Contents EdHorial
RETROSPECTIVE TAX IAN COOK goes to the bottom of the harbour to
dredge up Fraser's tax problems
ARCHER RIVER The test case of the Racia) Discrimination Act
investigated by SHAUN HOYT
SEXIST LANGUAGE ANNE HORAN lool<s at the campaign to replace
sex-specific terminology
POPULAR THEATRE TROUPE What you say isn't as important as how you
say it. DANIELLE BOND is on the case.
REVIEWS Pots, Intcrgalactic travel, Blowtorches & Warren
Zevon
BARBEQUES Some barbed comments from Knife'n'Fork MacArthur, your
guide to outdoor eating
11
17
14
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SEMPER is copyright, St Lucia Qld, 1982. Non-profit publications
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• • • • -
•c I
So Brisbane's event of the decade, the Commonwealth Games, has been
and gone. An extra thirty thousand people in town, a few hundred
medals won, hundreds of people being arrested at the one time. All
gripping stuff.
Yet what was the point of the Games themselves? The Grecian concept
of sport was a carefree expression of friendship epitomised in flow
and energy of movement. To play games as they did was to liber ate
the individual from tal<in9 themselves too seriously.
However our society is a competitive one, and the Games mirrored
this competition. The Brisbane telephone directory for 1982
features a fistful of medals, while viewers of the television
broadcast of the Games were regularly informed of who had won the
most medals.
At the time of writing, Australia was ahead on the medal count,
while at the Commonwealth Games four years ago (in Edmonton,
Canada), the Canadians kept most of the gold, silver and bronze
there. In view of this, it would be fair to suggest that the home
crowd support plays a major role in the performance of
athletes.
When Raelene Boyle took of in the 400 metres the crowd were right
behind her. And Boyle's victory embodied some of the traditional
Australian characteristics - self-reliance, courage, a career spent
over coming obstacles, a sense of fair play. As she received her
medal the
, crowd emotionally joined in singing "Advance Australia Fair".
Under these circumstances it's easy to be an Australian. But
while
the crowd may be urging the competitors to greater heights, it is
their training and their work which enables them to find those
extra re serves.
Raelene Boyle's victory was indeed a great one. Hopefully Aus
tralians will not resen/e this spirit, which embodies a sense of
fair play, exclusively for the sporting arena.
UNION !NE\N&
IT'S A PARTY
By this stage you're all aware that the Union elections have been
and gone. Well this announcement has nothing to do with voting, but
rather how to celebrate that completion of voting.
Everyone is invited to the Union Post- Election Party to be held on
Wednesday 20th October at 7.30pm in the Main Refectory,
It's free admission and cheap alcohol will be on sale. NINJA SKIL
and the TRUCK DRIVING GURUS are playing. So come along and
celebrate the New Union, or the beginning of exams, or the end of
the Games, or whatever.
EDUCATION
ALTERNATIVE HANDBOOK - There will be an Alternative Handbook
meeting on Friday October 15th at 2pm in the E.G. Whitlam
Room.
All students interested in writing about their department or
particular subjects are encouraged to attend.
ASSESSMENT - There will be an Assessment Workshop on Wednesday
October 20th at this institution. The Union Education Committee has
called this meeting in an attempt to raise the assessment
issue.
All interested students please attend.
UNION COUNCIL
An extraordinary meeting of Union Council was held on Wednesday
15th September.
The main business of this meeting was constitutional changes that
were necessary before the Union could make its submission to the
University for a Capital Contribution Fee and a read justment in
External Students' Union fees.
Other decisions made at Union Coun cil included — * approval of
the Prior Plan to refurbish and improve the Heirston Refectory; *
the passing of a motion extending both
Senrper-2
moral and financial support to the Aboriginal Land Rights rallies
held in King George Square on the 17th and 26th September,
1982.
The 10th Ordinary Meeting of Union Council will be the 28th October
at 6.15pm in the E.G. Whitlam Room.
UNION CONSTITUTION
A Constitutional Working Party, estab lished late last year, is at
present review ing the Union's Constitution and Regu lations. Any
interested student is wel come to make submissions to this Com
mittee. Contact through Union Office, Union Complex or phone on
371.1611.
UNI-REVIEW
Can 18 000 students get their act together? Find out on October
20th in the Cement Box Theatre,
CEMENT BOX THEATRE
From October 20th to November 14th, the T.N. THEATRE CO. will be
presenting "THE ELOCUTION OF BENJAMIN FRANKLIN".
The play is directed by Bryan Nason and stars Ken Lord.
For further details contact Robert Kingham - Cement Box
Director.
ENTERTAINMENT
The Media Committee of the Union has organised a concert for
November 5th in the Main Refectory. The COMSAT ANGELS and INSX will
be playing. The doors open at 8pm. For further details contact the
Union Office on 371.1611..
THE BISTRO
The Bistro has recently opened a Gourmet Smorgasboard- It's on
every lunch hour from 12 noon until 2pm, the cost is $5 for
students and $6.50 for non-students, tn addition to a hot or cold
meat/fish dish, and a varity^ of salads, is a free glass of wine
and a cup of coffee.
There are still Evening Child Care vacancies at Playhouse. Evening
child care is available from Monday to Wed nesday 5-9pm.
The cost to the parent is as follow - COST
$1.20 per hour INCOME 0-$100 per week or a single parent
$100-$200p/w S200 and over p/w
$1,40 per hour $2.10 per hour
For further information contact Ester Friedlander at Playhouse or
ring on 371, 1611.
SEXIST LANGUAGE
The Union has completed it's survey of Departmental Handbooks re
the use of sexist language. Thirty-five depart ments were
surveyed. The main findings were that female linguistic exclusions
occured. That is to say, there was overall use of the masculine
male pronoun in sex-unspecific contexts.
Reports detailing sexist language found and our suggested
alternative terminology were sent out to the Heads of Departments
concerned. In addition, copies of non-sexist guidelines were sent
to each member of the academic staff. So far the response has been
good.
Copies of these guidelines are avail able to students (free of
charge) through the Union Office.
C.A.R.E.
The Campaign Against Racial Exploit ation will be bringing out
famous British Lawyer, Tony Gifford Q.C. to speak on C.A.R.E.'s
campaign in South Africa. The A.L.P, Club and the University
of Queensland's Law Society are spon soring a free lecture on this
subject.
It's on the 27th October at 8pm in the Physiology Lecture Theatre
1. For further details contact Fleur Kingham at the Union Office
(371.1611).
POSTGRADUATE STUDENTS
The P.G.S.A.C. is to send a submiss ion in October to the
Australian Vice- ' Chancellors Committee on the Tutor ships System
being introduced at this University.
If any postgraduate wishes to make their feelings on this Tutorship
Scheme known, please contact Jack Ford — the Postgraduate
Organiser.
The National Postgraduate Association C.A.P.A. is holding its
annual conference from the 3rd to 6th December at Mel bourne
University. The P.G.S.A.C. is to contribute papers on the
Queensland Tutorship Scheme, Supervision, and Sex ual Harassment.
Any postgrad interested in contributing to these papers should
contact the Postgraduate Organiser before theSlst of October.
MEETING DATES
Thursday 21st October - Management Cttee, 5.30pm, E.G. Whitlam
Room. Sat. 23rd October - External Students Cttee., 3pm, Whitlam
Room.
See you at the Union PartylH
regards,
flibu^y
if Dan Whitehead, Executive Director of the Games Foundation, had
wanted to, he could have surrounded himself with Games paraphena-
lia.
He could have parked his gold Ford Meteor QEII in his driveway next
to the trees that the Council sup plied free to homeowners to
brighten up Brisbane. With his Adidas 'Games' track shoes, he could
have walked up his driveway (which would'vc been painted red, white
and blue, if he'd listened to 4MMM's radio advertisements) and sat
down in his favourite chair.
Opening a G;imcs Special XXXX, he could'vc turned on the television
where he would'vc been told that he should 'Shine on Brisbane' and
to 'Be there, be llicrc, be there, be there on the day'.
When 'On their marks' (about competitors' prcjiar- ations for the
Games) was finished, he could have sur prised his wife by giving
her some Games symbol car- rings or pendants or brooch.
On going to bed, he could have used a stuffed Matilda (made in
Taiwan) as a pillow as he fell asleep on Sealy's Matilda, the Games
bed.
Inspiring stuff. It can be said with a good deal of ccrtainity
that
Dan Whitehead didn't do that, but he certainly did have the
opportunity. While the Brisbane Games have spread a great deal of
sporting goodwill among the Commonwealth nations, il has also
instigated the great est (in quantity, no quality) advertising
line that Bris bane has ever seen,
Mike Browning, Advertising Manager of the Games Foundation, claimed
th.it the question of ihe Games becoming too commercial must be
balanced by whether or not il would have been better t'or the
Government lo foot the bill than the private sector.
