PRESS BRIEFING GIVEN BY THE PRIME MINISTER,
MR. HAROLD HOLT, FOR THE HEADS OF BUREA JN16
IN THE PARLIAMENTARY PRESS GALLERY AT L1*
PARLIAMENT HOUSE, CANBERRA LB'
27TH JUNE, 1967
PRIME MINISTER: I don't propose to detain you for long because I am hoping
that later in the week I will have the chance to go over a number of
matters on which no doubt you are feeling some interest. There are
just two aspects I wanted to deal with tonight.
The first is just to make some reference amplifying what I
gather Tony will already have told you that today we have been engaged
principally on a series of papers relating to the forthcoming Premiers'
Conference and Loan Council meeting. But prior to that, the Minister
for External Affairs had given us a review of Middle East developments,
and I had indicated to Cabinet that as these other matters were of great urgency
and had -to be disposed of today, I would defer my own account of what
transpired whilst I was overseas until we had got this business out of the
way. Tonight I am hoping to have an opportunity of doing this when we
meet again after dinner.
VWe also discussed the proposed hold-up, as we understand it,
of postal business on Saturday, July 1. On that, the Acting Minister can
be expected to make a statement later this evening.
The particular matter I wanted to mention to you at this
point because I felt in view of all the press discussion and speculation
which had gone on it wasn't desirable that I leave this until our meeting
later in the week is the prominence given in the press to the Basic
Industries Group, its allegations of some association between this body
and my own party, and what I have regarded as quite unfair criticism which
I have read in some sections of the press relating to my colleague, the
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade. As to the Basic Industries
Group, I confirm that when I returned from overseas, my own Deputy
Leader, the Treasurer, in reporting to me on the various developments
which had occurred on the domestic front whilst I was overseas, spoke in
relation to this particular matter. He gave me his own assurance that
neither he, nor so far as he could ascertain, any of our Liberal Party
Ministerial colleagues had anything to do with the formation of this
organisation or contact with it. For my own part, I have no contact with
any member of it. I question whether I would know any member of it if
he walked through the door, and I was able to convey this to the Deputy
Prime Minister when we talked together about the matter. I may say we
didn ' t talk about it until this morning. I did telephone him on Friday
after my return, but we spoke then entirely on matters which had arisen
while I was overseas, and my own activities the discussions in LQndon
and my discussions both in Canada and with more relevance to him, the
various trade and economic matters which I discussed in Washington and
at Camp David. So far as the Basic Industries Group is concerned,
therefore, it is open to any body of men or women in this democratic
society of ours if they disagree with policies of the government or individual
members of the Government to conduct their own political activities in
relation to them. They are not necess arily by any means helpful to one side
of politics or to one party in the coalition. The Deputy Prime Minister / 2
FRIME MINISTER ( Contd.
and I have had a long association now in the Parliament extending beyond
thirty years. W. e have been collengues together in governments as fellow
Ministers for upwards of twenty years, and we have managed to get along
on good terms right through that period. Therefore the activities of any
organisation which could be regarded as prejudicial to the harmonious
working of the coalition is certainly not in the interests of myself or my
Liberal colleagues in the coalition.
But in particular, I wanted to refer to what I have described as
unfair criticism of Mr. McEwen as Minister for Trade and Industry and
of the Country Party directed to the tariff policy of the Government, its
alleged effects on costs, particularly as they bear on export industries,
and its general effects on the direction of the use of resources and the
efficiency of industry.
I want to make it very clear that criticism of tariff policy
generally and of Mr. Mc~ weri's role in particular in formulating tariff
policy is not criticism of himself or of the Country Party, but it is
criticism of the Government as a whole. My colleague was asked by Sir
Robert Menzies, my predecessor, in 1956 to take responsibility for the
newly-created Department of Trade. His activities, amongst other tasks,
embraced domestic and international tariff policies. Tariff policy is
reviewed from time to time by the Government. Normally tariff matters
come before the Gene-ral Administrative Committee of Cabinet, and on
this Country Farty Ministers form a small minority, or, if the policy aspect
is considered of sufficient consequence, they go to the Cabinet itself, in
which, as you will know, there are nine Liberal Farty Ministers and three
Country Party Ministers. So tariff policy is a Government responsibility.
It is not the responsibility of any one Minister or of one party in the
coalition. And I just mention a statistical fact, that the recorded value of
Australian exports exceeded COC million for the first time in 1961/ 62,
and we regarded that as a bumper year for exports, as I recall it, when I
was then Treasurer. This coming financial year, five years later, it is
confidently anticipated that exports will exceed 20, C million. This quite
remarkable growth in export income is certainly not consistent with any
charge that our policies have retarded our export industries in general.
And I emphasise again the fact that they are our policies and not the policies
of any particular member of the Government.
I think that is all I wanted to say
MR. EGGLETON Are there any specific questions? We haven't got much
time.
Q. Your discussion this morning, Sir, with Mr. McEwen. W-, as
that outside the Cabinet or inside it?
PM: This has not been discussed in C," abinet. I should have made
that clear to you. / Ie had a talk together which was the first opportunity
we had had, because he came from Mangalore yesterday, and I was
committed to an engagement with the Governor -Gaieral last night, so we
took this opportunity this morning of discussing these matters, and I felt / 3
Sa -3-
PM ( Contd) arising out of that rather than defer any comment on it until
we met lter in the week, I should say what I had to say right
now.
Q. Sir, just one question before this ends, this
particular episode......
PM: Well, I think that's an optimistic view for any
politician to take!
Q. On the Middle East report, is there anything you
can say about crystallising the views or anything like this
that came out of it?
PM: No, I've got nothing specific myself to say on it.
I think if anything is to be said, Mr. Hasluck might choose to do
so. But I said in London we were striking a rather muted note
on this issue.