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Number 305 22nd - 28th June, 1998

IN A TIME OF UNIVERSAL DECEIT - TELLING THE TRUTH IS A REVOLUTIONARY ACT - GEORGE ORWELL

TAXPAYERS BAIL OUT CAPITAL!! Late last week the United States Government poured in billions of taxpayers dollars into the international money markets in an attempt to shore up the capitalist system. The U.S. Treasury used United States taxpayers dollars to buy the Japanese Yen to artificially increase the value of the Yen. Once again we have seen free marketeers, speculators and the hedging funds bacon saved by the little old taxpayer. It's fascinating isn't it when there is money to be made, capitals dodgy mates are keen to preach the deregulation mantra. Every financial commentator waxes lyrically about the glories of competition, free trade, deregulation and privatisation. When people complain that capital is killing them, they're told to grow up, that things have to change or that there's no gain without pain. As soon as capitalist's start making a loss, they are the first ones that cry out for the state to intervene and shore up their empires. In Japan the Japanese government is in the process of going one better than the U.S. Treasury. They are going to set up a "bridging" bank!! Yes that's right a Bridging Bank! What's a bridging bank? I hear readers asking. Well it's a neat little way of transferring private debt into public debt. The Japanese taxpayer through their government is going to buy bad debts from the Japanese private banks and consolidate these debts into a bank that is run by the state. This means that all the banks that find themselves in hot water because of failed loans will have the money that they lost through these loans repaid to them courtesy of the Japanese taxpayer. In exchange for all those taxpayer funds the Japanese people become the proud owners of a plethora of failed business ventures. FEAR The contract system has created a climate of fear in workplaces across the country. People are frightened to open their mouths, not just publicly but privately as well. The climate of fear that the contract system has created, stops people from talking about workplace safety and the types of services delivered. The health care system is a classical example of how the contract system has inhibited workers from speaking out about the short cuts that are taken that improve profitability but compromises patient care. No one is going to complain about the standard of care if they know that their contract won't be renewed if they open their mouth. It doesn't take long for a worker to develop a reputation that they are trouble makers if they speak up. Short term contracts are the single most important contributor to the conspiracy of silence that surrounds both private and state enterprises. Although most people are familiar with how confidentiality clauses are used to hide a multitude of sins, few understand the culture of fear that contract systems breed. Who in their right mind is going to jeopardise their future for a three or six month job. The fear generated by the contract system destroys innovation and reinforces the dominant culture within a particular workplace. Nobody is going to rock the boat if they know they'll be out of a job in six months time. What employee is going to bother to help iron out bugs in the way services are delivered, if they know they may not be there next week. The climate of fear created by short term contracts destroys workplace culture. People need security in their employment if they are to become efficient members of the workforce. Insecurity creates a culture of fear. Such a culture inhibits spontaneity and promotes inefficiency. ONE NOTION INCORPORATED PAULINE HANSON ONE NOTION LTD (3 partners) David Pauline David Etteridge Hanson Oldfield SUPPORT GROUP ----> for all supporters ONE NOTION PARTY ----> for candidates, Hanson and Etteridge only ONE NOTION POLITICAL PARTY OR FRANCHISE One Notion has a structure that makes Hitler's Nazi Party look positively Libertarian. No matter how many people are recruited into the Support groups, One Notion members are powerless to control the executive. One Notion members do not make decisions or decide policies, they can only raise funds and hand out how to vote cards. Each member of the support group signs a resignation form when they join. Each branch is not able to meet with any other branch. David Oldfield the Senior Adviser to the party, David Etteridge the National Director of the Party and Pauline Hanson the President of the party have the power to expel members (they hold their resignation forms), disband branches and preselect candidates. Although One Notion is registered with the Australian Electoral Commission, as a political party the parties membership is limited to Hanson as the President, Etteridge as the Secretary and pre-selected candidates. Preselections are made by Oldfield, Etteridge and Hanson, not by the Party or the support group. The Party and the Support Groups are creatures of a three person company that is owned by Etteridge, Oldfield and Hanson. Etteridge the National Secretary pockets 12.5% plus expenses of all money raised by the Party (this includes 12.5% of the 450,000 dollars the parties candidates earned by participating in the Queensland State elections). Anybody who thinks that One Notion is some grass roots organisation that reflects the will of the membership and is controlled by the membership is sadly mistaken. The eleven candidates elected in Queensland cannot even elect their own leader, their elder is appointed by Hanson, Etteridge and Oldfield. They cannot even vote as a bloc as policy is made by the three company directors. No wonder after the Queensland election Oldfield stated that each candidate would vote how they wanted to vote. Victoria is a classical example of how the party operates. The current Victorian convenors Dr and Mrs Spencer (the formers leaders of Australians Against Further Immigration) were personally appointed by Hanson to lead the Victorian Party, although the Party already had a leadership structure and a number of Victorian support Groups. One Notion is the type of authoritarian organisation you'd expect the likes of Pol Pot, Hitler or Stalin to create. Anybody with even a rudimentary understanding of direct democratic and egalitarian principles would run a mile when they discovered that the rhetoric of equality that is espoused by One Notion is not reflected in Pauline Hanson's One Notion Ltd. The name of the organisation is enough to warn potential members of the nature of the organisation. UNFINISHED BUSINESS Habibie's elevation to the presidency has created more problems than it has solved for Indonesians. The unemployment rate has increased by 21% since he was installed as President, thousands of political prisoners still languish in Indonesian jails, twenty million Indonesians will be thrown out of work in the next few months, fifty million people will find themselves facing extreme financial hardships before the end of the year. (The World Banks figures not my figures). People are beginning to realise that the baton change that removed Suharto from the presidency and replaced him with his loyal deputy Habibie was no change at all. Indonesian trade unionists