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BOOK REVIEWS

This section of our web site is open to contributions about books relevant to the issues which brought NWTP into existence - namely the need for ordinary people to become involved in the political processes which affect our lives. What you write can be a Book Review but if you prefer to just do a few short random quotes and comments that give readers an idea as to what the book is on about that’s fine.

Send your short quotes and comments to :

No Ordinary Deal: Unmasking the Trans-Pacific Partnership Free Trade Agreement Jane Kelsey, Editor
Confessions of an Economic Hit-Man by John Perkins (Another view)
Confessions of an Economic Hit-Man by John Perkins
Changing Track: a new political economic direction for Australia by Frank Stilwell
Dude Where’s My Country by Mike Moore
The Collapse of Globalism And The Reinvention of The World by John Ralston Saul
Uncharted Waters: Social responsibility in Australian Trade Unions by Greg Mallory

No Ordinary Deal: Unmasking the Trans-Pacific Partnership Free Trade Agreement

Jane Kelsey, Editor


One of the problems with free trade agreements is that they are not subject to parliamentary scrutiny. They can be entered into, ostensibly on behalf of us all, by a decision of Cabinet. This has the effect of removing the details of their contents from the wider sphere of public debate. This was evidenced in the run-up to the 2004 Federal Election, when discussion of the then pending AUSFTA was overwhelmed by other issues. This situation was exacerbated, as such situations usually are, by the fact that the major parties had broadly similar attitudes to the Agreement.

Now another FTA is about to be foisted on us, and, this time, on New Zealand as well. In fact the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement is to cover seven nations, the USA, Chile, Vietnam, Brunei, Peru and Singapore being the others. This book, which arose out of a colloquium in Auckland back in 2009, consists of 16 essays dealing with various aspects of the Agreement, with an emphasis on the impact of its ramifications on life in Australia and New Zealand.

As the editor, Jane Kelsey, says in her Introduction, “This is no ordinary free trade negotiation.” Its effect, and, indeed, its apparent intention, is to subjugate even further the economies of the participating countries to the dictates of extreme neo-liberal ideology. That it has arisen in the wake of the devastating failure of that ideology as demonstrated by the (ongoing) Global Financial Crisis, is testament to the dogged determination of those who see themselves as profiting by the application of such doctrines.

As the “free” in “free trade agreement” refers to freedom from government regulation that might put a brake on corporate greed, it is to be hoped that our Prime Minister can, before her Cabinet accedes to this Agreement, temper the crude sycophancy she displayed on her recent trip to Washington. Large corporations (and for all practical purposes among these seven nations, this means American ones) are seeking, under the provisions of the TPPA, to be free from such controls as those governing the labelling of genetically engineered food, local content in media and favourable treatment ot Australian firms in government purchasing together with preference for Australian workers on government contracted projects.

Threats are also posed to the Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme (which narrowly survived the last Agreement) and the requirement of Australian governments to adhere to international labour and environmental standards. One crucial target of those pushing the Agreement is the regulation of the finance sector; if these interests get their way, any attempt to legislate for the prevention of such practices as those that led to the 2008—9 worldwide implosion of financial institutions will be outlawed. Implications for quarantine regulations, climate change policy, the rights of indigenous people and national security are also among the topics considered by this book’s contributors.

Within the pages of No Ordinary Deal lurk some cautionary tales that come pretty close to being horror stories. Some of these have arisen out of the 1993 North American Free Trade Agreement, such as the case of the Mexican municipality which demanded a construction permit before US corporation Metalclad could start building a toxic waste dump. Metalclad sued the Mexican government for damages and the requirement for a permit was ruled to be in contravention of the Agreement, resulting in a $15.6 million payout to the corporation. The lobbying power of large corporations is enough already to give them a huge influence over governments, but the TPPA will establish a procedure for investor-state disputes which will pave the way for similar cases here.

