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Thank you very much Mr Jackson, Peter Lindsay the Federal Member for Herbert, Councillor Tony Mooney, the Mayor the City of Townsville, and Ian Macdonald the Minister, Senator Ian Macdonald the Minister for Regional, Local Government and to Senator John Herron and other members of the Liberal Party Senate team, ladies and gentlemen.
It';s always a pleasure to come to Townsville and over the years that I have been in politics, which is now 27, I';ve visited this city on numerous occasions. The last time I was here was for the magnificent Federal North Commemoration as part of the Centenary of Federation, in fact we were here in this very building and that absolutely fantastic military tattoo which made a wonderful contribution to North Queensland and Northern Australia';s celebration of the Centenary of Federation. And I';ve come here of course the very day after the full extent of Australia';s military commitment to the fight against world terrorism was made known and I had the opportunity to visit the Laverick Barracks which are of course are very much part of the heart and the soul of this city. The link between the Australian Defence Force and the people of this local community has deepened and broadened as the years have gone by.
It';s not only emotional very important to this city as the relationship is to the whole of Northern Australian but it';s also economically very important. And one of the things that has been very high on the Government';s list of priorities is an increase in defence expenditure and the White Paper that was delivered at the end of last year projected very significant increases in the order of $27 billion over a ten year period which does represent a major expansion of this country';s commitment to defence. And any sceptics or doubters or critics at the time that White Paper was brought down might now take pause and wonder as to the wisdom of the criticism that was offered.
We do find ourselves as a nation, and as a world community in very unfortunate and very sad and very challenging circumstances. And much has already been said about the obligation on all of us who care about the way of life we have taken for granted, whatever our party politics may be, over the years we know the obligation and the responsibility of this country to work with our friends and our allies to fight the scourge of terrorism because by turning our back on it and pretending it';s not there it will not go away. All of the history of the 20th Century instructs us as to the folly of imagining that people and groups with evil intent will look kindly on those who walk away from the challenge they present to free people. That was the experience of the world between the wars and it';s been the experience of mankind in all history. It';s not going to be easy and we all think and feel very much for the men and women of the Australian Defence Force that will be involved. Just as you here in the city of Townsville would have felt very much for the men and women who were deployed to East Timor two years ago and Janette and I have never forgotten that. Sunday evening in September when we came to say goodbye to them and I was reminded very much of that this morning when I had the opportunity of saying a farewell to a new deployment of defence personnel to East Timor.
So it is a challenging time and it';s a time when we fall back very much on those fundamental values that bind us together as a community and the differences we may have on some local issues are really put into perspective and their relevance is diminished. I don';t say that, suggesting for a moment that legitimate political differences are trivial. They';re not trivial. They';re not trivial. They';re not trivial – they';re important – and as part of the democratic process that they be respected and they be debated. But the challenge we face now is a reminder that in the end the things that unite us and bind us as Australians are far more important and far more enduring than the things that might put us apart.
We are of course engaged in a federal election campaign and quite unashamedly as the Leader of the Government, as the Leader of Liberal Party and as Prime Minister for the last five and a half years, I am asking the people of Townsville and the people of Herbert to once again put their confidence in Peter Lindsay as their Federal Member.
Peter has been a very energetic advocate for the people of Herbert. He';s had a great deal of success in winning the support of the Government and winning the support of Ministers for particular things that have been of concern.
Let me recognise immediately that the aftermath of the 11th of September and also the grounding of Ansett has had an impact on the tourist industry and that is having an impact on the people of Townsville.
There are a number of things that the Government are doing for both of those developments. We have through the provision of the ticketing guarantee, the provision of the underwriting insurance facility in relation to third property damage which has been extended to all of the airlines of Australia and which carries a contingent liability of $10 billion dollars and made necessary by the withdrawal of normal insurance underwriting as a result of the circumstances of the 11th of September and importantly the commitment we have made in relation to the entitlements of the employees of Ansett.
We have done a number of things. In fact we have responded to all of the requests that have been made of us by the Administrator of Ansett.
I think all of us were saddened when the company went into administration. We can debate the rights and wrongs and the relative areas of responsibility but even some of the employees and others who have been commentators on this issue amongst the government';s fiercer critics on the issue have acknowledged in the end it was a failure of administration at the corporate level that brought it about. And whilst it is the responsibility of Government';s to render assistance where it can consistent with its obligation not to become a funder of last resort of companies that get into financial difficulties because this audience more than most would understand the utter folly of any government embarking down that path. But I am hopeful that out of the difficulties of Ansett there will emerge a slim down, whether you call it Ansett Mark II or Mark IIA or Mark III or whatever, but there will emerge an operation that will once again carry that banner and once again provide greater competition.
