OPENING OF CUSTOMS HOUSE. 131, A
MELBOURNE 6th October, 1967
Speech by the Prime Minister, Mr. Harold Holt
Mr. Minister, Ministerial colleagues, representative of
the Opposition, representative of the State Premier and of the
Lord Mayor, other distinguished gentlemen all of whom I am glad to
see here with us today.
Indeed, as I look around I see not only many of my
Parliamentary colleagues and some of the former administrators
of this significant Department of State, but a good many of the
larger customers of the organisation perhaps customer is hardly
the word. Contributor would ' be more practical in our expression
of it, but in a sense of course we are all contributors through
the Commonwealth to this valuable, revenue collecting Department.
I am glad to say that its revenues are collected ratter less
painfully, at least to the victim, than some other form of action
that we have had to devise, and it has been the more popular on
that a'ccount. It is for me a pleasure to open a Commonwealth building which
is by the testimony of our own vision at the same time functional,
decorative and aesthetically satisfying, and which will itself
be an addition to the grace and dignity of this fine city of
Melbourne. I have opened quite a number of different buildings
since I took office but it so happens that this is the first
administrative building I have opened in the capacity of Prime
Minister. Most of the other Commonw~ ealth buildings have been
associated with an outreach of Commonwealth activity of one
kind or another the Murray I ' Cower Project, the Space Station
at Honeysuckle Creek, our Army Barracks at Townsville and the
Communications Centre at the North. West Cape.
I mention these by item because it helps to illustrate the
ramifications of Commonwealth administration in thes3 modern times.
But the Customs administration is of ancient lineage and provided
one of the earliest revenue levies in Australia long before there
was such an item as income tax.
The Victorian Customs came into existence in 1836 and the
record shows that tobacco and spirits were at that time running
rather contrary to the form one would have expected in these
matters. They were being smuggled into New South Wales and not from
that area and into Van Diemen's Land, also via the Port Phillip
district. An Officer of Customs was appointed at an annual
salary of œ 200 and a Tide Waiter at œ, 100. I saw this reference
in the notes supplied to me I though t there was a misprint for a
" tired waiter", but he would get just about that much in tips
in a reasonable quarter these times. In their first quarter of
operation they collected œ, 329. Two years later ther collections
were œ 12,000 a quarter, so -they must have been covering their
expenses and salaries at that point of time.
Today Customs and Excise revenues are running about ~ OM
a quarter so at least this is one direction in which the Government
has shown no lack of progress, ge.-ntlemen. I sometimes ponder
what would hap;,-en to our revenues for Commonwealth purposes, and
that includes of course State purposes, if people stopped drinking
spirituous liquor and gave up the smoking of cigarettes. 2/.
Rhatever the moralities of the matter mi;:' ht beg it is the
sort of prospect which haunts a Commonwealth Treasurer. There is
no sign however of any diminition in our expenditures in these
directions and so we can rate the Customs and Excise administration
as one of the largest revenue gatherers for the Commonwealth. I
think you get in, Senator, about 24% through this organisation of
the total revenue of the Commonwealth.
This is the 4th Customs House which has been established in
Melbourne in 1837 it was a weatherboard cabin; in 1839 the first
Customs House which could be fairly described as such was constructed,
and in 1876 the old Customs House opp-site, a very graceful,
historic and dignified building was established. While over the
years age may have withered them, Customs have not staled in the
variety of their exactions.
And so we come to the present building of which I have
spoken in such appreciative terms, and I ask you Senator to accept
and to convey to all associated with this, to you Mr. Carmody, the
congratulations of the Government for a fine building which is a
welcome addition to the Commonwealth range.
It's widely recognised throughout the community that the
Customs Department is a unit which operates in a very efficient
way. ie often read of spectacular finds by Custons officers I
think most members of the public get the message that there is an
efficient body of investigators at work. I'm told, although I
don't have time normally to enjoy these amenities myself, that
the television serial " Contrabandits" has given us some insight
into the exciting ways of Customs investigators, and I am
advised Mr. Carmody that you carry yourself a badge of this
particular organisation.
What is not so often recognised is that as well as
safeguarding the revenue, the Customs Department plays a large
part in the welfare of the community. And I am not thinking here
so much of that area of its activities which results in the
exclusion of certain forms of literature from the geneyal
consumption I think there we have a part to play with the States
as well but it does play a major part in preventing the entry
of noxious plants and animal products into Australia. We have
been fortunat ly spared the degradation of some of' the exotic
diseases and some of the weeds which would otherwise hamper
agriculture in this country. The entry of some of these could
prejudice the wellbeing of our primary industries or thce health
of our citizens.
Another important aspect somewhat in this field of the
Department's work is in prOventing the illegal introduction of
narcotic drugs. Here is one Department where LSD really means
hard cash, but not loosely in the sky with the diamonds I
think the popular song is running at the present time. It came
to my ears that in their desire to avoid making any souvenir
presentation to me which would involve the expenditure of
Commonwealth funds, the Minister and his Department had in mind
to present me with a confiscated opiuci pipe. Well, I felt that in
the current circumstances this micht be misunderstood. It wJould
certainly have leant itself to the cartoonist, I have no doubt, but
it might have been taken as some encouragement on my part in this
unfortunate direction.
But we do read much in the papers these days of the sad and
harmful effects of these drugs, and the Department makes an
important contribution in ensuring that these and other
potentially harmful drugs are kept in the hands of responsible
people.
3.
