Australian National


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Thursday 13th August 1998

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Today's Headlines
an Aussie's viewpoint on Australia's first daily Internet newspaper.
Since October 1995

Between the One Nation lines

The media, spearheaded by News Limited's national Australian newspaper have made much about allegations about One Nation being investigated by disaffected members of the Peel branch (Western Australia) over the location of funds.

In typical politism fashion they do not worry about checking their sources before running a story that casts the party in a bad light.

Well, here is the challenge. The image linked here is a letter from the Perth Police's Major Crime squad confirming that they are investigating a complaint by Pauline Hanson's One Nation against members of the disbanded branch. I challenge certain members involved "in this case against One Nation" to show that they initiated the complaint with the police.

My information is that One Nation initiated the investigation, but don't let that get in the way of a good, twisted story.

Prime Minister praises One Nation

From the mouths of babes, read carefully what is really on Prime Minister John Howard's mind. Transcript from a radio interview on 5DN Radio shown on ABC 7.30 Report last night:

"The Labor Party in five years spent Au$315 million promoting Government Campaigns. I can remember advertisements about Working Nation run by the actor Bill Hunter er.. at an enormous amount, now they were going on and all he was basically saying was that One Nation was terrific.

Oops!

One Nation's Small Business policy and media bias

The Courier Mail found a new way to try to discredit One Nation in typical politism fashion today.

Yesterday One Nation released its small business promoting Small Business policy from her old fish and chip shop in Silkstone (seen right).

Mixed into the body of the article is the following statement: "The release of the policy came as the party became embroiled in further international controversy.

"An Anti-Asian letter published in a Bangkok newspaper by someone claiming to be a "Hanson man" has resulted in a strong rebuke from government ministers.

"The letter said most Asians originated from lower socio-economic classes and were not fit for "Western society in Australia".

"The lengthy letter also contains derogatory comments about Korean and Japanese tourists. It blamed Asian trade links for Australia's gloomy economic outlook.

"Foreign Minister Alexander Downer and the Australian embassy in Thailand have written to the English language Bangkok Post denouncing the racist slurs.

"'This is a simply disgraceful thing for any Australian to do,' Mr Downer said.

"The author purported to be a One Nation member who felt the need to explain the party's anti-immigration policies to all Asian countries to end the influx of immigrants.

"One Nation's national director David Ettridge said the letter did not represent the party's views, 'We can't be expected to take responsibility for someone else's opinion or someone else's actions,' he told ABC radio."

The Courier Mail's comment on the letter, the origin of which is questioned in the article below, sits in the middle of the article on One Nation's Small Business policy and takes up nearly half the space given to the headline "Hanson's good oil for small business".

What is even more interesting is the recent quote from the Bangkok Times (The Trink Page) on how immigrants are welcomed in Thailand:

"Foreigners pulling up their roots in their homelands after a short visit to the Realm blew their minds with the intention of planting them here, do so because they have found the happy hunting ground in this life - or so they believe.

"They hope to use their abilities, education, training, experience and savings to start up a business, intermarry, integrate, pay taxes, employees, buy property, build homes, become respected members of society, giving and getting a fair deal.

"Alas they are reasonable hopes in other countries, but impossible to realise here. For one, no matter how well they have honed and perfected their respective skills if they are in fields restricted to locals they are legally prohibited from entering them.

"For another, if they wed Thais neither of them is permitted to purchase land. The argument that Thais can and do own real estate in their own homelands falls on deaf ears. "As you choose to live in the Kingdom, you are subject to its laws."

"A foreigner remains a foreigner regardless of how long he resides here or how fluently he learns to speak the language. Even if he acquires Thai citizenship, the local community withholds integration. He may have the customs and mores down pat, nevertheless he lacks the requisite prejudices.

"Every nation inculcates their children with convictions of superiority - moral, intellectual, inherent - the Land of Smiles no exception. Any Thai who doesn't accept this as gospel is regarded as unpatriotic, if not disloyal. Foreigners aren't expected to accept this because they are outsiders who don't know any better."