are beginning to flex their muscle. The Indonesian Prosperity Trade Union has called for a new round of street demonstrations, the Muslim opposition has tired of Habibie's rule, they are on the verge of calling a new round of street demonstrations. The armed forces have re-entered the streets of Jakarta and are bracing themselves for a fresh round of demonstrations. The situation across Indonesia is tense, very tense. As unemployment rates soar and basic necessities are priced outside the reach of ordinary Indonesians, more and more people will tackle the government head on. Unless radical restructuring occurs the same tired old faces will continue to use Indonesia as their personal fiefdom. BROTHER CAN YOU SPARE ME 15 BILLION U.S. DOLLARS Looks like Russia's flirtation with the free enterprise system and market economics has created more problems than it's solved for Russians. The people's friend, the International Monetary Fund is in Moscow this week trying to stitch together a 15 billion dollar economic package to keep the beast ticking over. Stock and bond prices have collapsed over the past week in Russia. The rouble is in a fatal tailspin, only a 15 billion dollar emergency loan from the I.M.F. will stop the imminent collapse of what's left of Russia's economic miracle. The I.M.F.'s intervention in the Asian crisis is eating up its cash reserves, as soon as it plugs one hole in the capitalist dyke, two take its place. The I.M.F.'s intervention in Russia's affairs comes at a price. They want to restructure Russia in the same way they attempted to restructure Indonesia before Suharto's downfall. If the events that have occurred in Indonesia are any guide to go by, the Russian people are in for a long cold hard winter. The only silver lining on the horizon is that it's taken Russians only eight years to realise that free enterprise and market economics are not the panacea they were made out to be. In 1998 revolution seems to be the only ray of sunshine on the Russian horizon. ANARCHIST QUESTION AND ANSWER Q. What Role Does Race Play In An Anarchist Society? A. Anarchism is one of the few political and social movements that is not based on race. Historically anarchists have welcomed people of all races within the movement. Anarchists don't judge people because of their racial origins. Many social and political commentators claim that all people are inherently racist. There is nothing in our genetic make up that makes us racists. Racism is culturally not biologically determined. Anarchism is a philosophy that has no room for the colour bar. The history of the Australian I.W.W. is a classical example of the non-racial nature of the Anarchist movement. During a period when the Labour Movement drew its strength from applying the colour bar and supporting the white Australia policy, the I.W.W. in Australia called on all workers to join it and actively recruited among Chinese workers, a brave move in a period of Australian history when the racist was king. On the other hand capital and the state have always been associated with racist sentiments. It's only in the last decade or two that international capital has realised that racism is bad for business. Racists have been able to create lasting and permanent damage when they control the state apparatus and form an alliance with national capital. The destruction caused by the Nazis is a classic example of what happens when racists acquire state power and form an alliance with local capital. The creation of an egalitarian community greatly diminishes racial stereotypes and removes the racial component in any economic debate. Historically capital has used racial minorities as a buffer between them and the people they exploit. When those who are oppressed revolt, they equate their misery with the racial origin of those capital has used to exploit them. In Australia Chinese and Pacific Islanders were brought into the country to undercut the cost of local labour. A significant section of the Labour movement that developed at the turn of the century, turned their attention on the Chinese and the Pacific Islanders, not on the employers who pursued a divide and conquer strategy. Racism limits a persons potential, not because of what they have done but because of who they are. Anarchists have never excluded anyone because of their racial origins, they have consistently welcomed people from all races into the movement. ACTION BOX TAKE THE BLOODY CREDIT!! Readers of that light weight journal the Melbourne Age were given a blow by blow account of the wharf dispute in a four page special last week. Reading through this august collection of bits and pieces of "investigative" journalism, I found no reference to the pivotal role the community pickets played in the wharf dispute. It looks like its taken the mainstream media a few short weeks to begin the inevitable rewriting of history that is such a consistent feature of the mass media. If you are in a struggle and you win, always make sure that everybody knows that it was your efforts that tilted that particular struggle your way. If you cast your mind back to the Solidarity Movement in Poland, the crumbling of the Berlin Wall and the recent events in Indonesia, the contributions of the very people that forced a change of government are conveniently forgotten. Any time the state or the corporate world is forced to take a step backwards, they will activate their publicity machine to deny you the fruits of your victory. Every time they acknowledge that public pressure and direct action has destabilised their position they lose that aura of invincibility they try so hard to cultivate. If you win, shout it from the rooftops. If you don't blow your own trumpet it doesn't take long for them to re-write history. Every time the Libertarian Workers for a Self-Managed Society/Anarchist Media Institute wins a campaign we issue media releases to let the media know we have won the campaign. Every win enhances the reputation of the organisation, the individuals within the organisation and the anarchist movement. Next time you win a struggle it doesn't matter how minor or major, let everybody know that the state and/or the corporate world took a step backwards because of your activities. Celebrate your victories. AUSTRALIAN ANARCHIST AND RADICAL HISTORY Mr. Dawson's Ministry leaving Government House after swearing-in FIRST LABOR GOVERNMENT IN THE WORLD - QUEENSLAND The first Labor government in the world lasted only six days from the 1st to the 6th December, 1899. It took just seven years for the Labor Party that was established in Queensland in 1892 (after the unsuccessful shearers strike of 1891), to have members elected to the cross benches, become an opposition and then win government as part of a coalition. In 1899 Dickson the Queensland premier resigned because of an unofficial coalition that included the Labor Party, the followers of Drake (Liberal) and the Forrest faction (dissidents within the Dickson government) that joined forces over the Public Workers Commission Bill and reduced Dickson's majority to one. The Lieutenant Governor called on Andrew Dawson, the leader of the Labor Party, to form a government when Dickson resigned. Labor was so keen to form a government they offered the Forrest faction (dissident government