrel, whatever. Our leaders are, essentially, egocentric, power-mad opportunists, posing as responsible, pious, law-abiding, compassionate people: competent to govern our Nation. How can we continue to tolerate such a crazy situation?

The Billions of Dollars that are currently being expended in militarizing Australia could be better spent in providing comprehensive medical, socio-economic and educational facilities for our people. Instead, they are being applied for the self-gratification of the lust for power and influence of Politicians, who are grossly unfit for the high office, to which they have been propelled, by an unthinking and largely ignorant electorate. We all must stop and think just what we are doing at the present time.

Why have we permitted things to reach such an appalling situation? We are all generally apathetic when it comes to contacting our Politicians and informing them of what we think: if we think at all. The Party Political System has resulted in the increasing polarization of ideas, to the stage where intelligent and thinking members are unable or unwilling to express an honest opinion, for fear of alienating the Party leaders. We now have the situation in this Country in which there is little to choose between any Political ideology, as they mostly seem to be ‘tarred with the same brush”. This also appears to be the situation in most of the Nations of the Western World and, quite possibly, is true of most systems of Government at the present time. No wonder we are heading-for, if not already enmeshed, in a web of deceit and hypocrisy. The “Green Party” alone, stands-out as conscious of the crimes that are being perpetrated by the present Government of Australia.

Since I commenced writing essays on my responses to various situations, some ten years ago, I am convinced that there has been a rapid deterioration, on a world-wide scale, in human international relationships. The World Trade Organization has been largely instrumental in consolidating its control over the various Societies over which it asserts its influence, and is the central body for the control of international business throughout the World. It is seen by many people as a threat to the independence of nations and a tool for exerting control over the lives of everyone. Even China has seen fit to apply for admission to this august Society, which has its hub in the United States. That it is a vehicle for the consolidation of power by combinations of trans-national corporations, is common knowledge.

Here in Australia, such Companies as Con-Zinc Rio Tinto, BHP –Billington Ltd., etc., are busy ripping-out Australia’s natural resources by the millions of tons annually, for shipment overseas for processing: iron-ore, bauxite, zinc, coal, copper. lead, silver, gold. Our once flourishing Steel Industry, now controlled by foreign Corporations, is being dismantled, gradually, so as not to alarm the people. The Newcastle Steelworks is no more. Wollongong “Lysaghts” is on the way out. Apart from basic treatment, none or very little of the other raw materials produced here, are processed into useful products in this Country. Huge machines are used in the process of extracting minerals, employing very little labour in Australia and resulting in vast profits for those involved in its export. A nominal charge of a few dollars, per ton, is paid to the Government of Australia, by way of a levy on many of these minerals. Some of these firms were once Australian owned but have long since been sold off to, mainly US based International Corporations.

Our Government has even permitted an Indian Company to purchase and re-open a closed Coal Mine, at Bellambi, in the Illawarra . Given the lack of Safety Standards in the Indian homeland and the, comparatively , very poor wages paid in that Country to ordinary workers, one would need to be reassured that we will not be deluged with large numbers of (Temporary)Hindu workers, coming over here to work this and other mines, at slave-rate wages. Such a situation should not be tolerated by Australian workers, under any circumstances.

In twenty years time, or less, when Australia has been cleaned out of these primary resources, there will be nothing left, upon which to build a future Industrial base. Even though there are “mountains” of iron-ore, it will not last for ever, such is the capacity of modern technology for the movement of vast amounts of material. The steady closure of Australian heavy industries, in recent years, points directly to the question of who has control over our Economy? At all levels, we have witnessed the closure of factories, both large and small, and the sale of the machinery to Third-World countries. This indicates that it will not be long before we will be totally dependent upon overseas suppliers for all consumer requirements, if this is not already the case. Australia used to produce wonderful woollen and cotton goods (and firms like “Fletcher Jones” were renowned for the quality of their materials). Not so, nowadays, everything is “Made in China”, in sweatshops far worse than those of the New York scene. Many of our light industries have disappeared over the horizon, where they are producing the same products for half the cost. It is the “modern” trend, of course, and all the Western Countries have experienced this process, as International Corporations, who have the running of things, move their businesses around the Globe. A factory opens here, largely funded by massive subsidies paid by a grateful nation, only to be closed a few years later and moved to another country, where another subsidy will build a new factory and wages are cheaper again.