The probicm of Games funding is a complex one. If the Games were
Government funded, il would
mean that there would be SIO million less that could have been
spent on public services. But worse than ihc monetary factors, it
would mean that the organisation of the Games would have been done
by politicians and would suffer from all the bureaucratic problems
that arc associated witli ihc political system.
"Wc are on target with the Games budget. As Dan Whitehead has said
again and again, there will be no debt for the Government at the
end of these Games," Mr Browning said.
The Games had 26 major sponsors as well as about 90 minor sponsors,
46 licencee companies, they pay a royalty to the Foundation based
on the sales of the products bearing the Commonwealth Games
symbols.
The Foundation Is quick with dealing with the un authorised use of
the Games symbol.
"If someone is using the Games symbol illegally, we take legal
action. We have to protect the rights of the Foy^i^fori and we have
to protect the people that HSre giVdi money," he said.
Mike :3r6vJlning claimed that two or three companies
Melbourne may have the Aussie Rules and Sydney the Rugby League to
help boost business, but Brisbane has trumped them both with the
Commonwealth Games. JOHN HENZELL looks at who's making money out of
the Games.
'mdi "A lot of people are using thfr C lni per se," Mil
e"'*'!"!.
Browning claimed, 'ijbwc are tKings i'liiceUhe gdid Ford :.^;/:
Meteor QEll, they*i^ttiing to'.do Wttfi^tis,''-<„-v,
~^^t;i^
Ford \vas oncif if^V^ny compartiw tha^Wpugh't "^ . r-
pcct^sues'aii'a way of bencfitinV^frofti.lhe-.-i^« . "
ilth'tajmes wjtbout actually paying lT(or!W'.4<>i out Games s
Commonweal to the Games Foundation >,><i.:-.
a\V?>
The gold Ford;,Meteor QEII is k staraani^Met|bf:,.-/;-^j ^. with
unique cloth^4edt\covering, better wheels _at3(lj^''i>:;|;^
tyres, custopi gfgpr} .st ping, commferorative b*aBges^i-^p and a
special Gamiirl'gold medal • facsirtllie keyring^*'' "'^'
Other advertisJD^ftistered an ajmostfinpistic State .- l .*' .
pride. Mostly itiSyP I TfcOtitlnuation of existing
adverj-V-ir?'
Before the.darjiesfB'f^'e'a great issue ih the lives of
QueenslandeB^ ,we:Hacl,a(f$ tliat tofd us how great it was to
liveMfo-e; •Thfe' afi'k of Quieenstand claim'ed:«, that
'Yotgcan^Urtfbri'*aX3ueens|aodcKYi'hilc X>fX)< '^ used t o «
% ' W h a t do you like' ^Boul^QueenjIand? WhatrntjE^s^wfeTiest
Ajjssinctatp'?*^ " n
Errol ^tew 'We're QueensUndersj Golden Peahl^; people to bur
'^
ajrnat ao you like' iiBoiitiQueensland? ^v HebestAtosiestate?*,' 'W
l ,':' 'i^- fts .conriifui the lifind. Kit'h:their iinglci. X-;>
tnders |@:^i*'bn't l |f you "dbv n', but the^^i < A^^yTgoes to
& conjfiwrtial.ijrging^ '-'t JD^goes to the
coniftertial.ijrging^^^^^^
» guWnslarid madHoods. %VnC aloni?r|^ 'Wfl^ made the-Mte the
greaitcst in t h e | ^ the lines dfi~'
land , . . ' "^ - < , , f Nobody was naiW'enough to think
that;the i:ponsors
gave their money for altruistically sporting motives but the
.Tiileage that some of the companies are getting from their
sponsorship dollar is considerable.
Sealy, who provided the beds for the Games Village at a discounted
price, released 'Matilda', the Games bed. Not that their 'Matilda'
bed is the same as the one that is used in the Games Village -
nobody cares about minor points like that. Besides, as Sealy points
out, they are both posturepeadic.
— continued on following page
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'•••'••"••••'•"•"•••'.-.•.•.••'•••>»»>»X
wmnimwiiimiiiwifmHrtftWrtff^rf
In Australia as in other countries, legislative and other changes
have for some years been made to enable women to enjoy societal
oppor tunities and privileges to the same exteiM as men.
At the same time, sexual harassment, more frequent ly directed
towards women than men, has been shown to be a serious form of
oppression which may occur in the home, the workplace and the place
of learning,
Frank Tiil,^ in a research report published by the U.S. National
Advisory Council on Women's Education al Programme distinguishes
five general types of harass ment in educational settings:
gcncraffsed sexist remarks or behaviour; inappropriate and
offensive but sanction- free sexual advances; solicitation of
sexual activity or other sex-linked behavour by promising rewards;
coercion of sexual activity by threats; and sexual assaults.
Till's research showed that harassment was often unreported because
of students' fear of the conseque nces of reporting. Sandler^
points out that sexual har assment of students can produce such
results as physical symptoms, depression, loss of interest In
education, forced changes in educational plans and feelings of
helplessness.
The University of Queensland Act 1965-1981 states that the
University shall not discriminate against any person on the grounds
of that person's sex, religion or colour. Apart from this
legislative requirement, an important consideration is the
desirability of maintain ing ethical standards in keeping with the
principles and traditions of a centre of tertiary
scholarship.
During 1981 a number of persons and groups on campus were alerted
by action being taken elsewhere in Australia and overseas to the
desirability of diminish ing, or preferably preventing, instances
of sexual harrass- ment here.
In response to that concern the Vice-Chanccllor established a panel
of six persons to act as points of contact for persons who consider
they arc being sub jected to sexual harassment and from time to
time the panel meets as the Committee on Sexual Harassment.
During the period over which the Committee has been meeting,
complaints of sexual harassment have been considered. To date,
these have essentially con cerned remarks or actions which proved
unwelcome to their recipients and which might reasonably have been
considered harassment by them.
Complaints are dealt with under conditions of con fidentiality. If
the Committee is convinced that sexual harassment tnay have
occurred, or has occurred, it will take what it considers to be
appropriate action under the circumstances.
It is likely that in some cases of harassment the person
responsible fails to perceive the effect produced upon the
recipient. It is also possible that some cases of perceived
harassment are related to the sensitivity of the recipient.
Nevertheless, the effects may be profound and last ing. The
purpose of the Committee is to encourage
— from previous page
Beer has carried the brunt of the Games-derived advertising.
XXXX (another major sponsor) and Brisbane Bitter cans are both
covered with Games logos depicting vari ous sports. This may have
eased the consciences of the drivers who idly threw their empties
out of their car windows.
XXXX went one further by releasing 'Games Special'. Rather than
just a redesigned label, Games Special was in a new bottle and was
half as alcoholic again as normal XXXX.
Semper-4
Harrassment Contacts
staff and students to be self-critical and aware of the possible
effects of their behaviour and sensitive to the attitude of others
in order to minimise the possibility of harassment.
This means that the Committee sees its major role as educational
and preventive. On the other hand it will not hesitate to recommend
appropriate disciplinary action where it regards this as warranted.
The Univer sity has a clear responsibility to take up cases of
harass ment of students by staff.
It also regards itself as having a responsibility to con sider
allegations of harassment in other cases, for ex ample, of staff
by staff and particularly of students by students.
In Statute 13, which cover student discipline, 'mis conduct' is
defined as:
'conduct on the part of a student which impairs the reasonable
freedom of other persons to pursue their studies, researches,
duties or lawful activities in the University or upon University
premises or to participate in the life of the University or is
other wise detrimental to the proper conduct of the
University';
in addition, it expressly includes unlawfully assaulting a person
on University premises.
The' members of the panel, who can be contacted under confidential
conditions to receive complaints of
t_C ^ v . . * ' « • • • — .
sexual harassrnent involving staff or students arc: Professor G.N.
Davies, Deputy Vicc-Ciiancellor (Academic) Ph. 377 3372 Professor
E,R, Chamberlain, Head, Dcpt. of Social Work
Ph. 377.2507 Dr j . Irwin, Director, Health Service Ph. 377.2545 Dr
M.C. Grassic, Deputy President, Academic Board
Ph. 377.3273 Dr H.W. Thiele, Director, Counselling Services
Ph. 377.2993 Ms F. Kingham, Secretary, University of Qld.
Union
Ph. 371.1611
(Academic)
1. Til l , Frank ] , Sexual Harassment: A Report on ihc Sexual
Harassment of Students. Research report, National Advisory Council
on Women's Educational Programs, August 1980.
2. Sandler, Bornlce R., ct al. Sexual Harassment: A Hidden Problem.
Educational Record 1981,62, 52-57.
rXv
John Sands jumped on the Games enthusiasm band wagon by producing
'The Sands Games', a board game based on the Commonwealth Games in
which players had the opportunity lo win Gold, Silver and Bronze
medals.
And then there arc the souvenirs. If you thought that Pierre Cardin
made a wide range of apparel, you obviously haven't seen the Games
Collection.
