John Baker's tale ("When Opportunities Went Begging", GLW #221) of the squandering of so many left regroupment openings during the 1980s and early nineties begs a reply by those who do not share his analysis. I am not one of them.
The various episodes in this sad saga point to some key political lessons that many people within the Greens and the old organised left (if indeed it still exists, the jury is still out on that one) refuse to accept. Happy to traffic in their own skewed version of events, open debate and discussion about these times is abhorred while maligning gossip is given free rein and, in some instances, consciously cultivated within the tired old milieu that remains.
Indeed, more energy has been invested by these closet sectarians in trying to turn the Democratic Socialist Party into a pariah than advancing our shared struggle for the benefit of all. It is a sorry tale that I cannot recall without feelings of bitter disappointment.
Preferring the petty comfort of their familiar but dangerous liaisons with the corporate practices of the ALP, instead of confronting the difficult reality of the times, many of yesterday's key players are now historically irrelevant.
Amen to that. History should judge these has beens with the harshness they deserve.
In the meantime let us not be blinded into thinking that the recent past is no longer relevant to a genuine appreciation of what is needed today. Those who would ignore it are sure to relive it.
Dave Riley
Northgate Qld
Science and faith
Congratulations to Gerry Harant and to GLW on "The CPA revisited: what went wrong?" (GLW #224). It answers that rhetorical question in the simplest terms. It exactly follows my own experience in England from 1943 and observation in Australia since 1960.
Very clearly, it shows the dangers of faith in science, both orthodox and pseudo. We are safe in having faith in only those things which can never be proven. I quote a prime example of such things. "Everyone has a right, equal to my own, to go for a life of lesser alienation from all other people including me."
There is no way you can prove it. But without that faith, it's OK for you to exploit some, any or all other people on some pretext. Your grounds may be capitalism, "pure" "science", male chauvinism, national "socialism", white supremacy, "scientific" socialism, etc.
If we have the faith, we can start looking for things we can do that might bring some results. But we must always be testing the results against the goal. We must stop anything we do that cannot be clearly seen to move those affected towards the goal.
We must not fudge the figures to "prove" we are doing the right thing. This is too often done in orthodox science; more often still in political "science". Our theories must always stand or fall by their results. We must let no orthodoxy override what is seen by people caught up in our acts. We must seek their observations. We must listen to them without hostility. Even if they are at odds with our theory's conclusions. Even if our theory seemed to work well in earlier cases.
"Theory without practice is sterile; practice without theory is blind." My addition is "... theory and practice endanger our future unless both are checked back against faith". If only we'd had that slogan since 1917, where might we be now?
Ron Guignard
Brompton, SA
RTZ/CRA
The mining company CRA is in the news a great deal since the Federal election. The company is planning to open one uranium mine at the remote Rudall River community, and another near the NT/Qld border. It is intending to build the world's largest zinc mine on the Gulf of Carpentaria. It continues to proceed to lever our the union at Weipa. It has a seat on the Liberal Government's new Industrial Relations Committee. The renewed onslaught on the people of Bougainville, with Australian Government support, is, as Alexander Downer has clearly stated, for the purpose of reopening the CRA copper mine there.
These are just the moves that we're hearing about.
What is not coming through in the reporting is the fact that the company is actually RTZ/CRA, and that it's the world's biggest transnational mining company. The companies merged in December, but because this was a "merger" rather than a "takeover", it has allowed the continuation of the myth that CRA is an Australian company, rather than a megatransnational.
It also means that through the merger with Rio Tinto Zinc, CRA is an investor in the Freeport mine in West Papua, with a big stake in the expansion of that mine.
GLW readers might like to emphasise to the media, including GLW, the real name and nature of the company, so they do not continue to underplay a company that seems to be pulling most, if not all, of the Liberal government's strings.
Linda Kaucher
Sydney
Animal cruelty
Once again Animal Liberation was present at the [Darwin] Rodeo when there were injuries to animals. This was caused by the flank strap to two horses and two bullocks. The horses were the most badly injured and were in obvious discomfort. The animals were treated and removed from the arena at our request.
Very few people would have been aware of the injuries, and continued to enjoy the spectacular display in the arena. It is sad to see that so little concern for the welfare for the animals is shown by the paying public at the Rodeo.
We would advise people that they take a look from the sides of the chute areas where the animals can be observed. They would then see the animals prodded several times with the battery operated prodder. They also would see the pain and discomfort on the tightening of the flank strap. The animals do not buck without these artificial means of stimulation. It is the combination of the prodder and flank strap that goad the animals to enter the arena bucking and kicking in what looks like, to the unaware, a spectacular battle between man and beast.
It was a relief to see that there were no bobby calves used in the usual calf roping event this year. These small animals are usually much abused as they suffer the stress of travelling long distance and are then thrown bodily and roped in the ring in daily events.
G. Devon
Vice President, Northern Territory Animal Liberation
Population
It had to happen. A serving politician has made an intelligent statement on the environment.
ALP National President and MHR Barry Jones has been reported as criticising the previous government for not adopting a national population policy.
But why now? One of the faults of the ALP was the failure of its members to publicly criticise obnoxious policies like financial deregulation, the accord, privatisation and the export madness that has infected many community leaders, thus allowing the Keating clique to trample long-held Labor principles underfoot in the interests of big business.
The theory of continuous economic growth will not solve any of our social, economic and environmental problems.
Eventually, we will be forced by reality to recognise the inherent lunacy of increasing our population and stripping our nation of its finite natural resources for short-term gain.
Col Friel
Alawa NT