Charles W. Russell, Country Crisis (Brisbane, Australia; W. R. Smith & Paterson, 1976), pp. 384-89, ch. 31.

A summing up of the situation as it exists with the making of the point that the solution lies in the hands of an informed Country vote supporting one Anti-Labor Party. Maybe, the Workers Party.

Observing the vast development which has taken place in our major cities, and the continued drift of country people to city employment, some political commentators are saying that “the country is finished”. They point to the decline of rural population in other countries arising from the mechanisation of food production and the expansion of synthetic food and clothing manufacture. The “rat race” of the cities has become to them a way of life they are willing to accept despite its gross inefficiency, its destruction of health standards and its ever-increasing strain on the nervous system. I sometimes feel these country-haters would not survive away from the city smog. The clean air would kill them!

Undoubtedly urban populations have continued to grow, and many of the smaller country towns are facing extinction, but is this a situation we must necessarily accept? All the evidence points to the fact that very large cities including Sydney and Melbourne and major cities in the United States and Europe are becoming completely unmanageable. Millions of dollars are being poured into planning schemes, pollution control, transport services and other palliatives, but they are still choking to death through ever-increasing road traffic. As a nation, we simply cannot afford the huge loss of productive capacity resulting from the present traffic chaos. I have met business people in Sydney who spend at least four hours every day travelling to their offices and returning to their homes. They travel bumper to bumper in conditions which must become completely intolerable. Similar miles of traffic are encountered when they go out for weekend recreation. The cost of transporting goods under such conditions is enormous and, frequently, totally uneconomic.

Is this the way of life Australians wants for themselves and their children? Recent surveys have shown that it definitely is not. There is, in fact, a great longing on the part of most city dwellers to escape from the present urban nightmares. They are, however, prisoners of a distorted political and economic system which denies them the opportunity for a good life in country towns. The effect of present urban living on many young people is clear for all to see. They are unhealthy and unhappy.

There is no need in this country to perpetuate the asphalt jungles of city life. The important thing to be realised is that all this has come about as a result of government actions which interfere with the natural result of the operations of a free market economy. If the various government actions which I have referred to in this book had not taken place, the present situation would not exist.

Curiously enough this is little realised, least of all by country people themselves. The usual image of a subsidy-hungry farmer is completely inaccurate in that the operation of the taxation-tariff system is such as to ensure that the total amount of money withdrawn from rural areas by government is far greater than the highly visible subsidies which are returned. Perhaps the greatest failure of the Country Party is the inculcation of a subsidy mentality into the minds of country people.

The real conflict therefore is not between country and city people, but between incompetent and greedy politicians who for short term gain follow pork barrel policies to retain power, and the people both country and city whom they have so grievously misled. The Country Party was historically the first sectional party in a political sense, and the Whitlam A.L.P. Government learned its lessons well from the McEwen political method.

The only real long term solution is to end the meddling of government in the free-enterprise process. Decentralisation must be achieved, not just talked about.

Those who preach the doom of country living are not only defeatist, but destructive of everything needed for a healthy, meaningful and happy life. They are politically misguided. Whatever the position may be in other countries, political power still lies in the hands of the country people of Australia. Despite the much-publicised drift to the cities, they still number about four million of Australia’s total population of 13 million.

Strange as it may seem in light of what I have written about the Country Party, the key to Australia’s future is the voting power of those four million country people. Long ago, when the Country Party was first formed, I believed it was the answer to Australia’s political problems. However, many years of Country Party rule through its balance of power in government must have shown that the party is quite ineffective.

What we must work for now is a complete realignment of the political voting power. Of the 8.75 million urban dwellers about half vote for the A.L.P. and the other half for the Liberal Party. In the city electorates, they cancel each other out. Both parties have held government, and both have been responsible for the position in which we find ourselves today.

The issues are not only a choice between capitalism and socialism — between the left and the right — as we were once led to believe. The issue is also between balanced development and urban growth, and continued urban growth can only lead to disaster whichever way we look at it.

It seems to me that the immediate task must be one of improved communication among the four million country voters so that they can form a sound consensus of opinion. The technology and know-how are available to achieve this. In the past, country voters have been sadly ill-informed on matters affecting their welfare and have been kept divided by cleverly manipulated propaganda. The time has now come to make full use of the press, radio and television media to achieve united agreement and action on vital national issues. Unity must be sought with other groups to form a broad national political party which will contest all electorates in the cities and country. This was our concept when we attempted to form the Democratic Party but the concept may have come to soon. Now we are facing the dangers of continued inflation and isolation in an uncertain world, and the time may be ripe. If they are to save themselves, the country people of Australia must act quickly and ensure that this time they are led by men and women of ability and imagination. Political opportunists must be kept from position of authority.