members) two portfolios, one included the Premiership and the Liberals led by Drake, another two portfolios. Both groups refused to join the Labor Cabinet but promised they would support the Labor Party in government. Six days after they were sworn in the alliance was put to the test. When Dawson and the Labor Party members entered Parliament House they found all those that had promised to support them sitting on the opposite side of the house. When Dawson requested a parliamentary adjournment so that the Labor Party could prepare their legislative program, the motion was defeated thirty six to twenty six votes. The first Labor government in the world was defeated before it could pass a single piece of legislation. CORRECTION - In regards to REBEL WORKER article Issue No.303, I have been advised that the Sydney Anarcho-Syndicalist Group were not expelled from the I.W.A. They decided on their own accord to leave the I.W.A. in September 1997. - Joseph Toscano. FILM REVIEW - COMRADES In an era of Godzilla, Independence Day and a 101 other eminently forgettable offerings from tinsel town, it's refreshing to stumble on Comrades, a film starring Vanessa Redgrave, James Fox, John Hargreaves and Robert Stephens, in the "Arts" section of my local video outlet. This 180 minute classic outlines the true story of the Tolpuddle Martyrs, six Dorchester labourers who were transported to the penal colonies in Australia for seven years in 1833 for trying to form a union of agricultural labourers in England. This 3 hour film is divided into two distinct parts. The first 90 minutes is spellbinding, the final 90 minutes can be described as a waste of celluloid. In the first 90 minutes we experience the men's lives, we are first hand witnesses to the drudgery their wives, children and they are subjected to as employees of the manor. The cruelty we witness is not the cruelty of whips, beating an guns, it's something more insidious. We see how the damp, dark, dirty conditions sap the sound and destroy the will. What I found most endearing about the first part of the film was the dirt, the dampness, the personal filth and the dirt under their blackened fingernails. The day to day drudgery of their lives was vividly reinforced when one of the women gave birth in the fields that the men and their families were harvesting for the manor. The second half of the film traces the men's lives as convicts in Australia. The darkness that enveloped their lives in Southern England is replaced by a vivid almost too vivid clarity. In Australia the light is their constant companion as the six men experience the brutality and arbitrary nature of convict life in Australia. The film attempts to unsuccessfully incorporate the local Aboriginals in the Tolpuddle Martyrs life in Australia. This part of the film is so poorly written, the actors fail to give a convincing portrayal of what life was like in penal colonies. The six men were pardoned in 1836, five returned to England, one disappeared in the Antipodean Gulag. If you have a few hours to spare, get hold of this film and protect your soul from tinsel towns celluloid Godzillas. BOOK REVIEW THE OUTCASTS OF MELBOURNE Edited By Graeme Davison, David Dunston and Chris Mc Conville - 1985, Library of Congress Catalogue Card No.85-071418 Every city, every town, every village has a secret history that never makes it into the history books or the official version of what happened. The Outcasts of Melbourne is Melbourne's secret history, from the beginning of white settlement to the outbreak of World War I. This book doesn't pretend to look at the fate of the local Aborigines, it concentrates on the fate of the settlers. The books contributors Graeme Davison, David Dunston, John Lack, Chris Mc Conville, Roslyn Otzen, Shurlee Swain and Blair Ussher are Melbourne academics who have had the time and resources to dig out the history of Melbourne's Outcasts. This 230 page book begins with an adequate and uninspiring introduction penned by one of the editors Graeme Davison. It's followed by eight distinct chapters that dissect the lives of the Outcasts of Melbourne. The book has an impressive Bibliography and a very useful index. My favourite chapter was chapter One. "The Moral Pandemonium" by Graeme Davison and David Dunstan and chapter Three from "Criminal Class to Underworld" by Chris Mc Conville. I enjoyed reading chapter One because it acknowledged the contribution that Jack Andrews and the Melbourne Anarchist Club made in late 1880's to the debate about the causes of poverty in Melbourne. While other people believed poverty was a moral question that was the province of the bible bashing fraternity, Jack Andrews and the other Melbourne Anarchists understood poverty was a social not a moral question Chapter Three outlines the lively history of the larrikins and larrikinesses of the various neighbourhood "pushes". "Defiance of the police was a point of honour among larrikins". "When police moved in to arrest one Fitzroy boy he turned on his captors. In words chosen to strike terror into all, he ordered the police to leave him be, shouting, if you don't know who I am you soon will, I am one of the Stephen Street Push". Every city, every town, every village has a secret history. If you live in Melbourne read the Outcasts of Melbourne. If you live somewhere else talk to your local librarian, they may have a secret history packed away in the back store room. Thanks to Oscar Reghenzani for kindly allowing me to read and review his personal copy of the Outcasts of Melbourne. PERSONAL OBSERVATION Watching the rise in the fortunes of the One Notion crowd has pryed open a window on my forgotten life in Queensland in the 1950's - One Notion's golden era. I distinctly remember as a child of five walking two kilometres and then catching a bus to go to primary school. I remember I had only been at school about four weeks when the school bus pulled up empty. It was normally full, I clambered on board and sat near a window watching the empty paddocks blend into nondescript basic one storey timber dwellings. I can still picture the sneer on the red neck bus driver's face when he left me outside an empty school, ten kilometres from, my home. I remember as a five year old child walking back home in the heat, not understanding why he didn't tell me it was a public holiday. I remember lying in a public hospital bed in Brisbane with glomerule nephritis as an eight year old. I can still remember the ignorant racist remarks that were levelled at me and my family during the three months I was there and I was white, my crime, my parents had emigrated from Southern Italy. Can you imagine how indigenous children were treated in Queensland during One Notion's golden era, the 1950's. I remember going to a new Primary school in Brisbane when I was nine and hiding in the bushes during the lunch hour trying to keep one step ahead of the racist bullies, who enforced their parents prejudices with their fists. I remember Russell, he was simple, he wet his pants in the classroom, he smelt. I still remember with shame how I hoped the bullies would pick on Russell. On the days they picked on him they left me alone. I soon learnt you don't tolerate racists. I wasn't much good with my fists but I learnt how to cripple somebody with a few