E&OE..................
Thank you very much Colin. Kim Keogh, the president of the Western Australian division, my ministerial and parliamentary colleagues, ladies and gentlemen.
Can I say in relation to that jacket Colin that when I came back from the APEC conference in Vancouver 1997, the garb there was a beautiful leather bomber jacket. My 19 year old son sort of had seen it on television, then 19 year old son, and when I arrived he said “Dad I';ll look after the jacket, you';re not quite hip enough to wear that”. But he didn';t do the same thing with the panta jacket, I can assure you of that.
But ladies and gentlemen, this election campaign is now at its half way point. And it is appropriate to assess the decision that the Australian people will make over the next two and a half weeks and deliver that decision through the ballot box on the 10th of November. It is a difficult election campaign for the Liberal Party. Make no mistake about that. To win a third term is always difficult, but I think we can see that two very clear issues have emerged to dominate the campaign, and issues that will shape the decision that uncommitted voters will make. And those two issues are of national security broadly defined and economic management, and you can gather under those two generic descriptions all of the individual policy decisions that the Australian people need to make.
Today I visited HMAS Stirling and having left the base I';m releasing the Coalition';s Defence Policy. And the Coalition';s defence priorities for a third term in office will provide Australia with a long term plan for the future security of our nation, our citizens and our interests.
We have, as a coalition, a proven capacity to manage the defences of Australia. We have since 1996 produced a sharper more effective Australian defence force. I';m very proud of the fact that when I became Prime Minister in March of 1996 and found that Mr Beazley as finance minister had left us with a government debt of $96 billion and an annual deficit of $10.5 billion and that we had to set about cutting expenditure right across the board, the one area that was quarantined from any expenditure reduction was Defence. It was the one area that I said from the very beginning – I don';t care how much debt we have, I don';t care what the size of the deficit is – you will not cut defence. And not only did we not cut defence in 1996, but in the white paper that was produced last year, we provided over a 20 year period an additional $32.4 billion, and that in fact is the increase in real terms over 10 years.
That White Paper represents the most comprehensive distillation of the defence challenges of Australia and our responses in more than a generation. And just think how timely it has been. It came in the wake of the every successful deployment in East Timor. And I have said frequently to audiences I';ve…
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…on the international stage. I am reminded of the fact that we assembled a Coalition and got a United Nations mandate in East Timor in record time. And the way in which the military operation was carried out under the generalship of Peter Cosgrove was quite outstanding. And not only is that respected in the Pentagon and in defence circles in the United States. But indeed all around the world. And enormous credit is due to the men and women of Australia';s Defence Force.
I announced last week when I was at the Lavarack Barracks in Townsville that we will introduce a modern flexible remuneration system for ADF personnel along with enhanced family support mechanisms. Under a future Coalition government the international effectiveness of the ADF will be consolidated through very sound relationships with our allies and our regional partners. We have built partnerships in our region based on mutual respect. The foundation of a proper relationship between two nations is a realistic assessment of what you have in common and also a realistic assessment of your differences. And right at the moment we are part of a major military operation to fight the challenge of the modern age and that is the challenge of terrorism. We cannot walk away from that fight. We cannot roll ourselves into a little ball and hope it will pass us by. We cannot just leave it to the Americans. We cannot cherry pick a relationship which ultimately is the one guarantee we have of the future survival of the way of life that we believe in. We should never forget as Australians that it was the United States that ultimately stood between us and the expansionist plans of Japan in World War II. And when I in the United States committed Australia militarily to be part of an allied response I did so against a background of a long history of co-operation between our two countries. But more importantly than that I did it because we were responding to an attack not just on America but an attack on Australia. More than a score of Australians died in the World Trade Centre at the hands of that terrorist attack. And what was attacked there and what was assaulted there in Washington was a shared set of values and a shared way of life. And for us to imagine that the heavy lifting in defending that way of life should alone be carried by the United States would have been a complete abdication of our national responsibilities.