The Brisbane Mall was filled by people, locals and tourists alike,
wearing T-shirts, sweat shirts, jackets, jumpers, scarves and leg
warmers (scarves and leg warm ers in a city that hit 34 degrees in
the week before the Games began!), emblazoned with Matilda or other
Games symbols.
On the Gold Coast, a large number of women could be seen wearing
the Games bikinis.
There was jewellery available to match the Games clothing. All the
manufacturers from the Queen Street jewellers to Woolworths and K
Mart showed their range of Games rings, keyrings, earrings, badges,
brooches, tic pins etc.
If the tourists had bought too much clothing and jewellery, they
needn't have worried for there was a Games bag to put it all
in.
If their Games Special beer was getting warm in the hot Queensland
sun, then the purchase of a Games ice bucket or stubby holder was a
virtual necessity . . .
An extra mode of sales that was expected was not welcomed. The
Queensland Consumer Affairs Bureau publicly warned tourists about
'southern con men' who were coming to Brisbane for the Games.
Without old favourites like aluminium siding to use, the field was
wide open for the get-rich-quick scheme proponents. But as Joh
keeps telling us, Queensland is the state for free
enterprise.
The public reaction to the commercial funding of the Games has
generally been positive among people who are aware of the
practicalities involved.
Sporting purists, those people claim that the Games should be
purely for sport and not have anything to do with advertising, can
claim to be idealistic. Less charit able people might call them
naive. Whatever, they don't seem to be anything more than a small
minority.
Talking to interstate and overseas tourists, the major ity of
people who have come to see the Games accept that commercial
spinoffs are inevitable.
As a Victorian said, "Even if there wasn't any official sponsorship
or licencing, the companies and manu facturers would cash in on
the Games, so it's just as well that the Games Foundation gets some
money out of it."
The competitors themselves treat it philosophically. " I f the
Games were being funded by the Govern
ment then the facilities probably wouldn't have been' as good as
they actually are," is the way one Canadian put it.
Although most tended to accept that the Common wealth Games were
irreversably paired with commercial isation, several commented on
the fact that the Brisbane Games seemed to be more commercial than
previous Games.
Idealistic as one can be, there is no denial that the Games is an
expensive affair.
Despite the Games Foundation's economising (for example, using
volunteer workers wherever possible) and sponsoring, the ticket
prices are still expensive.
The commercialisation of the Games has meant that millions of
tourist dollars have gone Queensland's way. But while the tourists
brought their cameras, their suntan lotion and Uieir summer
clothes, they needed to bring their cheque books too.
mcntKC
The Costigan Report bought to light the nature of tax avoidance in
Australia. In an attempt to regain some of the lost tax, the
Federal Government is in the process of intro ducing retrospective
tax measures. IAN COOK evaluates the implications of retrospective
tax.
in his attempt to regain ground lost over the tax avoidance issue
Mr Fraser may be placing Party unity at risk by giving the proposed
tax laws retrospective effect.
Significant elements of the Liberal Party have public ly announced
an opposition to retrospectivity but in spite of this, Mr Fraser is
pushing ahead with a Bill which in the long run may prove a
political embarass- ment and cause even further disaffection with
his leader ship.
Clearly, Fraser had to move quickly to close loop holes within
taxation laws and recover some of the vast amounts of money lost by
the Government through tax avoidance, as detailed in the
McCabe-Lafranchi and Costigan reports.
However, tax legislation with retrospective effect is opposed by
the Western Australian branch of the Party, other individuals
within the backbench and even some members of Cabinet have been
reported as having reservations about what Fraser is trying to
do.
There is not doubt that the Bills will be passed since the Labor
Party supports the principle of retros pectivity in tax
legislation but if Fraser is forced to rely on Labor support to
push the Bills through it will be embarassing for the Liberal Party
and himself as leader.
The issue, however, is something of a rarity in Aus tralian
politics in that it involves matters of principle.
The supporters of retrospective tax legislation argue that it is
necessary to counteract the artificial schemes constructed to deny
the Government money which is legitimately due.
Further, It is said that when these taxes are not paid to the
Government the tax burden on those who do pay up increases and it
is unjust to allow this to happen.
However, another argument which is less often cited Is that
retrospective tax legislation would demonstrate that the Government
is prepared to pursue money which has been tost in the past as soon
as it became aware of the schemes which were employed. The result
being that the tax avoidance industry would always be open to the
threat that taxes artifically avoided may in the long run be
identified and recouped.
In his address to the nation, the Prime Minister
emphasised that the actions of tax avoiders in creating artificial
schemes was immoral and unfair to all other
* Australians. Fraser's address was one designed to develop
support
within the Australian community for his proposals and as a result
pressure the potential waverers in the Party to toe the Fraser
line.
"Fairness" represents the rally cry of the pro- retrospective
people. Against this the opponents of retrospectivity believe that
in principle any legislation with retrospective effect should be
opposed, since what it does is make something legal, (though,
perhaps, immoral) into something illegal after the act was legally
done.
Tlie Australian legal fraternity is amongst the groups which
opposes absolutely any form "of retrospectivity in any
legislation.
The President of the Queensland Law Society, Mr. John Waddley,
believes that while most people may support the introduction of
retrospective tax legis lation on economic grounds it should be
opposed on principle.
"The danger of retrospective legislation is that it can create a
precedent, and precedents are very import ant as much of our legal
system is based on precedent. Once a precedent has been established
it can always be cited to say we can introduce more of the same
type of legislation."
Mr Waddley said that retrospectivity would make the lawyer's task
in advising citizens of their rights under the law very difficult
because they could only base their advice on the law as it stood at
the time and couldn't foresee how the law would be changed.
He said that it was unfortunate that the issue of ret rospectivity
arose with respect to tax legislation.
However, Mr Waddley said that some aspect of retrospectivity may be
unobjectionable so long as it was intended to rectify cases where
fraud was being perpetrated; this was not the case here.
"The legislation as proposed as we understand it, will catch not
only cases where an element of fraud exists, but also where there
was an innocent partici pation in the tax scheme."
But it isn't the opposition from lawyers which will cause Mr Fraser
the most trouble. Rather it is the oppos ition from within his own
Party.
The Western Australian branch of the Liberal Party and most of the
Members of Parliament of that state are opposed to the legislation.
The President of the WA branch, Mr. Ian Warner, went so far as to
publish a large advertisement in a Perth newspaper which attack ed
the Government's decision to introduce the retro spective
legislation.
In the advertisement Mr Warner wrote: "We believe the lure of
retrospective tax legislation is too easy a temptation for
expedient politicians to get out of self-inflicted trouble, in a
belated demonstration that they arc doing their job".
While other Liberal MPs have been a little more reticent there are
a few notable Liberals who will cross the floor to oppose the Bill.
One of these is Senator Neville Bonnor who believes that
retrospective legis lation is totally contrary to the Liberal
Party's philos ophy.
"The Prime Minister and his Cabinet are determined to go ahead with
it, I cannot and will not support it.
"I don't support tax evasion orany of that stuff that has been
going on, I don't support it one little bit. But let's introduce a
law to outlaw it now, not five or six years ago, but outlaw it now
so that we stop people from doing those things.
"As I understand it there are quite a number of members of the
House of Representatives who will not support the Bill and will
cross the floor and vote against it.
"I doubt if there is sufficient to block the Bill be cause with
the support of the Executive, and those who do support the
Government in this issue plus the Op position, it will go through
the House, I can't at this stage, say what number in the Senate is
of the same opinion as I am and so there is a strong likelihood
that it will pass through the Senate.
"But that is on the Executive's hands, they forced the issue and
they will have to live with it."
And indeed over the next few weeks the Fraser Government may find
it increasingly difficult to live with the division the legislation
threatens to cause within the Party.
That Fraser had to resort to an address to the nation concerned
with demonstrating the necessity for retros pectivity is
significant, according to Dr. Paul Reynolds, Senior Lecturer in
Government at the University of Queensland.
"The statement to the nation by the Prime Minister was basically an
appeal to the public over the heads of the Liberal Party to try to
generate, or, at least, capitalise upon the groundswell of opinion
in favour of retrospective legislation designed to catch blatant
tax avoiders in the rather dubious schemes they have been
operating.
"I think the hope is that the recalcitrants within the Liberal
Party will see that the public is on side in this issue then they
will not make too many waves for the Prime Minister."
Dr Reynolds said that the retrospective tax legis lation issue was
one which was good pragmatic politics if Mr Fraser could get the
Bill passed without the oppos ition within the Party becoming too
significant, and particularly so long as Mr Fraser did not have to
rely on the support of the Labor Party to pass the legislation, due
to back bench opposition.
"In one sense this is an issue which brings together economics and
ideology for the more right wing mem bers of the Liberal Party,
but also as far as some ele ments of the backbench are concerned
it's just an other way-station in the general long march from wel
fare economics and interventionist government.
"But of course, there has been a lot of speculation within the
Party about Fraser's leadership and so on and it may well be that a
section of the backbench is prepared to systematically defy Fraser
because of the Withers' case, the Moore and MacKellar case, the
ele ments of the Peacock support, so you have a whole series of
cross currents in the Liberal backbench so you can't say that there
is a group opposed to Fraser.
