Fax from PRIME MINISTER
12 March 1997 TRANSCRIPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER
THE HON JOHN HOWARD, MP
ADDRESS TO THlE OFFICIAL OPENING OF THE
TORRUMBARRY WEIR ECHUCA, VICTORIA
E&
Well thank you very much Professor Luvering. To Mr Pat McNamara, the Deputy
Premier of Victoria, to my Federal Ministerial colleagues Mr John Anderson, the
Minister for Primary Industry and Energy, Senator Robert Hill, the Leader of the
Government in the Senate and Minister for the Environment, to Marie Tehan, to
Sharmnan Stone the Federal Member for Murray and to all of my other Parliamentary
colleagues, ladies and gentlemen.
It really is a tremendous pleasure to be here on this very special occasion for this part
of Australia. Can I say what an enormous delight it is to get out of Canberra and out
of Sydney an~ d out of Melbourne and out of all the big population centres of Australia
and come to rural Australia. I mean, it's not that I've got anything against those other
places it's just that on occasions we get accused of thinking that the world, sort of,
rotates around those parts of Australia and when in reality Australia is made up of
many parts of many different parts. And one of the many things that I'm
endeavouring to do and the many things that my Government is endeavouring to do is
to establish a very profound and effective contact and resonance with rural and
regional Australia. And as a token of that yesterday the Federal Cabinet had its first
meeting in regional Australia at Pakenllam. Some people might say that's just a
tentative step into regional Australia, but it's going to get better and better as time
goes on so that at the end of three years we will have chalked up a significant number
of meetings that are being held outside the major population centres. So this event
here today has a place in that but it's more important that than.
This is a very special event and its an occasion that's marked quite a milestone so far
as the locality is concerned. It marks a milestone in another example as the
engineering capacity of Australians and the ingenuity of Australians. This is, I
understand, the first major the first intervention of any kind in the flow of the river
since 1924 when the original weir was constructed. And what today's event does it,
sort of; brings together the modem engineering capacity and skill of Australians, but
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Fax from it's also tinged with some of our history. And to travel here on that lovely paddle
steamer, to be reminded by the local member that 30, what, 50, & o 70 years ago you
had a magnificent ship building industry here. That paddle steam er was built here and
Echuca has the largest gathering, if you call a group of paddle steamers a gathering,
the largest gathering of paddle steamers anywhere in the world and I think that's sort
of a mixture of the old and the new and the wonderful historic touch is something that
adds to the occasion. But even beyond that, of course, this is an occasion to remark
upon the important work of the Murray/ Darling Basin Commission. 40 per cent of
Australia's agriculture is contained within the Murray/ Darling Basin. The construction
of the new weir is a cooperative effort between the Federal Government and the State
Governments of Victoria, New South Wales and South Australia and I particularly
want to acknowledge the contribution of the Victorian Government and the presence
here today of the Deputy Premier of Victoria, Pat McNamara.
But ladies and gentlemen, looking to the fuxture, fixing up the Murray Darling Basin is
about the most important environmental challenge that this State can have. That lovely
poem talks about the pollution in the River Murray, and there is pollution. There is
pollution in the river. There is the degradation of soil through salinity. There are many
other ongoing environmental challenges that this country has. And I think all
Australians now want a balance between environment and development. They want to
look after our national heritage but they also want industrial progress, and you can
balance the two. It's not a situation of saying that all development is bad. That is
crazy stupid nonsense. Equally worse we've passed the day when we could take
action that effected our environment and believing that somehow or other the problem
would cure itself The problem doesn't cure itself And we do need to invest time and
resources into caring for our environment. And that's the reason why the Federal
Government promised before the last election and I'm very happy to say that we are
now in a position to implement it we promised the establishment of the Natural
Heritage Trust of Australia. And that Natural Heritage Trust will have paid into it just
under $ 1.2 billion and that will be out of the proceeds of the sale of one third of
Telstra. And that $ 1.2 billion will be used over a period of years exclusively for
environmental projects. And out of that we will fully fund the $ 163 million that the
Commission believes is necessary to carry out important environmental work for the
Murray Darling Basin. And that $ 163 million will be one of the first ( inaudible) on that
Natural Heritage Trust. And I'm therefore able to say to people who are intimately
connected with the Murray Darling Basin recognising the long term importance of it to
the agricultural base and the agricultural future of Australia, I'm able to say to you, to
all of you, that we have a firm deliverable commitment in relation to the
recommendations of the Cormmission and the changes to the environmental care that
that Commission has recommended. And it does represent an historic commitment by
Australian governments to the environmental future of our nation and it delivers on a
very, very important commitment that I made to the Australian people at the time of
the last election. Believing as I did then and I do now that the future of this nation
rest very heavily upon getting the right balance between development, industry and
the environment, particularly in the regonal parts of Australia.
