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Thursday, 16th October 1997
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International:

Have you signed the petition to the Prime Minister yet? If not, do it now!

Yesterday we started looking at some extracts from the book "Hansonism, Tricks or Treat" by Don Veitch and how they actually apply in politics and what actually happens in Australia today.

Page 208: "The main objective of COGs (such as oil cartels, wealthy families etc...) is to keep control of what they have, and get more. Essentially it is a "Venetian" ethic. Making money is the end product of oligarchical activity. Suppressing democratic demands for equal access to wealth is a vital part of that strategy. The Sydney Institute's Dr Gerard Henderson, an old political hand from way back, is the most useful of PIG (permanent informal government) assets. In the 1950s and 1960s his former inspiration, B A Santamaria, was a PIG asset helping to stymie trade unions and Labor Party activities."

This brings us to the news which has been hidden in today's News Limited papers because of the defection of Democrat leader Cheryl Kernot to the Australian Labor Party... we will get to that in the politics section.

The real big news is that Grahame Morris, Prime Minister John Howard's confident for over 20 years, who was a victim of the recent travel rorts debacle brought on by a furious Kerry Packer (because of Fairfax), is now News Limited's strategic policy director. The appointment was announced yesterday by none other than executive chairman of News Limited, Lachlan Murdoch.

"Grahame's appointment to the senior management position will strengthen News Limited's policy team," said Murdoch.

"He will assist us in developing strategic plans for the future of our business and will provide additional expertise in the handling of regulatory issues."

What Murdoch doesn't say is that Morris has the ear of the Prime Minister and the appointment fits in perfectly with the COG (News Limited) playing a role in (Australia's) Executive policy making to secure further financial benefit.... where do Australian voters fit in? We don't as you will see from the following extract from Don Veitch's book (pg 209):

"The Executive networks despise the persistent way in which grassroot voices are always asking for schools, hospitals, full employment, tariffs, quality education and the like. Especially in the 1990s, the role of Executive government is to deflect such "unwarranted" demands. The aim of welfare in the contemporary world, according to Executive priorities, is to deflect rebellion and discontent, and to take the steam out of the system. Desperate people might do desperate things.

"The second layer of attack against populist forces (such as One Nation) are the soft arms of Executive. These are the networks that formulate policy such as the Australian Institute of Multicultural Affairs; the old Industry Assistance Commission (which actually destroyed manufacturing). From here has emerged multi-culturalism, land rights, de-industrialisation, more wilderness areas, and so on. The Executive arms are well funded, unaccountable and prolific. While schools and hospitals might close, these networks continue."

In summary dividing the nation by establishing "race" based bureaucracies is one way of undermining the populists... the mainstream Australians.... our democracy. The well paid fat cats in these monoliths have got a lot to lose, and have the right contacts and make policy..... and ensure that the COGs are able to work behind the scenes unseen while the media report chaos and misleading stories. Divided we fall, divided we are... thanks to the current Australian establishment.   

Veitch (pg 207), "Popular forces, One Nation included, have not yet devised strategies to deal with and control the Executive forces of government. Executive forces of government have a hostile attitude towards "The People".

The Prime Minister of Malaysia, Dr Mahathir Mohamad, was branded an "anti-Sematic, religious bigot" by Jewish leaders yesterday after he said, "We may suspect they (the Jews) have an agenda but we do not want to accuse. And incidentally we are Muslims and the Jews are not happy to see the Muslims progress."

Queensland's Jewish Board of Deputies president Laurie Rosenblum said, "Its paranoia coupled with scapegoatism because the man has obviously maladministered his own economy and he's looking around for someone to blame.

"It's the kind of age-old infamous anti-Sematic allegations that have been going on for hundreds of years without any foundation, purely as a means of persecuting the Jewish people."

Executive Council of Australian Jewry executive vice president Jeremy Jones said that Mahathir had played the "racist card".

"This is as much to do with him promoting some form of anxiety amongst Muslims to strengthen his own political support."

So why did Kernot do it? Quite simply because after over 20 years trying to become a real political force the Democrats have failed. They have failed because people have recognised that they are now just part of the Australian establishment (the COGs, Executive etc...) For many months we have recognised that Kernot has been leading the Australian Democrats as an extension of the ALP. This from a party that is supposed to target disaffected voters and play the middle ground.

Kernot recognised that the Democrats had failed and that the only way that she could gain any real political prominence was to join one of the major parties. When one studies her comments in the past and recognises that she left the Liberal party to join the Democrats her move to the ALP is just a touch "fishy".

Her negotiations with Gareth Evans, we are told, took months and when the fat hit the fan yesterday at a press conference in Canberra just before midday the Australian public heard of her move before some of her federal members of her old party (the Democrats) had even been told.

She told the news conference yesterday that she had made her decision two weeks ago - yet she still plugged away "as a Democrat" in the South Australian elections that took place last Saturday. Her deceit is complete. How can she be trusted?

John Howard summed up the situation perfectly yesterday when he said, "This is all about Cheryl Kernot's personal ambition, nothing else." In fact ALP leader Kim Beazley said it all when he said that if Kernot wins the marginal Queensland federal seat of Dixon at the next election she will be "guaranteed a position on the front row".

What are the implications for the Democrats and Pauline Hanson's One Nation? It has got to be said that the Australian Democrats are a spent force in Australian politics. The ship is not just listing - it is sinking... and when you have the party's leader jumping for the life rafts it says a lot about where that party is headed.

My view is that Kernot has recognised that the Democrats will be decimated at the next federal election as the mainstream Australian come in behind Pauline Hanson's One Nation. One Nation has done its own polling and come up with some quite remarkable results over the last few days. These include nationwide support varying from 15% to 40% (region dependent).

The One Nation results made a mockery of the Neilsen/McNair poll published on Monday which was taken on 2057 people and showed that 24% of respondents would cast their first preferences for a party other than the Labor or Liberal parties. Of these 7% said that they would vote for One Nation - the same as the better-known Australian Democrats.

A spokesman for One Nation said, "Our absolute worst party polling shows us at about 15%. We've also done the areas where we know we'd do better and got a high primary vote of up to 38%.

"A radio poll that was done in Adelaide before the recent state elections showed that, if we had run candidates, we would have attracted 29% of the vote."

With the Australian Democrats becoming a has-been party following the move by Cheryl Kernot the mainstream voters will move to Pauline Hanson's One Nation as the media facade is slowly blown away through word of mouth. 

Business:

Workers at Lyon-Nathan's Fosters XXXXfactory in Milton, Brisbane went on strike yesterday over an enterprise agreement dispute with their New Zealand based owners. The strikers (some seen here on the right) shut down XXXX's Milton plant for 24 hours... but don't go running for to the liquor store to build up supplies just yet!

Personal trivia, from the global office:

Another beautiful day in paradise.

Have a good one.

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