"It is unlikely that the revolt on this issue will go much beyond
the economic drys, on the otherhand, it will be another factor in
the general dissatisfaction within the Government's ranks."
But time is running out for the Fraser Government for not only does
it have to get the legislation through without the disunity over
the issue becoming too ob vious, but also the legislation must be
put into effect, and be seen to have been put into effect.
And even if this is done there is no guarantee that the Fraser
Government will come out less than badly mauled over the whole
issue, as Dr Reylonds points out: "To date, the Fraser Government
has lost on the tax avoidance issue because nobody has very
satisfactorily explained why the Government didn't act when it
became aware of the problems in the mid 1970s."
1982 has not been a particularly good year for the Fraser
Government and it will be even worse if Fraser's gamble does not
pay off and he cannot get the back bench to support him or to be
less vocal in their opposition.
Semper-5
In the light of the spiralling arms race, scientists are the modern
scapegoats. When the mushroom clouds start ro l l ing ' over,
they'll be the ones to get the blame for it al l .
Yet not all scientists arc prepared to accept the Judas role of the
modern scientist, selling out humanity for pieces of silver.
The Association of Scientists Against Nuclear Arms (SANA) are a
group of people interested in science who feel they have a
responsibility to halt and reverse the arms race.
'Originally the title was pronounced as "Sarna", but now we prefer
"Sana" as in sane, because that's what we'd like to think we're
doing - injecting some sanity into the whole nuclear debate,' says
Professor Peter Mason, Professor of Physics at Macquaric Uni
versity in Sydney and the main speaker at the inaugural meeting of
SANA.
The title of the organisation also stresses that the scientists arc
opposed to nuclear arms, and not necessarily to nuclear
power.
'Your'rc talking about two completely
different things. Sure a nuclear power plant accident like Three
Mile Island (in America, 1979) is a tragedy, but that's nothing
compared to what will happen in the event of a nuclear war,' says
Pro fessor Mason.
•In "The Fate of the Earth" by johna- thon Schell it's been fairly
well docu mented that with a nuclear war than virtually all life
on earth will be wiped out.
'There's been a world-wide reaction against this. Over in New York
recently there were one million people marching against the build
up of nuclear arms. As such scientists are just part of a larger
movement,' says Professor Mason.
The organisation is quick to dispel any notions of elitism about
itself. At the inaugural meeting there were several people who
shyly admitted they knew nothing about science, but were inter
ested in being part of such a movement.
'They are as welcome as anyone else to join,' said Professor
Mason.
Although part of the wider protest movement against the arms race,
SANA intends to remain as politically indep endent as
possible.
In conjunction with similar interest groups such as the Victorian
Association for Peace Studies, SANA will provide information on
weapons and their effects to Members of Parliament, the media, or
any interested group.
SANA will also publish a regular bulletin and the members, either
collect ively or as individuals, v/ill contribute to scientific or
other publications.
Professor Mason said that because of the specialisation in
scientific research most scientists worked on problems with no
regard for the application of what they were researching.
He described how during the Vietnam War scientists had replaced
steel with plastic in anti-personnel bombs so they could not be
detected by X-rays.
"They didn't listen to the screams of the children, they didn't
even hear them because they were so busy thinking about X-ray
absorption of different polymers.
'I would suggest that you can't do science responsibly without, in
your own mind, following through the possible
'implications as far as you can,' said Professor Mason.
-ANDREW FRASER
'Cis.^^s^.'-s::--
The peace movement has created more interest recently than ever
before and is an issue v^'hich should concern every man, woman and
child. After all, the thought of total annihilation is not a very,
pleasant one.
However when it comes to an issue of such magnitude, many people
prefer tak ing a back seat. There are at least forty- five
Australians who are prepared to make some contribution to
peace.
These forty-five people are the mem bers of 'Woobora', a group
promoting peace throughout Australia from their bicycle
seats.
In March, these people began a World Bike Ride for Peace in
Canberra and have since travelled along the east coast to
Darwin.
The group Is concerned with the min ing and exporting of uranium,
the arms race, B-52 landings and Aboriginal Land Rights. The
members of 'Woobora' believe that their peace mission encom passes
other issues such as land rights,
Paul Marshall, who started the ride in Canberra, said that their
interests lie in common sense and justice. "The fight for land
rights by the aboriginal
people is a just one. Without justice there can not be peace and
that's what we are striving f o r . . . peace."
Mr Marshall said he doesn't believe that Australians are apathetic
towards issues such as uranium mining. "They feel that the arms
race and nuclear war is inevitable.
"We know that it's not inevitable and that with public opinion
throughout the world swinging in favour of peace and anti-uranium
groups, ordinary people can become unified to do something about
these issues."
Another member of 'Woobora', Kathy McDonald, stressed the
importance of communicating at the 'grass roots' level.
"We meet the people In a town. We go to the schools, the pubs, the
streets. Anywhere we can speak to people."
The bike riders hold forums and debates, show films and entertain
the town's people with street theatre and sing-a-longs.
Paul Marshall explained that it wasn't important to attract the
whole popu lation to a forum.
"I f five percent of the population come along and hear what we
have to say then we've done our job. The debate has been Initiated
by us :nd the issues
and facts will be passed on by the five percent who spoke with
us."
In Bundaberg, residents were writing to the Editor of the local
paper about 'Woobora' weeks after the bike riders had moved further
north.
Once the riders had reached Towns- ville things began to heat up.
The news editorial appealed to the City Council not to officially
welcome the riders.
The reason it gave was that four of the riders had painted peace
slogans on a bill board advertising a brand of cigarettes, and
that not all citizens were anti- uranium.
The Mayor of Townsville did official ly greet the riders and
helped them plant forty-seven trees in the pattern of a peace
symbol measuring forty metres across. This area is to become
Queens land's first Peace Park.
After this the group were raided by police in the early hours under
the notorious Health Act Paul Marshall accused the police in
Townsville of trying to 'damage the credibility and standing of the
World Bike Ride and our cause'.
The group has left more permanent reminders of their stay in
Townsville, including the Peace Park and an Atomic Free Embasssy
which sits outside the main gates of the Ben Lomond Uranium Mine
near Townsville. Visitors to the mine are greeted by the residents
of the Embassy with chants of "You're entering a death zone".
The riders peddled their bikes into Darwin July 19 but have since
split up for a time. Some members continued across to V/estern
Australia, others came back to Brisbane and the rest stayed in
Darwin.
An advance party has travelled to Japan to join in the rememberance
ceremonies in the Peace Park at Hiro shima. This group is waiting
to be joined by the rest of the group, who are present ly raising
money to buy a yacht, the 'Hati Sentosa' ('Peaceful Heart').
The total cost of this yacht will be between $30-40,000, and the
group re quires sponsors before it can make this exercise a truly
international one.
-GAVIN ALDER
Senrper-6
Queensland University Union has stuck with the middle of the road
following the recent Union elections.
The Students Welfare Action Team (S.W.A-T.), a team composed
predomi- natly of A.L.P. members, swept all the executive positions
and most of the faculty positions it contested.
Fleur Kingham, the current Union Secretary, becomes the first
female President of the Union in it's 72 years of operation.
In contrast to last year, when S.W.A.T. hastily rallied it's forces
the day before nominations closed, this year the engineer ing of
tickets started before the May by-election.
The 1981 election saw a victory for S.W.A.T. which was at that
stage, a coalition of left and centre groups against a team which
was identified as being on the right, through the Liberal Party
affili ations of it's leader, Barry Atkins.
While S.W.A.T. came Into power this year as a happy coalition,
throughout the year the centre and left factions have clashed on
many occassions, and it came as no surprise to see the Education
Action Team (E.A.T.) running against S.W.A.T.
S.W.A.T. campaigned heavily on a continuation of the present style
of administration, while E.A.T.'s slogan, 'If you're hungry for a
change, vote E.A.T.' epitomised their policy of making the Union a
more progressive institution.
However, E.A.T. proved to be no real challenger to S.W.A.T. and
were beaten for most places on the executive by what started off as
a joke team, S.W.A.P.O. (Students Who Are Pissed Off).
S.W.A.P.O. capitalized on a backlash against the Union by students
who were not interested in pondering the intricacies of campus
politics. S.W.A.P.O. threaten to run again next year, and should
they adopt slightly more serious policies they could be a big
threat.
This year their policies centred mainly on consumption of alcohol,
but the more
subtle approach of the other joke parties, the Reformed Psuedo Post
Neo-Neoist Party and the jobby Party, failed to win many
votes.
The National Civic Council-backed Friends -of Univeristy of
Queensland failed to win any executive positions and this failure
will make it almost impossible for the N.C.C. to maintain any sort
of profile on campus next year.
While voting was mainly along party lines, some independents
managed to gain office. The perpetual independent Gordon Curtis was
most prominent in this regard, winning a position on the executive
as Part Timers Vice President.
