Tuesday 26th January 1999


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ATSIC fight for Aboriginal Sovereignty

Another UN draft declaration - the rights of indigenous people - that we have been told will never have any bearing on Australia is now coming home to roost.

Here is an extract from the article:

The coordinator of the campaign, activist Mr Les Malezer, said ATSIC elections - held every three years at a cost of $6million - could be used to ask indigenous people if they wanted separate government and to elect delegates to negotiate a treaty with the Government.

New Zealand security

In mid-December, New Zealand's minority National Party government rushed legislation through parliament, as a matter of emergency, to give the country's Security Intelligence Service (SIS) retrospective powers to break into private homes and remove documents, personal belongings and communications material, including computer hardware and software.

The legislation was drawn up in response to a recent legal ruling. The Court of Appeal heard a case brought by an anti-APEC activist, Aziz Choudry, who claimed that the SIS had acted illegally when agents secretly broke into his Christchurch home two years ago. The SIS involvement in the break-in was discovered when a check was done on the numberplate of a car that witnesses saw leaving the scene. The court supported Choudry's contention that the SIS interception warrant, current at the time, did not permit its agents to enter his house.

From the outset, it was clear the government was very concerned about Choudry's case against the SIS, and alarmed at the implications of a finding in his favour. Submissions were made that the whole affair was a matter of national security, and therefore not within the jurisdiction of the courts. As the legislation was being put through parliament, Prime Minister Shipley indicated that further legal steps would be taken to overturn the Appeal Court's decision.

The new law to strengthen the state's security and intelligence powers follows three years after major changes to security legislation that was originally framed in 1969. The last rewrite occurred, also in considerable haste and with little publicity, immediately prior to Christmas in 1995. One of the main effects of the 1995 Act was to substantially expand the definition of "security" to include the country's "international well being and economic well being".

This change was made under conditions in which broad sections of the population were disaffected with the whole structure of official politics--in particular, with the parties of social reformism, Labour and the Alliance. There was clearly a fear in ruling circles that social opposition would begin to emerge outside the framework of parliamentary politics.

The security laws immediately allowed the SIS to target any political organisation, union or individual that opposed the prevailing economic doctrines and was thus deemed a security threat. As a result, Choudry, who is a university academic, and his anti-APEC group were put under surveillance.

The most recent legal changes will further strengthen the powers of the SIS. Significantly, the new law was introduced into parliament with the full support of the opposition Labour Party, as was the 1995 legislation. Labour leader Helen Clark hailed the SIS, saying it had a continuing role "beyond the Cold War era".

The Labour Party leadership has already gone to great lengths to reassure big business that the National Party's economic policies will continue if it wins office at the next election, due later this year. In supporting the new security laws, Labour is also signaling that it is prepared to deal ruthlessly with any opposition from working people to the attacks on their living standards.

Moreover, the increased powers for the SIS takes place in the context of demands from big business and the media for the elimination of a broad range of basic democratic rights which may act as a barrier to implementing even harsher economic measures.

In the case of public education, the government is preparing to compulsorily introduce its bulk funding scheme across all schools. The measure will make school boards responsible for all aspects of finance and administration, including staffing, and will be used as a means to further cut education spending. Teachers will no longer be centrally employed but will have to sign individual or site employment contracts.

Accompanying these preparations has been a media campaign against teachers who have opposed bulk funding. The National Business Review, the mouthpiece of big business, editorialised that as public servants, teachers should not have the right to campaign politically against any government policy, and urged the State Services Commissioner to find legal grounds to prevent them from doing so.

The major daily newspapers have unanimously called on the government to override all opposition, including that of a majority of elected school boards. Wellington's Evening Post issued a strident demand that the "power" of the Post Primary Teachers' Association be "broken," even though the union leadership has already guaranteed not to organise national industrial action against bulk funding,

For some leading business ideologues, such moves against the basic democratic rights of workers are only a half-way house. Just prior to Christmas right-wing commentator Gareth Morgan, chief of the Infometrics economics consultancy, wrote an article in the Evening Post arguing that parliamentary democracy itself no longer serves the interests of business. According to Morgan, the problem with elected politicians is that they invariably pursue their own short-term electoral interests, and these are a hindrance to the "stability" and plans of big business.

