Viv Forbes, “At a loss,”
The Australian, October 12, 1978, p. 6, as a letter to the editor.

The Labor Party must be bereft of ideas if it has to consider additional nationalisation as one of its economic options (5/10).

What do their politicians do on their overseas trips? I suggest they go to Indonesia and ask about Pertamina, the State oil conglomerate, whose losses are over $6000 million. In the U.S. they should travel on Amtrak, the State railroad, which loses about $400 million annually.

When next in Britain they could look over the National Coal Board where subsidies total $700 million on top of forgiven loans of over $1300 million.

Or drop in on British Steel which loses over $2 million a day. Or visit the Italian Post Office, which loses everything, including the mail.

Next sabbatical maybe their academics could drop in on British Airways and Air France to look over their flying lemons — the five Concordes costing $80 million each that no private airline in the world will buy.

Or speak to British Leyland, or Crown Agents … The list is endless, while there is a taxpayer left to foot the bill.

The Labor Party prides itself on being the party of reform. The reform of the ’80s will be the privatisation of the feather-bedded government sector, not more nationalisation. Unless the A.L.P. recognises this trend it will join the conservatives in opposition to the new reform movement of the next decade.

V. R. FORBES
Secretary
Queensland Progress Party

*****
Viv Forbes, “The ultimate,”
The Australian, October 20, 1978, p. 6, as a letter to the editor.

So Mr Kelton believes that the Berlin Wall is no more significant than a home owner’s fence (11/10).

Has he forgotten that a suburban fence is there to keep intruders from breaking in. It is not patrolled by armed guards ordered to shoot the owner if he tries to get out.

No, Mr Kelton, the Wall is not a friendly suburban fence. It is the grim wall of a prison. You have only to look at the flow of escapees to decide whether the inhabitants consider it a home, or a jail. I have yet to hear of people being shot while trying to get into East Berlin.

It is not surprising that there is order and security behind the Wall — this is characteristic of every well-run jail in the world.

There is also little decadence or destitution in a society with no freedom to make moral judgements, or to fail. Neither is there variety or prosperity.

To call such a society a “democratic republic” must surely be the ultimate obscenity of the 20th century.

V. R. FORBES
Indooroopilly, Queensland

*****
Viv Forbes, “Barriers,”
The Australian, November 14, 1978, p. 8, as a letter to the editor.

It seems incredible that, at a time when all industries are seeking new export markets, Mr Anthony is setting up more barriers to mineral exports (27/10).

There is nothing the Government can do to change the fact that world demand for many minerals has slumped considerably. Australian producers will be forced to cut prices, or cut tonnage. This decision should be left to producers, either individually or in voluntary consultation.

If Canberra tries to act as if Australia has a monopoly on some of the commonest minerals in the world, we can look forward to heavy loss of sales and closure of mining projects around Australia. There will be no cut in price, of course, but nothing will be sold at that price.

The strength of Australian exporters depends on three factors — the price they offer, their reliability as suppliers, and the quality of ore.

None of these can be improved by misdirected blasts of hot-air from Canberra. In fact, any suggestion of more bureaucratic guidelines must affect Australia’s competitive strength in both price and reliability.

If the Japanese need evidence of government reliability they have only to look at the ban on gas exports, the quotas on tin production, the interference in oil pricing, the tax on coal exports, the disaster of zircon price control, the Fraser Island shut-down, the interference with the north-west project and the incredible delays and confusion concerning uranium development.

If Australia is to cope with the difficulties of a changing world, it needs to utilise all of the knowledge and skills we possess. Surely no one believes these are exclusively concentrated in Canberra.

VIC FORBES [sic]
Secretary, Progress Party
Indooroopilly, Qld