Write on: Letters to the editor

Constitutional Convention

While the left should vote for candidates who stand for progressive changes to the constitution, the coming constitutional convention is no great opportunity to bring about any meaningful change.

Half the delegates have been appointed by the government and the changes discussed are totally superficial — which is why many people will correctly treat it as an expensive charade. Its practical purpose will be to narrow any options that may eventually be put to the public in a referendum

The narrow range of differences between the prominent republicans and the monarchists reflects the fact that Australia is already effectively an independent republic.

The current "republic debate" was fundamentally a political diversion created by the former Keating Labor government to try and shift public attention away from its reactionary neo-liberal economic agenda. Labor is no more interested than the Liberals in democratising the constitution.

If Labor and the Australian Republican Movement (ARM) were interested in democratising the constitution they would campaign for the inclusion of a bill of rights, the limitation of executive powers to wage war and weaken democratic rights, and for all officials (civil, military and judicial) to be popularly elected.

Instead Paul Keating says that we would be "out of our minds" even to have a popularly elected president!

The recent overture to the ARM by monarchist Liberal MP Tony Abbot to redefine the governor-general as Australia's head of state and president, only shows that some Liberals see some value in Keating's republican diversion. While the constitutional convention circus goes on, federal and state governments continue with their attacks on our social and political rights.

Sue Bull
Democratic Socialist candidate for the ACT elections

HIV/AIDS

Thank you for your coverage of the launch of the report [into the access of people living with HIV/AIDS to Home and Community Care serves] and the problems we have been having with the minister, Ron Dyer.

It has proved difficult to get coverage of the issue in the media as many people seem to believe that the HIV/AIDS epidemic is all over bar the shouting in Australia because of the new drugs combinations that are extending many lives. Unfortunately, they are not working for everyone and many (60% of all HIV positive people) are not accessing any treatment.

We are addressing one of the main HIV/AIDS complications — poverty. There are many people who are living very isolated, poor lives with a life-threatening illness. Poverty shortens potential lifespan and is as important to address for many people as access to treatments.

This report has found many practical ways in which poverty can begin to be addressed. Unlike the myth there are not many services available to HIV positive people. Additionally, many of these services have been created by the community, because of the terrible experiences which many HIV positive people have had with the government's services such as Home and Community Care — this despite them paying their taxes prior to becoming sick.

Please note that a full copy of the report is available on the web at the following address: <>.

Paul Canning
Access and Equity Steering Committee—PRIDE
Sydney Gay and Lesbian Community Centre Ltd.

Unemployment and superannuation

Faced with substantial unemployment of about one million and likely to grow with the introduction of new machinery, one constantly wonders about solutions.

Several ideas come to mind: a shorter working week with tax adjustment to ensure that ordinary workers are no worse off; tax on new machinery to help unemployed people get training for such machines; and a large proportion of super money, say 80%, being used for the purchase of public utilities such as water board, electricity companies, Telstra, new airports, hospitals, retirement homes — all of which are essential to the people of Australia. They would be triple "A" investments. Or government could guarantee super funds and undertake to pay a reasonable return, say 6-7% to super investors.

It means providing great opportunities for work, and training for workers. There is plenty of work to be done and with super, a new approach should be very effective in cutting foreign debt.

Jean Hale
Balmain NSW

Beijing Olympics

A majority of Australians would agree to forego the Sydney Olympics if by doing so China could be persuaded to exit the trade on landmines. China just missed out on hosting the Olympics. We could offer the games on the understanding that no country staying involved in the trade — including the United States and North and South Korea — would participate.

Beijing 2000 would be Australia's gift to the Korean people, beginning the demilitarisation of the peninsular. The idea should come out of the left. Australians — including Aboriginal Australians — will give their support.

Nelson Underdown
Adelaide

Ewan MacColl

The article about Ewan MacColl which appeared in GLW #290 — author Al McCall — contains many inaccuracies, chief of which are the two following:

1. George Bernard Shaw never said, "Apart from myself, Ewan MacColl is the best living playwright in Britain". This was the invention of one of MacColl's followers. I wrote to G.B.S. to apologise. He replied, "I have never heard of MacColl, but he is welcome to the forged testimonial".

2. Theatre Workshop never "defected to the West End". Four productions were exported there to sustain our work at Stratford, London, E.15, which only ceased with the death of Gerry Raffles in 1975.

Joan Littlewood—Co-founder of Theatre Workshop in 1945