Fake letter in Bangkok Post

Some objective comments from Media Watch's Jean Estoit:

Subject: Fake letter

here is a copy of a letter I just sent to the editor of the Bangkok Post. I have appended the text of the letter in case you do not have it.

Dear Sir,

I believe a letter titled "And you can forget the blackmail" published in your newspaper on the 7th of August is a fake. It was sent to your newspaper for the purpose of damaging One Nation.

If the letter was sent by e-mail, I am asking you to help my efforts to expose the fraud and invite your Webmaster to send me the e-mail header for further investigation. I have no doubt I can trace its origin to someone who has a vested interest in causing political damage to One Nation.

You may be interested to know that news of this letter's publication in your newspaper was used by the Australian media as a diversion on the day of the release of One Nation's small-business policy, 5 days after the letter's publication. The tactical delay between the publication and its use by the media would point to the involvement of spin doctors.

Some discrepancies in the letter itself leave no doubt in my mind that it is a fake. To start with, a genuine One Nation member would not refer to "our anti-immigration policies", he would refer instead to "our immigration policies". This is an unfortunate slip which gives the game away on the first line. He also claims to be anti-everything-that-is-Asian (we do not want your trade, money and, certainly, not your people). Such individuals (who unfortunately exist) do not read the Bangkok Post and would certainly not be aware of on-going coverages in the Thai press.

The style of the letter ("compelled to spell out", "to voice our concerns", "massive influx" etc.) indicates that it is written by a highly educated person. Such level of education is incompatible with the poor argumentation and the simplistic nature of the points made in the letter.

After studying the letter, I believe it originates from either a journalist, a person in the PR industry, a student or someone involved with a political party, probably a speech or media release writer. I trust the Bangkok Post wants, as I do, to get to the bottom of this.

Cheers,
JG Estiot

The Government, tax payers money, the media and the GST

The Laboral Parties are involved in a free for all fisty-cuffs over whether tax payers' money should be used to fund the promotion of the GST. An amount of Au$10 million is proposed.

Howard raised the point yesterday that the Labor Party, while in government spent over Au$300 million in 5 years pushing their policies.  

The only question I have is whether the amount will be enough to bribe the Murdoch/Packer empires to give the GST good coverage. The answer already appears to be positive for the Coalition with the papers not only having an amazing amount of information on what is "supposed to be secret" until later today, but on top of this giving it the thumbs up.

The use of tax payers money to promote government policy is a sham in itself. However, the hidden aspect of politism remains just that with the massive amount of tax payer funds being thrown at the media barons. (The Au$300 million used by the Labor party in just five years is twice the amount proposed by One Nation to establish the much denigrated People's Bank offering low interest rates to business).

The main planks of the GST appear to be the following:

Call for peaceful Hanson protests

Here is an ATSIC anti-One Nation press release with a trace of sensible argument about "freedom of assembly" even though the reasoning is flawed. Just a pity the ATSIC bureaucracy doesn't have the balls to target the Labor party who are behind the actions of the left wing fanatics.

"ATSIC has called on Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people demonstrating against Pauline Hanson to do so without resorting to violence. ATSICs acting chairman Commissioner Ray Robinson said he understood the deep feelings of anger and frustration felt by many Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people at the campaign of fear and ignorance being generated by the One Nation party. However, violent public protests simply played into the hands of Ms Hanson and her party officials "who seek division and confrontation."

Commissioner Robinson said the One Nation leader and her supporters should be free to assemble and promote their views "however detestable they may be to all informed Australians".

'We cannot expect the Australian public at large to respect our rights if we do not acknowledge the democratic right of One Nation and its supporters to freedom of assembly," he said.

"I would urge our people to continue their protests but they should do so in an orderly and peaceful manner despite continued aggravation from One Nation."

Commissioner Robinson says he'd like to see pro- testers put their energy into ensuring every eligible Aboriginal and Tortes Strait Islander is on the elec- toral roll.

