STATEMENT BY THE PRIME MINISTER v
THE HON. E. G. WHITLAM, Q, C.
FOR THE PROTECTION OF CONSUMERS qy. 3
IN THE POLICY SPEECH WHICH I DELIVERED ON"
BEHALF OF THE AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY AT THE LAST FEDERAL
ELECTIONS, I MADE PARTICULAR REFERENCE TO THE POLICIES
OF A LABOR GOVERNMENT IN RELATION TO PRICES. IN THIS
CONTEXT I REFERRED TO THE IMPORTANCE OF CONSUMER PROTECTION
ACTIVITIES, CONSUMER KNOWLEDGE OF THE PROPERTIES AND
QUALITY OF PRODUCTS CAN SERVE AS A POWERFUL RESTRAINT. ON
UNJUSTIFIED PRICE INCREASES,
OUR APPROACH WILL FOLLOW TWO PRINCIPAL PATHS.
NAMELY: 1, THROUGH THE FORMULATION AND IMPLEMENTATION
OF A FRAMEWORK OF STANDARDS DESIGNED TO
PROTECT BOTH THE PHYSICAL AND ECONOMIC INTERESTS
OF CONSUMERS; AND
2. THROUGH A FRAMEWORK OF APPROPRIATE LAWS.
MY PURPOSE AT THIS TIME IS TO FURNISH INFORMATION
ON THE PROGRESS THAT HAS BEEN MADE IN REGARD TO THE FIRST OF
THESE BROAD APPROACHES. ,/ 2
THE GOVERNMENT IS ACTIVELY ASSESSING BOTH THE
NEEDS OF CONSUMERS AND ITS OWN EXISTING CAPABILITIES
IN REGARD TO MEETING THOSE NEEDS, THIS EXAMINATION IS
PROCEEDING, BOTH PROGRESS AND PLANS FOR FUTURE ACTION
WILL BE REPORTED TO THE HOUSE AT APPROPRIATE TIMES,
CONCERNING THE QUESTION OF STANDARDS FOR THE
SAFETY, QUALITY AND EFFECTIVENESS OF CONSUMER GOODS,
THE GOVERNMENT RECOGNISES THE NEED FOR SUCH STANDARDS TO BE
AT THE ONE TIME1 BOTH REALISTIC AND EFFECTIVE, -THE
CONSIDERABLE BODY OF SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL EXPERTISE
NOW EXISTING IN AUSTRALIA HAS MUCH TO CONTRIBUTE TO THE
ACHIEVEMENT OF ACCEPTABLE BALANCES BETWEEN THE NEEDS AND RIGHTS
OF CONSUMERS ON THE ONE HAND AND THE PROBLEMS OF MANUFACTURERS
ON THE OTHER, THE GOVERNMENT WILL THEREFORE MOVE TO EXPLOIT THE
CAPABILITIES OF ITS OWN SCIENTIFIC AND TECHNOLOGICAL RESOURCES,
VARIOUS DIVISIONS OF THE CSIRO AND LABORATORIES OF SEVERAL
DEPARTMENTS ARE REPOSITORIES OF EXPERTISE ON WHICH WE CAN
CAPITALISE IN FORMULATING SOUNDLY BASED AND REALISTIC STANDARDS
FOR CONSUMER GOODS,
THE MINISTER FOR SCIENCE WILL BE RESPONSIBLE FOR
CO-ORDINATING THE ESTABLISHMENT OF CONSUMER STANDARDS
AND HE WILL SHORTLY OUTLINE THE ACTIVITIES OF AGENCIES, WITHIN
HIS DEPARTMENT, OF RELEVANCE TO CONSUMERS, ,1/ 3
I PROPOSE SUGGESTING TO STATE PREMIERS
AT THE PREMIERS CONFERENCE TOMORROW THAT THEY ASK
THEIR APPROPRIATE MINISTERS TO MEET WITH THE MINISTER FOR
SCIENCE TO DISCUSS* WAYS OF ARRIVING AT UNIFORM STANDARDS
AND ENSURING THAT THE ACCEPTED STANDARDS ARE OBSERVED,
IHAVE DRAWN ATTENTION OVER MANY YEARS
TO THE POTENTIAL ROLE OF THE DEFENCE STANDARDS LABORATORIES
IN THE DEPARTMENT OF SUPPLY, MANY OF THE ITEMS TESTED BY
THE LABORATORIES WERE RAW MATERIALS AND OTHER PRODUCTS NOT
GENERALLY OF CONSUMER INTEREST, ON OTHER OCCASIONS.