We are making a serious military deployment. And that serious military deployment has been made possible by the way in which we have built up and strengthened the ADF over the last five and a half years. And if re-elected we';ll continue to ensure that our alliance with the United States which is ultimately the cornerstone of our security remains safe and sound. A new strategic role for the Reserves will be established changing their function from mobilisation to meet remote threats to that of supporting and sustaining the types of contemporary military operations in which the ADF may be increasingly engaged. We';ll adopt a more strategic industry policy approach based on sustaining key industry capabilities critical to Australia';s national security needs. We are going to effectively double the counter terrorist capability of the Special Forces and reinstate the Specialist Incident Response Unit whose capabilities in responding to chemical, biological, radiological and explosive incidents were in place during the Sydney Olympic Games. We are also going to further enhance the ADF';s patrol boats. Maritime surveillance aircraft and intelligence capabilities that are fully engaged in the day to day monitoring and policing of our maritime approaches. And yesterday here in Perth I unveilled a $175 million addition over four years to the Coastwatch capability. It is worth remembering that the success rate of Coastwatch, the current system we have which brings together the various agencies in intercepting illegal immigration to Australia over the last three years has been 98.6%. The Labor Party would dismantle Coastwatch, cripple part of the operational capacity of the Royal Australian Navy by taking the new patrol boats away from them and add a new bureaucracy romancing in the title of Coastguard at an additional financial commitment of only $15 million. It doesn';t make much sense to me to abandon an arrangement that';s been 98% effective and is going to get another $175 million of additional high tech sophisticated assets and replace that with a new bureaucracy that will cost $15 million with no additional assets and a very serious impact on the operational capacity of the Royal Australian Navy.
So we do have a very strong record in the area of defence. We quarantined it from cuts in 1996. We';ve increased the commitment in real terms. We';ve played a major role in restoring peace and security in East Timor and we have a capacity to meet the demands of the contemporary challenge of terrorism. Ladies and gentlemen that is part of meeting the national security challenge this country has and it is part of the reason why on the score of national security the Coalition is entitled to ask the Australian people to be returned on 10 November.
But the other central element in this election campaign is of course economic management From economic management flows a nation';s capacity to provide more resources for human services. You can';t credibly present yourself as being able to put more resources into things like education and health unless you can credibly present yourself as an economic manager. Without a growing economy there is not capacity to increase provision for health and education. And of all the claims that the government makes for re-election there is no claim stronger than the claim we make that we will be a superior economic manager of the affairs of this country over the next three years than the Australian Labor Party. And today we have had some dramatic evidence of the quality of the Coalition';s economic management. The inflation rate today has fallen from an annual figure of 6 percent to an annual figure of just 2.5 percent. That is a magnificent result. Not only have we seen the one off effects of the GST completely washed out of Australia';s inflation rate. We said that would happen and it has happened. It';s happened on time. It hasn';t been bigger than what we predicted. It';s exactly what we said would happen when we introduced the GST. It is very good news for wage and salary earners because it means that the real value of their tax cut is what we said the real value of those tax cuts would be. They have not been eroded by additional inflation. They have not been eroded by one off CPI lingering on in the annual calculation of the inflation rate and the quarterly increase of 0.3 percent is in fact below market expectations. It means that we approach this election, it means that we enter a period of great challenge for the Australian economy with the fundamentals in better shape than they have been for more than a generation. There is no doubt that the world is entering a difficult economic phase. The United States economy was stagnating before the 11 September. There was a belief entertained in the very highest circles and particularly by the Chairman of the Fed, Alan Greenspan that if September 11 had not come along then there might have been the signs of a significant recovery in the United States in the first half of next year. But that tragedy did come and not only has it brought incalculable human suffering and great political and foreign policy challenges, but it has also had a dramatic effect on the American economy and therefore on the world economy.