7

Nuclear Poison

One should not omit to mention the recently increased interest of John Howard, PM, in the construction of “nuclear power stations” in Australia. He is most enthusiastic! At the present time, there is a small reactor in Sydney’s South, that has been used for experimental purposes, for many years, and produces medical isotopes. There are very large deposits of Uranium in Australia, and our morally flexible Politicians have been permitting the mining and export of “Yellow Cake” for some years, to certain countries prepared to give assurances as to the “peaceful” application of this very dangerous material. One sees no conscious awareness of the gross folly of this policy; coupled with the immorality displayed by our Political leaders in allowing the export of such material to any country whatsoever. But money is involved and Mr. Howard himself has assured us as to the lucrative nature of this trade. He does not believe that it should be left in the ground, undisturbed, when there is profit to be got. Nor is he concerned that the Kakadoo National Park in the Northern Territory should be so foully polluted by waste radio-active materials. ( I understand that the Native Tribe affected by this Mine had objected to the commencement of Mining) . Howard now promotes Nuclear Power and says that he, himself, would not object to a Nuclear Power Station, being built “next to his own back-yard!”.

One suspects that Howard’s interest in Uranium might soon extend to a more sinister and dangerous application, in the manufacture of Nuclear Weapons: (only little ones, of course, that would not present such a “danger” to anyone.) This is wicked speculation on my part but, given John Howard’s predilection for aggressive War, in recent years, one could be forgiven for feeling that he could not be trusted in handling such nasty things as “Nukes”. One would like to see our new Labor Leader, making a stand against the mining and sale of this most dangerous of all killing materials. He should ban the mining and export of this product, if successful at the forthcoming Federal Election. Mr Rudd, unhappily, at the moment, tells us that he thinks it is a great idea to trade in Uranian Yellowcake.

8

Privatization!

Many years ago our National Airline, Quantas, was sold-off to Capitalists. It is now in the hands of Foreign Interests. Our Commonwealth Bank (in which deposits of the people were guaranteed by the Commonwealth of Australia) was also “privatized”. Now that Telecom Australia (renamed Telstra, as the word “Com” has too communal a connotation, as denoting the Public Weal) has been finally sold-off to speculators, very little remains to be transferred to the wealthier section of the Community (and to foreigners). However, “Medibank Private”, a publicly-owned Private Health Fund , is to be sold off in the near future. One wonders how much more Public Property will be “privatized” in the years to come. But I forget, there is nothing left, except, perhaps, the last remaining vestiges of “Australia Post” that can be raped by our greedy leaders. In spite of these depredations upon the property of the people, the ignorance of the masses has permitted all this looting to proceed, without vigorous action on the part of the people.

It is significant that, in NSW in recent years, there has been a lot of covert privatization in the “Corporatization” of our Water and Electricity Services and, possibly, other Public Utilities. Large slices of the Cake have been carved out of these utilities, and sold to private, profit-orientated interests. By this means, the problems of revenue-raising have been postponed, temporarily, leaving subsequent Governments to find cash, in additional taxation. Other Departments have been reduced in scope and their associated properties sold-off. The Public Service in both Commonwealth and States, has been massively reduced, as the “Anti-Bureaucrat mentality” asserts itself. What this really means, is that Private Interests would dearly love to obtain control over more and more Government Departments. This has been going-on for many years now, with no “mandate”, direct or indirect, from the people. The net result is less revenue, as more profit goes to the sub-contractors who do the work under multi-million dollar contracts, and more taxes for the man-in-the-street. The 2000 Olympic Games practically Bankrupted the State and this is the reason why our Electricity and Rail systems, inter-alia, have been allowed to run down to the stage where they represent a danger to the Community. In NSW, the Cross-City Tunnel fiasco has resulted in the Bankruptcy of the Contractor, as the motoring Public refuses to be dunned extortionate charges for Road Tolls. No doubt, the long-suffering Taxpayer will end-up footing the bill.

