THE PRIME MINISTER'S PRESS CONFERENCE
AT PARLIAMENT HOUSE, CANBERRA
TUESDAY, 25 SEPTEMBER, 1973
PRIME MINISTER: I have a few announcements which I regret
I couldn't give to you or my fellow members of the Parliament
before this. Some of the announcements I have relate to
decisions by the Executive Council and while the Executive
Council used to sit on Thursdays and we brought it forward
to midday on Tuesdays, one still has to wait till it concludes,
before one can make any announcements of the decisions which
the Government recommends to it. Secondly, some of the
decisions have to be received by the Premiers before one can
announce them and there again this has not been done the
messages to the Premiers they would not have been received
by the Premiers very long ago.
There are some appointments in the transport field.
The Secretary of the Department of Transport has been appointed
as a sole Commissioner under the Royal Commissions Act to
inquire into the whole of the Maritime Industry and the development
of transport policies. I will circulate the terms of reference
of the Maritime Industry Commission o. f Inquiry which Mr. Summers
will conduct. I would like to pay tribute to Mr. Summers for his
acceptance of this completely new national task, there is no-one
in Australia who knows so much about it, and who is so well
equipped to discharge it. As you know we are resolved to
amalgamate the Departments of Transport and Civil Aviation.
The new head of the Department will be coming from Canada,
Mr. C. C. Halton. He was born in Britain and he has had a most
distinguished career in private industry in Britain and in
public service in Canada. Mr. Jones met him when he was in
Ottowa earlier this year, and I met him when I was there for the
Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting. He has experience in
many fields of transport, he is a distinguished economist,
it is a very great advantage to Australia to have a man who is
aware of the similar federal system in Canada and who has operated
within it, and also is acquainted with the system in the
United States. Mr. Jenner will be Acting Secretary of the
Department from 30 September until Mr. Halton's arrival.
Sir Donald Anderson, the present Secretary of the Department of
Civil Aviation will become full time Chairman of Qantas on the
1st October. Mr. R. Phillips will be Acting Director-General of
Civil Aviation until his Department is merged with the Department
of Transport. Mr. Jones can give you further details about
Mr. Halton, the first Secretary of the amalgamated department.
The Auditor-General was involved in a car accident and
Mr. W. Scott will act as Auditor-General while he is off. / 2
-2
V~ have decided to expand the services of the Australian
Legal Aid Office, which was announced last July. In view of the
demands Already being placed on the Office, the Government decided
to allocate an additional $ 750,000 for the Office in this
financial year.
There are two other inquiries which we will be setting up.
One is into Government Procurement Policy and I can circulate the terms
of reference to you. We expect to announce the membership of the
Committee of Inquiry in the next few days. We have also decided to
set up a F. M. Radio Inquiry. The Senate Standing Committee on
Education, Science and the Arts, recommended that there should be a
new inquiry into F. M. broadcasting. Senator Douglas McClelland,
Minister for the Media, made a submission to Cabinet along the same
terms, and I have a brief note of the purpose of this inquiry.
We want to set up F. M. We want to know what bands it should operate
in or what bands other media might have to operate in. A very great
deal of expenditure is involved, so we want to be sure that the
correct decision is made.
Are there any questions?
QUESTION: Do you believe you are bound, under whatever circumstances,
to fulfil your election undertaking to give a 35 hour week to the
Commonwealth Public Service?
PRIME MINISTER: As my colleague, Mr. Cameron, pointed out so
effectively at Question Time in the House this morning, it becomes
very difficult to carry out this particular promise in the Policy
Speech, because we have so effectively, promptly and fully carried
out the other promise to remove unemployment. You remember that in
the Policy Speech, I said that in the lifetime of this Parliament,
the 28th Parliament, the working hours of all Commonwealth employees
will be reduced by 1 hours to 35 hours. I am the Minister responsible
for the Commonwealth Public Service, I can redeem this promise by
making a recommendation anytime in the next two years.
QUESTION: Do you accept Mr. Cameron's argument in Parliament
this morning that it might be impractical to do so?
PRIME MINISTER: I won't make any commitments to two years ahead.
