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Letters to the Editor:

The significance of Eureka

The Eureka Stockade of 150 years ago has been touted by some 
commentators as the beginning in Australia of the concept of a 
"fair go". This is nonsense.

The Eureka Stockade was a rebellion against police oppression and 
harassment and for "no taxation without representation". At that 
time there were only British colonial administrations in each 
state of Australia. No elected parliament and no adult franchise, 
not even male adult franchise.

The Stockade was in a sense Australia's democratic revolution. 
After the Eureka Stockade male adult franchise was achieved and 
later this was extended to women as well. British colonial 
administrations survived for another 50 years to be finally 
replaced by Federation and the election of a Federal parliament 
in 1901. This started the process to end British colonial 
control.

In some other countries these issues were fought out in civil 
wars and wars for national liberation. The fact that neither 
civil war nor an armed national liberation struggle took place in 
Australia (apart from the Stockade) does not detract from their 
political significance.

As with many other former colonial countries full national 
independence has not yet been achieved. We have only to look at 
Howard's slavish relationship with the US and the fact that our 
economy is tied up and largely controlled by foreign 
transnational corporations.

The idea that these events were nothing more than a struggle for 
a "fair go" is to belittle and smother their real significance. 
The idea of a "fair go" contains within it an acceptance of the 
existing situation and that all that is needed is a few peanuts. 
Peanuts are for monkeys as the saying goes!

Bruce Gillman
Sydney, NSW

The hullabaloo about Sydney not being tricked up for 
Christmas, mainly stirred up by the gutter media, is another 
example of the right organising against what they call "political 
correctness". The Mayor of Sydney, Clover Moore, has had to come 
out and deny saying that the city would not be overtly marking 
Christmas because we live in a secular and multicultural 
society.

The howls from the right demanding a Christmas celebration to 
outdo the rest of the Christian world (presumably meaning 
America, the land of commercialised Christmas) were not an 
uncoordinated barking but a carefully orchestrated chorus.

Indeed the mayor pointed out that spending on Christmas hoo ha 
such as fireworks and carol singing and so on, had increased this 
year. What the rightward chorus demonstrates is that we as a 
society have become less tolerant to views that diverge from what 
is considered the norm.

Recall the statement by boxer and Aboriginal activist Tony 
Mundine a few years back when he said that the attacks on the US 
in 2001 were a result of that country's belligerent foreign 
policies, some which deliberately target Islam. The right jumped 
all over him.

Now it's come down to something as inconsequential as Christmas, 
the meaning of which has anyhow long since been killed off 
through a massive corporate takeover.

The real political correctness police are those, such John Howard 
and NSW Premier Bob Carr, who are setting the agenda on "values" 
that they claim define us as a people. These values are tied very 
closing to Christian fundamentalism.

Included also is the militarisation of society, so we have seen 
the concerted promotion of Anzac Day.

We are reaching the point where there is to be no questioning, no 
criticism, of such values lest you be branded unpatriotic.

Marcus Browning
Sydney, NSW