The “Water Supply” situation in the whole of Australia in reaching critical proportions. Prolonged drought, particularly throughout the whole of the extensive Murray-Darling system, has created a desperate situation. This is by no means unusual in this, largely, semi-desert country but in recent years, as we are all aware, has become much more serious. The Murray valley is in danger of running totally dry, with the failure of crops right across the vast irrigation systems of Queensland, New South Wales, Victoria and South Australia. We all know that the Murray has not actually reached the Pacific Ocean for years. What is the cause of this? A major reason, in my layman’s opinion, is the fact that the Rural industries have been taking far too much water out of the system. Some 30-odd years ago, a number of wealthy Cotton Farmers, who had depleted their land in good old Texas USA,(home State of GW Bush), decided to give Australia a “go”. So they came out to the Border country of Queensland and New South Wales, where there were millions of acres of semi-desert land, that could be irrigated to produce high-quality Cotton. In typical style and with high efficiency, they went about their business. New dams were built by the Queensland and NSW Governments, including one on the Gwydir, in NSW, called the “Copeton Dam”.

If you have been to the Cotton Country of Queensland, you will probably observe, literally, miles and miles of container-size bales of Cotton, all destined for who-knows-where. There is a great deal of this commodity crop produced here, none of which could be eaten by the hungry folk of our world. This material takes a lot of water and I am convinced that the production of this quantity of Cotton is largely responsible for the depletion of the Darling-Murray River waters. The Federal Government, tacitly recognizing this fact, has bought up one of these Cotton Stations, in order to return some water to the system, but the whole caboose needs to be shut down and the “Texans” told to take their accursed Cotton elsewhere. Water allocations to other irrigators must be cut drastically. If we don’t do something about this, the result will be the conversion of the whole of our semi-desert lands into something resembling the Sahara. When my wife and I visited Copeton Dam in l994, there was a vast empty and very dry “moonscape”, with a tiny puddle of water at the base of the dam. It was not doing very much, at that time, to supply water to the Darling River system.

As our cities explode and more people are crammed into them, water becomes more and more scarce. The only logical solution here is total “Water Recycling”, which is the norm in most Countries throughout the entire world. Provided there is proper treatment of the waste water, it becomes perfectly potable. Australian folk will have to become accustomed to the idea of Sewage Farms in every locality, as there will not be any other alternative.

9

Land Speculation.

In 1957, soon after I arrived in Australia, I walked down a street in East Hills, Sydney, and noticed that a block of land was for sale, about a hundred yards from the Georges River. It was priced at 700 pounds ($1400.00 Aus Dollars). I thought, at the time, that this was a lot of money for a 50ft x 250ft block. (The standard-size housing block in Sydney). The same block of land, nowadays, would cost you around three hundred thousand dollars, (or possibly more). At least, it would be far more than a normal working-class couple could afford. In 1957, working-class people could, however, afford to pay for a block of land, and my wife and myself, who were, virtually, penniless immigrants, saved for about 18 months, before we could place a deposit on a small house at Ingleburn.

There were, possibly two or three Real Estate Agents in Liverpool at that time and one, “Bernoth and Cornwell”, was very active in and around the various Migrant Hostels in South-West Sydney. They would come to the Hostel and drive prospective clients to see various properties. We did not buy our house through an Agent but learnt about it by word-of-mouth.

Year by year, house and land values rose steadily. At first the value of land rose at a slow rate and did not affect the capacity of young, newly married couples to place a deposit on a block of land. There was, however, an extremely rapid growth in the number of new sub-divisions, with farms in and around Bankstown and Hurstville being developed at an extraordinary rate.

The Housing Commission of NSW was the major builder, at this time, and thousands of Commission Homes were constructed in suburbs that are now highly sought-after and desirable residential areas. Most of the houses, thus built, were rented to working-class folk and later sold to the occupants for One Hundred Pounds deposit. The balance of the value was then paid-off until the house became the property of the tenant-purchaser. In this manner was the bulk of the population properly housed. Sewerage did not come along until much later and people either tolerated the weekly collected “pan” system, or installed Septic Tanks. Until proper street draining was installed there was a lot of smell in these suburbs from open drains. The majority of these Housing Commission homes have been rebuilt or totally redeveloped as Home Units and their original identity as “Homes for the Poor” has been lost forever.

Sadly the “Housing Commission” has gone the way of all Public Departments. We now have “Landcom”, which is certainly not going to give away any land at all, for a measly $200.00. It was a great revenue-raising idea to put the disposal of State land in the hands of a proper Real Estate Agent, who would sell the land at the ‘going rate”. In the year, 2007, we badly need the revival of the Housing Commission and the provision of cheap homes for our people.

Development subsequently took place all over the Sydney basin, even though there was no money available for Sewerage services. Water and Electricity were available, except in remote, outlying districts, where Electricity only was usually connected. People had to install large water-tanks to provide for that essential commodity, relying on an uncertain annual rainfall.