QUESTION: Prime Minister, I under stood that you had made commi * tments
two years ahead, do you now expect to honour those commitments?
PRIME MINISTER: It would be more difficult, but I won't say that
I won't honour them. I acknowledge that I made the commitment.
That is in the lifetime of this Parliament.
QUESTION: Did Cabinet yesterday, discuss the Industries Assistance
Commission? If so, what was the result and what was the attitude of
Dr. Cairns?
PRIME MINISTER: We did discuss it. I expect to be introducing the
bill this week. Might I say, Mr. Haupt, that I was a bit disappointed
in an article of yours this morning in the Financial Review which
misrepresented ' what I had said you said, referring to my speech in
Adelaide last Friday " After berating the business community on
Friday, for masochism, schitsophrenia and phsychological sabotage".
I beratted the stock market, not the business community. I was
quite precise in the people I beratted. / 3
-3
QUESTION: How do you react to Bob Hawke describing you and the
Cabinet, of accusing you of political imbecility and political
insanity? PRIME MINISTER: I have no comment to make on these remarks.
QUESTION: You have said at least twice in the last week that
the bulk-of Australia's present inflation is due to trends imported
from overseas. What evidence do you have for this statement?
PRIME MINISTER: There is a very great demand, this season, for
exports for instance, in meat. That is the developed countries,
such as the United States, which had previously placed restrictions
on the import of our meat are now anxious to get as much as they can.
This is a very clear case where the price of meat had been put up.
More and more the inflation is spreading between all developed
countries. I give you that instance.
QUESTION: In the wake of Parramatta, do you plan to relinquish the
Foreign Minister portfolio, so you can spend more time at home to
concentrate on domestic politics?
PRIME MINISTER: I will tell you if I have any changes, when I
have decided to make any such changes.
QUESTION: Did Mr. Byrant discuss with you, his move to send his
wife to Maningrida? Who covered her expenses on that trip?
PRIME MINISTER: I don't know.
QUESTION: Again in the wake of Parramatta, you said that the
Galston decision was one that may have gone against you, or maybe
the reason why there was such a swing against the Government
PRIME MINISTER: Of course it was. I
QUESTION: Do you also.-accept Mr. Whelan's assessment that the public
relations campaign of your Government has broken down and that the
policies of your Government are not getting through to the people.
PRIME MINISTER: I think that's right the public haven't seen the
whole picture this way, that will obviously-be cured by the time of
any general election.
QUESTION: The Melburnians today are reported to be very
PRIME MINISTER: Melburnians? What, the citizens of the city of
Melbourne? QUESTION: Exactly. It was reported today that they..
PRIME MINISTER: I thought you were referring to a Category school.
QUESTION: are reported to be extremely nervous today about the
presence of an alleged El Fatah terrorist in their city.
PRIME MINISTER: He's left. / 4
-4
QUESTION: You said in answer to a question on notice from
Mr. Lynch that you had discussions with General Romulo about the
trial of Senator Aquino in Manila. Could you give us the substance
of your discussions or could you give the Australian Government's
position on Senator Aquino' s trial.
PRIME MINISTER: Senator Aquino's trial is now, I gather, to be in
public. I don't want to comment on internal matters. Senator Aquino
is very well known to Australians. There would be no Filipino,
even the President himself, who would be so well known to Australians.
Accordingly, his trial will be followed with very great interest by
a great number of people, in Australia, including myself.
QUESTION: will you elaborate on Azzam's whereabouts
PRIME MINISTER: No.
QUESTION: Can you say why you can't do that?
PRIME MINISTER: The reason is obvious. Ladies and Gentlemen, I will
not make comments on security matters. And there are many security
implications in the question you asked. If it is known how he's
travelling, when he left, where he's going, there are'security
implications for a great number of people, including Australians,
in transit or at their posts. Ladies and gentlemen, I don't want to
have to always say the same thing about security matters. I will not
comment on them.
QUESTION: Will the Australian Government recognise the new
Government in Chile?
PRIME MINISTER: Not yet.