In other words, and as the contributors to this book continually point out, Australia and New Zealand would be signing away their national sovereignty in many crucial areas. It makes for depressing, if essential, reading. Buy a copy for yourself and a second one for your local federal member. Politicians might not be able to vote on the TPPA, but at least they should be made aware of its contents.

Tim Thorne
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Confessions of an Economic Hit-Man

by John Perkins


This is the life story of the author who worked as an Economic Hit Man for the U.S. establishment. It is both a story of what he actually did in many countries and of his fears, regrets and agonising about blowing the whistle. His fear for the future of the world in which his young daughter and her contemporaries will be forced to live, if the practices he and his colleagues indulge in remain hidden and continue, finally gave him the courage to have this book published. And any informed and thinking reader, when they have read his book, will realise that courage, on the part of both writer and publisher were essential. It is a very loud and clear whistle.

Economic Hit Men (EHMs) in the words of Perkins, “…are crafty we do not carry swords. … armor or clothes that set us apart…. We appear humble normal. … talk with local papers about the wonderful humanitarian things we are doing. We are on the record, in the open. Or so we portray ourselves and so are we accepted… We seldom resort to anything illegal because the system itself is built on subterfuge, and the system is by definition legitimate.”

Perkins then continues, “However – and this is a very large caveat- if we fail, an even more sinister breed steps in, ones we EHMs refer to as the jackals, men who trace their heritage to those earlier empires. The jackals are always there, lurking in the shadows. When they emerge, heads of state are overthrown or die in violent 'accidents'. And if by chance the jackals fail, … young Americans are sent in to kill and to die.” ( Prologue Page XX1)

There are potential readers of this revealing book who might find it hard to believe that this is the reality of the American Empire which they have been tutored to see as a great democracy. However, anyone who was tuned to SBS at 8.30 p.m. on Tuesday January 23rd 2007 and watched “Kidnapped By the CIA” will likely see the Perkins Book as a further evidence as to the real character of the American system of rule over the world. Kidnapping by the CIA and secret American prisons in Europe have been revealed by a group of European Parliamentarians and these facts were made clear in this SBS program.

To return to Perkins' Book. First its back page summary makes the following comments: “Economic Hit Men are highly paid professionals who cheat countries around the Globe out of trillions of dollars. Their tools include fraudulent financial reports, rigged elections, payoffs, extortion, sex and murder. They play a game as old as Empire but one that has taken on terrifying dimensions during this time of globalization.”

The comment continues on to say: “ John Perkins should know—he was an economic hit man for an international consulting firm that worked to convince poorer countries to accept enormous development loans—and and to make sure that such projects were contracted to US companies. Once these countries were saddled with huge debts, the American government would request their ‘pound of flesh’ in favours, including access to natural resources, military cooperation and political support.”

On page 212 of the book Perkins explains how such a system can continue to function. He writes, “Under normal circumstances we would run the risk of eventually decimating our own funds; after all, no creditor can afford too many defaulted loans. However ours are not normal circumstances. The United States prints currency that is not backed by gold. Indeed, it is not backed by anything other than a general world wide confidence in our economy and our ability to marshal the forces and resources of the empire we have created to support us.”

Perkins goes on to reveal potential weaknesses in this system and how vulnerable it is to developments like the growth in the strength of the European Euro, and some possible developments in Asia. He concludes that certain developments would mean, “The United States would suddenly find itself in a most precarious situation”. (p.p. 212-13 )

There are many pages of revealing writing about U.S. interference in the internal affairs of Indonesia, countries in what is called the Middle East and in Africa, South and Central America in this book. The interference involves bribery, torture and rape, plus other forms of corruption and criminal acts including murder.

On page 214 after discussing several aspects of the situation of and in Iraq and Saudi Arabia Perkins writes, “As I read those articles, I could not help but wonder how many other people knew, as I did, that Saddam would still be in charge if he had played the game as the Saudis had. He would have his missiles and chemical plants; we would have built them for him, and our people would be in charge of upgrading and servicing them. It would be a very sweet deal–even as Saudi Arabia had been.”

