Advancing economic progress and peace

The Australian Alert Service is the weekly publication of the Australian Citizens Party.

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Lead Editorial

14 September 2022
Vol. 24 No. 37

Last week the Citizens Party achieved amazing progress on both issues on which it is the leading force in Australian politics: establishing a public postal bank for economic progress and prosperity; and averting war.

The 7 September forum in Parliament House on a post office people’s bank (pp. 3-6) was a brilliant success. Combined with the week of meetings held with individual politicians, including government ministers, the forum was a live demonstration of the growing support, even demand, for a return to public banking to break the stranglehold of the Big Four private banking oligopoly.

Former New Zealand Cabinet Minister Matt Robson, who was the Citizens Party’s featured guest for the week of meetings and the forum, concluded from what he saw that Australia is well on the way to winning the bank.

The meetings were universally positive—none of the politicians needed any convincing that there is a serious economic problem to solve, and that the postal bank is a winwin solution.

One very prominent major party politician pledged firm support to help make the bank happen.

The experience of the week showed that the tide of neoliberal ascendency, often expressed as “government should not be involved in banking”, is well and truly on its way out.

Australia has a real chance to achieve a public bank that the public will take ownership of, ensuring politicians won’t be game to try to privatise it, which Matt Robson reported has been NZ’s experience.

Peace through cooperation

As Matt Robson is a former Associate Foreign Minister of NZ, he and Citizens Party Research Director Robert Barwick also had a number of meetings with Embassies in Canberra.

Most significantly, they were invited to dinner with China’s Ambassador to Australia, Mr Xiao Qian, who has been the subject of intense media scrutiny in recent weeks.

The discussion revolved around how to improve relations between the three countries represented, especially the Australia-China relationship; the Ambassador made it very clear that China wants to be friends with Australia, and wants to advance the relationship.

Unlike the way the Ambassador was treated by the media at the National Press Club in August, and by Sarah Ferguson on ABC 7.30 on 6 September, the dinner discussion was a respectful airing of views in which the participants listened to what each other had to say.

Given the nature of the anti-China reporting in the media, most Australians would be very surprised to hear that the Ambassador was most interested in talking about how China could cooperate with Australian on economic development.

Mr Xiao’s previous diplomatic posting was Ambassador to Indonesia for four years, where he personally helped complete Indonesia’s high-speed rail pilot project, built in cooperation with China, from Jakarta to Bandung.

With more than 36,000 kilometres of high-speed rail built since 2008, China has some of the best expertise in the world, and stands ready to cooperate with Australia on its development plans.

The Ambassador was also enthusiastic about Australia developing our own battery and electric vehicle manufacturing, taking advantage of our immense reserves of lithium to manufacture domestically, instead of outsourcing overseas.

Yes, you read that right: China is encouraging Australia to manufacture for itself!

Such dialogue advances the cause of peace, and promotes economic development; unfortunately, in Australia only the Citizens Party is courageous enough to go against the warmongers to have such meetings, but it is our responsibility to lead on this issue, so we avert a war of annihilation and establish for future generations a basis for peace and prosperity

In this issue:

• Get behind the momentum for a public post office bank!
• Strathfield Council Meeting 6 September 2022
• Parliamentary forum makes case for public postal bank
• OHCHR China report: a propaganda set-piece with more holes than substance
• Massive secret network revealed to be pushing western narrative
• The birth of the ‘democracy’ and ‘rule of law’ swindle
• Will Europe’s energy crisis trigger the next crash?
• How to finance critical infrastructure
• Canberra gets the postal bank message
• The disturbing irony of Charles being proclaimed King on the anniversary of 9/11
• ALMANAC: Delusion and the road to dictatorship - Part I

Click here for the archive of previous issues of the Australian Alert Service