TESTS HAVE BEEN COMMISSIONED BY PRIVATE ORGANISATIONS,
THE RESULTS OF WHICH BECAME THE PROPERTY OF THE ORGANISATIONS
CONCERNED, NEVERTHELESS TESTS HAVE BEEN CONDUCTED
OF PRODUCTS WHICH COULD BE OF INTEREST ALTHOUGH THEY
DID NOT INCLUDE ALL BRAND NAMES REASONABLY AVAILABLE
NOR DID THEY GENERALLY RELATE TO ALL PROPERTIES OF THE GOODS,
THE DEFENCE STANDARDS LABORATORY HAS, FOR EXAMPLE,
TESTED KITCHEN KNIVES, BICYCLE COMPONENTS, HACKSAW BLADES,
HERBICIDES, SHOELACES, TOOTHBRUSHES, PENCILS, DETERGENTS AND
CLEANING COMPONENTS, SUNGLASS LENSES AND FLOOR TILES,
OTHER LABORATORIES IN THE COMMONWEALTH HAVE CONDUCTED TESTS
PARTICULARLY IN RELATION TO PROCUREMENT OF STORES FOR THE
COMMONWEALTH SERVICE, THE COMMONWEALTH STORES SUPPLY AND
TENDER BOARD HAS TESTED A WIDE RANGE OF OFFICE EQUIPMENT AND
SUCH'-OTHER MATTERS AS ELECTRIC LAMPS, CLOCKS AND TOWELLING,
MANY OF THESE TESTS WERE CONDUCTED FOR THE BOARD BY THE PMG,
WHICH HAS, IN ITS OWN RIGHT AS A MAJOR PROCUREMENT DEPARTMENT, i S 4
CONDUCTED OTHER TESTS SUCH AS ASSESSMENTS OF THE VALUE
OF RETREADED TYRES, THE LABORATORIES OF THE DEPARTMENT
OF WORKS TO GIVE A FINAL EXAMPLE, HAVE TESTED ANTI-CORROSIVE
COATINGS AND FLOOR TILES.
UNFORTUNATELY, THE TESTS CONDUCTED HAVE NOT BEEN
IN ACCORDANCE WITH CONSUMER PRODUCT TESTING PRACTICE.
MANY HAVE BEEN DIRECTED SIMPLY TO DETERMINE COMPLIANCE
WITH CONTRACTUAL SPECIFICATIONS AND OTHERS HAVE NOT BEEN
DESIGNED TO PROVIDE COMPARATIVE RESULTS. THE MOST SEVERE
RESTRICTION FOR CONSUMER PORTECTION PURPOSES ARISES FROM
THE FACT THAT THE PRODUCTS TESTED WERE NOT PURCHASED FROM
SOURCES OF SUPPLY AVAILABLE TO THE GENERAL PUBLIC.
TESTS CONDUCTED BY THE LABORATORIES GENERALLY INVOLVE
PRODUCTS SUPPLIED BY THE MANUFACTURER AND AS IS WELL KNOWN,
CONSUMER ORGANISATIONS WOULD NOT CONSIDER SUCH TESTS AS
DEFINITIVE. THE LABORATORIES AND AGENCIES IN THE COMMONWEALTH
WILL PROCEED WITH A REVIEW OF TESTS CONDUCTED IN THE RECENT
PAST THAT MAY BE OF CONSUMER RELEVANCE AND APPROPRIATE
FOR PUBLIC RELEASE.