This growth, naturally, led to an increase in the number of Real Estate Offices opening-up in Sydney.

Of course, both Governments and Real Estate interests profit by increases in the cost of houses: Government by Stamp Duties and other Land Taxes; Agents by percentage Commissions. It was, therefore, in the interests of these parties for Land Values to increase steadily. Until the Seventies, there did not seem to be such a rapid increase in values, but after this, it could be said that the price of houses in all parts of Australia commenced to increase steadily. At this time, land began to be advertised in overseas Countries, such as Singapore and Hong Kong, and, possibly, in other overseas nations. Land here was seen as an attractive investment, as, indeed, it has proved to be.

There has been no apparent awareness on the part of Governments at either the Federal or State level, as to the danger of selling residential land to foreigners or people who do not legitimately reside in the Country. Such a system is bound to cause an escalation in land values. This is what has happened in Australia. (You cannot buy land as a foreigner, in Countries like Mexico.)

Our leaders in Australia, of whatever political shade, have revealed no interest in controlling the price of land. The influx in the 80’s of thousands of wealthy foreigners, who were permitted by a Labor Administration to migrate here, provided they could show a bank-balance of half a million dollars, was a great way of bringing-in overseas Capital, but was a disastrous blow to young folk seeking to set up in a house of their own. When it is considered that many of these “wealthy” Migrants were not well-to-do, at all, but had borrowed money from Chinese “Tongs”, (Secret Societies) at exorbitant interest rates, it will be understood that the decision to permit these people into Australia was not in the best interest of the people as a whole. In fact, in my humble view, at the time, it was a disgraceful decision, which gave priority to migrants upon entirely false and unfair principles. For a Labor Government to institute this was a disgrace to the Party . (I think that this was in the “reign” of Paul Keating, who will go down to posterity as one of our opportunist, lack-lustre Prime Ministers.

(One wonders just how many “undesirables”, criminals and the like, were admitted to Australia via this mercenary and unfair system. One way or another, we certainly have more than our fair share of Gangsters and Tricksters at the present time.)

During the past few years, land values in New South Wales have escalated out of all proportion, due to the greed of Governments, who have re-valued land excessively, in collusion with the Real Estate Industry. When my wife and I arrived in the Illawarra in 1964, a block of land could be bought for $2000.00 or even less. Due to repeated valuations over the years, the value of the land which we now occupy is over $500.000. It has doubled each time there has been a revaluation, in recent years. The sole purpose of this exercise is to increase Rates and Taxes for Local Councils and a “Bankrupt” State Government and produce massive Commissions for Real Estate Agents. The proliferation of these people in the Community is at an all-time high. There are, at least, five in the Thirroul-Austinmer district alone, and must be dozens in the whole of the Illawarra Region.

What Politicians do not perceive or care about, is the difficulty that young people now have in purchasing their own piece of Real Estate. This has always been the privilege of working-class Australians but, for the majority of ordinary folk, is now an impossibility. John Howard, when someone complained about the massive increase in the price of a house, in recent months, replied to the effect that “People are generally pleased to think that their house in increasing in value.” He had no concept whatever of the hardship which is being caused by this massive inflationary device. This is just a “confidence trick”, as all thinking people know that, if they sell a house for a certain price, then they have to pay at the same level for another, and sometimes at a much higher rate, depending on locality. In addition, there are Stamp Duty taxes and Agents and Legal Fees to take into account.

The Federal Government has to enter the arena in the field of real assistance to first-house purchasers. I don’t mean a few thousand Dollars subsidy, but the allocation of land at very low rates, to give young people a chance to get a place of their own. Here again, this means diverting funds from highly expensive and useless Military expenditure.

Our National “Bureau of Census and Statistics”, which has the oversight of the Annual Cost-Price Index, seems to be stuck in a groove, around-about the “One to two-and-a-half Percent” Annual Rise in the “Cost of Living”. Is it possible that our Politicians have been exerting undue influence upon that responsible body? How is it that during the last 12 months the cost of Groceries, fruit and vegetables has doubled (or tripled) and Rents escalated, yet we see very little increase in the CPI? This is a great mystery. Perhaps our officials in Canberra do not do the family shopping. If they did, we would discern a more accurate reflection in the rate of increase in our Pensions and Allowances. To what extent is the cost of Housing considered when making calculations of the CPI?