I am aware of the impact it';s had on the city of Townsville and the fact that you';ve not been able to meet all of the capacity demand, although there have been improvements over time. I';m also aware that the $20 million package announced by the Tourism Minister, Jackie Kelly, several weeks ago will provide some support for small business operators in particular that have been left stranded financially speaking of following the collapse of Ansett. And they will let me foreshadow the, a number of other things that the Coalition will say about the tourist industry in the weeks remaining between now and the election.
I do understand the importance of the tourist industry to North Queensland and very importantly to Queensland and the entire nation. A generically strong economy with low interest rates…
Sound economic conditions, that is very important to the future f the tourist industry all around Australia. There';s no doubt that it';s been one of the transforming economic development in this country of the past generation. The way in which young Australians are now embracing a career in the recreation and hospitality industry is quite remarkable.
This election campaign is, of course, not only about the present and the past it is also very much about the future. It';s very much about the future role of the business community in this country. And earlier this week I unveiled quite a range of policies that were directed towards issues that I know are of importance to the Australian business community. You won';t mind me reminding you, I hope, of many of the benefits of tax reform. Of a corporate tax rate which is now 30 cents in the dollar rather than 36. Of the halving of the capital gains tax for individuals. Of the reductions in personal income tax. For larger companies some of the changes that have been agreed between Australian and the United States in respect of dividend withholding tax that are going to help many companies continue to have their main base of operation in Australia although they may trade extensively in countries such as the United States.
But for the future we';ve laid out a number of changes that we think are important. One of the constant areas of debate in the business community is the inevitable tension that arises on occasions between small business and large business. It always concerns me, even distresses me, when I hear debate about which is the better. A large business or a small business? The reality is that the Australian economy needs both. The reality is that we can';t remain a serious international player and therefore get the full benefit of globalisation unless we have sufficiently large business units to compete in certain areas. But equally small business is the lifeblood of local communities. A city like Townsville depends commercially from day to day on the strength and the vitality of its small business. And recognising that that tension sometimes arises we have decided, and the terms of reference will pay particular regard to regional considerations, we';ve decided to undertake a review of the Trade Practices Act, a piece of legislation that has not been seriously reviewed I think since I was a Minister for Business an Consumer Affairs way back in the late 1970s. And this review will try and see whether the balance between large and small and there';s been, and the proper recognition of the importance of sufficiently large units in a globalised economy whether the right balances have been struck.
I was also pleased to announce that the other day the development of some further taxation reforms through allowing the formation of limited partnerships to encourage more venture capital. We need in the future more people engaged in investment risk taking, we need people and entrepreneurs who are prepared if necessary with further tax incentives to invest in new enterprises and to chance their arm in new ventures. And the changes that we have announced there which will come into operation in the middle of next year if the Coalition is returned, they will give to this country a world class incentive so far as venture capital is concerned.
Now I know that the business community comes into contact frequently with the operation of our major regulatory organisations and major statutory office holders such as for example the Commissioner of Taxation. Now let me say immediately as a former Treasurer that I understand the challenging character of tax administration. It';s not a popular job, it';s not an easy job, and it';s not a job that anybody would chase after as the ideal statutory office in the Commonwealth of Australia. But it is a very necessary position and there have been very heavy burdens placed upon the Taxation Office in relation to the transitional impact of the goods and services tax. But consistent with that recognition I do acknowledge that sometimes the dealings between the business community and the Taxation Office they could be different and could perhaps be improved. And one of the things the Government intends to do if it is re-elected is to created a new office called the Inspector General of Taxation. And the purpose of this new office and those around the office holder will be to act as something of an advocate for the ordinary taxpayer and most particularly the small business taxpayer, not to act as a policy adviser to the government - the crafting of tax legislation and policy advice will remain responsibility of the government – but to provide something of a facilitation between sections of the community, particularly the business community, and the Australian Taxation Office.