The creation of a national party pledged to true balanced development will have little chance of success, however, unless there is an alteration of the constitution to permit men and women of special ability from outside Parliament to be selected as Ministers as in the United States. It is essential if we are to surmount the many grave difficulties which lie ahead that the best available talent in Australia is recruited for the executive arm of Government. The performance of some Ministers in past years has been tragic, to say the least. How can Federal and State Governments give inspired leadership to the public service if departments are in the hands of inexperienced and unqualified men?

To achieve these necessary reforms, the voices of country people must be heard throughout the nation. Country employers and country workers must get together in their mutual interests. The requirements will, I hope, be provided by a current move to enlist the aid of country newspapers and radio and television stations in all States. Television is of special importance now that it reaches more than 90 per cent of the rural population. Programmes must be tailored to provide a special service of factual information for country viewers. I have been glad to hear that the country media are co-operating.

The desperate need for such information has been indicated in talks with country people throughout Australia. While there are country men and women here and there who keep themselves closely informed by wide reading and inquiry, I have found a deplorable lack of knowledge of the causes of the present disastrous situation in which many primary producers and business people in country towns now find themselves, and of the even more critical situation which lies ahead. It is well-known that, in our democratic system, politicians rarely lead but usually follow public opinion. We have seen in the B.I.G. effort and F.I.D.O. and other campaigns what a few dedicated people can do to change the course of political history. Through lack of information and unity, country producers have not been heard adequately in regard to the European Common Market. It is not enough for politicians to make “representations”. The views of our seriously threatened farmers should be shouted from the roof tops!

For my own part, I see a lot of sense in the creation of a European economic bloc which will balance the great power of the United States and Soviet-aligned countries. At the same time, there are tremendous dangers in it. Our heritage and way of life are threatened. From the defence standpoint, Australia could be left in a perilous position. There is much talk of developing markets in Asia, but a lot of the speculation about the potential in these areas is grossly ill-informed. Japan and China will want our raw materials in ever increasing volume to create enormous industrial strength, but the end result could be dangerous if we are unable to develop our resources intelligently. I firmly believe in the principle of a Pacific “co-prosperity sphere”, despite the unpleasant taste left by the use of the phrase in World War II Japanese propaganda; but I believe it could be fatal to pin our faith on it. We should be global in outlook and develop markets in any country where the opportunity offers. However the best hope of peace is a policy of free trade rather than a selfish refusal to open our resources and our markets to our Northern neighbours.

Defence is a complex problem which will be made even more complex as the U.S. reduces its foreign commitments, whilst Britain’s interest is now concentrated wholly in Europe. In the present dangerous world of unpredictable alliances and events, Australia and New Zealand could be exposed to dangerous economic and possibly military pressures.

It must be borne in mind that a nation of only 14 million people possessing vast resources in raw materials and foodstuffs is inviting attack from powerful nations which desperately need such resources if it refuses to supply them. It is useless to plan for an improved political and economic situation in Australia without taking into consideration the needs of our neighbours. Apathy and lack of foresight in Canberra could land us in real trouble.

As indicated in this book, I firmly believe that our future well-being and safety in a changing world lies in the hands of four million country people. They have the political power and, I think, the duty to build a great national movement which will ensure balanced country and urban development and a way of life far more healthful and satisfying than that provided by continuing urbanisation. They must also bridge the widening gap between employers and the work force which is rapidly bringing chaos and contributing to a disastrous decline in the value of money.

Linked with sound elements in the existing political parties, a new and broader country-based political movement can bring to Australia a new era of prosperity, progress and happiness.

From time to time hopeful signs do emerge of such possible movements. One of the most recent, which I find difficult to fault, is the Workers Party. Its policies of freedom, free enterprise and free trade are completely in line with the requirements of a vigorous and dynamic society such as Australia should be. It is refreshing to hear that they realise that socialism, whilst often preached by the Labor Party, is unwittingly practised by that party’s opponents.

The party may not succeed, although it shows a professionalism which is seldom found in small parties. However, it exemplifies the hope of all Australians of freedom, of prosperity, and of strength as a nation and self respect as individuals. All is not hopeless — all this is required is the will to make our country all these things.