"Peaceful demonstration is one way to get the message across but the real campaign against One Nation must be waged through the ballot box and informed public debate to expose the ignorance of its policies."

Making the news" -
an indepth exposé of media and political collusion at the highest possible levels in Australia.

email the editor

You say:

Subject: Australian News of the Day - " Hypocracy"

Comment on "Hypocracy"

To Antonia,

Yes, I too asked myself the same question. I am married to a Chinese Australian ( happily) but it makes for some interesting and more than often frustrating debates. I forwarded yesterdays Indonesian story to his computer and when I raised the " Isn't that REALLY the racism we should be fighting?"issue with him he said ( to my disgust) " Oh, that's different" When I said why he replied " They were 'rich' Chinese."

More hypocracy? We visit Chinese friends in Malaysia quite often. If you ask their 2 year old what will happen if she is naughty she says " The Indian man will come and take me away" If you ask her " Why does the Indian man wear a turban" she says " Because he has dirty smelly hair". And the chinese all laugh at this. If you ask them is their distaste of Indians not racist? They say " Oh no, they are just Indian" so they don't count.

Hmmm.... apparently two sets of rules; rules for them and rules for us. Which probably accounts for the fact that as soon as times got economically tough in Malaysia, all the Bangladeshi and Indonesian workers got shipped straight home. No compassion that they might be much, much worse off at home and would no longer be able to provide for their starving families. Mahatir made no apologies for the fact that they needed to protect the Malaysian people and their economy at the expense of others. And maybe rightly so , but they have no right then to criticize Australia's policies and attitudes.

The problem with our country is that we pay attention to what all these people overseas say and rush around trying to make everybody happy all the time, and leaders like Mahatir know it, scorn us for it and take advantage of it. We are not a bad country, a dash sight more tolerant and compassionate to those in need than most. Until Australia learns to be proud of our country and believe in our own ability to make decisions to do what is best for Australia then we will continue to be the lapdog and the laughing stock of the world. " If you don't like it, .... Tough" would be a good message to send then if only to show that we do have some backbone somewhere in our seemingly spineless political leardership (Laboral).

And to all those ( including my husband) who cry "Racism" and take such great offence at the mere mention of them being singled out as 'Asian' ( or Indian, or aboriginal or anyone else in the world), and to all those who want a cushioned politically correct world, well my mother always taught me when kids at school used to call me names to stand proud and say " Sticks and stones will break my bones, but names will never hurt me."

Perhaps we can all learn from that and the world would be a better place.

A.R

Subject: One Nation on Brisbane channel 7's Today Tonight

Humour ended the evening of an interesting Tuesday the 11th August 1998 as an illegal One Nation meeting ended as a legal National party meeting. An empty large bus awaiting 200 one nation defecting members to be spirited away to Tim Fischer, who was waiting on an open line, in sheer dissappointment as ONLY FOUR One Nation rejects clamoured onto the Nats bus.

Earlier in the evening on Brisbane's channel 7's Today Tonight, Brendan Bogle proclaimed that 200 one Nation members would defect.

However, the only crowd available for his meeting appeared to be a large media group, a beguiled Senator Boswell and an empty bus.

Bon voyage to Brendan Bogle and his three associates from Raymond Bower ( Candidate for the Federal seat of Petrie for Pauline Hanson's One Nation ).

Raymond Bower.

Subject: Four Corners

Keep up the good work Scott,

I could not believe the four corners programme, what a load of rubbish, they then showed the programme agian last being the 11th day of August, 1998, this would appear to be a first replaying a story over again the following night bias media once again I would suggest that you no longer deal with Socialist criminals at the ABC keep up the good, also I fully support you opinion on the 60 minutes programme fudging the statistics on the the New World Order

Yours Thankfully
D.M.Rauchle

Subject: Four Corners

I have just send this e-mail to Four Corners.