well placed kicks. It didn't take long for the racists to leave me alone. The One Notion Mob's racial and immigration policies are nothing new. They are a direct extension of sentiments that were rife in slabs of Australia in the 1950's. The major difference between the 1950's and the 1990's is that those of us who lived through One Notion's golden era, won't lie down and eat shit this time. STOP PRESS - REALIGNMENT One Notion's success in the Victorian election, has put the boot into what's left of the National Party. The biggest losers in the Queensland election where the National Party. Their vote was almost cut in half. Groups like One Notion don't have to win power or even parliamentary seats to force a policy realignment. Their policies are old fashioned country party policies. In order to be part of government the National Party had changed its rural policies from protectionist to free trade. They have also publicly embraced a non discriminatory immigration policy and multiculturalism, to develop a national base. Within the space of two decades both its major policy planks have been turned on their head, no wonder rank and file National Party supporters have deserted it in droves. The National party's foray into the cities (apart from some traditional regional centres), has been a disaster. Its transition from a country based party to a National party has not succeeded. One Notion has been able to create a beach head in the cities and Queensland's retirement belt because it does not have the country legacy that the National Party has. One Notion is not a quasi socialist party (like the Old Country party), its roots are capitalist through and through. The party is interested in promoting the interests of National Capital before those of International capital because it believes you can only do business with home grown capitalists. The globalisation of the economy has broken the power base of many of Australia's capitalists. Today Australia's prominent economic players have both national and international interests. In order to win the next election, the Liberal/National Party will change its policies to accommodate One Notion. They will review the immigration mix, they will talk tough on law and order, they will dismantle multicultural elements of Australian society and they'll continue to put the boot into Indigenous people. They will not change their economic policies because they don't have the power to challenge home grown and overseas capital. Yes there will be a shift in government policies as a result of One Notion's electoral success in Queensland. Unfortunately that shift will bring more pain and suffering for those less able to cope. The big difference this time in comparison to One Notion's glorious 1950's dream time fantasy is that people who are disadvantaged by the realignment of political forces in this country in the 1990's will fight back. JOSEPH TOSCANO (Libertarian Workers for a Self-Managed Society). ANARCHIST PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED THIS WEEK Rebel Worker Vol 17, No.4 (153) June-July'98, PO Box 92, Broadway 2007, Sydney Australia Email rworker@chaos.apana.org.au DEBT ELIMINATION APPEAL - PUSH US OVER THE LINE Our debt stands at $855.90. We would like to eliminate this debt by June. Over the past two years we have been able to reduce our debt from over $3000.00 to a little over $800.00. If you've hesitated helping us overcome our debt because you didn't want to throw good money after bad, well you don't need to worry as we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. We need a little bit of extra help to push us over the line. So if you haven't helped before and want to help, make out cheques or money orders to Libertarian Workers and send it to L.W.S.S. PO Box 20 Parkville 3052 Melbourne, Australia. THANKS!! DEBT 23.6.98 - $855.90 VICTORIAN READERS LISTEN TO THE ANARCHIST WORLD THIS WEEK ANARCHIST WORLD THIS WEEK POSTER AVAILABLE FOR THE COST OF A FEW STAMPS Want to help us find new listeners for the Anarchist World This Week, then send us a few stamps to AWTW, Po Box 20, Parkville 3052, Australia and we'll send you out a colour poster (A3) for your use and a black & white poster you can photocopy and put up to help us increase the number of people who listen to the Anarchist World This Week. REGIONAL ANARCHIST FLAG 5 feet x 3 feet approximately 175cm x 110cm, Cost $25.00 (includes postage within Australia), $35.00 (Inc. postage air-mail overseas). The Black represents the International Anarchist Flag. The Black Flag negates all borders and all flags. The four stripes (red, green, yellow, blue) represent the dominant colours of the Aboriginal Flag (red and yellow) and the Torres Strait Islander Flag (green and blue). The red stripe represents the blood spilt during colonisation. The green represents the land. The yellow the sun. The blue the sea. Quotes available for larger and smaller flags and for bulk orders. Make out cheques and money orders to: LIBERTARIAN WORKERS PO Box 20, Parkville 3052 Melbourne Australia. A) ANARCHISM TOWARDS THE 21ST CENTURY B) TOWARDS AN ANARCHIST SOCIETY - Libertarian Workers for a Self-Managed Society Position and Activities 1998. Send $4.00 of stamps to L.W.S.S. PO Box 20 Parkville 3052 Melbourne Australia and we will post out both booklets to you. ANARCHIST AGE MONTHLY REVIEW BACK!! ISSUE NO.80 OF THE ANARCHIST AGE MONTHLY REVIEW WILL APPEAR IN EARLY JULY 1998 AFTER A TWELVE MONTH BREAK Subscribers to the AAMR have received complimentary copies of the AAWR during this period. AS WE DON'T WANT TO SUSPEND PUBLICATION IN THE FUTURE - ONLY SUBSCRIBERS WILL RECEIVE THE AAMR. NEW SUBSCRIPTION RATES:- * $48.00 - 12 issues WAGE EARNERS * $30.00 - 12 issues NON WAGE EARNERS. Please make out cheques and money orders to LIBERTARIAN WORKERS and post to PO Box 20, Parkville 3052 Melbourne. ANARCHIST MEDIA INSTITUTE OBSCENITY OF THE WEEK Has been awarded to Mr. 12.5% (plus expenses) Mr. David Ettridge, National Director for ONE NOTION - nice work if you can get it. If You Like What You Have Read, Photocopy This Publication and Leave It In Doctors, Dentists, Vets Waiting Rooms and In Railway Stations, Bus Stops, Libraries and Restaurants Etc. The articles in the Anarchist Age Weekly Review express the opinion of individuals within the Libertarian Workers for a Self-Managed Society/Anarchist Media Institute. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Libertarian Workers for a Self-Managed Society/Anarchist Media Institute. P U B L I C A T I O N S Anarchist Age Weekly Review - 4 pages of Anarchist commentary on Local, National and International events. $50.00 for 50 issues $10.00 for 10 issues Anarchist Age Monthly Review - Issue 80 out July 1998 $48.00 wage earners - 12 issues $30.00 non wage earners - 12 issues Make out cheques or money orders to: Libertarian Workers, PO Box 20, Parkville, 3052 Victoria Australia. All material in the Anarchist Age Weekly Review can be used by anarchists, anarchist collectives and non-profit organisations as long as the source of the material is mentioned in the article. The Anarchist Age Weekly Review reserves all rights as far as commercial publications are concerned. NEVER DOUBT THAT A SMALL GROUP OF THOUGHTFUL COMMITTED CITIZENS CAN CHANGE THE WORLD - MARGARET MEAD.