QUESTION: Some months ago I asked you whether it would be possible
to announce cabinet decisions to Parliament before announcing them at
the Press Conference. After today's events, do you think it would be
a good idea to announce them each Tuesday morning when Parliament is
sitting? PRIME MINISTER: No, I don't. I have already told you it's impossible
to announce some of these decisions. Cabinet was going all day
yesterday. We have the Executive Council meeting from now on,
ordinarily at midday on Tuesday. Obviously, I can't announce
decisions of the Executive Council, such as the appointments, the
terms of reference of the Royal Commissions, when Parliament sits
because it sits, at present, before the Executive Council meets.
Again, there are some matters which I have to convey to the Premiers
before I can announce them publicly.
QUESTION: Sir, you said this morning that you would have gladly
announced, brought in your list, I think you said, if Mr. Snedden
had asked you earlier in Question Time...
PRIME MINISTER: There are some matters I could have announced then,
yes. There was for instance one matter which came out in answer
to a question by one of the members on my side, Mr. Hansen, the
Member for Wide Bay asked a question concerning his electorate.
I doubt whether the decision had yet been received by Mr. Bjelke-
Petersen, at the time the question was asked, but that is an instance
where I could have announced in the Parliament if the question had
been asked at the beginning of Question Time instead of right at
the end.
QUESTION: Do you plan to do this in future?
PRIME MINISTER: No. Did you want the Press Conference today not not?
QUESTION: Yes Sir, but I would rather have the press announcements
made earlier, so that perhaps we could think of more intensive
questions to ask you.
PRIME MINISTER: Well I did a week ago hold it in the-morning.
I wasn't able to hold it this morning for one reason of course,
there were several of these things that had to be confirmed by the
Executive Council or conveyed to Premiers, but you haven't asked
me about the ones that have beih-conveyed to Premiers.
QUESTION: Well Sir, I was just going to ask that one. I don't
know if it was concerning the Prices Referendum, but I was going to
ask you, have any eastern State Premiers in recent days offered to
cede to you temporary powers on prices and incomes?
PRIME MINISTER: There has been no change from the position at the
Constitutional Convention.
QUESTION: Have you agreed to the latest request for a conference
of Australian political leaders on inflation?
PRIME MINISTER: I think the suggestion came in a telegram from
the leader of the L. C. L. in the South Australian Parliament.
And as I said when I was asked this morning about this, I had
a discussion with him on Friday night.
QUESTION: Can you tell us what your answer was?
PRIME MINISTER: I didn't believe that the time would be well spent.
National economic policies are only effectively carried out by the
National Parliament.
QUESTION: Could you tell me how many inter-departmental committees
are presently operating? Will you make public a list of the interdepartment
committees set up by your Government? And also would you
make public a list of inter-departmental committees set up by the
previous Government, which are still operating?
PRIME MINISTER: No. There is a question what ones my Department
are involved in and I expect to give an answer to that this week.
It would in fact take a very long time to compile that list.
There are many more such committees than there were when we took
over. And this--is-one of the reasons why the Public Service,
well at least in my Department, has had to be expanded, is to answer
correspondence and to answer questions like that. And I have to
take into account whether the time, the money is well spent.
I try to answer all the letters that come in, except when they are
part of a campaign such as that one which we were subjected to a
few months ago, I don't bother to answer that sort of claptrap, but
apart from that form of syndicated pressure, I receive well over a
thousand letters a week, and a very great amount of manpower and
womanpower is involved in answering those letters. So I can't
responsibly put aside people to get an answer to the question that
you just asked me. / 6
-6
QUESTION: Would you tell us what you have written to the
Premiers about?
PRIME MINISTER: No. I would probably write 10 letters to each
Premier each week.
QUESTION: When are you going to hold a special Premiers meeting
to discuss changes to the Constitution over the composition of the
Loan Council?
PRIME MINISTER: Probably on 11 October. I had suggested Friday
12 October, which is not a sitting day, that didn't suit one or
more of the Premiers, and it is pretty sure now to be on Thursday
the 11th. The Premier of Queensland will not be here, but the
Acting Premier, Sir Gordon Chalk, is willing, at some inconvenience,
to come. So I think it will be the 11th.
