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HISTORY Jr RECORDS MEDIA PSYCHOLOGY ******* 2ND FLOOR 17 ELIZABETH STREET MELBOURNE 3000 » TELEPHONE 03 614 2859 AUSTRALIA ifT K F Itt LU W '* ' N T E N n c r v w KEVIE UNIVE* BRIEFINGS 5 ^ r » « u K i 2 B 108 1988: THE YEAR IN REVIEW The year ministerial Incomes took a dive in Qld, o racism came back into vogue, Bill Hayden exchanged tourist map for top hat, political debate hit new lows in Editorial >^oilective: the USA, and Aboriginal people found nothing much changed. ALR surveys the year that was, Sydney: Eric Aarons, Hilda Andrews, Malcolm Andrews, Letter From Ephesus: Quayie Soup David Burchcll, SteveCatt, Lyndell Is it true that Mickey Mouse wears a Dan Quayie Fairleigh, Gloria Garton, Jane watch? inglts. Carfolta McIntosh, Peter McNiecc, Karen Vanec, Profile: Peter Carey Melbourne: Lousie Connor, Jim Crosthwaite, James Gray. Sue FFATURES El McCrcadie, Pavia Miller. Anitra Nelson, Ken Norling, Olga Silver, A WORLD OF DIFFERENCE 8 Janna Thompson. From the early Seventies to the eve of the Nineties, Brisbane: Nicola Doumany. Kathy sisters have come a long way, reports Marilyn Lake Euershank. David Euershank, 12 Jane Evans, Howard Gutlle. Mike ROCKY ROAD Kennedy, Colin Mercer. Jeffrey Oz rock music: underpaid, oversexed and over here. Minson, Rob McQueen, Marg By Graeme Turner. O ’Donnell. FROM GREY TO GREEN 17 Co-ordinator: Urban issues are set to become a high-rise priority on the left, says Jack Mundey David Rurchell COUNSEL FOR THE DEFENCE 21 Accounts: Hilda Andrews and Laurie Carmichael's support for Labor's record Malcolm Andrews (Sydney); Olga makes him a highly controversial figure. Here he Silver (Melbourne). speaks out to ALR. Distribution: CHANGING THE SUBJECT 26 The left has ignored the subjective dimension for far Newsagents: Wrapaway, 42 Chapel St, Marrickville 2204. too long, according to Stuart Hall. layout TIME OUT David Burchcll and Karen Vance Days of TV and Fish Fingers Cover Graphic Fiction from Moya Sayer-Jones Michael Fitzjames Barbie at the Barricades The Barbie doll, beyond the Ken Typesetting Welcome to the New Times Gloria Garton ALR interviews the face behind Britain’s top left magazine Advertising REVIEW Peter McNiece I EE Bewinged Printer Wim Wenders: the man who fell to earth? Spotprcss. 21 Ross Street. Forest Lodge 2037. The Last Convicts? Searching for Labor Correspondence Australian Left Review. SERVICES Box A247, Sydney South PO, Sydney 2000 Australia Letters Phone: (02)281,2899 Dags: memory lane; asbestos Fax: (02)281,2897. Disinformation ALR welcomes contributions and Subscriptions: ALR subs, PO Box A247 Sydney South letters. 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Deadline: three weeks before not necessarily those of the editorial month of publication. collective 2 AUSTRALIAN LEFT REVIEW 1988: THE YEAR IN REVIEW A Year to Forget For the Aboriginal people, the end of 1988, the much-vaunted "year of reconciliation”, seemed much like the beginning, with an infant mortality rate still three times higher, unemployment four times higher, imprisonment rates up to sixteen Photo: Rapport times higher, and life expectancy conservative onslaught against But a question mark remained. twenty years less, than the national Aboriginal self-determination and Were Gerry Hand's actions a average. Aboriginal programs. In NSW, capitulation to the right's anti-black The inspiration of Sydney’s “mainstreaming” (read “assimil­ vendetta, or was the demise of the January 26 march raised hopes of a ation”) became the buzzword. And in unloved Charles Perkins and friends better future. But where the year’s Canberra the furore in the a case of the Aboriginal movement beginning had at least seen some Department of Aboriginal Affairs choosing the moment to put its own attempt at progress, its close saw the saw the government in abject retreat house in order? government in hasty retreat behind a once more. DB Shady Lanes and Dark Alleys he Fitzgerald Inquiry into donkey’s back". T his is no way to Mat the inquiry already has at its Queensland corruption was talk about your own party and disposal. Tone of the great pieces of government, and why a donkey Two senior ministers, a political theatre of 1988. And, like rather than a camel is not clear. What Supreme Court Judge (Angelo any other good drama, it came to a is clear, however, is that the ambit of Vasta), a District Court