Dear Sirs,

I, and possibly one million other people have just read on the Internet that you sent round a reporter to interview Scott Balson of the One Nation Party. The reporter's name was Tony Jones and he interviewed him for 3 hours for a program and yet none of the interview appeared when the program went out!

With the age of the Internet, just how do you think you can get away with this?

I would like an explanation and look forward to hearing from you. I want to know just what your mandate is and who gave it to you when deciding on the content of your programs. Do you have a hidden agenda? If so, could we all know what it is?

This open letter will be placed on the Internet in the next 24 hours if I do not hear from you.

Neil Lynn.

Subject: Four Corners

Re 4 Corners Programme - the content, less voice over, was okay but nobody listening to the subjective anti-ON comments could be left feeling happy. Will look in on the web later for your comments but must admit to slight disappointment but, then, I have been reading Derek Parker's THE COURTESANS - about the PRESS GALLERY during the Hawke era... not good reading for someone like myself who believes in freedom of the press and democracy. Seems, unfortunately, that most politicians have no idea of what they are talking about - especially at the TOP!

Cheers, EMPerno.

Subject: Four Corners

Scott!

Thanks for updates. Look at ANOTD every day, so have a good idea of what is going on.

Spotted the lack of ON members changing to NP this am, it made Mr Bogle look a real goose. I still can't understand why they feel they must go public with all their shit if they felt strongly enough to join ON in the first place. A case of too many incipient chiefs & not enough indians, I guess.

Will log in this pm with interest re small business policy. Have been a small business trader for 20 years.

Marshall.

Subject: Small Business Policy

The One Nation Small Business policy is a welcome outline of a simple yet fair means of giving hope to small business owners, who have had a considerable battering over the last few years. I've printed it, will photo-copy it, and be glad to hand it to as many as I possibly can - businesses and private.

Keep up the good work, because ONE of the criticisms from the Laborals (or should it be LiborALPs?) that I've consistently heard has been that One Nation has no substantive policies to offer. Keep them rolling out!

Don G.

Subject: Small Business Policy

I would avoid "populist" policies in so far as they concern taxing large corporations. Australia is desperately short of investment capital and must avoid the sort of thing you are talking about. We need a vast number of new jobs which require private investment on a large scale. We must get rid of centralized wage fixing. Could I suggest that you go to my colleague Gerard Jackson's site which is the site of the New Australian. Gerard is very conversant with the policies required. He has a lot of stuff on deregulation of the labour market on his archives.

One Nation is out of the "honeymoon" period now. It either performs or dies. It has made a few avoidable mistakes for which it will be forgiven. But from now on it has to get it right every time. There are many "think tanks" like the Institute of Public Affairs which have reliable information on public affairs topics.

One Nation has generally got it right on social issues but in the economic sphere its performance has not been as good. Australia needs a deregulated labour market and free trade. It also needs a genuinely federal system where things like health, education and welfare are state issues funded from state taxes so that the kudos of expenditure is balanced by the odium of raising taxes.

Greg Byrne

Subject: Four Corners

I have just received your e-mail and would like to say that I recorded Four Corners as I work at night and we got half way through it last night when I was called away.I will be watching the rest of it later but what I saw I was quite impressed with and Pauline came over very well.Her support in W.A. is growing and I have spoken to so many people who will definitely vote for her at the next election.I think if she was over here herself she could very well oust the current parties. I have a file that I try to keep up to date with her speeches etc from the internet and it makes very interesting reading.I printed out her picture for the front of it too.Her policies are what we are crying out for and I wish her all the very best. I just wish that I could have made it to the Gosnells Hotel when she was there but I had to work.

Regards
Val Gamble

Subject: ROBSON - You Say 12th Aug 98

JG,

Well done!

john hamilton - USA

Subject: Thank you for your email

Dear Scott,

Thank you for your e-mails. While I am not an Australian, I am most interested what's happening there. From what I can see you are growing like the National Front (UK) in the early 1970s. What is happening to you now is just like it happened to them. The press and the far left attacked them. The National Front then diverted its resources to in fighting, attacking the press and taking on these far-left elements much to the pleasure of the main political Parities who were then left alone by the National Front.