And that means there';s going to be additional pressure on the Australian economy. But the good news is that we are better able to cope with that pressure over the next fews years and particularly over the next 12 months largely because of the reforms that we have undertaken. Our inflation is now very low. By the end of this financial year we will have repaid $58 billion of the $96 billion of government debt. Our unemployment rate always higher than we would like, always, but lower than what it was in 1996. And we';ve seen the generation of more of 830,000 new jobs. In fact our government debt to GDP ratio if I can bore you with an economic statistic and it sounds like an economic statistic when you say government debt to GDP ratio. It is at five and a half percent. The OECD average is about 45 percent and Japan';s is more than 100 percent.
Now that is a measure of the soundness of our debt position and don';t we need that? Wouldn';t it be awful if we now, with what we face, if we hadn';t have repaid all of that debt? We';ve been derided over the last five and a half years for having done it. Every time we';ve tried to trim the budget and repay debt we';ve been criticised by Mr Beazley and Mr Crean. They';ve attacked every attempt we';ve made to get the budget back into balance and repay that debt. But just imagine where Australia would be now if it weren';t for the fact that we';d repaid all of that debt. And over that last five and a half years we';ve been able to do those things because we';ve had the guts, if I can put it that way, to introduce necessary reform. It wasn';t easy getting the budget back into balance. It wasn';t easy introducing industrial relations reform and there';s still more to be done on that front and if we get another term we';re going to have another go at getting even better unfair dismissal laws through the Senate. We';re going to legislate to deliver secret ballots before strike action in certain circumstances. We';re going to legislate to give the ACCC the right to take representative action on behalf of small business in relation to certain boycott activity. We';re going to continue to pursue our industrial relations agenda and I';ve frequently said that of all the things I would grieve about none I would grieve about more if we lose the election than the thought of what would happen to the industrial relations landscape of Australia if you have coast to coast Labor governments.
The Perth business community knows better than any the change in industrial relations that occurs as a result of a change from a Liberal government, which in this State after 1992 under Richard Court';s leadership, changed the industrial relations scene for the better and that is now being all rolled back. The notorious “no ticket no start” rule is once again prevailing. Just imagine what you';re going to have if you impose on that a federal Labor government, dominated by Geoff Gallop';s Oxford University mate, Kim Beazley. Just imagine. Just imagine what the trade union movement will be thinking the Sunday after the election if you have these coast to coast Labor governments.
So, of all the things that I would grieve about none would be more than that. But we had the courage to reform the industrial relations system and if we';re re-elected we';ve got a third term agenda for further reform in that area. And, of course, we had the courage to undertake taxation reform.
The taxation reform was not easy, but it was necessary. We';ve needed it for a generation. We needed to reform the ramshackle character of our Commonwealth – State financial relations. And one of the great virtues of tax reform is that the States of Australia are guaranteed over time significantly larger revenues with which to fund all of the things that they are responsible for. Government schools, public hospitals, police, roads and all the other public services that we need to go about our daily life. And what the Labor party opposes in opposing taxation reform is the very mechanism whereby you can increase in guaranteed measure the amount of funding you make available for all the necessary government services that they say are so important.
Taxation reform has made us a more competitive nation. There';s rarely been a better export scene for Australia. We have a super competitive exchange rate and we now have exports that no longer carry the burden of embedded indirect taxes. We';ve delivered $12 billion of personal income tax cuts and we have successfully introduced a far more coherent broad based indirect tax to replace the mishmash of old fashioned indirect taxes that we';d inherited from pre-World War II days.
So when you look at what has been achieved over that five and a half year period and when you project ahead over the next three years, nothing you might hope to do economically can in any way escape that fundamental question. Will the quality of economic management deliver a growing economy, or will the inadequacy of economic management mean that there are fewer resources available from a growing economy to fund the expenditure commitments.
And I would say to the Australian people that if you want increased resources devoted to public services, which we have done over the last five and a half years, you must first have a government that delivers a growing economy because if the economy doesn';t grow the capacity to fund increased resources will not grow. And that is the central and very strong claim that this Government makes as we approach this very crucial election.
