Steedman arrived back in Melbourne from Darwin shortly before the 1975 Federal election caused by Sir John Kerr’s sacking of the Whitlam Government. He called at the ALP head office to offer his assistance and was given responsibility for getting out the “ethnic” vote. This involved him establishing a communications system to get relevant information to all the differing and often warring groupings in the immigrant community, provide translators, targeted literature and consultation with and between groups. The ethnic vote was the only “grouping” that stayed with Labor in Victoria when the Whitlam Government was swept from office.
Soon after, when Bob Hogg was appointed ALP Victorian secretary , Steedman was made editor of the party’s monthly newspaper, Labor Star , following the death of Colin Beadnall. Steedman was described in a newspaper article as a confident , tough-talking bodgie of Melbourne’s Left. It quoted Steedman as saying he had joined the ALP at its lowest ebb, unlike so many he saw as opportunists who signed up when Whitlam won government . Previously, he said, he had run an independent Left line, but got sick of plotting the revolution every weekend at home with three bomb throwers, so got into a party of mass support.
Steedman stated the Star had to change from one which just ran parliamentary speeches and reflected the views of the ruling clique, to one that allowed dissent and discussion aimed at debating or formulating policy. It became his baby for seven years ,for which he received no emolument , and he opened it up to “everybody.” As long as they did not personally slander anyone , contributors could express themselves on any issue, keeping it within the Party and not the daily Press. Under his virtual one man band control, the Star changed from a rather bland suburban paper publication into a “more grown up “ production, ready for a scrap , with much more content and lively headings such as FEARLESS FRASER FINALLY FREAKS and TIME TO CLEAN THE CROOKS OUT OF PARLIAMENT.
With a print run of 30,000, it was distributed to all Party members, by union workers on shop floors and, because it was now becoming meaningful, anxiously awaited by the Liberals. The Murdoch press , it was said, loved to mischieviously quote it out of context. At the time there was a lot of factional brawling in the party and the open pages policy helped ease the swellings of the heart . Naturally , the Liberals pounced on each edition to launch attacks about divisions, disunity and rows.
Labor Star ran discussion papers where different views to the current party line were aired. Some of the attitudes expressed in those columns eventually became policy. The new open policy was beneficial , he believed , and played a part in a growing consensus approach which developed in Victoria. Steedman hoped to take the heat out of some of the internal party conflict by restricting it to the pages of Labor Star while the Party was in the process of reinventing itself under the leadership of Hogg.
From Steedman’s extensive files came the above issue of July 23, 1979 , of 24 pages. It contains an extensive and lively letters to the editor section under the heading FEEDBACK , cartoons from architect /illustrator Peter Burleigh ,his Bulldust Diary series currently running in Little Darwin, and Rick Armor now an internationally acclaimed artist and sculptor who in 1999 was appointed the official war artist to East Timor by the Australian War Memorial .
Throughout his publishing career Steedman has had a great affinity for local and overseas cartoonists whose work often made clear involved, serious issues and caused people to think . Leunig , with whom he was involved back in the university days in Melbourne , is a classic example.
There is a two page spread for the Myer Music Bowl rally to mark the nuclear bombing of Hiroshima anniversary that includes coverage of US bases in Australia- PineGap, North-West Cape, Nurrungur and Omega . It also raises the nuclear power issue in Australia and the waste disposal problems. Three tribal elder women from Oenpelli- Hanna, Rachel and Barbara- are shown with three Filipinos in a page expressing concern about proposed nuclear power in the Philippines and the Pacific islands.
Sue Gavaghan , who helped out with regular , lengthy interviews , has two pieces in the paper . Another contributor, journalist and author, Larry Noye ,covered a dinner for Dr Jim Cairns , and wrote an extensive feature on veteran politician Reg Pollard with memories of ALP Prime Ministers John Curtin and Ben Chifley. Noye ,who wrote a book on the colourful King O’Malley , is still actively writing . Special mention is made of 95 year old, pipe smoking , Charlie Street, of Wonthaggi, who had been awarded the ALP’s 40-year-service medal.
Senator John Button provides the Canberra Diary and the Victorian parliamentary session is covered in a well written column by John Templeton. The Star also highlights the mammoth book fair to be held in the Fitzroy Town Hall, organised by the Melbourne Assembly of the ALP.
An unusual story is headed THE GOLDEN YEARS OF GOUGH-AN MGM MUSICAL highlighting the rise and fall of the Whitlam Government. It asks : Have you ever seen Gough Whitlam as a song-and dance man , singing in the rain like Gene Kelly? Or Sir John Kerr, dancing in top hat, white tie and tails, like Fred Astaire. Or Mal Fraser wooing the electorate by singing ,"Won’t you change partners and dance with me? ". Or Joh Bjelke-Petersen initiating a new dance craze, the Gerrymander?
Staged at the Grant Street Theatre it was put together by two theatre writers and directors, Albert Hyunt and Roberta Bonnin,working with drama students from the Victorian College of the Arts. The story ends with advice to book early for the show because , like the Whitlam Government, it is only scheduled for a short run. Next to this write up is an illustrated report about why VicRail employees are taking action against the government because of low pay and poor conditions. The Star was used as a tool to promote ALP candidates in elections by inserting colour pieces about the worthy person standing which were inserted in the paper and distributed throughout the electorate.
There was talk at the time of the need for the Labor Party to have a national newspaper like the Daily Mirror in Britain . Steedman was connected to an attempt to launch such a venture in 1976 . It involved two groups –Sydney and Melbourne . The Sydney one failed, he says, because it was full of basically dissident newspaper journalists who wanted the office structured like a newspaper, running " tits and bums " and other items like that, which would have made it like a Labor Truth . The capital to run such a paper would have been impossible to raise. On the Melbourne side, he explained , they got bogged down with ideological problems and the size and membership of the collective that would run the paper.
A NATIONAL LABOR PAPER?
There was talk at the time of the need for the Labor Party to have a national newspaper like the Daily Mirror in Britain . Steedman was connected to an attempt to launch such a venture in 1976 . It involved two groups –Sydney and Melbourne . The Sydney one failed, he says, because it was full of basically dissident newspaper journalists who wanted the office structured like a newspaper, running " tits and bums " and other items like that, which would have made it like a Labor Truth . The capital to run such a paper would have been impossible to raise. On the Melbourne side, he explained , they got bogged down with ideological problems and the size and membership of the collective that would run the paper.
While saying there may well have been a need for such a paper at the time , it would have to be pragmatically thought out because it would have to sell to the public . People would not want a paper full of Labor Party propaganda.
TRAIL BLAZING ABORIGINAL PAPER
While running the Star, Steedman was also involved in occasional lecturing at Swinbourne College of Technology and the Caulfield Institute of Technology in Urban Sociology and Marketing. At Swinbourne he was also lecturer in the Community Development course, specifically designed to bring young Aboriginals into the mainstream education system. The class produced the Aboriginal student newspaper, MUREENA, meaning Message Stick, which ran for several years.
Students came from all over Australia and included several activists - the late Bruce McGuiness , responsible for the first Aboriginal initiated national news-sheet, National Koorier , and Gary Foley, co-founder of the Canberra tent embassy, a leading figure in the Redfern Legal Aid Centre ,Sydney . Many of the current generation of Kooris running health centres and activists in other areas of Aboriginal rights were involved . One well known activist, Robbie Thorpe, directs the online TREATY REPUBLIC, committed to issues relating to Australian history, Indigenous sovereignty , the lack of a treaty, land rights and justice , genocide , national denial and a call for the nation to pay the rent, got his start in this course . One day a week, students did "field work " – wide ranging work experience .
The edition featured above contains an illustrated front page story about two students , Phillip Shields and Carol Dowling, who had come to Darwin after Cyclone Tracy and reported their observations under the heading TRIP HOME TO DARWIN. Armed with a video, Shields reported on land claims. At Knuckey’s Lagoon, where about 20 members of the Brinken Tribe lived, their only facilities were an old tin shack, a tatty tent , a bush toilet and one tap. They had been living on the land for centuries, had little Western education and wanted to establish a poultry farm , grow tropical fruit, set up a health clinic , craft shop and transit and permanent camping sites.
In the case of the Kulaluk people, Shields said they were in a worse situation.Numbering about 10 individuals, they lived in one tent , there were not taps, toilets , showers or other amenities. A water truck gave them water and they lived on pension and endowment cheques. Both groups complained about the incessant talk connected with their land claims .
Carol Dowling detected a lack of communication between Northern and Southern blacks. She gained the impression that the Northerners believed those from south stirred up "all the trouble" , both politically and socially. Because of this problem and great distances between groups, she believed there was an urgent need for a national Aboriginal magazine . There was need for more communication of a personal nature –visits and trips to outlying places such as the NT.
Acting on her observations, the eight page newspaper contained a report headed WHAT ABOUT A NATIONAL BLACK NEWSPAPER . It envisaged such a publication with a staff of 43 run at a cost of $100,000. It included a layout chart for the paper with reporters in each state, cartoonists and artists . Steedman is described in the article as "our friend and communications teacher." When it came to the position of managing editor , it asked who that person could be - "Pete?"
The justification for such a publication reads: We need a strong, healthy, concerted , witty, informative , arousing, controversial and independent newspaper written and produced by blacks for blacks in this country ...We really need a paper that embraces and tells the stories and news and fights for Aborigines in all states ...There are many different groups in the national black community who think, eat, live, and forever believe differently...There is not a single thing in the whole country that all Aboriginals can relate to , except perhaps for discrimination ...
This edition of Mureena contains poetry , an unusual review by Alice Startup of the film FAREWELL UNCLE TOM dealing with slavery in America , ending with her comment that any person seeing the film should not take a weapon with them as you could end up "belting any white person" who comes along. A very light hearted view had to be taken of the film, she wrote, otherwise you would come out"absolutely fuming ."
The justification for such a publication reads: We need a strong, healthy, concerted , witty, informative , arousing, controversial and independent newspaper written and produced by blacks for blacks in this country ...We really need a paper that embraces and tells the stories and news and fights for Aborigines in all states ...There are many different groups in the national black community who think, eat, live, and forever believe differently...There is not a single thing in the whole country that all Aboriginals can relate to , except perhaps for discrimination ...
This edition of Mureena contains poetry , an unusual review by Alice Startup of the film FAREWELL UNCLE TOM dealing with slavery in America , ending with her comment that any person seeing the film should not take a weapon with them as you could end up "belting any white person" who comes along. A very light hearted view had to be taken of the film, she wrote, otherwise you would come out"absolutely fuming ."
Lennie Tregonning has an interesting article about his work experience in the Melbourne Museum , looking at the 1936 Arnhem Land collection of anthropologist Donald Thompson and also describing in detail the "toys" of Aboriginal children . Other subjects covered are Aboriginal education and the experience gained by Stephen James Thorpe being attached to the Victorian Prisons Department . NEXT EPISODE : Dramatic union and political events .