Number 304 15th - 21st June, 1998

IN A TIME OF UNIVERSAL DECEIT - TELLING THE TRUTH IS A REVOLUTIONARY ACT - GEORGE ORWELL

PAULINE HANSON'S ONE NOTION - A PARLIAMENTARY CUL DE SAC The impressive showing of the One Notion crowd in Saturday's Queensland election is a badly needed shot in the arm for the parliamentary process. One Notion has been able to do what neither major political party has been able to do - breath life into the parliamentary corpse. The single most important factor in parliamentary politics in the 1990's has been growing levels of disillusionment with the parliamentary process. The significant support for One Notion has given the parliamentary beast another chance. People actually now believe that they can change their circumstances by voting in elections. Instead of criticising the One Notion gains, the Liberal/National and Labor parties should be congratulating One Notion for herding people into yet another parliamentary cul de sac. Parliamentary democracy is an illusion, two minutes of illusory power. Anybody who thinks giving people blank cheques to make decisions for them for the next three years will somehow change their lives, is in for a rude awakening. Power does not lie in parliament, it lies in the boardrooms of both national and trans-national corporations. It won't take One Notion's supporters long to realise that the parliamentary road is filled with cul de sacs. If people want change they need to become involved in a movement that wants to replace parliamentary rule with a society based on direct democratic principles. Bashing Blacks and Asians, building tariff walls and forming a peoples' bank really won't help One Notion voters overcome their economic problems, let alone their feeling of alienation. Even if One Notion won the Federal election and held power in both Houses of Federal parliament, the framework they work under wouldn't be able to tackle let alone solve the problems that face Australians. The One Notion crowd shares the same legacy all parliamentary parties share, they herd their supporters into parliamentary cul de sacs. IT'S INEVITABLE What a joke, capitals apologists in the mass media are crying out that globalisation is inevitable. That economic irrationalism (they call it rationalism) is the only way forward. As they fight a rear guard battle with the protectionists in One Notion and the Labor Party, we're asked to swallow the myth that human beings can only organise their lives following capitalist principles. When I see the One Notion crowd tinkering at the edges of the economic irrationalists hem, I can't help but smile to myself. In a way capital's apologists in the mass media are right, you can't reform the beast. If you start tinkering at the edges you will find that you can't stop the beasts relentless progress. The only way to stop the process is by turning the picture on its head, take power from the hands of the beast and place it directly into the hands of the people not parliament. Nothing is inevitable. How we organise our lives, has more to do with our dreams, our aspirations and what chances we are willing to take to make those dreams and aspirations a reality than support for the status quo or reforms to the status quo. BORBIDGE & SHELDON TWO TIME LOSERS You really have to wonder about the sanity, let alone the political savvy of Queensland's two time losers Borbidge and Sheldon. In one of the most inept electoral displays this century, they shot themselves in both feet. Anybody could have told these intellectual giants that giving references to One Notion before the Labor Party would boost One Notions political stocks. One of the most opportunistic political gambles that it has been my misfortune to witness, badly backfired on these opportunists. Their preference allocation has helped One Notion, not only push Labor candidates out of office, they have also helped to push both Liberal and National Party candidates out of office. To compound their glorious losses, the National Party has had to rely on Labor Party preferences to hold many of their seats. The other big big loser in this sorry saga is Johnnie Howard himself. The man who hailed Pauline Hanson's maiden speech as "a victory for free speech" and "as the end of political correctness" has cleverly fallen on his own sword. The man who refused to attack Pauline Hanson's ideas because he as Prime Minister did not need to acknowledge her presence, has now found himself in the pathway of the One Notion brushfire. Howard, Borbidge and Sheldon have reaped what they have sown, discord, racism and hatred. WILL THE RANK AND FILE SWALLOW IT! It looks like the M.U.A., Patrick, the Federal Government and the Legal Eagles have stitched a deal that will allow the M.U.A. to retain its labour monopoly on the wharves in exchange for over 600 redundancies and the dropping of all legal actions on both sides of the dispute. Although the M.U.A. leadership seem to have struck a deal on behalf of the wharfies, they still need to take that deal back to the rank and file for ratification. Talking to some of Patrick's workers it seems that many of the rank and file are very unhappy about the extent of the voluntary redundancies and they're distressed about the dropping of the conspiracy case. The general feeling among Patrick's dock workers in Melbourne is that they want to continue the conspiracy case. They don't want to let Corrigan and Reith walk away from the dispute without paying the price for the pain and suffering they have put them through over the past four months. Sources within the M.U.A. have confirmed that they are concerned that the rank and file will reject the deal that they have stitched up on their behalf. As far as the workers are concerned they don't want to let go of Corrigan's balls. While they hold them in their hands, Corrigan and Reith will keep dancing. As soon as the legal threat is removed they are concerned Patrick will go back on their agreement and will finish the job properly next time. REQUIEM FOR 350 SCABS Sad, sad, sad. What else can you say about the fate of the National Farmers Federation wharf scabs. They were all fired on Tuesday. Their three year work place agreements not worth the paper they were written on. Listening to their tales of woe, I can't help thinking what else did they expect. As they walk meekly out of the gate of the National Farmers Federation Stevedoring arm they face a very bleak future. Looking at both groups it's obvious even to blind Freddy that the scabs individual contracts are useless. About the only legal tender on any job site is a workers ability to organise and collectively bargain. As the scabs slink off trying to make a new life for themselves, let's hope they remember that old adage, united we stand, divided we fall. HARRADINE WILL FOLD Senator Harradine is concerned, very concerned about the One Notion mob displacing him from his powerful veto position in the Senate. He is worried that a Federal election based on race will open the gates to One