What is increasingly apparent is that the economic onslaught demanded by the bankers and corporate chiefs cannot be carried out democratically. As a result the discussion in ruling circles is increasingly focussed not simply on strengthening the state and police powers but of turning to more dictatorial forms of rule.

Update on missing baggage

Author Scott Balson found his baggage had gone missing when he arrived in Brisbane yesterday on flight QF522. He had been in Sydney launching his book "Murder by Media, Death of Democracy in Australia".

The Boeing 767 flight with several hundred people on board had just one complaint of lost baggage.

Baggage ID: QF 554752

Lost baggage ID: BNE TN 58001

Today at 12.30pm Qantas delivered the missing suitcase full of clothes and including a separate sealed carton of 30 books that was packed in perfect condition to his home.

When Balson opened up the suitcase he realised that it had been subjected to a search because the box of books had been carefully sliced up one corner to allow "someone" to see what the contents were. The box was otherwise undamaged. The suitcase had been slit in various points on the outside. It had been new to its unexpected adventure.

Balson enquired from Baggage Services in Brisbane as to where the suitcase had gone after retrieving it and was told by "Guido" at 1.30pm today that it had been received from flight QF506 which arrived from Perth in Brisbane at 8.30am this morning. When he complained about the search of his baggage he was asked whether the original QF522 tag was still on it it. It was.

He then referred Balson to the supervisor who has treated the issue as "serious" and has now redefined the case to a "tampering" with a new Qantas ID of BNE TN 23803.

This is fact - as anyone involved with Qantas baggage will be able to ascertain by looking up up the references made above.

Questions:

• Who would be authorised to search my baggage and for what reason?
• Is this tied up with my launch of "Murder by Media, Death of Democracy in Australia" last Friday in Sydney?

Australia the done deal

I read the online article called Australia- the "Done Deal." I was particularly amused by the section that informed readers about the "ruling caste" living in "mortal fear" of the poor. As an American living in a suburb in New York, I can tell you that this is not true. Also misleading is the phrase "tens of millions living in abject poverty." In our middle-sized city, we also have a state college, and it so happens that not one of the Ph.Ds there are anywhere close to illiterate. I was wondering who wrote this slanderous article without apparently one iota of knowledge.

Carolyn Shaddak

Your baggage and ASIO

Hi Scott,

In view of the threat PHON is to the main stream political power base in this country, and your contribution Scott. I hardly think it is a conspiracy theory to suspect ASIO in the disappearance and probable search of your baggage.

You only have to read some of the well researched and referenced paperbacks by John Pilger and Brian Toohey. To see what lengths ASIO and their masters the CIA will go to, in ensuring "the right people" are elected to parliaments in Australia. Never forget what happened in 1975!

In fact I think it would be a timely warning to all members and branches throughout Australia. To be ever vigilant and security conscious, at all times in the day to day business of the party.

Cheers
Glenn

Chomsky

In light of the Asian meltdown and subsequent fire sales where multinationals snapped up bargains in deliberately ruined national economies, it's interesting to read what Noam Chomsky said about the relationship of the Third World countries to the US. In a speech given at a benefit for The Middle East Children's Alliance at the University of California at Berkeley on March 16, 1991 he said:

"For the last seventy years it's been possible to pretend that the regular and constant attacks against the Third World, which go back five hundred years to the European conquest of the world ... were somehow conflicts with the Russians, defense against the Russians. That pretext is gone. Even the most imaginative propagandist can't conjure up a Russian threat anymore so we now have to face the reality -- it's a war against the Third World, as it's always been".