Let me make a suggestion or two:

1. Make it unlawful for residential land to be sold to non-resident Foreigners.

2. Make it difficult for Real Estate Agents to proliferate in Communities that are already over supplied with these zealous entrepreneurs.

3. Ban all Auctions of Residential Premises. Such devices play upon people’s anxiety to purchase a particular property and unfairly increases the cost of houses. (Collusive bidding is also a serious problem with Auctions).

Here in the Illawarra, due largely to the lack of Common Sense on the part of our Local (Labor dominated) Wollongong Council, our District is being turned, more and more, into an architectural eyesore. In recent years, houses have been erected on our Foreshores, that look like huge concrete Pill-boxes, rather than residential dwellings. Large houses, crowded together on tiny blocks or built in long, hideous terraces, are making our place look a mess. In Woonona, on the old brickworks site, there was a golden opportunity to provide a decent park for the people of Wollongong and district: something that has been totally lacking for years. (This would never, in a million years, occur to our rapacious local “Pollies”.) Now the whole area is covered in new housing: with a particularly offensive row of terraces fronting the Princes Highway, with little or no green space to be seen. The development at Sandon Point, on Sacred Aboriginal land, has taken place in spite of continued opposition from the rightful owners, the Aboriginal people of the Illawarra, very few of whom have survived the impact of White Settlement, and who still, in the eyes of local Politicians, do not rate a thought.

10

Priorities.

The wonderful Sports Complex at Hombush Bay, stands as a permanent reminder to the people as to the incompetence and self-interest of our NSW Political leaders. How jolly was Bob Carr and his friends, when the IOC decided to grant Sydney the privilege of staging the Olympic Games in 2000! Much hysterical “hurrahing” and jumping-about seen on the TV. Still, I suppose a lot of people made good money prior to the Games, when building standards were side-stepped, in the scramble to make a “quid” and lots of sub-standard home-units were erected. Let’s hope none of them collapse, too soon.

All this activity has been undertaken, would you believe, under the auspices of a nominally “Labor” Government of New South Wales. Such is the degree to which that Party has been subverted by regressive elements, that it now no-longer represents the interests of the working people of NSW but those of pressure groups, having vested interests in running things their own way. The Labor Party, at both Federal and State level, is a party of Opportunists, seeking to enrich and to empower themselves. It is virtually indistinguishable from the Liberal (Conservative) Party, except in the sense that it is not, perhaps, so slavishly devoted to selling-out this Country to vested interests in the United States.

The Howard Government since the last Federal Election in 2004(?) has had a majority in both Houses of the Parliament in Canberra. It has been able to push through legislation, in spite of protests from the minority side. As a result, the Liberal Party with assistance from the Nationalist (Formerly Country) Party, has been able to dismantle the entrenched protective Labour Laws, that have enabled this Country to maintain its high standard of living for the better part of a hundred years. With complete disregard for the protests of the Opposition Parties, John Howard has wiped-out the Working conditions and protective Industrial Arbitration provisions with the stroke of a pen. This was done without even informing the Opposition and the people as to what he was about to do and we could only speculate on the nature of his intended legislation. Laws relating to unfair-dismissal have also been eliminated. The long-cherished “Right to Strike” now carries huge penalties. The laws relating to Compulsory Unionism were repealed some years ago. Our Universities no-longer have their Students’ Unions. Without going into details of his activities, it may be averred that John Howard has put back the Industrial Relations Clock a hundred years. In this he has been assisted by the Labor Party and the Trades Union Movement, in passively making weak protests against his proposed activities, in a situation which in other climes and times would have called for vigorous action, not merely within the Capital Cities of the States, but within the sacrosanct environs of Canberra itself, where our Politicians rest secure and aloof, in their Nuclear Bomb-Proof Shelter of a (l Billion Dollar plus) Parliament House.

The subject of “Temporary Visa’s” to enable workers from Third-World Countries to come here to work (for a limited time, we understand) has been mooted in Parliament recently. This is another device that will threaten the living standards of the ordinary man and woman in this Country . Such workers will not have the protections previously available to Australian Workers and will be working for half the wages (or less) than those paid to Aussie Workers. Such a situation is wholly unacceptable and we must ensure that this does not happen.

In the meantime, the Howard regime has taken upon itself to plunge Australia into another War, both in Iraq and Afghanistan. I do not intend to dwell too long upon this situation, as I have commented in previous essays at length on this disastrous decision, but it is one which should not have been tolerated for one moment by the Labor Party and the minor Parties, nor, indeed, by those thinking Members of Parliament, who happen to belong to the Conservative side of Politics in this Country. That there must have been some, at least, who had sufficient intelligence and personal sensitivity to perceive the utter immorality and downright wickedness involved in such a decision, cannot be doubted. If this is not the case, then there is something gravely disturbing about Australian Politics today. The arrogance and self-conceit of our PM, alone are astonishing to an honest observer, as he seeks to convince himself and the Australian people that he is a great “Statesman” . Howard will go down to posterity as another fool who will bear the infamy of his part in the butchery and slaughter that is presently the lot of the people of the Middle East. (He follows in the footsteps of Harold Holt, who took Australia “All the Way with LBJ!” into the murderous and unforgivable Invasion and destruction of Vietnam.)

(We have too easily forgotten the consequences of the invasion of Vietnam by the United States and the butchery of 3 to 4 million people; in another terribly one-sided conflict, in which every inch of North Vietnam was carpet-bombed by the USA.) That was not a “Glorious War” but a horror of unimaginable proportions. The North saturated with Agent Orange (Dioxin) and contaminated with anti-personnel bombs, which are still killing and maiming people in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos, at the present day.

Another sad factor in this equation is the fact that our Labor Party leaders are unable or unwilling to denounce, once and for all, the inhumanity and cruelty of this present War and its continuing litany of horrors. Labor’s mistake in not making this the major issue in their Election Campaigns, is a tacit endorsement of Liberal indifference to human suffering. It reveals the insularity of these people and a lack of awareness of what is really happening in the “Outer World”. The people of Australia should bestir themselves and disclaim any part in this wicked situation, in which thousands are being killed and maimed and the infrastructure of two countries destroyed..

George Bush appeared on Television (Australia) today (11 Dec 07) and is obviously suffering severely from stress-related problems. He seems determined to escalate the conflict in Iraq, sending more boys and girls to their deaths and is making threatening gestures towards Syria and Iran, whilst his own Congress is moving towards rapprochement with those Countries. There will have to be a showdown between the Republicans and Democrats soon and it will be interesting to see how it develops. In the meantime, the killing continues.

John Howard’s electorate of “Woollahra” in New South Wales has many Jewish voters. This may well explain his extreme partiality for the Israeli cause, in the disastrous and inhuman conflict continuing, for fifty years, between the Jews and Arabs, in the State of Palestine. That the Palestinian Arabs continue to be dispossessed of their lands and enslaved in their own Country, without any form of International redress, is apparent to even the most impartial observer. It is a pity that Howard is not able to offer some support and consolation to the people of Palestine, who have had to endure such hardships, for so long and for whom there is no prospect of relief. His partisanship in favour of the Israelis cannot fail to be observed by those Near-Eastern Muslims who reside in this Country.

11

Conclusion.

Well! I am certainly going to be dubbed “a Whinging Pom” by many of my adopted Countrymen but, in this instance, it is a title that I will be pleased to accept. If I can, possibly, influence any decent and good-natured Australian to start thinking about what type of individuals are running our Nation, at the present time, then we are half way to doing something to change things. In the case of the Federal Government, it is most important that the Howard Gang in Canberra get the “Heave-Ho!”, whatever else happens in AD 2007. Unless people understand what unmitigated scoundrels are running the place, we will continue to be stuck in a mire of mismanagement, violence and frustration. Our world will deteriorate from bad to worse.

I ought to stress that I am not a member of any Political Party, as my personal interests are more introspective than extroverted. I am also too old, at 78 years, to enter Party Politics. It is my personal fear of the consequences of present trends in Government, that have prompted me to pen these lines.

Governments are there to serve the people, not the reverse. John Winston Howard imagines himself as the “Napoleon” of the South Pacific, courtesy of George W. Bush, who, in a sense, surveys the Southern Hemisphere from his huge polluting Base at the South Pole. It is time we turned our backs, once and for all on America. It represents an evil influence in our World, far more threatening than Bush’s imagined “Axis of Evil”. Once we are rid of Howard, the Billions of Dollars he is expending on useless military aggrandizements and in turning “Asio” into an Australian “Gestapo”, could be made readily available to serve the people, in respect of much needed domestic services. Let us trust that the Labor Party will get the message!

Is a little humanity too much to ask!?

Finis

John Roberts

Sydney,

11th January 2007

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