John Henzell and Phillip Malksham won the battle for Semper,
although there is some doubt that this pair will actually occupy
the editors' chairs next year.
A disturbing feature of this camp aign was the bitterness that has
not been present the last few years. One prominent candidate had
her car tyres let down.
while several members of her team who had left parked cars returned
to find them with panels bashed In.
Last year's good natured rivalry that existed on the doors of the
refectory where teams handed out their how-to- vote cards was
absent, with friends of long standing who had worked together in
the past, completely Ignoring each other for hours at a
stretch.
The campaign was not confined to the University campus. Motorists
on Sir Fred Schonell Drive, during election week, were exhorted to
vote for four different candidates.
Altogether about 2,500 students voted in the elections, a number
slightly down on last year's turnout. Yet with 15% of students
voting the situation con trasts favourably with some southern
campuses, where some elections are won by students who find it
sufficent to persuade all their friends tb vote for them.
-ANDREW FRASER
t ' v ^ ^ ^ ? ^
Very few people who voted in the Union elections were satis fied
they knew enough about the candidates to make an informed decision,
according to a survey conducted by Semper during elect ion
week.
n the survey 150 people were asked if they had voted, why they had
or hadn't voted, and if they knew enough about the
candidates.
The survey was conducted by asking people around university these
questions. A (Jeliberate attempt was made to get away from polling
areas, as this was where election fervour was highest.
Among the 150 people interviewed 65 had voted, 65 had not voted,
and did not intend to vote, while 19 people were not sure if they
were going to vote or not.
As the survey was conducted late in the week it is probable that a
good pro portion of this last group did not vote.
Of the 150 only two said they knew enough about the candidates and
their policies to make a decision they were completely happy with.
While about half of the sample voted, a common response among those
who didn't vote was that they would have if they knew more about
what was happening.
"/ can't really see much point In voting as I don't know anytliing
about the candidates. A few odd people have
come in and said 'I'/.i not going to bore you with
electionpropoganda -just vote for me.' You don't know a thing about
them." (Agriculture)
Among people who did vote many said they would have liked to have
had more information, even though they were prepared to make do
with what they had.
"/ voted because I think it's import ant to have the right people
In there, even though I don't know who they'd 6e."(Arts)
Most people who voted did so out of a sense of civic
responsibility.
"/ want to see responsible manage ment in the Union."
(Architecture) "/ want to get some value for the money that I pay."
(Musk)
However of tiie 65 students who did vote, 41 expressed a negative
attitude towards the Union.
"I've voted but the people running seem like a mob of idiots."
(Human Movements) "The candidates were all Arts pooftahs."
(Science) "/ didn't want to vote, but when I walked Into the
refectory all these people put pieces of paper Into my hand so It
seemed easiest to vote. It's all a bit of a wank really."
(Law)
Twenty of those who voted had an ambivalent attitude towards the
Union. "I'm at a cojlege and it's easy to vote."
Only four of those interviewed expressed a positive attitude
towards the Union. "/ think the Union is very import ant in the
University." (Medicine) "We'd be stuffed without the Union."
(Arts)
Of the students who didn't vote, about half had no attitude at all
towards the Union. "I'm too lazy." (Arts) "/ forgot they were on."
(Science) "/ haven't got time," (Science)
Most students who didn't vote had an overwhelming negative attitude
towards the Union and the value of voting in the elections.
"The people I would like to vote for would be people doing a course
that requires a high I.E. score such as Vet., Engineering, or
Agriculture, because I think they're more practical.
"My Idea Is that practical people don't follow elections with the
fanaticism of Arts students. That why Arts students always win. The
reason I'm not going to vote is because if I was going to vote I'd
vote for S.W.A.P.O. and the reason I'm not going to vote for them
is because they're not serious." (Engineering)
The belief that the Union was the pre serve of Arts students was
expressed by six Engineering students and one Science student. This
assessment is rather puzzl ing in view of the largest group on the
Executive being Law students.
- ANDREW FRASER
^tEiI><.VMt.f+-^
Following the landmark High Court decision, validating the Racial
Discrimination Act, the stage is now set for the first legal action
under the Act to proceed, in a case of alleged discrimination by
the Queens land Government.
In this report SHAUN HOYT backgrounds the Archer River story.
The Archer River case, which was the cause of the Queensland
Government's challenge to the Racial Discrimination Act, has been
in a state of Ijmbo while the constitutional question was
determined in the High Court.
With the May decision, upholding the validity of the Act, the
Queensland Government will now have to de fend, in the Supreme
Court, its refusal to allow the purchase of a property at Archer
River, in the far north of the State, for a group of
Aborigines.
Although this case has so far been overshadowed by the
constitutional issue, the Supreme Court ruling will also be a
crucial test of the legislation.
This is the first time that legal action has been taken under the
Racial Discrimination Act - and it may en-' courage other actions,
including a parallel case against the Queensland Government over
another property in the Gulf country, which is already
pending.
The legislation is now 7 years old and the Community Relations
Commissioner, Al Grassby, who administers the Act, has issued a
number of certificates enabling legal action to be taken. When Mr,
Grassby cleared the way for the Archer River case to proceed in the
courts, a total of 8 certificates had been issued.
But, until the taking out of a writ against the Queens- Inad
Government a year ago, in April, none of those certificates had
been acted upon. The reasons for this apparent reluctance to take
discrimination cases to court can be put down to a variety of
factors, some of which should become clear in the following outline
of the long and complex sequence of events that goes to make up the
story of the Archer River case.
And, as the Community Relations Commissioner has often pointed out,
it must be remembered that groups likely to be the subject of
discrimination are also likely to be the disadvantaged of our
society, without ready access to legal advice, and intimidated by
legal proceed ings.
The writ against the Queensland Government was taken out by an
Aborigine, John Koowarta, on behalf of himself and the Winychanam
Aboriginal Group. It alleges discrimination on the part of the
State Cabinet In refusing to permit the lease transfer for a cattle
pro perty at Archer River, neighbouring what was the Auru- kun
Aboriginal Reserve, on Cape York.
The dispute goes back a long way, to 1973, when Mr Koowarta from
Aurukun raised the question of the purchase of the land with the
Federal Department of Aboriginal Affairs. He claimed that his
people had traditional ties with the land and with seven sacred
sites on the land.
The Winychanam people also planned to run the property as a
business enterprise which would have allowed them to be independent
of life on the Abor iginal reserve, under the rule of the
Queensland Govern ment.
The series of events over the next eight years, leading up to the
issuing of the writ last year, then went as follows:
* November 1975; An offer of $50,000 from the Federal Aboriginal
Land Fund Commission (now
Semper ~-8
the Aboriginal Development Commission) to buy the Archer River
property on behalf of the Winy chanam people was accepted by the
Company that owned the property. Archer River Pastoral Hold ing,
and a contract was settled to the consent of the Queensland Lands
Minister. * July 1976; The Aboriginal Land Fund Com mission was
advised that the Queensland Govern ment had refused to give
approval for the lease transfer. * October 1976; The then
Queensland Lands Minister, Ken Tomkins, wrote to an executive of
Archer River Pastoral Holding, Mr Broinowski, suggesting
alternative ways in which the company could dispose of the
property.
Mr Tomkins said that the National Parks and Wildlife Service'may be
interested' in the property, but that this branch didn't have 'a
lot of money to acquire properties over an area as large as this'.
The letter goes on: 'the other point that I felt may be the best
prospect for you and you Company was that it may be possible to
establish a wood chip industry there, , . , . and you may see fit
to contact . . . Comalco, as I do know that this Company has been
investigating the possibility of establishing such an industry in
the Peninsula for some years now.' * October 1976; The then Federal
Minister for the Department of Aboriginal Affairs, Ian Vincr, wrote
to Mr Tomkins, asking him to reconsider his decision. • In
replying, Mr Tomkins quoted a Queensland
Cabinet policy dating back to 1972: 'The Queens land Government
has long and formal policies relating to the administration of
lands for the benefit of the Aboriginal population of this State,
and as part of those policies, the Govern ment docs not view
favourably acquisition of lands for development by Aboriginals, or
by Aboriginal groups in isolation.' Mr, Mclntyre says there arc
precedents, such as the
settlement reached over the Framlingham Forest, in Prime Minister
Fraser's electorate in Victoria.
The outcome of the Archer River legal action will itself be a
significant precedent as this is not the only instance in which the
Queensland Government has applied its policy against the
acquisition of land by Aborigines.
Two other case? which have been cited are the block ing by the
State Department of Aboriginal and Islander Advancement of
negotiation for the development of a caravan park by the Aboriginal
Burdell Co-operative in North Queensland.
And, on Thursday Island, in the Torres Strait, a simi-' lar case
occurred when the Queensland Lands Depart ment refused to transfer
the lease that would have al lowed the Islander Co-operative to
acquire eight blocks of land for a housing development
Most likely to be the cause of further legal action, under the
Racial Discrimination Act, is another dispute, already mentioned,
in which the Lands Department-has recently prevented the Australian
Development Com mission from buying another large property for
Queens land Aborigines.
