Issue No 106 | 10 August 2001 | |
Letters to the EditorLeft Right Out
The debate over the Third Way continues in Australia, with Mark Latham's latest book "What Did You Learn Today?". The reception of this book, along with "The Enabling State", was appropriate for a traditional Left wing ideology that continues to be sidelined. The Old Left in the Labor Party, especially the Ferguson clan, continues to berate people such as Latham, claiming that Latham is playing both sides of the political fence. This only suggests that such critics are in total denial of their ideological shortcomings. It is about time that people recognised the value of voluntary welfare work, and the private-public partnerships that can make a real difference to alleviating poverty. It is true that Church organisations can drive the welfare dollar much further than the traditional Government department. Unfortunately, instead of trying to save the welfare sector by creating a sense of community in poor areas, the traditional left bags any private involvement in poverty alleviation. The Left is continuing to advocate the failures of Government departments. The fact is, poverty programmes of the old "big government" kind do not work. They do not work because the only way to lift living standards is to lift productivity. The best way to do that is by encouraging private initiative and savings among poor people, rather than throwing money at problems that don't go away. Government is best used as a facilitator for community work, rather as an active agent that is usually out of touch. I would like to see the usual critics of any original thought put more emphasis on relevant responses to new ideas, instead of brushing off good ideas and calling for more government programmes that won't work. Steve Edwards
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Interview: In Exile Burmese's government in exile's Minister for Justice U Thein Oo talks about a struggle for democracy that has become a test of international solidarity. Politics: A National Disgrace Labor's IR spokesman Arch Bevis gives his take on the workers entitlements issue and its mismanagement by the Howard Government. E-Change: 2.2 The Information Organisation Peter Lewis and Michael Gadiel look at how network technologies will change the way organizations operate in the Information Age. Media: The Fine Print Mark Hebblewhite looks at how the major dailies handled the Tri-Star dispute and finds that the story really does depend on the telling. Human Rights: A People Besieged Labor MLC Janelle Saffin, an active supporter of the pro-Democracy movement in Burma, sets out the issues behind the ILO sanctions. International: Postcard From Brazil The CFMEU�s Phil Davey reports on a rural movement that puts our National Farmers Federation to shame. History: Indonesia Calling They needed no resolutions. Soldiers and workers who did not know one another moved together, the black ban started to reach out across the harbour from the noisy, smoke-filled room. Solidarity: On the Frontline Australian trade unionists are providing practical help for the Burmese through projects funded by APHEDA-Union Aid Abroad. Satire: Skase 'Too Ill' to Fly Home for Burial Spanish authorities have deemed Christopher Skase too ill to return to Australia for his own funeral. Review: Living Silence In these extracts from her new book, Christina Fink goes inside Burma to find a world where military repression is slowly crushing a people.
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