So Professor Luvering can I say that we have taken notice of the views expressed by
the Commission and we are very, very strongly committed to the implementation of an
action plan of the type the Commission has outlined. Fafrft12/ 03/ 97 18: 03 Pg: 8
Fax from A great deal has already been said about the weir and I had the intricacies of it
explained to me as I came here today. And it has been a collaborative project and it's
been contributed to by all of the four governments that I mentioned. And it'will
improve the water quality. It will establish environmental ( inaudible) capable of
sustaining natural processes and it has developed an integrated management strategy
for the river system.
But in addition to that of course, as Pat mentioned, I'm very happy to be associated
with the armouncement today of a further local initiative to compliment the new weir
and to stimulate local development and that is the Logan Murray 2000 plus strategy
And my colleague, John Anderson, will sign the memorandum of understanding on
behalf of the Federal Government immediately after this opening ceremony.
But the purpose of this strategy is to bring together the Federal Government, the State
government, the local community, in working out strategies that can most effectively
secure and promote and maintain development in a coordinated, economically sensible
way, a community sensitive way, in the local area. And we will, in association with the
Victorian Government, be investing some $ 660 000 to support the objectives of that
memorandum of understanding.
But the last thing, ladies and gentlemen, I want to say to you today is something that is
really at the core of what this region is all about and the core of what our nation is all
about and that is that sense of cooperation, that sense, if you like, of community
obligation, of mutual obligation that we each have to the other. This weir has been
made possible through the cooperation of four governments. We each acknowledge
the contributions of the other government. It is not just a Commonwealth Government
project, it's not just a Victorian government project, or a New South Wales or South
Australian government one. It is a project of all of the four governments. And our
communities rest very heavily on that notion of cooperation and that notion of sharing
responsibilities. I have a very deep personal commitment to the future of regional Australia. I know
some of the problems that regional Australia has passed through over recent years. I
don't pretend to you that I have all of the answers, but I do have all of the energy and
all of the commnitment to try and address those problems. I know the importance of
small business to areas such as this area. I know the importance of small business to
the rural and regional towns of Australia and that is why my Government has placed
such a great importance on small business. I know the value of infrastructure to
regional Australia. I also know the value of community cooperation. And in that
connection, let me say that the Federal Government's ' work for the dole' scheme,
which I announced details of yesterday after the Cabinet meeting in Pakenham, is
designed to harness the combined energies and commitment of local communities,
local business organisations, the local service clubs and all the other groups that are
interested in tackling some of the great national issues it confronts. So unemployment
and youth unemployment remains one. And I salute the achievements that have
chalked up in that area which Pat McNamara mentioned as a tribute to those that have
taken risks and have invested. Faxro'~ 12/ 03/ 97 18: 03 Pg: 9
Fax from But cooperation between diferent parts of the community and that sense that we do
have obliga tions to each other and we do have obligations to cooperate with each
other in tackling great national problems as well as regional problems is a very, very
important message for all of us.
So in being here today in formally opening or commissioning I think you commidssion
weirs rather than open them, it looked pretty open to me on the way over ill being
here today to take part in the commissioning of this Weir may I conclude by
complimenting Tiess, complimenting Guthridge, Hascombe and Davies,
complimenting the Commission and all of those that have been associated with this
project. It always warms my heart, it always has, to see a great tangible solid
engineering achievement. You really feel as though something's been achieved when
you can see it and you can see what the money's been spent on and there it is, the
direction of the river has changed, it looks as though it works and you are
tremendously impressed with it. And I can see by the happy faces of some of the
Wmers here that it does work.
So ladies and gentlemen it's an occasion above all to be thankful about being an
Australian, thankfu~ l for the great quality of life that you have in regional and rural
Australia. Thank the lovely school children that led us in the singing of the National
Anthem and that magnificent poem and those who organised that competition. But I
may 1, on your behalf, salute those that have made the weir possible. Their skill, their
engineering capabilities and their design skills have brought it to fruition and therefore
I have great pleasure in commissioning it and thank you very much for having me here
today. Thank you. Fafrvi12/ 83/ 97 18: 83 Pg: