ON TARGET, FEBRUARY 21, 2000
If Australia successfully completes a phased withdrawal from East Timor, handing over to the United Nations, our involvement may be seen in retrospect as incredibly lucky.
Few would doubt the superb professionalism of General Peter Cosgrove and the Australian troops in East Timor. But, as we have pointed out before, had there been any sort of engagement with a better-trained and more resolute opponent, Australia's defence position would have unravelled.
Nine years ago The Financial Review (24/10/91) made the following comments:
"More officers are leading less troops in the shrinking Australian Defence Force despite progress in thinning out the top brass in recent years. The ADF has one of the highest ratios of officers to other ranks of any military force in the world ….
Many of these so-called officers were bureaucrats in an increasingly paper-run, Canberra-based Department. Meanwhile, combat-field-effectiveness was reduced to dangerously-low levels.
All this came to a head on February 17, when a shocked defence seminar in Canberra was treated to a scathing, unprecedented attack by the Secretary to the Department of Defence on his own Department. Such a thing is virtually unheard of. The attack seems to have come with Minister John Moore's agreement - again, unprecedented. Defence Secretary Allan Hawke said his department lacked credibility, and its financial position was parlous.
Hawke's speech was immediately followed by an equally scathing summary by former Army chief Major-General John Sanderson, before the Joint Standing Committee on Foreign Affairs and Defence on Febrary 18. He bluntly said that Australia's army could not take part in land operations against a well-equipped and heavily armed military force:
" … It may be satisfactory for Australia to lead or participate in an enforcement operation against a confused and lightly armed rabble like the East Timorese militia, or even the Somali clans; it would require considerable development of the army before it could contemplate playing a part in land operations against a well and heavily-armed military force," he said…." (The Weekend Australian, 19-20/2/00)
We can only pray that the lessons that have surfaced as a result of East Timor, and these timely warnings, do not fall on deaf ears. We may not be nearly so lucky next time.
BRACKS GOVERNMENT IN VICTORIA SHOWS REPUBLICAN BIAS: "The judges of the Victorian Supreme Court will meet next week to consider abolishing court ru go up with price increases.les which require prospective lawyers to swear an oath of allegiance to the Queen.
The meeting follows a letter in December from the Victorian Attorney-General Rob Hulls to Victorian Chief Justice John Phillips, calling for a review of the oath ….In my view this requirement is neither vital to the practice of law in Victoria, nor desirable at this time," Mr Hulls said in his letter to the Chief Justice….." (Australian Financial Review, 18/2/00).
It would be interesting to know whether Mr Hulls himself took the normal Oath of office as a Member of Parliament? And why he should think such an Aoth from someone serving in the Queen's Courts should not be "desirable"?
Didn't we have a referendum just four months ago in which a majority of Australians in all States - including Victoria - rejected republicanism?
PETROL PRICES TO SOAR: Australians are now being warned that petrol prices could reach a dollar-a-litre by mid-year. The warning came from Houston based Michael Economides, an international petroleum expert.
We should remember that Costello's excises on petrol automatically go up as the price increases.. Journalist Terry McCrann, writing at the beginning of February, pointed out that an O.7 cent increase in the price of petrol aotomatically delivered an extra $112 million into Canberra's coffers. No new laws are required, or any scrutiny by parliament.
To make it worse, if and when the GST is introduced, the 10% tax will be applied both to the price of petrol and the excise that has already been applied. In other words, a "tax-on-a-tax". McCrann says that by this time next year Australians will almost certainly be paying an extra $600 million in taxes on petrol.
CREDIT CARD DEBT STILL SOARING: Latest figures released by the Reserve Bank showed a record 62.7 million credit card transactions totalling $6.1 billion took place during December, up almost 25% on the previous year's figures. Credit card debt has doubled in just over three years and now amounts to more that $700 million for each Australian. Most people are not paying off their credit card debts before the end of the interest-free period, thus incurring interest rates of 16 per cent.
ILLEGAL IMMIGRANTS GATHER: The latest news shows that there are some 10,000 illegal immigrants in Indonesia, waiting for transit to Australia. The trouble, we gather, is a shortage of boats. The problem is now so serious that the Department of Immigration's resources cannot cope. The Australian, 15/2/00 said:
"Immigration officials are braced for up to 6000 refugee claims from people in Australia illegally, prompting the Federal Government to freeze its processing of priority cases from overseas. Immigration Minister Philip Ruddock ordered a suspension of processing overseas claims after receiving departmental projections of up to four times as many as last year …."
In other words, those who go through the 'legal' channels are held back in favour of those who have jumped the queue and entered Australia illegally! What message is that go to send overseas?
THE 'PINK' DOLLAR: In 1978, when the Gay Mardi Gras was first held, 53 of the 1000 participants were arrested for indecent dress and behaviour. Today, big sponsors. Including Telstra, Qantas, Lion Nathan, Pepsi and Killawarra Wines are contributing $1 million to the $5 million Gay Mardi Gras budget, which is expecting half-a-million spectators on the streets. The orgy is now Australia's biggest tourism event, with overseas broadcasters jostling for broadcasting rights.
Doesn't it bring a tear to your eye? And a queer tugging at your heartstrings?