My only comment is that American and other Western Oil companies and governments’ initial promotion of and support for the bloody dictator Saddam is well known and documented. And this knowledge gives strong credibility to the above view of the real reason for the invasion of Iraq.

The above quotes from Perkins present some examples of what has/is currently happening in several countries around the world in trouble because of American influence and interference in their internal affairs. As Perkins reveals it is the countries with oil under their soil, or which hold some geographically strategic position, like Panama, which are most likely to be the victims.

Max Bound

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Confessions of an Economic Hit-Man

by John Perkins


The preface to this intriguing, but emotionally upsetting, book opens with the folowing key statement:

"Economic hit-men(EHMs) are highly paid professionals who cheat countries around the globe out of trillions of dollars. They funnel money from the World Bank, the US Agency for International Development(USAID), and other foreign "aid" organisations into the coffers of huge corporations and the pockets of a few wealthy families who control the planet's natural resources. Their tools include: fraudulent financial reports, rigged elections, payoffs, extortion, sex and murder. They play a game as old as empire, but one that has taken on new and terrifying dimensions during this time of globalisation. I should know - I was an EHM."

The writer mentions severe attacks of 'conscience' in regard to his own apparently successful contributions to the clandestine aims of the whole scheme, and one must suspect that the 'high life' he enjoyed whilst carrying out his work was somewhat embroidered. But the central, most chilling fact that emerged for me was the confirmation and recognition of the cold-blooded assault upon the tenuous lives of the millions of disadvantaged people for the benefit of the few at the other end of life's spectrum.

John Perkins, in his book, has, rightly or wrongly, accurately or inaccurately, opened many tightly closed 'windows' on the machinations used by those, like himself, involved in the secretive strategies employed by the United States' empire builders. One such action that particularly impressed me was a revelation explaining the shadowy link between members of the Bush family and the ruling Saudi family.

Almost more frightening and daunting is the fact that, in spite of our ABC Radio using a lunchtime broadcast to acquaint its listeners with John Perkins and his book (available easily in good bookshops in Australia), I suspect that general awareness of its implications has long evaporated like rain on summertime footpaths. Our political leaders, and our official "opposition", to its eternal shame, have all dutifully maintained the purposeful blackout regarding all the unpalatable truths surrounding US empire-building intentions and actions, keeping as many Australians as possible happily anaesthetised with news of unimportant issues and sport.

One can only conclude that, with opposition voices subdued in Australia, the UK and the US as well, those responsible either fear US Government retaliation or have something valuable to gain in return for their shameful silence. God help our children and their successors as our world's future and all its resources head towards becoming the 'property' of the wealthy, greedy and rapacious in the not-too-distant future.

I urge you to read and inwardly digest John Perkins' book as soon as possible.

George Sanders

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Changing Track: a new political economic direction for Australia

by Frank Stilwell

This is the best I have read in this area. It is an invaluable general contribution and a particularly important aid to the NOW WE THE PEOPLE discussions. The book canvasses a wide selection of critical issues. Globalisation, Neo-liberalism, Corporate managerialism, insecurity, inequality, Alienation, Economy- society- ecology, Towards a fourth way, are some of the headings for an in depth discussion. There are thoughtful and useful comments on two failed attempts at progressive reform, namely the Labor Party -Union Accord and the Australia Reconstructed project. The question of "New political formations" is discussed. The section of the book devoted to new policy approaches is wide ranging, important specifics are outlined and new approaches and attitudes suggested.

"Restructuring for ecological sustainability requires conscious planning. There is an obvious need for linkage to the issue of industry policy. It could also be encouraged by taxes and user charges which promote more environmentally responsible production and consumption patterns. É Existing structures of industry, energy use and urban development will require radical change, but those processes create the prospect of more, not less, employment opportunities."