Despite all these activities the cost of collecting Customs
and Excise I've already mentione' that this amounts to 24 of
the Commonwealth's total revenue is surprisingly small. Over
the past 5 years, at least, the total cost of operating the
Department of Customs and Excise is well under 2% of total
Customs and Excise collections9 and this is a tribute to the
efficiency of the Departmcnt.
I can personally testify to that efficiency from an experience
of my own just on nearly 30 years ago when I was for six weeks
Acting Minister for Customs. When Robert Menzies, es he then was,
told me I was to take on t1ais task while he was looking around
for a permanent Minister, I must confess that my heart sank. I
had seen all these schedules and all this esoteric language
associated with the Customs administration, and I wondered how I
could handle this Depa: tment without exposing my ignorance in the
Parliament to my discredit. But I then found and I'm sure this
would have been the experience of those of my colleagues on this
platform who had their own period of administration of the
Department that this, as one of the oldest Commonwealth
Departments, had built up a body of experience and know,. lede in
relation to almost every conceivable situation which could occur to
harass the Ninister-in-Charge. They were able to give sound,
detailed advice which made the task of administration relatively
easy. I'm not implying, Senator, nor to you my colleague, the Leader
of the Government in the Senate who occupied this post for more
than 7 years, that you have had a cushy time, because when things
are slack here, there's always a certain amount of activity in the
Senate to keep you occupied if all else fails! But certainly one
can look to a most efficient body of men and women in this
Department to ease the task of the 1' inister. I think it is also
a tribute to the co-operation which the community gives, even if
sometimes a little reluctantly, to those who have laid upon them
the duty of collecting the nation's tax revenue from this
particular area.
It may interest some of you to know that taking all
Commonwealth tax revenues together, less than is spent on their
collection, which the businessmen in the audience, I am sure, would
regard as a remarkably low figure. Although the community generally
co-operates very well in the broad with our tax collectors this has
not always been the case as my researches into the records for
this occasion have led me to discover. The report of the Border
Tariff Abolition League of 1866 a Lea-ue formed to fight against
the Customs duties imposed on goods moving between New South Wales
and the rest of Australia contained this passage " Families
have been searched, children detained an. interrogated upon family
affairs; the vehicles and goods seized and then restored again.
It's no wonder that a spirit of resistance has sprung up amongst
the people of Moama and your Committee regrets to find that
children are being trained to tell falsehoods when questioned by
Customs officers".
~ ell those were the bad old days we have improved on that
since. But as the flow of goods and people into and out of
Australia increases, so does the work of the Customs Depaitment.
It is a product of this increased flow that has led to the
construction of this large and modern building. In it, as the
Minister has told you, all the administration of Customs in
Victoria will be housed the first time that this has been
possible for many years.
I mention one particular matter because we are becoming 4/.
increasingly tourist-minded these days I am speaking not so much
of our own journeys abroad but in relation to the potentialities
of revenue and stimulus to the economy from a growing tourist
industry. e have set up, recently a Tourist Commission, and we
look to increasingly successful promotion of our attractive
capacity abroad. But one of the problems of travellers is, as we
have discovered in our own journeying, the Customs officer. We
believe that our own Department is not only efficient in this
direction but has taken a realistic view of the needs of
travellers, particularly those who come to us from other countries.
And one way in which the Department has contributed to our welcome
to tourists has been to abolish declaration forms and by doing so,
we have in this arm of Government supported the efforts of those
who are concerned in encouraging tourists to visit us.
I am glad to be able to report another measure which I do
not think the Minister has yet given publicity so I have that
pleasure here today. It concerns passengers and crews of overseas
vessels travelling around the Australian coast. I am happy to
announce, and I assure Senator Cohen it has no connection with
impending events in relation to the Senate, that from 1st January
next there will be no Customs duties or sales taxes levied on
goods consumed between Australian ports. Miost of you have been on
board a vessel at some time or another and you know what a shock
to the system it is when you strike the Australian coast and find
that the prices of the commodities consumed on board these ships
receive the full weight of sales tax and excise levies. And this
step has been taken as a contribution to the attraction S'rttind4Ss
to Australia, by making their movement to this country the more
convenient and agreeable. It is also a recognition of the large
distances covered by overseas vessels as they move from one
Australian port to the other, and I am sure it will be welcomed
by all travellers.
Before I declare this building open, and unveil the
commemorative plaque, let me recall again a piece of history. In
1876 the old Customs house was completed. And the Melbourne
" Argus" of the day reported on this event as follows
" The people of Melbourne have for some months past become so
accustomed to the sight of unfinished public buildings, that when
one is at last completed it is looked upon almost as a new erection.
Those who were unaccustomed to the dark and winding labyrinths to
be found in the interior of the building frequently lost an hour
in wandering . bout the cold and dreary passages before they found
the room they had been searching. This has all changed now, and
where there were formerly cold damp passages and rooms of
uninviting interior there are now to be found bright and warmlooking
corridors end cosy rooms in which business can be
transacted with both pleasure and comfort".
I am sure you will agree that that kind of description can
very aptly be applied to the fin,. building in which we find
ourselves at this time. There have been no unreasonable delays
in the construction of this building, and this has been due to the
effective planning and provision of the Department of , orks and the
efficient operation of the builders. I am sure that with its
modern style, its air-conditionin throughout and attention
to the needs of efficiency in the circumstances of today, this
building will represent an advance just as great over the old
house as was that house in its turn over the first permanent
Customs house.
It is with great pleasure I now formally declare this
building open and unveil the plaque.