I just hope that you do not do the same.

I will be e-mailing ABC Four Corners program asking them what their hidden agenda is. It will be interesting to see if they reply to someone out of the country. The fact that this information is up on the internet must concern them.

At least you now have the Internet. The National Front didn't

All the best.
Neil, UK

Subject: RE: UNLICENCED PERSON

Hello Scott,

Thanks for your reply. Been there, done that already.

I went to court Friday in Kingaroy on 3 unlicenced possession charges and Tuesday in Brisbane on one. The Kingaroy ones were adjourned and I was fined A$400 in Brisbane for not having a licence to possess a .22 cal, single shot bolt action rifle WITHOUT A BARREL. It was very amusing. I am now a convicted felon- a criminal, a low-life, etc. Oh woe is I.

The main thing was some of the media was there and I can get publicity for the next election. I haven't decided whether I will do community service to pay the fine or go to Prison. Depends if the next election is due and whether I can get more BAD publicity for the politicians.

The Police (both arresting officers and prosecutors) were all very professional about the issue. All good chaps. The Magistrate in Kingaroy was very fair with the trial, giving me every opportunity to get my point across, while the Brisbane fellow simply rejected all my arguments out of hand.

I will be appealing various points of both decisions as soon as I get transcripts of the court appearances to some of my supporters. These transcripts should be available in a week or two and will be on my website Theoretically our laws give us the right to self defence with a weapon. Unfortunatly these laws are being ignored and illegal "reforms" instituted.

Well now I am a convicted felon I have risked my honour (but is the honour lost) andI have risked a bit of my fortune. Australia is a great place so it should be un-neccessary to risk my life (I hope) other than the time taken from my life fighting for the cause. Still if you don't fight you lose so I would continue any-way.

Sometimes some things just have to be done.

Martin

Subject: Desperate dinosaurs

Heard on Aunties Radio National today, some otherwise unknown economic dinosaur from Sand Groper territory, bumping his gums about economics (he of course being our resident X-pert), minor parties and One Nation (note the separation, at least he had to admit ON was not minor). This 'Chicken Little' was flapping his lower jaw at the hoi polloi about how the sky will fall, if the minor parties gain power (read, One Nation of course), as their policies oppose his fundamentalist religious views on globalism, 'free' trade, and all the other voodoo stuff these academic buffoons rabbit on about.

The parasites are getting desperate alright; trotting out past prime Ministerial failures past their prime, bald rock-stars, queer old clerics, and now this coot. Next we will be told there has been a run on the Guernsey pound and the world economy (by that the fundies mean only money anyway, not the real economy) has plunged in to a new dark age that only their snake oil can enlighten. Funny that, the only depression Guernsey ever experienced, was when they were not printing their own money, and how come we never hear of a depression in the Islamic world, or a run on the Dinah? The fundamentalist dinosaur will tell us it is all to complicated for us mere mortals to understand - bit like the mystery of transubstantiation I suppose; trust me my son, and just have faith, as it is by faith you will be saved (no questions on what 'saved' means either, just hand over your loot or be damned).

Omega

Subject: Peter W., racism and "racism"

Hello again, Peter W.

Sorry about not continuing our little discussion a few weeks back (or less) but I had a lot of school work to do (I'm in Year 12). And no, that does not mean I've been brainwashed. Now about your letter: I haven't the slightest idea what I've done to deserve this almost aggressive response; I'm sorry if I accidentally offended you or something. I stated quite clearly that I was using the correct meaning of racist, so to distuinguish myself from those who misuse of the term. All I wrote in my letter is a general reply to those people who think that all Asians do this or do that. I was specifically talking about Asians because they were the race being generalised about (and in a negative fashion). What I said could have been applied to any other group - I was merely using typical Asian culture as a background. Now that's not what you refer to as "PC racism" or whatever, perhaps you are not differentiating between the 'Asian' culture and the Asian race. I was simply being realistic - many Chinese-descended people will want Chinese-type food. That's not racist, that's just their traditional culture coming out. And being realistic is not the same as being politically correct.