Frank Stilwell gives examples to illustrate the above points and states- "taking ESD (ecologically sustainable development) seriously poses an enormous challenge but opens up considerable opportunity for the simultaneous pursuit of employment and environmental goals." (p188) To me the need for recognition and investigation of interconnectedness is a central issue. Stilwell's book is an important contribution in this direction.

To open minded people, who have investigated and thought about the issues involved, this is a direction essential to a human future. Why then, given such an imperative, is the task so difficult ? To my mind the key problems reside in the fact that a whole new mindset and a whole new approach to how we view and go about organising our interactions with fellow humans and with our physical environment are necessary. And people who control large concentrations of capital have a vested interest in continuing to rip off other people and our physical environment.

There are a number of other important aspects to our problem. These include the reality that change is never easy and is for some people obnoxious. Take the issue of halting the destruction of our forests. People involved in what is called forestry have particular skills and often little imagination or concern about anything other than their own immediate position. As one of these "experts" put it to me several decades ago: "I am a silviculturist and hope for a future for tree plantations." When I asked to what extent he had studied or thought about the long term effects of the destruction of native forests he replied that he had not investigated or thought about this aspect.

In the context of the drive for profit regardless of all else such narrowness, even perhaps willed ignorance, of experts becomes a terrible threat to our natural resources, in this case to our native forests. This sort of short term thinking and selective learning is widespread amongst both so-called experts and the general workforce and public. It is one of the attitudes and approaches which underpins the "greed is good" philosophy promoted by short term profit orientated corporation controllers. It assists un-elected corporation bosses to deceive people and to control elected governments.

At another level, selective learning without regard to context, plus short term profit taking, political expediency and bureaucratic bungling have created massive problems in land use. Land salinity is connected with tree clearance, but mindless tree clearing is still happening.

We will not change such attitudes and stances by merely changing the political party in office. Or even by only a seemingly radical shift in who controls the economy, the media and other organs of power and persuasion. This latter point is made apparent by the failed Soviet and Chinese models of "socialism". A combination of discussion, education, and cultural change - plus development of intelligent practical policies and approaches and political activity which can mobilise people in a movement strong enough to challenge and change the status quo is what is required.

Openness and mechanisms which can enable effective public participation in deciding economic as well as social, environmental and cultural priorities are essential. Such an aim is of a long way from our present situation. Currently un-elected company / corporation directors decide economic priorities and increasingly influence the direction and decisions of elected governments on social, environmental, cultural and other matters. Donations to the major political parties and to fledgling ultra rightwing parties is only one of the ways powerful corporations influence and largely control governments.

There are no ready made solutions we have to develop ideas and practices appropriate to our own conditions and times. As the convening Statement of NOW WE THE PEOPLE (NWTP) puts it- "People of many traditions-liberal democratic, social democratic, socialist, feminist, green, religious and others each with their own records of successes and failures- can contribute to finding contemporary solutions to these issues."

The NWTP convening statement indicates a broad approach and vision on the major social, economic, cultural and environmental issues confronting modern society. Its importance to me is that it places these problems in the context of a complex whole, rather than merely as a list of isolated issues. Frank Stilwell's latest book provides us with invaluable insights into this interconnectedness of things and the need for solutions which can take care of several aspects of our problems and are not mere band-aids and empty rhetoric.

In his The Good Society the aged but still relevant American economist J.K.Galbraith draws attention to the conflict between "environmental concerns" and "the motivating force of the market economy". (p84) He argues in favour of government legislation for a "socially adequate minimum wage". Galbraith favors stronger unions and states his belief that "worker organisation remains a major civilising factor in modern economic life." He argues for a stronger public sector and demolishes the myth that lower taxation on the rich is in the interests of better economic outcomes. (Galbraith 1996)

This interventionist approach which includes an intelligent recognition of the interconnectedness of things is one which economic rationalists, from Keating to Howard, reject. Frank Stilwell makes the point that "Successful economic performance requires cooperative relationships." He draws attention to how the unemployed are excluded from participation.

