Sir,One hundred years ago, when the first Commonwealth Parliament met in Melbourne, the crucial division was between Free Traders and Protectionists. Today the issue of free trade verses protection is back on the agenda. Its resolution is not assisted by the way the work of Mark McGovern was expounded in your pages (Pat Byrne, “The facts behind the rural revolt”, NW, May 5, 2001). I do not doubt that McGovern’s figures are accurate, but they are largely irrelevant, because of the definitions of …