QUESTION: Will you investigate or find out who did pay for
Mrs. Bryant's trip?
PRIME MINISTER: No.
QUESTION: And do you consider this to be unusual practice?
PRIME MINISTER: No I am not going to inquire. I assume that this was
justified. Certainly, I am not going to inquire into such matters.
QUESTION: My question relates to the purchase by the National
Gallery of the Jackson Pollock painting
PRIME MINISTER: A masterpiece.
QUESTION: For $ 1,340,000. Were you consulted before the painting
was purchased? Do you agree with its purchase? Would you agree that
the money could be better spent on purchasing Australian works both
here and overseas. And finally, as the former owner Ben Heller was
on the point of tears as he talked about it last night, about his
pending parting with the painting. Would you consider authorising
the Director of the National Gallery to sell ' Blue Poles' back to
Mr. Heller at a modest profit?
PRIME MINISTER: If we are going to sell it, I have no doubt that in
a year or so we could make a handsome profit * on it. If one likes to
regard it in that light, investment in art is very profitable indeed.
Pollock is one of the great figures in modern. American art and
this is regarded as his masterpiece. I knew of the proposal. It
came to me from the Gallery Acquisitions Committee, which took over
when we took over, from the Commonwealth Art Advisory Board, a
recommendation came from that body. I am not going to overrule the
advice of such bodies when we are able to enact the National Gallery
legislation, then of course, they will have the right to spend the
appropriation as they see fit. I know this is quite a contribution
in overseas aid to redress the American adverse balance of payments.
QUESTION: Could I clear up the question of the Premiers. Were you
talking in geneial terms about problems of communication with the
Premiers week by week or were you talking about some specific thing
that you put to them today?
PRIME MINISTER: Some specific thing. / 17
-7
QUESTION: Can you tell us what it was?
PRIME MINISTER: No. I am not going to volunteer these things.
I did identify one because it came out in Question Time.
QUESTION: Control of doctors' fees seems to be one of the
major problems facing the health scheme, and I wondered if the
prices referendum was passed, if it would give the Government power
to control doctors' fees whether this had been discussed?
PRIME MINISTER: I wouldn't believe that the prices referendum would.
QUESTION: What about incomes?
PRIME MINISTER: That would. I would expect that would.
QUESTION: You said in your policy speech that referendums would
be held to give the Commonwealth power over interests rates and terms
and conditions of employment. Can you say when the referendums will
be held and can you elaborate on the proposals now?
now
PRIME MINISTER: I wouldn't/ believe that it is necessary to hold a
referendum over interest rates because the significant interest
rates can probably be regulated under this Parliament's power over
foreign corporations and trading and financial corporations formed
within the limits of the Commonwealth. We are going to introduce
legislation, as you know, in respect of building societies both
terminating and permanent and hire purchase companies and possibly
merchant banks. They would, I would think, all be financial
corporations formed within the limits of the Commonwealth.
The same would apply to various trading corporations so formed.
I would expect that the next House of Representatives election
there would be a referendum I think it is very likely, I
don't know what other proposals there are and one has to limit
the number but it would seem to me that it would be appropriate
to hold a referendum to permit the national Parliament to pass laws
on the conditions of work at the next House of Representatives
election. As you know, at the Senate election, whether it is for
the Senate alone or not, we will be putting referenda to synchronise
elections for the two housesof this Parliament to permit this
Parliament to refer matters to State Parliaments upon which this
Parliament at the moment has the exclusive right to legislate.
Also to spell out in greater detail the conditiond upon which the
State Parliaments can refer matters to tl1{ S, Parliament. Also if
this Premiers' Conference on the Loan Council incorporating Local
Government representatives proves abortive, on a referendum to
amend Section 105A of the Constitution to permit the
national Government to make debt arrangements with elected local
government bodies.
QUESTION: The appointment of the new head of the Department of
Civil Aviation and Transport. Is this an indication that we can
expect the Government to look overseas for senior public servants
in the future and do you expect any reaction from the Public Service
from the implication that there was no one in the Australian
Public Service suitable-to fill the position?