THE COMMONWEALTH PAINT COMMITTEE, WHICH IS SERVICED
BY THE DEPARTMENT OF SUPPLY, WAS ORIGINALLY ESTABLISHED BY
THE COMMONWEALTH IN THE LATE 1940' s, FOR THE PURPOSE OF
ENSURING THAT THE PAINTS BOUGHT BY THE COMMONWEALTH FOR ALL
PURPOSES, GAVE A SATISFACTORY SERVICE. IN TIME A NUMBER OF
OTHEF, COMMONWEALTH BODIES, INCLUDING HOUSING, AND
D, CA,, A. AND A NUMBER OF DEPARTMENTS AND AUTHORITIES OF 11111,,,
THE STATE OF VICTORIA, JOINED THE SCHEME IN A COLLABORATIVE WAY.
IN THE EARLY YEARS OF THE SCHEME THE C. P. C. ISSUED
SPECIFICATIONS FOR PAINTS, TESTED MANUFACTURERS' PRODUCTS
OFFERED AS CONFORMING TO THOSE SPECIFICATIONS, AND
CIRCULATED AMONGST ITS MEMBERS LISTS OF THOSE " APPROVED"
PRODUCTS THAT TESTS SHOWED DID CONFORM. EACH PARTICIPANT,
WHEN HE BOUGHT A BATCH OF " APPROVED" PAINT, CHECKED IT
FOR CONFORMITY WITH THE SPECIFICATION, ALL OF THIS TESTING
WORK WAS SHARED BETWEEN THE MEMBERS ACCORDING TO THEIR INTERESTS,
TESTING FACILITIES, AND PAINT USE; ALL RESULTS AND EXPERIENCE
WERE SHARED. IN RECENT YEARS THERE HAS BEEN AN EVOLUTIONARY CHANGE
IN THE SCHEME AS THE CAPABILITIES AND FACILITIES OF THE
MANUFACTURERS HAS INCREASED. NOW THE EMPHASIS IS ON
REQUIRING MANUFACTURERS TO PRODUCE A CERTIFICATE OF TEST,
FROM A LABORATORY CERTIFIED AS COMPETENT BY THE
NATIONAL ASSOCIATION OF TESTING AUTHORITIES, DEMONSTRATING
THAT THE PAINT CONFORMS TO SPECIFICATIONS.
THE DEPARTMENT OF SUPPLY RECENTLY WROTE TO AUTHORITIES
IN THOSE STATES THAT ARE NOT AT PRESENT PARTICIPATING IN THE
C. P. C. SCHEME, INFORMING THEM OF THESE DEVELOPMENTS, AND
INVITING THEM TO RECONSIDER, IF THEY WISH, THEIR PARTICIPATION
IN THE REVISED ARRANGEMENTS, a to/ 6
6.
IN CONSULTATION WITH ALL RELEVANT AUTHORITIES
WE WILL INVESTIGATE THE APPLICABILITY OF THE C. P. C. SCHEME
FOR CONSUMER PROTECTION PURPOSES. THE TESTING PRACTICES
OF THE VARIOUS LABORATORIES AND AGENCIES WILL BE REVIEWED
FROM THE SAME PERSPECTIVE. THEIR WORK WILL MAKE A
CONTRIBUTION IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF A NATIONAL CONSUMER
STANDARDS SCHEME, I HAVE ASKED THE MINISTER FOR SCIENCE
TO CONTINUE HIS INVESTIGATION OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF
CONSUMER STANDARDS AND THE TESTING OF CONSUMER PRODUCTS,
IN CONJUNCTION WITH RELEVANT STATE AUTHORITIES, THE
RESOURCES AVAILABLE TO THE AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT WILL
BE APPLIED TO THE DEVELOPMENT OF CONSUMER INFORMATION
WHICH WILL SERVE AS AN IMPORTANT RESTRAINT ON UNJUSTIFIED
PRICE INCREASES,
O O