Notion. Tim Fisher and Johnnie Howard need a way out of their current dilemma. If they can get their 10 point Wik plan through the Senate they will be let off the hook as far as their call for a double dissolution is concerned. Over the last twenty four hours they have applied pressure on Harradine to let the legislation through the Senate, if he doesn't play ball, Howard will call a double dissolution, race based election sometime after July the 4th. If the legislation is passed before the 4th of July, Howard won't go to the polls till March April next year. AUSTRALIA SUMMIT The Australia summit is a little talkfest that's being held in Melbourne by the regions globalisation disciples. Representatives from the crumbling Asian economies are exchanging notes about the ramifications of the Asian economic collapse for Asia as well as the rest of the world. The surprise package in this little summit wasn't the East Timorese demonstrators who held up the delegates welcome dinner at Government House on Monday night, but the world Banks Asian representative. In a frank exchange of views if prattled on about the word - Depression. It seems in the World Banks opinion that a world wide depression is the most likely consequence of the current crisis. WORLD CRIMINAL COURT Life's strange. If you murder one person you're hounded, imprisoned or executed. If you murder a 100,000 you're a national hero. Mass murderers have thrived in every corner of the globe during the 20th century. There has never been an international world body that can bring the Pol Pots, The Idi Amins and the Suhartos of the world to trial for their actions. Pol Pot's death was a blessing in disguise for his United States allies. Idi Amin still lives under United States protection in Saudi Arabia. This week more than 150 United Nation members are meeting in Rome to dot the i's and cross the t's in their efforts to finalise a treaty, setting up on international court to ensure that perpetrators of genocide and crimes against humanity are brought to trial. On the very eve of the courts establishment, the United States, Russia and China have formed an alliance to reduce the courts proposed powers. They want to oppose the establishment of an independent prosecutor who is able to open criminal investigations based on information given by victims and their families. They only want nation states to be able to initiate proceedings. It will be interesting to see what happens over the next five weeks. Will the new International criminal court become an extension of the superpowers or will it be given the power to hunt down people who are accused of genocide irrespective of their nationality? JOSEPH TOSCANO (Libertarian Workers for a Self-Managed Society). ANARCHIST THOUGHTS ON LEARNING The wisdom of good teachers is that they let their pupils find them. A major task of the student is to seek out and find his or her teacher and often the process of the search is the true learning. How will we ever learn if someone else is determining what we learn? If we are forced to learn a particular skill, how will we know if it is the skill we are here to learn? Surely, part of our task in this existence is to learn what we need to learn. Nature is the classroom for learning about ourselves and our universe. Nature teaches us through all our senses simultaneously and requires that we use our whole brain and our whole being. Knowledge that is abstracted and disembodied from parts of our brain, and unconnected to our beings, may be useful for creating technology, but it will never move us to wisdom. Wisdom asks more of us. D. Edmond (Libertarian Workers for a Self-Managed Society). ANARCHIST QUESTION AND ANSWER (Question sent in by Michael from Spotswood, Melbourne) Q. As a student/musician am I counted as a worker? A. Is a worker somebody who is paid for their labour, or is it something else? When we talk about workers in the West we automatically assume it's someone in the paid work force. The word work can be defined as "something that is made or accomplished." A worker is somebody who makes something or accomplishes something. The anarchist definition of a worker is inclusive, not exclusive. Nobody would deny that a slave or a peasant is a worker. Neither is part of the paid work force but both work bloody hard. The same definition of who a worker is can be extended to students. Learning is hard work, if a student applies themselves to a topic, they will eventually accomplish something. Anybody who denies that an artist or a musician is a worker doesn't understand the skills that need to be learnt to be either. Over fifty percent of work that is performed in any Western community is not paid work. Does this mean that these people are not workers? If they stopped doing what they are doing the whole place would grind to a halt. Anarchists recognise both paid and unpaid work. They recognise that students are workers and that irrespective of whether people are self-employed, or paid by the state or the private sector, they are workers. The ultimate tragedy of capitalist economics is that over 70 percent of the population are excluded from the paid work force. People are productive, they want to achieve, it's a tragedy that young people are not part of the work force and that the skills and energies of elderly people are not used to enrich society. The people anarchists don't recognise as workers are those people that use other people's labour to enrich themselves. The very people that are lionised and amply rewarded in a capitalist society, speculators and employers, are not recognised as workers by anarchists. They may hold the purse strings, make the decisions, and shuffle the papers, but they are not workers. Although they benefit from workers' efforts, their speculative endeavours cannot be described as work. ACTION BOX - SNATCHING VICTORY FROM THE JAWS OF DEFEAT It's easy, very easy to become disheartened in this ever-changing world. Depression stalks all social and community activists. Years of work can amount to nothing. Circumstances can change everything. One moment you're on the cusp of victory, the next moment you find yourself in the valley of death. Sentiments and agenda's change, depression numbs your soul, before you're even aware of its tentacles. If you ever find yourself in this situation and most of us do more times than we care to remember, stop, listen, analyse, discuss. If I had a dollar for every person I've seen flirt with anarchism, I'd be able to retire. Sometimes you need to take a little time out to reflect, think, re-charge the batteries. A never ending round of activity chasing issues for the sake of chasing issues can leave you exhausted and vulnerable. Burnout is just as important a problem among social activists than it is among emergency workers. If you begin to feel isolated, angry, frustrated and think everybody is a redneck - stop. There's no point bashing your head against a brick wall. The brick wall will still be there if you stop. Unfortunately if you