PRIME MINISTER: We will aim to get the best people available.
We believe Mr. Halton is better than anyone available to the Australian
Government in Australia, as the first head of the new combined
Department of Transport. There are some people from overseas that
are already involved in advice to us Mr. Justice Woodhouse of the
New Zealand Court of Appeal. / 8
-8
QUESTION: Is there any right of appeal, in this case?
PRIME MINISTER: No. Not for First Division men. They are
appointed by the Executive Council.
QUESTION: The latest figures on industrial dispute show that
in the first six months of this year, working days lost because
of strikes, have increased by 65 per cent over the same six months
last year. Will you tell us why this is so?
PRIME MINISTER: I am not aware of the figures and I won't hazard an
opinion on them.
QUESTION: Do you think that this hurts your Government's electoral
standing. And why is it, apparently, that your Government is less
able to deal with the unions, or create an economic...
PRIME MINISTER: Because of the Lynch Laws. Most of the industrial
disputes, as I observe them, flow from demarcation issues.
There are too many unions in Australia, and one of the reasons
why there are too many unions, is the fact that unions take on a
different legal status and personality since the same union has to
be registered in five arbitration jurisdictions. There are many
instances where the same union has to be registered in the
Commonwealth jurisdiction, the Queensland, South Australian
and West Australian jurisdictions. It doesn't apply in Victoria and
Tasmania because the States there rely on wages boards rather than
compulsory industrial arbitration. You will remember that it is
over four and a half years ago now that the Commonwealth Industrial
Court recommended, as a matter of urgency, to all the Attorney-Generals
in Australia that they should take steps to amend their laws to permit
a single legal entity or personality or incorporation for industrial
organisations, and this has still not been done. We tried to do all
we could in the Commonwealth jurisdiction, in this Parliament's
legislation early this year in the Conciliation and Arbitration Bill.
It was thrown out by the Senate. We brought it in in a new form
which ought to make it more palatable, but still making it easier
to amalgamate unions. I don't know what the Senate is going to do
about it.
QUESTION: Do you share Mr. Cameron's attitude on the 35 hour week
being given to power workers and do you support or approve of the
action being taken in New South Wales at the moment?
PRIME MINISTER: I am not going to volunteer an opinion on this.
These are State employees, they have a quarrel with a State
Government, which happens to be a Liberal Government. But it is
idle for me to express an opinion on this. It is not a matter
where we can do anything as the employer. We have no right to
intervene. It is not a matter where the laws are deficient.
It is not a demarcation issue.
QUESTION: Do you agree with Mr. Cameron?
PRIME MINISTER: I am not volunteering a comment on it. / 9
9-
QUESTION: Has Cabinet sought an opinion from the Attorney-General's
Department as to whether power over prices can be construed to
include power over wages, and secondly, you mentioned a referendum
on conditions of work might be held with the next House election.
Would power over conditions of work include power over wages?
PRIME MINISTER: Among other things, conditions of work would
include power over wages and salaries, it would include leave and
a very great number of other industrial matters. But in particular
the formula " conditions of work" would cover an increasing matter
where awards are being by-passed, where people are not technically
employees but contractors. You will remember the distribution of
milk changed from a system of employees distributing it to a
system of persons contracting to distribute milk. The same system
as newspapers have for the distribution of newspapers and this has
spread largely in the building industry. Now this form of contract
is aimed to by-pass industrial arbitration or industrial agreement
and accordingly the word " conditions of work" is the one we usually
use now because it would cover all such cases. You also asked if
the Attorney-General's Department had been asked for an opinion,
whether prices covers wages or wages and salaries. The Attorney-
General was asked this in the Senate last week, he said he had not
been asked for an opinion. He had not volunteered an opinion,
the position is the same today.
QUESTION: Mr Hayden referred at Question Time to discussions
he said were going to occur today about housing loan interest
rates. Do you think the Government will decide this week on its
scheme for protecting lower income earners?
PRIME MINISTER: I haven't spoken to Mr Hayden since Question Time.