TODAY. Limits to Albanese’s autonomy – we need a new Gough!
Well, Australia has decided to walk away from previous policy – and now will abstain from voting on the U.N. Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
That’s not that much, but it’s something.
Except for Gough Whitlam, I can’t recall any Australian Prime Minister diverging from our standard subservience to the USA. And look what happened to Gough!
I think that you can safely bet, that before this new decision about abstaining from voting, Anthony Albanese had a little chat with Joe Biden – along the lines of – “Are you sure that this OK, Joe?” Presumably Joe said “OK, but don’t make a big fuss about it”
You see, ever since World War 2, Australia has feared attack from someone – Russia? China? (It used to be Japan – but now we’re doing military exercises with them) And the USA would save us. Heck they’re saving us so thoroughly thaqt now we’ve got targets all over the place – Pine Gap, Western Australia, Darwin, – and before long – nuclear submarine bases.
Gough Whitlam saw what was happening, and wanted to ask uncomfortable questions about Pine Gap.
Ever since then, it’s been toe the U.S. line on everything military – Iraq, Afghanistan, Ukraine …. China.
The most significant obsequiousness is Australia’s cringing silence on the fate of our courageous citizen – Julian Assange.
We are expected to believe that Albanese is working quietly behind the scenes to free Julian Assange.
Well, I don’t believe that. I think that Albanese will do some deal with Biden that Assange will get home to Australia only if he has been humiliated, made to plead guilty, and eventually returned, a completely broken man, to his homeland.
Well, that would be a pretty gutless effort on Albanese’s part. But – a tad better than the Liberal’s fulsome adoration of America.
Alas, like the Australian Labor Party as a whole, Albanese is pretty limited. We need a new Gough.
Antinuclear 