don't stop you may not be around to see it crumble. If you decide that you feel up to the task of recommencing where you left off, don't jump into the deep end, ease yourself back into your activities. Don't take on more than you think you can handle. Small groups tend to place unreasonable expectations on their members. We can only do what we can do. Sometimes it's best to ease back on your political commitments and live to fight another day. If you don't ease back you may find yourself sitting among the legions of burnt out activists who judge everybody else by their failures. Small groups can place unrealistic expectations on people, whether we as individuals and members of groups survive depends on our ability to pace ourselves and understand the frailties of our co-workers. If we don't make allowances for our different abilities and interests we run the very real risk of imploding. AUSTRALIAN ANARCHIST HISTORY WHITE AUSTRALIA POLICY THE SITUATION IN QUEENSLAND A Study in Black and White Those Australians who are dismayed by the 20% support in Queensland for Pauline Hanson's One Notion Party, only need to look at the history of Australian Federation to understand the pivotal role of the White Australia Policy. Where the competition between white labour and coloured labour was strongest, the vote for Federation and the White Australia Policy was strongest. Queensland only joined the Federation as a consequence of the White Australia Policy. North Western Queensland recorded a 93% vote in favour of Federation, Central Queensland 59%, Southern Queensland 49% and Brisbane 36%. Not only did the Federal Government in 1902 pass legislation implementing the White Australia Policy, they also passed legislation to deport Pacific Islanders who had been brought to Queensland to work on the canefields. Between the 13th October 1906 and early 1907, 3,642 Pacific Islanders, many who had lived in Queensland for decades, were deported back to the Islands. The British Imperial Government objected to the Australian governments openly racial policies because it endangered its treaties with China and other countries. To solve the problem, the Australian government introduced its infamous dictation test. AUSTRALIA'S LIE FOR BRITAIN'S SAKE "Tisn't the colour I object to: That's nothing, it's the spellin'." The Australian Labour Movement was at the forefront of the struggle to implement the White Australia Policy. The Industrial Workers of the World I.W.W. first formed in Australia in 1907, was the only section of the Australian Labour Movement that did not support the colour bar. The I.W.W. fanned the flames of discontent among all workers regardless of race, colour or creed. The I.W.W. recognised only one enemy, the employing class. BOOK REVIEW - THE FRIENDS OF DURRUTI GROUP 1937-1939, Author Agustin Guillamon, Translated by Paul Sharkey This 114 page book examines the role of the Friends of Durruti, a small group of militants from the Durruti column who were involved in the events of May 1937 - a civil war within a civil war on the streets of Barcelona. The Friends of Durruti were simultaneously embraced by the Trotskyist Movement and ostracised by the Spanish Anarcho-Syndicalist Movement. Reading the book gave me an insight into their goals and methods. By May 1937, the anarchists were on the retreat. The struggle for the Social Revolution had been replaced by the Civil War. The militia's had almost been incorporated into a regular army. The collectives had not reached their full potential. The Republican government had four Anarchist Ministers. The joy of the 19th July, 1936 had been replaced by a grinding civil war. The Friends of Durruti group witnessed first hand the evaporation of the anarchist victories. They questioned the Anarchist strategies of the C.N.T./F.A.I. they despaired that at the very moment the Anarchist Movement could have abolished the state, they resuscitated it. After fifty years of agitation and organisation the anarchist movement was not able to take the final step and abolish the state. The collectives became part of the state apparatus. Capitalism survived. Reading and re-reading this book I'm not convinced by the Friends of Durruti's assertion that May 1937 was a failure "because the workers failed to come up with a revolutionary leadership". I accept their criticism that the C.N.T./F.A.I. policies snatched defeat from the jaws of victory but not that revolutions are inherently authoritarian. Those readers who believe that "revolutions without theory fail to make progress" would benefit from reading this book. The Friends of Durruti Group 1937-1939. Published by AK Press1996 ISBN1873176-54-6 Thanks to Barricade Books for kindly providing the review copy of the Friends of Durruti Group 1936-1939. This book is available from Barricade Books for $13.20. Write or drop in to Barricade Books, 115 Sydney Road, Brunswick, 3056. Melbourne. Australia for their 1998 Book Catalogue. PERSONAL OBSERVATION I can't believe it, here I am lumbered with another one of those awkward human moments when you find yourself looking through a glass door wondering whether you should push it open and walk through, or hold it open and let the person on the other side walk through. Banks and post offices seem to be the main culprits. The great thing about self-opening doors is that you never have to worry about who goes through first. The door swings open and you just walk through, no embarrassing moments when you have to worry about the sensibilities of strangers. It's moments like these that I thank the deities for electricity. It doesn't solve my problem though, here I am, inside the post office, will I open the door and walk through, will I open the door and let him walk through, or will I let him open the door. A split second to make a decision. I catch a glimpse of the top of his turban as I place my hand on the handle and pull open the door. He mumbles something and shuffles on, another man holding onto his arm. It's not often you see men walking arm in arm in the streets of Bulleen. I don't think I've ever seen men walk arm in arm in Bulleen. His friend was fifty, maybe fifty five, he had a white pudgy face, the type you see in people who live indoors, a days growth on his chin, his eyes were shut tightly he was blind, he held his cane in his other hand. They negotiated the post office ropes, both carried out their transactions. When they were finished, the blind man latched onto the Sikh's arm. They renegotiated the post office ropes, opened the door, walked down the two steps and parted. When they reached the footpath, the blind man mumbled something before they went on their way. They weren't friends. The blind man needed help to enter the post office, he asked the Sikh for help, he obliged and led him in and out. Here I was debating in my own mind about whether I should open the door. While I pondered, my fellow human beings had overcome the inhibition of creed, colour and disability and helped each other to negotiate the intricacies