JAPAN/ AUSTRALIA BUSINESS CO-OPERATION COMMITTEE
FOURTH JOINT MEETING-HELD) AT CANBERrA. A . C. T.
l') th April l) 66
Speech by the Pri~ iie Minister. Mr. Harold Hlolt
Sir Edward Varren, Mr. Adachi, Mr. " Nagano, my
Ministerial colleagues, David Fairbairn, Mr. Anderson,
Ministerial colleagues and Parliamentary colleagues that
I see around the room and members of the Australia/ Japan
Business Co-operation Committee, Ladies and Gentlemen.
( I think that should just about cover it).
This is one of those happy occasions when, if
the politician speaks with two tongues he is applauded for
it rather than condemned, and with the help of my very able
assistant on my left, I shall try to tell you some of the
thoughts which come to the mind of an Australian Prime
minister on so felicitous an occasion as this. And I
assure you it is a very happy occasion for the Australian
people; and on behalf of the Australian people, speaking
for their Government, I extend to all of you who have come
to participate in the important work of this committee a
very warm and friendly welcome. We hope that you will
enjoy your stay with us and that your discussions will be
fruitful and con,; tructive.
This Committee iv a very happy manifestation of
what I regard as a great peacetime achievement, a positive,
constructive co-operation which has worked, ao Sir Edward
WJarren has so graphically outlined to us this morning, to the
mutual advantage of our two countries and indeed to '% he
advantage of world trade in general.
Sir Edw-. ard Warren has given us the figures which
illustrate the dramatic growth in trade which has occurred
between our two countries. It has been quite phenomenal
by the experience of Australia in its trading with any other
country in the world, and as he forecast, we confidently
anticipate that in the years ahead, Japan will assume the
leadership in the role of the largest customer for the
products of this country, and we, in turn are, on the
evidence of the growth of trade in recent years, an
improving and increasing customer for the products of Japan.
It is the essence of good negotiation that all
parties to it feel that the outcome of the negotiations has
been of advantage. It is a bad negotiation when one party
feels that it has't worked out fairly in its case. But
ever since the treaty was entered into between Australia
and Japan, trade relations have been harmonious and
co-operativie. There have been, of course, occasions of
difficulty, but these have, as a result of friendly discussion
and negotiation, usually produced a satisfactory result for
us and we confidently anticipate that in this spirit we can
advance the interests of our two countries as trade grows
between us.
2.
We are on the threshold of another important
phase in ) ur trade relations, as the vast mineral projects
now getting into production in various parts of Australia
come to supplement the already large volume of trade between
US. I believe that this growth in trade will have a
dramatic impact upon the economic thinking of other countries
observing the development of trade, the strength of
production whichi will f low from this from Japan to other
parts of the world. And so, although our achievements up
to this point of time have been great, he would be indeed
a pessimist who did not see in the future a tremendous
growth and increase in the volume of trade between us.
When Therc is such interdependence as has developed
between our two countries, and interdependence of trade on a
scale which has become important to us both, then inevitably
problems arise and even some dangers to thc economy of each,
because we have developed so strong an interest and
participation in the economic development of the other,-that
whatever happens to one country is of consequence to that
othce" country. And this gives importance to the e:: istence
of your own Committee. The closer our interdependence
becomes, the wider its scope, the more important it is that
we should have at a high level of consultation people from
both countries who can help to iron out the difficulties,
who can inform each other as to economic developments in the
other country and in this way develop a more constructive
and harmonious teamwork which will produce the most favourable
results for each of us. I believe we are fortunate and
I speak for the Government and our people in that there
should have been from the outset such a high level of
representation in this Australia/ Japan Business Co-operation
Committee. Those from Australia, of course, are well known
to you and as you have no doubt already discovered, they
include some of the outstanding figures in the industrial
and commercial life of this country. Of those who come to
us from Japan, most of you I know only by repute or of the
vast organisation which you represent. But I am glad to s
see in your company today, a very old friend from my own days
as Treasurer of the Commonwealthin the person of Mr. Honie.
I give him a warm welcome, and he is, I believe, a
representative of the high calibre of membership of this
Committee which means so much to the prosperity and to the
strength of our two countries.
lie have a mutual interest as two great trading
countries you, I think, ranking seventh in importance in
world trade and Australia ranking twelfth we have an
important interest together in the development of satisfactory
international trading relationships, and so we wish to see
come out of taie KennmV Round of negotiations a further
liberalirsation of the trade of the world.
We have also a mutual interest in seeing the
restoration of peaceful conditions in the countries of Asia
and in particular in war-torn South East Asia. We have
been able to demonstrate in our own trade one with the other
what can be achieved under conditions of peace, and we share
a vision of the growth in trade anid prosperity and wellbeing
which could occur in the countries of Asia if conditions of
peace could be re-established there. There is a growing
willingness around the world, particularly from the United
States where PreLident Johnson has undertaken to outlay
at least one billion dollars in peaceful reconstruction
and economic development in South East A; Aa if peaceful
conditions can be re-established There is this willingness
to help, and we with you in Japan, have a mutual interest in
promoting to the best advantaga that we can causes which will
assist in restoring peace in this troubled area of the world.
We have in A-. ia a population today of some 1,500
million. It is an awesome thought that by the end of this
century that population may have doubled and all the
indications are that this will occur. I believe myself
that not sufficiont thought as yet is being given by the
more advanced industrialised nations of the world to the
problems which will be presented to the world by this quite
dramatic developmient in the population structuie of Asia in
particular and the world as a whole. Japan and Australia
have an important part to play in meeting both the
opportunities and the challenges which will develop from
this remarkable economic phenomenon of our time.
One of the happy recent developments has been the
creation of the As~ ia D -, velopmnent Bank, and the importance of
this is clearly recognisud by your country from the evidence
supplied in the major contribution of $ 200 million which you
have committed yourselves to supply to the resources of the
bank. Australia, too, has recognised the opportunity here
for constructive assistance around the whole of the Asian
area and we have, as you know, subscribed, or committed
ourselves to the extent of $ 85 million to the planned total
of $ 1,000 million ( American) to be the initial capital of
the bank. This ia a hop ful symptom of the happier order
we expect to see emerge in this part of the world.
It may interest you to know, gentlemen, that of
the prospective investors who come to Australia front
overseas, an increasing proportion, as they discuss these
matters with me, are looking to Australia these days, not
merely as a market for the products of their manufacture here,
but are seeing in Australia a base or launching place for
their own increasing trade in the countries of Asia. And
so we become, as a result of these processes, an even more
important trading partner with Japan. Vie can only
anticipate favourable omens for the future in the light of
opportunities that we see ahead of us.
No doubt we will have many problems to meet along
the road but our two economies are so clearly supplementary
or complementary to each other that we would be lacking in
any normal spirit of optimism if wie did not foresee a
tremendous~ growth of trade in the years ahead between our
two countrie. s, contributing to a more peaceful and prosperous
Asia and indeed, we would hope, contributing to the trade
of the world.
4.
It is with that background to your discussions that
I now formally declare your meetings open and extend to you
my best wishes for fruitful diucussion and a valuable outcome
from talks together which I assure you, on behalf of the
Australian Government, we regard as being oi great
importance to this country.
My best wishes to you all.