It will be difficult because of the changed world economic circumstances but it is achievable. There is no reason why Australia cannot do in relation to the oncoming world economic difficulties what we are able to do in relation to the Asian economic downturn in 1997. When that downturn occurred many people believed that Australia would be sucked into it. That we would go down with the countries of the Asian Pacific region, but we didn';t and the reason we didn';t is that we had set about making this country more internationally competitive. And if you think that is a figment of my imagination let me remind you that a few days ago the World Economic Forum released its annual index of competitiveness and it showed that Australia had moved from 11th position to 5th position over the last twelve months. Another example of just how strong and how highly regarded the Australian economy is around the world.
But we don';t ask just to be re-elected on the basis of what we have done over the last five and a half years. We ask to be re-elected on the basis of what we can do over the next three years. We can deliver a stronger and a growing Australian economy far more effectively than our political opponents.
We will continue our quest for further industrial relations reform. We will maintain balanced budgets. We will continue to repay government debt. We will in the business area carry out a major review of the competitive provisions of the Trade Practices Act to see if the balance between big business and small business is appropriate To see whether for example the merger provisions of the Trade Practices Act are appropriate to an economy Australia';s size. We will, recognising the concern that many in business feel about the inter-relationship with the Australian Taxation Office, establish the position of the Inspector General of the Taxation Office designed to act as an advocate and champion for taxpayers in their dealings with the Australian Taxation Office.
We will in the area of venture capital introduce a world';s best practice regime that through the use of flow throughs we will attract increasing amounts of involvement in venture capital.
We';ll reassess the taxation laws that bear upon people who invest in this country to ensure that Australia remains the optimum place in the world both from a lifestyle point of view as well as from an economic point of view in which to invest. And we';ll continue to review the operations of taxation laws to ensure that there is no undue discouragement for either individuals or companies to invest in this country.
So ladies and gentlemen, on both of those issues that I outlined at the beginning of my remarks, national security and economic management, issues that in a generic sense are going to dominate the decision that the Australian people make on the 10th of November, we do have a superior claim. As I said at the beginning it is not going to be easy.
And can I say that it is not as some commentators suggest a “tweedledum, tweedledee” choice. There may be some areas where in the national interest there is agreement between the two major parties. But there are many other areas where there is not agreement. Where there is quite fundamental difference. Life under Labor economically will be different. It will be dominated by the trade union movement. They will be a bigger spending government. They will run the budget into deficit despite what they now say. Just look at what they did when they were in office. You can';t run up deficit after deficit after deficit and leave $96 billion of government debt and pretend that after five a half years when you have opposed every attempt to get rid of that debt that somehow or other you';re a born again believer in balanced budgets because in reality they';re not. They will revert to their old habits right at the time when Australian can least afford it. The last thing we want as a nation next year is a government that is not a prudent economic manager. That will spell economic disaster for Australia and whatever else you may think of some of the things that we have done or not done Australia does need imperatively, Australia needs strong economic management to handle the difficult international economic challenges in the next twelve months.
In the time that I';ve been in public life I have addressed many gathering of the business community here in Perth. I have addressed you in good times and bad times both economically and politically. I';ve addressed you when my popularity has been like this. I';ve addressed you when it';s been like this. I don';t quite know where it is now but can I say to you I';ve always tried to be open and direct with you. I';ve not tried to gild the lily and I';m not gilding the lily when I say that the economic and national security choice to be made is fundamental to how this country fares over the next year. We face a more difficult time than any I can remember in the twenty-seven years I';ve been in public life. And in very significant measure the next election could be determined here in the city of Perth. Unlike for example the city of Melbourne all of the marginal seats in Perth are held by the Labor Party. In Melbourne all of the marginal seats are held by the Liberal Party. We have opportunities but they';re not easily grasped here in Perth to make ground. It could be an election where the result varies from state to state. And it is oh so important that we mount the maximum possible Liberal Party effort here in Western Australia. I ask you to give all the support you can to our candidates. There is a lot at stake. We really will suffer badly if we have a Labor government after the 10th of November and I earnestly ask you to make sure that that doesn';t happen.
Thank you.
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