of every day life. A stranger extended his arm to another stranger, no questions asked, need overcoming social and cultural inhibitions. STOP PRESS - PICK UP YOUR FEET!! It's very easy to put your head in the sand and ignore One Notion's success at the Queensland election. It's very easy to dismiss their electoral successes as a redneck victory. It's very easy to sit around the pub and bitch about the rednecks in Queensland. Although as anarchists we consider forays into parliamentary politics as almost next to useless, many, if not most Australians see parliamentary politics as their only option. One Notion's success is not a defeat for anarchists, it's a victory for anarchist ideas. One Notion may have been temporarily able to contain the disillusionment that is felt with parliamentary politics within the parliamentary process, but fortunately the drift of votes into a new political force in Australia opens up new possibilities for anarchist activists. How long will it take before the disillusioned voters who placed their hopes in the One Notion crowd see the illusory nature of their parliamentary successes? How long before people become disillusioned with parliamentary politics and begin the search for alternatives? Not very long if we pick up our feet and put our energies into the struggle to expose the illusory nature of parliamentary power. It would be a mistake for anarchist activists to view One Notion's success as a call to arms to throw our support behind the Greens, Democrats and Labor parties re-election plans for the next Federal election. Both our short term and long term agendas are different to the agendas of the political parties. We want to create a society that is based on direct democratic principles where everybody, irrespective of race, colour, creed, age and sex is able to participate in the decision making processes and participate in the task of creating and sharing wealth. The myths that surround the parliamentary process in Australia make it difficult for people to view any political activity outside the electoral process. One Notion's rise has driven the disillusioned back into the arms of the parliamentary system. We need to use the political space that has been created by One Notion's success to encourage people to leave the dead end parliamentary cul de sac created by One Notion and embrace direct democratic extra-parliamentary alternatives to the parliamentary process. JOSEPH TOSCANO (Libertarian Workers for a Self-Managed Society). ANARCHIST PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED THIS WEEK Abatalha No.168 April'98, Apartado 50085, 1702 Lisboa Codex, Portugal. A News January-�pril 1998, Anarchist Intervention/Anarchist Core, PO Box 30557, Athens 10033 Greece. Freedom Vol 59 No.11 6th June'98, 84b Whitechapel High St, London E17QX, Great Britain http://www.tao.ca/~freedom email Freedom Press at freedom@tao.ca L'Homme Libre No.156 July-Aug'98, B.P. 205 - 42005, Saint Etienne France. Le Libertaire No.185, 186 May/June'98, 25 Rue Dume-d'Aplemont, 76600 Le Havre France Tel 01 48414594. Le Monde Libertaire No.1126 4th-10th June'98, 145 Rue Amelot, 75011 Paris France, Tel 0148053408, Fax 0149299859. OTHER PUBLICATIONS RECEIVED THIS WEEK The Old Ensay School Bookshop, Ngarak Press, Great Alpine Road Ensay, Victoria Australia. Tel/Fax 03-51573228 email ngarak@Bigpond.com.au http:www.users.bigpond.com/ngarak visit their website for all current mail order booklists. Specialities Gippsland/The Australia Alps/Aborigines/Collectables. DEBT ELIMINATION APPEAL - PUSH US OVER THE LINE Our debt stands at $822.10. We would like to eliminate this debt by June. Over the past two years we have been able to reduce our debt from over $3000.00 to a little over $800.00. If you've hesitated helping us overcome our debt because you didn't want to throw good money after bad, well you don't need to worry as we can see the light at the end of the tunnel. We need a little bit of extra help to push us over the line. So if you haven't helped before and want to help, make out cheques or money orders to Libertarian Workers and send it to L.W.S.S. PO Box 20 Parkville 3052 Melbourne, Australia. THANKS!! DEBT 17.6.98 - $822.10 A) ANARCHISM TOWARDS THE 21ST CENTURY B) TOWARDS AN ANARCHIST SOCIETY - Libertarian Workers for a Self-Managed Society Position and Activities 1998. Send $4.00 of stamps to L.W.S.S. PO Box 20 Parkville 3052 Melbourne Australia and we will post out both booklets to you. ANARCHIST AGE MONTHLY REVIEW BACK!! ISSUE NO.80 OF THE ANARCHIST AGE MONTHLY REVIEW WILL APPEAR IN EARLY JULY 1998 AFTER A TWELVE MONTH BREAK Subscribers to the AAMR have received complimentary copies of the AAWR during this period. AS WE DON'T WANT TO SUSPEND PUBLICATION IN THE FUTURE - ONLY SUBSCRIBERS WILL RECEIVE THE AAMR. NEW SUBSCRIPTION RATES:- * $48.00 - 12 issues WAGE EARNERS * $30.00 - 12 issues NON WAGE EARNERS. Please make out cheques and money orders to LIBERTARIAN WORKERS and post to PO Box 20, Parkville 3052 Melbourne. ANARCHIST MEDIA INSTITUTE PUBLIC DISCUSSION MEETING WHY HAS THE ANARCHIST MOVEMENT MISSED THE BOAT? When: Thursday 25th June, 8.00pm Where: Ross House, 247 Flinders Lane (Near Swanston Street) Melbourne. ALL WELCOME - ANARRES BOOKSHOP WILL HAVE A BOOKSTALL ON THE EVENING NO WORLD ORDER - FUNDRAISER - TOWARDS 3CR RADIOTHON Film/Dinner Night - 1984 - Saturday 20th June 7.30pm at Barricade Books, 115 Sydney Road Brunswick (tram 19 from Elizabeth St, City), Melbourne. Cost $5.00 (Includes Vegan Meal) ANARCHIST MEDIA INSTITUTE OBSCENITY OF THE WEEK Has been awarded to all those Queensland voters who in their search for an alternative voted for One Notion - how long will it take people to realise that giving power to representatives is a dead end option. If You Like What You Have Read, Photocopy This Publication and Leave It In Doctors, Dentists, Vets Waiting Rooms and In Railway Stations, Bus Stops, Libraries and Restaurants Etc. The articles in the Anarchist Age Weekly Review express the opinion of individuals within the Libertarian Workers for a Self-Managed Society/Anarchist Media Institute. They do not necessarily reflect the opinions of The Libertarian Workers for a Self-Managed Society/Anarchist Media Institute. P U B L I C A T I O N S Anarchist Age Weekly Review - 4 pages of Anarchist commentary on Local, National and International events. $50.00 for 50 issues $10.00 for 10 issues Anarchist Age Monthly Review - Issue 80 out July 1998 $48.00 wage earners - 12 issues $30.00 non wage earners - 12 issues Make out cheques or money orders to: Libertarian Workers, PO Box 20, Parkville, 3052 Victoria Australia. All material in the Anarchist Age Weekly Review can be used by anarchists, anarchist collectives and non-profit organisations as long as the source of the material is mentioned in the article. The Anarchist Age Weekly Review reserves all rights as far as commercial publications are concerned. NEVER DOUBT THAT A SMALL GROUP OF THOUGHTFUL COMMITTED CITIZENS CAN CHANGE THE WORLD - MARGARET MEAD.