Now I'm not against Australians preferring their own culture, and I never said that was racist...again a culture/race confusion as most people are figuring out by now. Preferring your own culture is natural, but so is assimilation. Most immigrants keep a good balance of the new and the old.

Also I would like to add that being attracted to a certain race by some characteristic present throughout that race is not really racism, or "PC racism", as it is normal for a human to prefer certain characteristics over others, whether or not they are from one race or another. You can't help this - it's not controlled by your conscious thoughts. It's completely natural and not indicative of a person's true racism. That's why there are not as many inter-racial marriages as you'd think - one is usually attracted more to his/her own race. So by your definition, everyone's racist, not just Asians as you think.

What's important is not the inter-racial marriages issue, it's the generalising bit. You speak of an Asian multiculturalist you know. Well I know an Asian too, and she's Australian, and she doesn't call Pauline Hanson a racist, and she fits within Australian and her 'traditional' culture, and she tends to stay out of this whole immigration/multiculturalism issue. Hmmm...which one represents all Asians? None, of course. So perhaps we can stop using non-arguments like these?

Multiculturalism is not the opposite of assimilation. What Australia has is something inbetween. Most immigrants assimilate, or at least do within a couple of generations (depending on their age). Having different cultures is not so devastating that it is dividing Australia. I can live with different cultures, because I am tolerant. We weren't officially "divided" until Pauline Hanson came along. If PHON had not existed, in thirty-forty years time, most everyone would be getting along fine because those who lived through the "white Australia" policy would have mostly died, the children of today would have grown up realising the true benefit of an Australia of rich and diverse cultural backgrounds (except those who are prone to racism - including the misused definition, or those who are simply intolerant or fearful of the 'unknown'). Now with PHON, some people (mostly middle-aged to old) are getting either sentimental about the past, or are allowing their fear of the unknown or different to wind up somehow as some form of...dare I say it...racism (yes, yes, both meanings).

I realise what PHON is trying to do, but its logic in my view is usually quite...illogical or divisive in its own right. Yes, I want everyone to be treated equally etc., but simplifying everything and generalising everything is not the way to go about doing that. Australian culture is a blend of cultures anyway, its own special brew. It has been adapting and changing throughout the years, and is still trying to figure itself out. Why stop now?

Regards,
J. Shinkfield

Subject: Melbourne Age Sat.11/8

A good article. I could put it on my political reform site, especially if you felt disposed to email me the text!

The conclusion of many today that we have done something really democratic in Australia by doing no reform of substance since the introduction of the ballot (for elections), here in 1856, is just so smug.

Many howled 'chaos' at the thought of this advance, and there are many who have a fit today at the idea of allowing the populace any involvement in DECISION MAKING (!) The arrogance of party politicians, generally, is beyond belief.

CIR will need an active and intelligent electorate to work well. But until the people have real responsibility, at least for some decisions, those qualities will never be generated.

Basil Smith

Personal trivia, from the global office:

Another perfect day in paradise.

Have a good one.

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Recent stories exclusive to  (how to) subscribe/rs of the Australian National News of the Day:

Four Corners become "Flawed" Corners - 11th August 1998
The Nicholas Street Rally - 4th August 1998
Their first day in Parliament - 28th July 1998
The 60 Minutes debate/debacle - 26th July 1998
Hawthorn - where the hooligans won - 21st July 1998
The Ipswich City Council re-institute a ban against Pauline Hanson - 19th July 1998
The One Nation mailing list published in the Australia/Israeli Review - 9th July 1998
The Barbara Hazelton betrayal - 2nd July 1998
Pauline Hanson's One Nation Queensland State MPs meet in Parliament - 27th June 1998
QANTAS censor Pauline Hanson - 24th June 1998

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