Stilwell continues, "But so too are increasing numbers of the employed, fearful of their employment prospects as a result of top-down 'rationalisations', facing increased economic insecurity, and with little confidence in the fruits of economic progress being equitably shared. It is hard to imagine a context less conducive to the cooperative relationships - individually and institutionally - which are necessary for sustainable improvements in economic performance. The alternative being posited here sees unemployment as symptomatic of a broader failure of the economy to serve the society"

On page 275 a quote from the late Nugget Coombs indicates Stilwell's approach to the problems of urban living. "The planning of cities, suburbs, towns and neighbourhoods could contribute much - if they were conceived as locations for living which enabled human activities to be conducted simply, with minimum expensive capital equipment, and economically, especially in relation to energy." (from Coombs, Return of Scarcity 1990)

Frank Stilwell discusses the need to curb the unnecessary transport of goods arising from the fight for market share. This and the need for serious consideration of how production of socially and ecologically damaging goods can be discouraged are key issues for resource and energy conservation. Long haul road transport of goods and the private car in cities are other serious issues for consideration. Excessive use of ground space with road construction and in the cities neighbourhood dislocation, as well as Greenhouse Gas, are problems.

Alternative employment for people whose jobs would be affected by the substantial changes required to meet a standard of ecological, as well as social responsibility need to be part of this consideration. Frequent and efficient public transport, bikeways, convenient walkways, home delivery of domestic shopping and a system of easy short term hire of vehicles for private use could help effect dramatic change without loss of convenience. The long term efforts of vehicle manufacturers and oil companies to make car ownership a status symbol would be a major source of opposition to such socially and ecologically desirable changes. But as part of wider changes and serious public discussion they could become acceptable, even welcome, to most people.

The list of some matters discussed in "Changing Track" presented on page 295 indicates the importance of the book to people who are concerned about present directions and want to change them. To quote:
  • "the redistribution of work and working time;
  • the revitalisation of the public sector;
  • the development of a national investment fund;
  • the promotion of a 'high road' for industry development based on education,skill and innovation;
  • the fostering of regionally focussed industry clusters;
  • the development of a more equitable incomes policy;
  • the introduction of a guaranteed annual income scheme to underpin an overhaul of the welfare and taxation system;
  • other tax reforms designed to curb speculation and produce a more equitable distribution of post-tax incomes;
  • policies to deal with the inefficiencies and inequities associated with private land ownership;
  • urban policies and decentralisation strategies to foster more balanced patterns of spatial development;
  • a new system of regional government;
  • restructuring of industries, patterns of housing and transport in the cities to achieve more socially and ecologically sustainable outcomes;
  • a new system of 'accounting' for economic and social progress."

Stilwell then comments, "Of course, these policy proposals - and their interrelationships - need further development and consideration. They are not presented as a 'shopping list' in the hope or expectation that a future Labor government will simply adopt and implement it. ... the purpose is to stimulate the involvement of increasing numbers of people in discussing these strategic and policy issues. This is an integral element in the process of radical reform. The general point is that there are policies on which an alternative economic strategy can be based, given the political will."

Max Bound March 2001

(This comment was written for and displayed on the National NWTP website for some time. The issues discussed are still current and even more urgent in late 2005.)
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Dude Where’s My Country

by Mike Moore
Allen Lane an imprint of Penguin Books 2003

If you became a fan of Mike Moore on TV you may have read his "Dude Where’s My Country" Pub. Allen Lane an Imprint of Penguin Books in 2003. If not, it's well worth reading. The American who makes you laugh while discussing serious social and political- cultural issues asks seven pointed questions of George Bush in Chapter 1 of this book.

Included are question No. 1:"Is it true that the bin Ladens have had business relations with you and your family off and on for the past 25 years?" Mike Moore presents plenty of hard evidence that it is true.