This time the property, called 'Dorunda', is near Normanton in the
Gulf. Its purchase would have allowed fringe-dwelling Aborigines in
the area to return to their traditional lands.
Head of the Aboriginal Development Comission, Charies Perkins, has
welcomed the High Court's ruling upholding the Act, and he says it
has cleared the way for the ADC to proceed with the land
acquisition.
But, as solicitor for Mr. Koowarta, Greg Mclntyre, points out, if
that acquisition requires legal action then, as the Archer River
case has shown, it will be a lengthy procedure which, under the
Act, must first go through the stages of conciliation, presided
over by the Com munity Relation Commissioner.
The Queensland Government has expressed concern that the High Court
decision could lead to what it sees as a further infringement of
State rights.
However, its to be expected that a Government which has
consistently blocked attempts to purchase land in Queensland for
Aborigines will not alter that policy merely because the Racial
Discrimination Act has been judged legitimate.
* December 1976; In a Ministerial statement to the Queensland
Pariiament, Mr Tomkins re affirmed this policy, saying that the
Cabinet attitude remained unchanged and: 'that in accor dance with
such policy as it is considered that suf ficient land in
Queensland is already reserved and available for use and benefit of
aborigines, no consent be given to the transfer of Archer River
Pastoral Holding, No. 4785, to the Aboriginal Land Fund
Commission.' * May 1977; The matter is referred to Community
Relations Commissioner, Al Grassby, who then wrote to Mr Tomkins,
drawing attention to the Minister's statement in Parliament, and
express ing the view that the Queensland Cabinet policy was
discriminatory and that any action to imple ment the policy
constituted an unlawful act under Section 12 of the Racial
Discrimination Act.
According to Mr Grassby, there was no reply to that letter and
after waiting more than ten months two further letters were sent to
Mr. Tomkins' successor as Queensland's Lands Min ister, Nev
Hewitt, who also failed to reply. * June 1978; A compulsory
conference was held in Canberra with representatives of the Winy
chanam people, the Aboriginal Land Fund Com mission, and the
Uniting Church, which had entered the dispute in support of the
Aboriginal group. * July 1978; Two Queensland Government Minis
ters, and two public servants boycott a compul sory conference
called in Brisbane by Mr Grassby, under the provisions of the
Racial Discrimin ation Act.
Those directed to attend the conference were the then Lands
Minister, Mr. Hewitt; the previous Lands Minister, Mr. Tomkins; the
Director of the Queensland Department of Aboriginal and Islander
Advancement Mr Kllloran; and Chairperson of the Land Administration
Commission, Mr. Hcffernan.
All four failed to attend, but, what did turn up, was a letter on
their behalf from the Queens land Crown Solicitor. It was
addressed to Mr. Grassby and argued that 'no good purpose would be
served by their appearance as that Act (the Racial Discrimination
Act) does not require tliem to make any statement or answer any
question, . and as they would be obliged to adopt such a stand, it
would be unreasonable to go through the motions of mere physical
attendance.'
As well as pointing out this legal loophole, the letter also
asserted that 'there has been no discrim ination as is alledged',
and that 'the constitutional validity of the Act is disputed.' "'
July 1979; Mr Grassby issued a certificate under the Racial
Discrimination Act, Section 24(3), enabling the complainant (the
Winychanam Aboriginal group) to take the dispute before the
courts.
Such a certificate can only be issued after the Community Relations
Commissioner is satisfied that all possible avenues of conciliation
have been explored, and have failed.
Mr Grassby said that when conciliation failed, he issued the
certificate on the grounds that: 'It is illegal in Australia to
descriminate on grounds of race, or colour, or ethnic background,
or place of birth.
It was clearly stated by the Ministers and implemented, by the two
public servants, that land that was bought by Aboriginal people was
not permitted to be taken up by them on the grounds of the fact
that they were Aboriginal people.' * April 1982; After nearly two
years, awaiting acceptance of an application for legal aid from the
Commonwealth's Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Legal Service,
John Koowarta, repres enting the Winychanam people, issued a
Supreme Court writ against members of the Queensland Cabinet for a
breach of Section 12 of the Racial Discrimination Act. The case was
then removed to the High Court by the Federal Attorney Gener al,
Senator Peter Durack. * May 1982; The High Court rules in a split
de cision (4/3 majority) that the Act is constitutional under the
Federal Government's external affairs power to implement
international treaties in this case, the United Nations Convention
on the Elimi nation of All Forms of Racial Discriminafion.
The Archer River case was then returned to the Queensland Supreme
Court for hearing.
Ironically, with legal action ready to proceed, after ail the years
over which the dispute has dragged on, it is now impossible for the
Winychanam people to secure the Archer River property.
The reason is simple. It was declared the Archer Bend National Park
by the State Government in 1977.
Consequently, the writ taken out against the Queens land
Government is not couched in terms of seeking land. Instead, it
seeks a declaration of discrimination by the Cabinet, and an
injunction restraining it from again acting in such a way.
The writ also seeks damages for loss of dignity, humiliation and
injury to feelings.
Greg Mclntyre, the Cairns solicitor representing Mr. Koowarta, has
proposed another form of com pensation which will be dependent on
the outcome of the court action. If the plan is carried through,
re presentation will be made on bchlf of the Aborigines that they
be given part-management of what is now the Archer Bend National
Park.
Semper-9
jSjSPPPiSM^PP^
HIGGINS/P.S.A.C. DEBATE C O N T I N U E S
On the 31st May, 1982, I wrote a . tetter to Semper concerning
Graham Higgins' views on the re-introduction of ' fees for Higher
Degree Students.
This tetter was sent on behalf of the Post graduate Students Area
Committee which is the official representative body for the post
graduate students at this University.
Mr Higgins subsequently answered our criticisms with a letter sent
lo Semper on the 16th August. Mr Higgins has falsely misre- ,
presented me by slating Ihat "I don't believe that any sacrifice is
justified in gaining an edu cation".
Nowhere in my \etler did I make such a statement! Mr Higgins also
placed himself as an example of a student who has put himself at a
disadvantage to gain an education. That is fine; but I was talking
about postgraduate students who would be in an entirely differ ent
situation to that which Mr Higgins is in.
The average age of a postgraduate student is 27 years, and 65 per
cent of postgrads are married and 63 per cent of these have
children. Approximately 30 per cent of postgraduates receive no
parental financal support. These figures were drawn from the
Council of Aus tralian Postgraduate Association's submission. to
the Minister for Education in April 1982.
I asked Mr Higgins to provide facts for his claim that education is
supported by the lower income earner. He replied "just ask one -
better still, ask me.". Mr Higgins assumes that because he as a
lower income earner, pays taxes, then so does every other
low-income earner.
Such generalisations do not provide an adequate argument. Even if
it is true that lower income earners pay more tax, then this is due
more to the inadequate tax system sup ported by the Fraser
Government, than the fault of the education system.
I quoted a sun/ey conducted at Sydney University last year, which
showed that 43 per cent of students come from low income fami
lies.
Although these students are obviously not In the majority, they
make up a significant percentage of the student body. Any intro
duction of fees would certainly hit them the hardest, and force
them to leave the education system.
Mr Higgins states about the $2-3000 level of fees for postgraduate
students: "How J.M. can justifiably pluck that figure out of the
air will probably remain one of the world's greatest mysteries". If
he had bothered to read the States Grants (Tertiary Education
Assistance) Bill of 1S81, he would have seen on page 10 of the
section, "Determination with Respect to Fees" the following
statement: 'Tuition fees at such rate (not exceeding Si 000 per
annum)". For a two year Master degree course, the total fees paid
amounts to S2000, for a three year Ph.D. course the total amount
will be $3000.
Mr Higgins fails to realise that I am not talk ing about students
on T.E.A.S. as higher de gree students are ineligible for such
assistance - it is postgraduate students who were to be affected by
the re-introduction of fees!
Mr Higgins may be justly proud of being "rewarded by his own
initiative rather than suffer the demoralising affect of being paid
by the already overburdened tax payer". Post graduate students by
the nature of their thesis work do seek to be rewarded for their
own initiative.
Instead they are provided with few and inadequate postgraduate
scholarships and also have the threat of the re-introduction of
fees hanging over their heads. They have to suffer the demoralising
effect of seeing their families inadequately provided for, because
they, as low income earners on such scholarships, are overburdened
by taxation.
- J . M . F O R D Postgraduate Organiser
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Free choice of doctors, public or private hospital. No Fuss.
From $100 per year*
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Pick up a brochure from your SRC/S ludent Union, or contact A U S
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Undenwritten by Swann Insurance Ltd. (Swann is not a registered
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Benelits subject to Policy Conditiotw.
RE-. GROWTH L I M I T S I refer to Ian Cook's article,
'Growth
Limits' (Semper 16 August) setting out some of the arguments for
and against the University's ill-conceived plan to extend, by
stealth, the boundaries of the campus, by acquiring all the
residences up to Picardy Street.
