Editorial:

Costello's agenda for our neighbours

Last week the Treasurer Peter Costello made a telling speech 
to the Australian Council for International Development about 
"The Challenge of Poverty Reduction". The Development Council was 
formerly called the Australian Council for Overseas Aid. The 
change of name is no accident and reflects the changed priorities 
of the Australian Government in its economic and political 
relations with overseas countries, particularly the former 
colonial countries of the Pacific and elsewhere.

Costello claims that the aim is "poverty reduction". Of course, 
the past years of colonialism and the policies pursued by the 
former colonial owners since the winning of "independence" by 
these colonies is not mentioned. This is the major cause of the 
existing poverty and social break-down.

Costello's recipe to "develop" these countries is nothing but the 
imposition of capitalist economic and political policies. He says 
that the governments of our neighbours need to "encourage 
domestic savings and investment; independent and robust public 
institutions; domestic political stability; and the rule of law 
to protect property rights and allow contracts to be enforced 
predictably and economically".

For Costello the rule of law is about protecting private property 
rights. It does not include the right to work; the right to 
participate in government; the right to an education, health 
services and housing; Indigenous rights; or the equality of 
women.

He claims that "Within the West, property rights, in particular 
individual ownership, underpin the economic growth and standard 
of living we have today." And the reason why the poor are poor is 
because "houses are built on land without formal title, 
unincorporated businesses have undefined liability and cannot 
borrow to finance growth, industries are hidden in the informal 
sector where investors and financial institutions cannot see them 
or safely lend to them." Costello rails against "traditional 
practices, especially in relation to authority structures, land 
ownership and land use".

This is the policy prescription coming from the Australian 
Government which is to be imposed on our neighbours. The 
Australian military and police forces are sent in to first bring 
"law and order" to the target countries. Then Australia sends in 
experts to take over management of the economy, customs, borders, 
legal and other strategic areas of government and the justice 
system. One objective is "public sector reform" which is merely a 
cover for the imposition of privatisation.

We are told that there are already 15 senior Treasury staff 
working in Papua New Guinea (PNG), the Solomon Islands and Nauru.

Costello has nothing to say about PNG's past experiences with the 
big corporations such as BHP of Ok Tedi infamy. BHP thieved the 
land from the indigenous land-owners and polluted the Fly River. 
Foreign-owned timber companies have devastated large forest areas 
in PNG and the Solomon Islands. Australian and other corporations 
and "developers" extracted the wealth, dislocated villagers, 
poisoned food and water sources and left the people poverty 
stricken.

Costello points to East Asia — "which is principally China" — 
attributing economic growth there to "opening the economy, trade 
liberalisation and moving to a market economy". What Costello 
conveniently ignores is that the economies of China and Vietnam, 
who have among the highest rates of development in the world, are 
"socialist market economies".

Furthermore, the other countries of East Asia such as Thailand, 
Malaysia and Singapore, although retaining capitalist economies, 
have established a high degree of political independence from 
imperialism and Costello would not dare attempt to tell them how 
they should construct their economies and political systems.

The comments on Australia's foreign policies by well-known 
journalist Paul Kelly, whose views were published by the right-
wing Centre for Independent Studies, should be listened to by 
Peter Costello and others. Kelly writes that "the Keating 
Government was immoral and the Howard Government is more immoral. 
Howard's offence is deeper: it is the absence of any moral 
conscience in his pursuit of objectives from East Timor's 
independence to border protection to his alliance with President 
Bush in the co-called war against terror".

Kelly draws the conclusion that Australia's "relative power is in 
decline" relative to Asian countries and gives figures to confirm 
it.

Costello's lectures to our near neighbours and the imposition of 
policies in the interests of the capitalist ruling class of 
Australia are bound to fail and will lead to Australia's 
increasing isolation.