Question No. 4: "Why did you allow a private Saudi jet to fly around the U. S. in the days after September 11 and pick up members of the bin Laden family and then fly them out of the country without a proper investigation by the FBI?" Among other things Mike Moore points out that this happened at a time that others were not allowed to fly in the U.S.A.

And much later in the book a rhetorical from page 149 about the USA "When are we going to get this country and its economy into our hands, electing representatives who will split the pie fairly and see that no one gets more than their fair share?" A fair question. All this commentator can say is best of luck Mike, it will take a lot of effort and a lot of people to achieve such a sensible and desirable aim. And ditto as far as Australia is concerned.

Yet another matter in which we in Australia also have an increasingly important interest - in his notes and sources section Mike Moore urges his fellow Americans to "Join Public Citizen’s campaign to protect universal access to clean and affordable drinking water by keeping it in public hands (www.citizen.org/cmep/Water)"

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The Collapse of Globalism And The Reinvention of The World

by John Ralston Saul
Viking an imprint of Penguin Books 2005

Saul’s new book is well researched and it is very readable. He examines the extent and depth of the problems the neoliberal path or economic rationalism has created for human beings. And presents extensive evidence of the many failures of neoliberal theories.

On page 176 he writes - "The last quarter-century has resembled, if anything, the mid nineteenth century, with its drive toward monopoly and oligopoly. And in some strange way it has related to the old mercantilist approach and the idea of royally granted monopolies. None of it is about embracing competition. It is about limiting and if possible removing competition." This is a statement that no honest and serious reader, with any clues at all about what is happening around us, could disagree with.

Saul uses quotes from various prominent figures to introduce each part of his book. At the beginning of part 5 he quotes the early 20th Century Italian Marxist, Gramsci - "The old is dying, the new struggles to be born, and in the interregnum there are many morbid symptoms.". These symptoms obviously include billions of people starving in the era of massive productive capacities. The rich getting richer and the poor poorer. More millionaires and more homeless people. Ever more police state powers threaten hard won democratic rights.

War and profits from manufacture of the means to injure and kill people have become even more important props for the economic system. Failed top executives get $ Millions to retire. Governments use $ millions of public money in campaigns to feed false information to the public. Economic and social policies are accelerating the destruction of ecological systems which are essential to human well being.

Near the end on page 276, Saul discusses what he sees as "...An era of resurging nation-states, ... ". He writes - "There are also openings for powerful practical institutions - such as reformulated cooperatives - that could play a major role in both developed and developing economies. ... Transnational technocracies have abandoned or half abandoned a whole series of areas that require too much hands-on attention to interest them. ... The real need today is for existential involvement."

The Oxford dictionary describes existentialism as - "a philosophical theory emphasising the existence of the individual person as a free and responsible agent determining his or her own development.". If being free and responsible is interpreted as recognising that we, as social beings, live in societies and consequently need to recognise that we need to express our own desires and personalities in a way which promotes cooperation and harmony and allows all to enjoy a good life that’s fine."

On the other hand if we imagine that ‘greed is good’ and that what happens to other people is not our concern then that is quite different and highly undesirable.

In the real world, to paraphrase Marx - people make their own history but in the conditions in which they find themselves -. Today we live in societies which at the official level are increasingly competitive and orientated to accommodate the selfish and destructive whims of the powerful and greedy super rich. Each generation lives and works in the economic and social - and these days the physical environment created by those who came before us. People are neither the same nor do they have the same openings and opportunities. Individual capacities, energies interests etc. also vary.

However most, unfortunately not all, people given the chance prefer a peaceful, equitable and cooperative social environment. To the extent that people recognise and are able to exercise their responsibility to think, develop alternative economic and social strategies and work together to change current directions, then ordinary people are not powerless. But we are handicapped and need agreed common ideals, organisation and working cooperatively together to give us the power to over come our relative powerlessness and help affect change.