As your writer states the Brisbane City Council has rejected^ the
University's applic ation for consent use of certain properties in
Hawken Drive as University offices.
The University has since appealed against this decision and
thematter will now be argued out, at considerable expense, in the
Local Government Court.
Whatever be the final outcome, the Uni versity community should be
aware of the cost of this exercise in terms of the loss of good
will to the University.
Several hundred St. Lucia residents objected to the application,
the local Alderman opposed it, the local Member of Parliament
opposed i l , the Minister for Education, according to press
reports, is unhappy about it and, as stated, the City Council voted
against it.
A list of those objecting bears careful analysis. These are not the
people who sign anything put in front of them. Among them you will
find graduates of this University, lawyers, accountants, teachers,
engineers, mem bers of the judiciary, including the former Chief
Justice, members of the University staff, retired graziers, company
directors and pro fessional people of all kinds.
Their views should not lightly be disre garded. In their
considered opinion the Uni versity should not be permitted to
vandalize a high class residential suburb. These are the very
people the University looks to for support, the very people who
might contribute to the University Foundation.
It's a crazy policy which puts these influen tial people
offside.
In terms of public relations, the University has not acted with
diplomacy or common sense. An apology is due to the local shop
keeper who was visited by "two heavies" from administration" who
abused him for exercising his democratic rights by participating in
the campaign to oppose the University's appllca- tionl
It will take the University many years to recover the good will of
the local community.
- R U P E R T G O O D M A N Resident of St. Lucia
BRISBANE COLLEGE OF ADVANCED EOtiCATWN
GRADUATE DIPLOMA IN
TEACHING (PRIMARY) The Graduate Diploma is a one year full-time
course oKcrod to graduates from Universities and Colleges of
Advanced Education. Lectures are al College's Carscldine
Campus.
Graduates may have rrajors in Arts, Social ScierKes. Malhs and
Sderico and Communication.
The preparation lor a career in primary teaching includes:
• Studies in the Curriculum ol the Primary school;
• Studies in Teact*»g and teaming; • Field Studies which combine
two four week
blocks of teaching practice and one day a week of School
Studies.
Graduates trom the course have excellent pros pects ol emptoymenl
wilh the Queensland Edu cation t}epartment and In Independent
schools.
For (urther mtormatlon, contact: The Admissions Officer, Brisbane
CA.E., VIclcrta Park Road. Kelvin GJove, Q. 4069. Telephone: (07)
356 7044
CLOSING DATE: 13 OCTOBER 10B2
ENGINEERS' REPLY I ann writing on behalf of all Civil
Engineering students who were present at the function held on
August 13th.
The function was not the sort of thing liable to end In vandalism.
It was a staff/ student 6.B.Q. put on by the staff to show their
appreciation to the students for the work they did during Expo
Uni.
While regretting the loss of the venue for 4ZZZ, I also regret the
implications that Civil Engineering students were involved in the
vandalism and the misinformation that 4ZZZ has taken all the
blame.
The Civil Engineering Students Ass'n Ex ecutive was approached by
security on the Monday following the event and we have been fully
cleared of any blame.
Had Shelley Oempsey bothered to research her article she would have
found this. We suggest that in future more care is taken with
articles befoie blame is aportioned.
- C E S A E X E C U T I V E
S H E L L E Y REPLIES! I was aware that Engineering students
had been cleared of the blame - perhaps I should have said so in
the article.
The reason I didn't was because I person ally couldn't see how
either group could have been cleared, given the meagre evidence
avail able.
I did not intend to blame the engineers outright - I merely wanted
further investi gation into the issue for Triple Zed's sake.
I did mention that the University received reports of punks in
Jacks Road after the damage occurred, and stressed at the end of
the article that, whether the culprits were engineers or punks,
nevertheless, they have effectively put Triple Zed, Brisbane's only
public broadcaster with any intere.st in live rock music, in
serious financial jeopardy, I reiterate my call for more
information and investigation.
The winner of the E.A. T. Bistro competition was
M Frick 83graceville Ave. Graceville
BRISBANE COLLEGE OF ADVAKCEO EDUCATiON
GRADUATE DIPLOMA IN
SECRETARIAL STUDIES Do you hold a degree but are uncerlain of Ihe
career direction you would like?
Have you considered an executive career it business?
A career path you make like to consider is as an Executive
Secretary or Personal Assistant. BCAE offers a one year full lime
post-graduate course at. Ihe Kedron ('ark Campos which combines a
high standard of secretarial skills with a broad basis in
management, accounting and organisatnnal prac tice and wilh
electives available iri computing and in dustrial relalkms. The
course is designed lo produce graduates capable of displaying
initiative and de- ciston making skills required by executives in
today's business world. There is a shortage of well qualified
people in this area of business. Career prospects are
excellent.
For iurther intofriMrion contact: The Admissions Offteer, Brisbane
C.A.E.. Victoria Park Road, Kelvin Grove. Q. 4059.
CLOSING DATE: 13 OCTOBER, 1982
^v.v.^v.v.vA^v.^v.^v/.v.vAV.VAv.v.v.v•v.v.v.^v,•.•.v.•.v.v.v.•.^v.•.v.v.v.v.•.^•.v.v.v.•.^^v.'.v.v.^^v
THEY'RE coming to take Over the past few weelcs the Student
Union
of the University of Queensland has conducted a survey of the
language used in departmental handbooks with regard to
sexism.
A report of each handbook, detailing any sexist language found and
suggesting alternative terminology, has been sent to each Head of
Department concerned.
With the reports, copies of nonsexist guidelines, compiled by the
Student Union and based on the McGraw-Hill Guidelines for Equal
Treatment of the Sexes'^, the Miller & Swift Handbook of
Nonsexist Writing^, and the survey itself, were sent to every
member of staff.
The Student Union hopes that this exercise will help to eliminate
sexism in subsequent departmental handbooks and m lectures and
tutorials. These guide lines are also available to students:
copies can be obtain ed free of charge at the Student Union
Office.
One of the major problems encountered in devising nonsexist
terminology is finding a suitable singular pronoun in place of 'he'
in sex-unspecific contexts such as:
"No student should enrol before he has seen his supervisor."
This use of 'be' is both sociologically and linguistically
unsatisfactory. The sociological objection is that it is demeaning
to females to be merely subsumed under a term whose primary use is
to refer to a male.
From the linguistic perspective, while It is argued that 'he' in
sex-unspecific contexts means 'he or she', we do not, however, feel
comfortable using it in this way of a nurse, a typist or a
kindergarten teacher; similarly, the writers of the 1975 Family Law
Act felt it necessary to use 'he or she' of a spouse and not
'he'.
These examples suggest that people fmd it difficult to dissociate
'he' from maleness, which raises the ques tion of whether, in
fact, 'he' is a sex-indefinite sense exists.
if we take it that it does exist, use of 'he' in sex- indefinite
contexts is ambiguous: which 'he' are we using? If it doesn't
exist, then use of 'he' in such con texts is inaccurate. Consider,
for example, the follow ing advertisement [WjE Australian,
14/8/82) - one which was otherwise totally unsexist in
wording.
The Government of f Papua New Guinea
< " ' ^ i S ^ Department of Justice Applications are invited for
the following vacancies within the Coirective Institution Services
of the DepBrtrt»ent._
Commandant National Training College - Level 19
The appoinlce will tic iubpuni>ible loi
IhUL-tliuitirilmunjtjumenlolltti) liaiiiii)>| Colleue, ppuparu
ir.imino |Ho;l>unmiu!> arid ovutsee llii-' level ol liaminu
Hcwil! a:>sis1 in Ihe sducliun ol Mc<:iiiil>i, assuss und
rnporl on Ihu ulliciunLv and polunUdI ol all peisonnol m ti jmiiiu.
The applicant mubl (MVU IUIIMI V iiuulilicalion^ in social or
twhavioural sciencuii. tjachimj quiihficaliOMb and ijitivun
;ii)iiHniblialtuL' jUilily, wilh vxpuiioncu in a di&ciplinud
lurcu jiid soniu kiiuwiitduu ul lliu tiumiinj nouds of a Corrctiivu
Insdtuliun OtibKablu.
Accountant Level 17
Ttie appointee will t)« responwUlc lor dccounlinfl ol Public monies
Ihroiuih lecurrenl expenditure, NHlional Plarininy L"»peiiililuia
Plan and Inlernat Riivoiiuc al a National Level. Jtiilwill
supurvisu uccouiitimj procedures al alt Cuiiuctive Instilulions,
Pay anoSupply Units and conduct audit m lliosi' aiiMS
Tti.;.ipplicantmustt>eaqualilieda(;OieaisteiodactomitaiilwilhL'«ii.;iiei(.(.'iii
i> .lucentralised orqanisalion and aUitily lo supeivibu and Ham
i.l.ill
Here, is 'he' 'sex-indefinite', 'he' meaning that both men and
women may apply, or 'male-only' 'he', thereby in a deliberate yet
subtle - and, moreover, sanctioned - way, deterring women from
apply for the positions?