Judge (Eric climax shortly before the year’s the inquiry is now firmly, rather than Pratt), a Police Commissioner (Sir curtain-fall. “allegedly” within the political arena. Terence Lewis), several other senior Don Lane’s confessions that he had and some lower-ranking officers, all By the lime this gets into print rorted both the taxation department now either stood down or aside, or dramatic events may already have and the ministerial expenses system confessedly corrupt, is not bad going resulted irom former Senior (allegedly along with many of his for just over a year's work. But these Minister. Don “Shady” Lane's ministerial colleagues) to the extent have been only the most public confessions to the inquiry in of a combined sum of SI30,000 may figures and events in the inquiry. November. As one allegedly reliable pale into insignificance against the What is clear is that Tony Fitzgerald National Party source was quoted as wide implications of his confessions QC has been slowly building up a saying on ABC local radio: “this in relation to the amassed evidence database of intelligence, occasionally could be the straw that breaks the introducing a “key operator” to 1988: THE YEAR IN REVIEW AUSTRALIAN LEFT REVIEW 3 enable the database to form into distinctive patterns. The slow sweep Howard Plays the Wild Card through the networks of prostitution, illegal casinos, and SP betting, producing some rather flat and uneventful moments in the life of the inquiry, have nonetheless provided the inquiry team with an invaluable system ofcross-references which swing into action as key witnesses appear. The fact that this has all been done in public, and that the public can — and does — make cross references too, gives it political implications far beyond those of any previous inquiry in Queensland and probably in the whole of Australia. Jack “The Bagman" Herbert, former Head of the Licensing Squad, and star witness for the inquiry, turned out to be a bit of a 1988 was the year racism came Not for the first time, John disappointment in terms of back into fashion. The FitzGerald Howard found himself exchanging sensational revelations, and stood- Report opened up a “debate” over Menziesite conservatism for the down Police Commissioner Sir multiculturalism even as a sanitised lexicon of the populist right. Terence Lewis suffered from 18 days version was doing service as the Meanwhile, the left found itself in a of non-recall, but both of these key official representation of nationhood familiar dilemma: how to support the figures were clearly made in the Bicentennial year. And “social multicultural principle while uncomfortable by pieces of evidence cohesion” became the racists’ remaining critical of the produced by the inquiry’s catchcry. practice? elephantine memory-bank of Queensland’s network of both alleged and confessed corruption. In more “moderate” than Reagan. both cases, this discomfort enabled Bushed Bush will probably wish to the inquiry to make at least tentative continue Reagan’s kudos-winning connections with the sphere of he world recently experienced disarmament initiatives. But he is government in Queensland. two major American events: still a hawk. He supports Star Wars The tentative connections T the election of George Bush as as vigorously as Reagan. And appeared to become firmer as the President, and the twenty-fifth defence expenditure will only be inquiry moved into its "political anniversary of President Kennedy’s affected by the ability to squeeze season” initiated by Don Lane’s assassination. While history sees the other sectors, do deals with confessions and allegations about his latter presidency as Camelot; we can Congress, and the pressures of the cabinet colleagues, though the predict with certainty that the former general economic malaise. former minister has denied being the falls into the Father Knows Best We know Bush supports “Big Don” who advised Herbert to category. Reagan’s “freedom fighters”, the leave the country in 1987 and has With a Bush administration we Contras: his exact role in the Iran/ denied any alleged connections with are assured of four more years of Contragate scandal has yet to be illegal out-of-hours hotel openings extreme conservatism, despite the spelled out in court (if it gets that far). and electoral irregularities raised in fact that political commentators, Where Bush does differ from previous evidence.