In the modern world if you have a lot of money you can invest it. If you are poor it is, to say the least, difficult. If you own a newspaper, radio station, or other resources which gives you power you can influence public opinion in a substantial manner.

None the less Saul is making a point that has considerable validity. If we act together people can make a difference.

Saul’s latest book contains much valuable information. It is one of a number which contribute to understanding today’s world. In part its importance resides in the well researched exposure of the failure of economic rationalism or neoliberal theory and the recognition that this ideology is causing big trouble. Neoliberal theory itself has failed and needs replacing with an approach which puts people and looking after our environment ahead of short term profit and big noting failed top executives.

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Uncharted Waters: Social responsibility in Australian Trade Unions

by Greg Mallory
published by the author. RRP $35.00

This book tells the stories of two of the most significant episodes in the history of the Australian Trade Union movement, the Port Kembla waterside workers’ refusal to load pig iron for Japan on the eve of the Second World War, and the Green Bans imposed by the NSW Builders Labourers Federation during the 1970s. It is, however, much more than an account of what happened.

Mallory sketches in the early history of Australian unions, and looks at the influence of the various forces which shaped them. He distinguishes three general areas of union activity, which he labels industrial (concerned with wages and conditions), political (concerned with attempts at change brought about through political parties inside or outside parliament) and socially responsible (transformation of society through workers’ control in co-operation with the broader community). He looks at how such influences as the early writings of Marx on alienation, the anarcho-syndicalist tradition of the "Wobblies" or Industrial Workers of the World, and the theoreticians of the "New Left" have affected developments within organised labour.

His main point is that the pig iron ban and the Green Bans were the main examples in this country of socially responsible union activity. This is not just because of the significance of the social issues involved but also because of the democratic and inclusive way decisions were made within the sections of the union movement that were taking part.

He stresses the importance of the fact that, in both cases, not only did the workers who were at the heart of these struggles have to contend with conservative anti-union governments, but also with reactionary forces within the ruling bodies of their own unions. This was especially and more obviously the case with the battle between the NSW BLF and the Gallagher-led Federal Management Committee, but, as Mallory points out, the Federal Committee of Management of the Waterside Workers Federation was opposed to the Port Kembla branch’s refusal to load iron that they knew would come back at Australians in the form of bullets.

For those who are unfamiliar with the facts of these campaigns this book is instructive. It is meticulously researched and detailed, if a little dry, a little too much the worked-over PhD thesis in style. That, however, is a minor quibble. What is really valuable is the way these useful examples from history are shown to have come about, the way that Mallory shows how progress can be made by rank-and-file workers in the face of seemingly insurmountable odds.

The episodes Mallory describes might have happened 65 and 30 years ago, but never has it been more important to reflect on them than it is today. With the working class in this country facing a massive attack from the Howard Government, while unions are at a low point in terms of membership, and with a complete lack of effective leadership from any political party, there is an unprecedented urgency to the need to learn the lessons in this book. It is valuable to remember that it has been when the glib and shallow catch-cry of "Jobs above all!" has been bypassed in favour of action to protect Australian lives, Australians’ homes and Australia’s heritage that the union movement has been most relevant.

With progressive forces within Australia battling on so many fronts: the environment, civil liberties, public education, refugees, the media, indigenous health -(the list goes on) - the kind of links that the NSW BLF forged with residents’ action groups or that the Port Kembla wharfies forged with the peace movement are going to be essential in the immediate future for a better chance of victory against the short-term profit-grabbing or vote-grabbing policies we are being subjected to. Not only that, but essential for the very survival of the trade unions themselves.

Unfortunately, as with most self-published books, it is unlikely you will stumble across a copy of Uncharted Waters in your local bookshop. I got mine from the New International Bookshop in the Melbourne Trades Hall (03 9662 3744). Or you could e-mail the author direct at


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