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Letters to the Editor:

Here we go again!

I read your front-page article last week on the Howard 
Government's racist new welfare laws in absolute horror. Here we 
go again! The whole work-for-the-dole thing was tried out on the 
Aboriginal community first before being imposed on the rest of 
us. Now the next step in this control freak agenda is being 
mapped out. "Smart cards" to enable Centrelink to quickly deduct 
some or all of a person's pathetic "benefit" and even to set 
limits on what they buy. What next? The spirit of Maralinga lives 
on in this Government.

All this intrusion is said to be designed to overcome "passive 
welfare". I reckon the plan is to get a whole section of the 
population to become a totally powerless, utterly passive source 
of very cheap labour so that the Government can skimp even more 
on its responsibilities to the community.

I'm sure the advertising campaigns won't portray it like that. I 
notice terms like "self-reliance" and "shared responsibility 
agreements" are already being bandied around. Who is getting paid 
to come up with these weasel words?

The idea of trialling this stuff on Aboriginal communities is 
really sinister and must have been designed to ensure that it 
takes hold with the least resistance possible. With isolated 
communities living on extremely limited incomes there's the 
chance to impose "collective responsibility" on them. Non-
compliance by an individual or a number of individuals can be 
punished by denying services or benefits to a whole group. Then 
there's an opportunity to set the majority of the population 
against "offending" persons and get the oppressed to enforce 
their own oppression.

Howard makes me sick the way he pretends that sections of the 
Aboriginal community support this recycled paternalism. It's 
obvious that he hasn't got any such support — that "comments 
from Noel Pearson" line he uses to cover his racism is getting so 
old it's got whiskers.

This latest attack on people already lacking in the basics 
necessary for a healthy and comfortable life must be nipped in 
the bud. Good on The National Indigenous Times for making it 
public and alerting us all to the sorts of schemes that are being 
hatched behind closed doors in the Howard ministry.

Laurie Wright
Lismore, NSW

I must admit I haven't been following the Ukrainian 
presidential election campaign closely. With all else that is 
happening in the world at the moment it falls a little out of my 
sphere of interest.

There was one small detail I picked up from scanning the press 
over recent weeks: the opposition candidate, Victor Yushchenko, 
has promised to withdraw Ukrainian troops from Iraq, if elected.

So, as the US finds itself ever farther from its goal of complete 
domination of Iraq, it is also finding that it has fewer and 
fewer friends fighting alongside it.

The Spanish people succeeded in having their troops withdrawn by 
a method at which the Australians and Americans have subsequently 
failed — at a general election.

The otherwise popular Aznar Government was brought down at the 
ballot box by a single issue — Spain's involvement in the "War 
on terror".

The Philippine troops have long gone.

The Hungarians announced three weeks ago that all their troops 
would be withdrawn by the end of March.

The Polish Government has announced it will also begin troop 
withdrawals in January after the election, with the Prime 
Minister stating that the remainder of the troops will "not 
remain in Iraq an hour longer than necessary".

So we must ask: what impact will those troop withdrawals have on 
Australia?

Firstly, while our demonstrations against the war have failed so 
far, we must not forget that public pressure is the most valuable 
tool we have.

Even the slavishly pro-US government of Gloria Arroyo in the 
Philippines was forced to cave in to public pressure and withdraw 
its troops.

Secondly, the occupation forces are struggling to just hold 
ground in Iraq. As the "Coalition of the willing" dwindles it 
will put increased pressure on those remaining to supplement 
their numbers.

Tony Blair announced last week that the UK would be increasing 
the size of its contingent; the United States will no doubt make 
a similar announcement soon.

Even if so far we have been unable to have Australian troops 
withdrawn from Iraq, we must prevent more troops from going over!

Friends, we must not let John Howard's victory dampen our resolve 
on Iraq. We must find new energy and reinvigorate the campaign 
for peace.

These facts remain unchanged: the war was wrong, the occupation 
is wrong, our leaders lied and the bodies are piling up.

BRING THE TROOPS HOME!

Andrew Jackson
Sydney, NSW

Remembrance Day and John Howard says "we can never repay the 
debt we owe" to our soldiers etc who went to war.

Well, World War I? No problems, there is five left, so it's going 
to cost nothing.

World War II? More than half are gone, and Howard's Government 
has legislated (1999) to deny the medical benefit health gold 
card to all who served. Korea, Malaya, Vietnam, there's at least 
one suicide a week.

John Howard is on record saying you can't "do anything" about 
suicide. Debt? Just another splash of rhetoric for the big 
occasion, Mr Prime Minister?

Denis Kevans
Wentworth Falls, NSW