We';re also going to undertake a further examination of the operation of taxation laws to the extent that they might still discourage investment in this country. We must always as a nation be on the lookout for more investment opportunities both domestically and internationally. We should never be frightened of foreign investment in this country. We should never fall into the trap of chauvinistic attacks or xenophobic attacks rather on foreign investment because in the end this country will always need a steady stream of overseas investment to fuel the rising living standard that we all want so much.
Now ladies and gentlemen much of the future agenda of the Coalition Government in a third term if bound up with maintaining the strong economic growth we';ve had over the last five years and also in a number of the areas that I';ve identified moving into new areas of responsibility. We are legitimately very proud of the fact that the Australian economy is better able to whether the inevitable storms we are going to have as a result of the events flowing out of the 11th of September. We are better able to whether those storms because of the reforms that have been undertaken. And it was no particular surprise to me to learn this morning that the World Economic Forum had lifted Australia from 11th place in the scale of world competitiveness to the 5th place in a relatively short period of time. Now that is an international body having no interest in the domestic political debate in Australia saying that the competitiveness of the Australian economy has improved and that is a very strong endorsement of the cumulative benefit of reform. And I';ve never been unwilling to give credit where it';s been due to a former government that undertook certain reforms and I refer in particular to the floating of the Australian dollar and the deregulation of the financial system. And I give credit to the former government for having done that. They did it incidentally with our support. But in the same breath let me claim credit for our reform – taxation reform, workplace relations reform, fiscal consolidation, repayment of $58 billion of the $96 billion of government debt that existed in March of 1996. I might say in parenthesis we didn';t get any help from the current Opposition in undertaking those reforms. Now where we are now and the circumstances we face we face them with greater strength because of the reforms that have been undertaken over the last five-and-a-half years.
Now I know that the process of tax reform, the administrative process of tax reform has not been easy for some sections of the business community. It wouldn';t have been easy for people in this room. I know that. I want to say as I did when the reforms started that I';ve remained very aware of that and we have tried in many areas to be responsive. We responded to concerns about the Business Activity Statement and we';ve responded in a number of other areas and we remain ready if re-elected to continue the process of fine tuning. But the taxation changes are now in place and there is no merit in trying to turn back the clock. There is no merit in trying to rollback what has been introduced over the last year. I have no doubt that one of the underlying strengths of the Australian economy at the present time is that we have had the determination and the tenacity to persevere with taxation reform which in the long run ins going to deliver very significant economic benefits to this country. Apart from anything else, and it';s important in the current debate, that taxation reform will guarantee that the revenue available to the state governments of Australia, and Queensland will be the state cab off the rank the year after next. Queensland will be better off under the new taxation arrangements ahead of any other state and that will mean that there';ll be more money available to the go vernment?? of Queensland whatever its political complexion in the years ahead to spend on government schools and public hospitals and the other government facilities.
So ladies and gentlemen times are challenging. They are unexpectedly challenging because of the events of the 11th September. And the other night when the President spoke to me about Australia';s military involvement I reflected to him that only on the 10th of September, the very day before those attacks in New York and Washington, he and I had spent almost three hours together on my visit to Washington. We had an opportunity of talking about the bilateral relationship, of reaffirming the importance of the ANZUS Treaty as embodying in a long term sense the very close relationship between our two communities. And of course the city of Townsville more than many others would historically be aware of the resonance of the Australia and United States relationship in World War II as indeed particularly would the state of Queensland.
So they are a new and dangerous and different day. But the good news is that the democratic heart of Australia is very strong and the determination of all Australians, whatever their political conviction on other issues, to work together to meet this terrible challenge, that is the good news. And the other good news is that economically we are better able to meet the inevitable pressure that is going to be put on our economy. I mean if we had high interest rates, if we had a big budget deficit, if we had high inflation, if we hadn';t have had the courage to reform the taxation system think of the difficulties that we might now face. And we would not be able to say confidently to the world that we are better able to face these pressures than many others.
Ladies and gentlemen, thank you again for having me with you. Janette and I are always delighted to come to Townsville. I feel I know the city well. I';ve come in different political guises over the years holding different positions being held in various degrees of regard or ill regard by the Australian people. It';s varied. I';ve experienced all of them – good, bad, indifferent, bloody awful and getting a little bit better. But fundamentally I';ve always found the people of North Queensland to be open, direct and to embody the great Australian spirit. And in that vain can I please ask you to vote 1 Peter Lindsay on the 10th of November. Extend the hand of mateship to a great North Queenslander, a great Liberal and a great representative of the people of Queensland. Thank you.
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