BOOK REVIEW: Stabbing us in the back
AUSTRALIA’S SECRET WAR: How Unions Sabotaged Our Troops in World War II by Hal G.P. Colebatch (Sydney: Quadrant Books) Hardcover: 340 pages ISBN: 9780980677874 RRP: AUD$44.95 Reviewed by Patrick Morgan The Japanese threat to Australia in the 1940s was the most profound crisis our nation has faced. During that period a great scandal occurred, a scandal up till now hidden from view. Many trade unions, particularly the maritime ones controlling our ports and shipping, sabotaged the war effort for their own ends. At crucial junctures when men and war materiel were needed for the Middle East and New…