Editorial:

Blatant vote buying

The Howard Government, notorious for its lies about the Iraq 
war, has extended its immorality to every aspect of its domestic 
policy making as well. Faced with widespread criticism and 
opposition, it has launched an unprecedented propaganda campaign 
to boost its stocks and win votes. It is using hundreds of 
millions of dollars of taxpayers' money for the direct benefit of 
the Liberal Party. The TV and newspaper advertisements range from 
its "anti-terror" campaign to its so-called energy, health and 
water policies.

In what must be the height of cynicism it ran an advertisement in 
The Daily Telegraph headed "ATTENTION employees in the 
building and construction industry" inviting workers in the 
industry to phone up WageLine to ascertain whether they are 
receiving their correct entitlements.

The ads were inserted by the Department of Employment and 
Workplace Relations and come from the same government that has 
attempted in every way to encourage employers to attacks workers' 
wages and conditions. It has levelled its most serious attacks 
and ferocious anti-union laws on building industry workers and 
their union — the CFMEU.

Perhaps the sting is in the tail of the advertisement about 
workers' entitlements. At the same time it invites readers to 
contact the Building Industry Taskforce to report "unlawful 
behaviour" in the building and construction industry! In the 
Government's view "unlawful behaviour" relates most specifically 
to militant trade unionism, not the criminal behaviour of 
employers.

For some time the Government has been circulating another piece 
of blatant and lying propaganda called "Strengthening Medicare", 
when its intentions are the direct opposite. It presents the 
establishment of a "safety net" as an advance and a good reform 
whereas a fully-funded Medicare has no need of a safety net.

The Government's energy policy is another scandalous sham. Far 
from leading to a lessening of pollution caused by carbon gas 
emissions when coal and oil are burned it will substantially 
increase emissions. It has lowered the excise duty paid on these 
fuels. Already the NSW State Labor Government has decided to buy 
a new fleet of buses — all diesel powered. The reason: because 
the excise on diesel fuel has been lowered.

This policy decision has a direct political objective — to win 
the votes of farmers in marginal country electorates. It has 
nothing to do with the protection of the environment or reducing 
the danger of global warming. If farmers fall for this blatant 
vote buying the long-term consequences for them may well be the 
prolongation of drought conditions which have already had 
devastating consequences in the last few years.

Consistent with the government's attempts to militarise 
Australian society, Howard and other Liberal Party candidates are 
continually posing with Australian troops in "photo-ops" for the 
media. Howard is using the armed forces to achieve his political 
objectives — such as the war in Iraq and in the Solomon Islands. 
His aim is to turn the armed forces into a political arm of the 
Liberal Party.

Then there is the policy being trumpeted regarding water. It is a 
policy that has also unfortunately been subscribed to by State 
Labor Party governments. It can only have been agreed to by 
environmental illiterates. In effect, the agreement privatises 
water and will inevitably bring with it massive corruption in the 
buying and selling of water rights. But it will not add anything 
to the cleaning up of Australia's few rivers and its severely 
limited water resources.

On another front Howard is attempting to impose his conservative 
and authoritarian outlook by forcing schools to provide a 
flagpole and to "salute" the flag on pain of being deprived on 
school funding for other purposes.

Even the president of the RSL, Major-General Bill Crews favoured 
encouragement and persuasion rather than linking it with a threat 
to withhold funding.

This flood of Liberal Party policies and the use of millions of 
dollars of taxpayers' money to win votes for the Liberal Party 
indicates desperation as Howard and his mentor George Bush 
continue to face massive rejection of their war policies and 
their attacks on everything progressive that has ever been won by 
the people of their countries.

There is only one answer — Out with the Howard Government!