And what threat does the Third World pose to the US? - "the threat of independence", according to Chomsky. That's why the US supported tyrants like Saddam Hussein. They didn't care that he was a thug murdering and torturing his own people let alone the Kurds. As Chomsky says he was "our thug"; he just overstepped the mark when be tried to be an "independent thug". Can't have that. Gotta teach the SOB a lesson.

Asked whether they would support an Iraqi proposal for withdrawal if it included certain conditions, two thirds of Americans surveyed said they would. What they wern't told was that Iraq had actually made such a proposal, and that their president had rejected it. He wanted that carpet bombing slaughter of a trapped army. Chomsky drily noted: "And that's why it's so important for the media and the educated classes to fulfill their function and to prevent any knowledge of the abuse of reality, the real facts".

It seems some things - like government-media collusion and censorship - are universal.

Antonia

NSW Election

Dear Editor,

For those people with strong memories,the change in the Coalition leadership at state level in NSW (Chikarovsky/Souris vs Collins/Armstrong)seems to remind me of the deposal of the John Howard/Ian Sinclair national leadership in 1989 by Andrew Peacock & Charles Blunt.

Everyone who was aware of that occurrence remembers the aftermath of the coup.Andrew Peacock lost the 1990 election(despite of the increase of seats in the Liberal half of the Coalition) & Charles Blunt not only led the National Party to its lowest vote since the 2nd World War & lost some seats, he lost his own seat of Richmond. At the time was considered as supposedly being one of the National Party's safest heartland seats.

The timing of the State Coalition changes seems ominously similar.The only difference will be that George Souris won't lose his "safe" seat of Upper Hunter. Is history likely to repeat itself & with the Orange & Clarence by-elections of 1996 in mind, is the National Party really as secure, as they seem intent on believing, in its political future irrespective of the leadership change? Time will tell with regards to this issue. Does seem ominously similar to the 1989-90 National Coalition leadership changes.

Yours Sincerely,

Chris Axtens Student in Politics

What is the head of state

Scott,

I have noted the anti republican stance of @anotd and it surprises me that an information provider with such pro One Nation bias, a political party who are committed to the idea of an Australian identity, are so scared to step out of the nappy of the British monarchy. One Nation is an organisation that promotes Australia for Australians yet they support the Queen of another country as our head of state.

What has our head of state done to contribute to any of the issues that concern One Nation supporters? Nothing! On some of the issues of concern to ON supporters such as Wik and Aboriginal welfare, economic rationalisation and immigration nowhere have we seen any leadership or direction from the current Australian Head of State. The simple fact is that the Head of State is only a figurehead, a ceremonial headdress for the Australian people and if that headdress is to represent me I would much rather it is an Australian than the Queen or King of the Britons.

regards
Paul O'Driscoll

Intentions

Dear Editor,

"Vive la Republique" was the cry at a recent gathering of those who would visit just such a "minimalist" regime on Australia.

What is however not clear is the hidden agenda or ulterior motive involved.

Surely those who are interested in the subject would appreciate that the legislation covering the referendum due in November only requires that it will merely ask some nebulous thing like "Do you approve of an Australian Head of State?".

The politicians long ago learnt that unless the questions were very loosly worded the voters would take them seriously and, if in doubt about the consequences, vote no.

If the referendum is carried, by a majority of voters in a majority of States, in a form similar to that spelt out above, the "major" party politicians will be absolutely certain that they have a "mandate" to install any regime that appeals to them and those behind the hierarchs who control them.

Will reference to the library book "Who's Who in Australia" disclose the names of the candidates avaiable for appointment, by "parliament" as (temporary) "Head of State" in this nation?

Already significant sections of the existing Constitution are, we understand, honoured in the breach. Since when, for example, was the Governor-General in Council, and its many members for life, relevant?

Any reader, with inside knowledge of the intent of the decisionmakers, should be duty bound to "leak" it.

Sincerely,
J o n M. A x t e n s

from the global office:

Another perfect day in paradise.

Have a good one.

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