A number of alternatives have been advanced, such as, 'he or she';
id, te, co. The latter three have little hope simply because they
are 'artificial' and pronouns are a 'closed' area of language to
which new material is rarely admitted.
The dual construction 'he or she' is different: it is composed of
'natural' pronouns, and has, over the past few years, gained some
ground.
It does, however, have certain disadvantages: it can be argued that
an element of sexism remains in that 'he' precedes 'she'; it has
also attracted criticism for its 'clumsiness', a characteristic
which Is particularly appa rent in reflexives ('himself or
herself) and where pro nouns occur in close proximity with others
(e.g., 'A student cannot plan his or her course until he or she has
consulted with his or her supervisor.')
away
This 'linguistic awkwardness' frequently results in the dual
pronoun being used in a token way only initial ly, the
writer/speaker thereafter reverting to the mas culine only
pronoun.
What is needed, then, is a one-word, 'natural' pro noun, and the
best candidate — one which was sug gested in the reports and
guidelines - is singular 'they', that is, 'they' used with a
singular antecedent as in:
'SOMEONE has forgotten THEIR book.' 'ANY STUDEI>)T can apply if
THEY have the pre requisites.' 'They' in this singular,
sex-unspecific capacity is
nothing new. It has been in the language for centuries: witness
examples from Shakespeare and Jane Austen:
'And everyone to rest themselves betake' [Much Ado About Nothing, I
I , iv)
'Each leaning on their elbows and their hips' (Venus and Adonis,
43)
'Everybody should marry as soon as they can' [Mansfield Park, p.
3^'^]
'Nobody put themselves out of the way' (Ibid, p. 11)
In present-day English, however, it is used only in speech and
informal literature (and even in these areas 'he' is more
frequently employed). This is largely a result of its proscription
by the nineteenth century, male- biased, traditional grammarians
who argued that 'they' was a plural pronoun and accordingly could
not be correctly used with a singular antecedent, and that 'he'
should be used instead.
Thus, number alone was seen as important In antecedent-pronoun
agreement; gender was totally ignored: the fact that masculine 'he'
was to be used with an antecedent which covers females as well as
males was considered to be not only acceptable but 'correct'!
The prescriptive grammarians taught that, for ex ample;
'The person who enjoys their work is fortunate.' should be changed
to:
'The person who enjoys his work is fortuante.' and:
'No one wants to admit they did it,' should be rephrased:
'No one wants to admit he did it.' So successful were the
grammariai s that, in 1850,
an Act of Parliament was passed which decreed that in official
language 'he', rather than 'he or she' or 'they', was to be used in
sex-tndefinite contexts, legislation which, 130 years later, is
still with us, embodied in a statute of this university,
viz.:
'In these Statutes and the Rules made thereunder, words importing
the masculine gender shall be taken to extend to females and the
singular to include the plural and the plural the singular unless
the contrary is indicated by the context."*
Thus, as Bodine5 says: 'Whereas unnecessary number is to be
dispensed with by the arbitrary choice of either the singular
or the plural, unnecessary get der is to be dis pensed with by the
use of the masculine only.' '
(emphases: Bodine's) The English language was thus deliberately
altered
by the traditional grammarians to accord with their male-oriented
view of the world: 'he' became the stan dard singular pronoun used
In sex-unspecific contexts. Most books or other formal literature
the reader exam ines will confirm this. In the spoken language,
however, singular 'they' clung on tenaciously, probably because
prescriptive teaching has less effect on speech than writing where
there is more scope for self-editing. Ex amples of singular 'they'
in speech abound. The Fol lowing are only some of the hundreds I
have collected recently from the media and other sources:
'Everyone telles their children, 'If you get lost, ask a
policeman'"
(Maxine McKew, 'Nationwide', ABC, 3/3/82) 'Can anybody look me in
the face . . . and say that they have not used a public phone for a
private phone-call?'
(Norm Lee, Liberal Member for Yeronga, 'Nationwide', 26/4/82)
'When a person's very desperate, the stuffing goes out of them . .
. and with it the capacity to do anything about it
themselves.'
(Frank Pavlin, Reader, Social Work lecture, U.Q., 31/3/82)
To those who are concerned with developing a language
representative of all rather than half of society, I suggest we
work on singular 'they' with the energy of the traditional
grammarians - but in the opposite direction!
Singular 'they' is presently used fairly frequently in speech. It
is also employed, though to a less extent, in informal written
material such as student manuals, class notes and newspaper
articles.
The reinstating of 'they' into the language, must therefore start
in these areas where it already has a hold. Once more fully
established there, 'they' is likely to spread into formal
literature, and eventually totally replace use of 'he' as a
standard, singular, sex-unspeciftc pronoun, a move which will
eliminate ambiguity, in accuracy and the linguistic exclusion of
half of society.
-ANNEHORAN
REFERENCES 1. In The Norton Reader, Norton & Co., N.Y., 4th ed.
1977.
162-73. 2. C. Miller & K. Swift, revised British edition. The
Women's
Press. London, 1982. 3. OUP, London. 1970.
.4. Statute 44, Part 4. U.Q. Calendar. 1982. p. 107. 5. A. Bodlnc,
'Androccntrism in prescriptive grammar: singular
'they', sex-indcfinile 'he', and 'he or she'. Language In
5(7c/cf>', 4.1975. p. 136.
Sennper-11
MHIIHIIIIIIIIIWHIHIIIHWHIWWHHIIIHIIIIIHIIIIIIIMmiWIHim^^
•^S' With sunny days well upon us, the true Brisbanite can
be found, not'watching Lawn Bowls or Badminton competitions between
the Isle of Man and Botswana, but planning their first barbeque of
the season.
The Victa mower hardly cooled down Iwfore the guests arrive, the
twilight hangovers from drinking in the sun, the carcinogenic
leather that once was prime beef, the lingering aroma in your
clothes the next day - all this and more make the backyard barbie
the highpoint of the summer social calendar.
Personally, 1 don't mind admitting that I like barbe- ques, and Til
try and suggest a few cooking styles that are ideally suited to
this great institution, while still encouraging the odd bit of
experimentation. I will say at the outset that in fact all of the
recipes are quite suited to the kitchen as well - either in the pan
or under the grill, and should not be solely relegated to the great
outdoors.
As I'm also a bit of a fence-sitter. Til put in a plug for my
personal favourite - the hibachi on the verandah. These natty
little Japanese inventions are ideal for the traditional Queensland
verandah, offering a smoke-free, kitchen, a feeling of being
outdoors, and no need to" tackle the jungle in the back yard; in
short, the perfect compromise. They burn charcoal, which should be
start ed with tightly crumpled paper and pine chips at tlie
bottom, and perhaps a touch of metho {not kerosine, which will
taint the food). The real secret, however, is how to get all the
coals smouldering away. I always suffered defeat until a fellow
biatwurst-lovcr from Melb-
s ourne (what would they know about barbeques?) showed me the trick
- the domestic hair-diyer, liberally applied, will ensure your
journey to brat-heaven.
BRATS & DOGS One of America's major contributions to the
worid's
selection of convenience foods is the lowly Hot Dog - a pas'y bread
roll with an equally pasty imitation-meat frankfurter smothered in
a chemical-flavoured red sauce. Like most foodstuffs captured by
the fast-food moguls, hot dogs have a creditable heritage waiting
to be enjoyed.
First and foremost, choose a good quality continental style weiner
- or what about pork or veal bratwurst (they look white and anaemic
but taste wonderful), Italian pork sausages (filled with real
minced meat), Spanish chorizos (paprika flavoured) and so on. Most
delis carry a range these days, with the best value to be had in
the Valley (Italian) and West End (Greek/Leban ese).
All the best dogs are fried or grilled - forget about
dumping those good weiners in boiling water. These can be done on
the barbeque (for a horde), on the hibachi (by far the best for
brats and dogs), or in a pan on the stove. Before you drop them in
the pan, be sure to fry up a pile of thinly sliced onions, which
are the next ingredient. Remember that weiners are pre-cooked so
they won't need as long as bratwurst, sausages etc.
Real American hot dogs use small bread rolls that don't smother the
meat, but personally I think the main thing is the quality of the
bread. Boycott limp stodge and buy cmsty rolls or sticks (cheaper)
from a hot- bread Idtchen, or baguettes from delis or the bakery at
the West End Market.
Finish your roll off with a choice of mustards or condiments and
you wiU be most pleasantly surprised.
BURGERS
Yes, everything I've said about hot dogs applies to burgers.
If you ask for a hamburger in an American restaur ant (and just
about every one has them on the menu), theyll ask you how you want
them done . . . you know - rare, medium, well-done. They make them
really thick., from the real meat (I won't say beef - it usually
comes from Australia), and most come well-grilled on the outside
and still a little pink inside.
If you have your own mincer, you can try a variety of meats (and
blends). Lamb, and pork a