. QUEENSLAND BROADCAST.. NOI... 9 ( qy'
AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT INSURANCE CORPORATION
LATELY ON RADIO AND TV AND IN THE NEWSPAPERS
THERE S BEEN A HIGHLY EXTRAVAGANT AND TOTALLY MISLEADING
CAMPAIGN BY THE INSURANCE COMPANIES AGAINST OUR PROPOSAL
FOR AN AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT INSURANCE CORPORATION, THE
AIR HAS BEEN THICK WITH CRIES OF NATIONALISATION,
SOCIALISM AND GENERAL DISASTER. LAST TIME WE HAD A
CAMPA. IGN OF THIS KIND, YOU LL REMEMBER, IT WAS THE DOCTORS
CRUSADING AGAINST MEDIBANK BUT AS SOON AS PEOPLE
REALISED THE TRUE BENEFITS OF ' EDIBANK THE WHOLE
CAMPAIGN COLLAPSED, SO I MAKE THIS PREDICTION: WHEN
PEOPLE uNDERSTAND WHAT OUR INSURANCE PROPOSALS REALLY
MEAN, THE CAMPAIGN BY THE JNSURANCE INTERESTS MANY
OF THEM FOREIGN OWNED WILL BE EXPOSED JUST AS
QUICKLY AS THE FALSE PROPAGANDA FROM THE DOCTORS,
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BASICALLY, WHAT WE ARE DOING IS ESTABLISHING A
GOVERNMENT INSURANCE COMPANY TO COMPETE WITH THE
PRIVATE INSURANCE FIRMS, YOU MAY ASK: WHY HAVE A
GOVERNMENT CORPORATION WHEN THERE ARE PLENTY OF
PRIVATE INSURANCE COMPANIES ALREADY PROVIDING A GOOD
SERVICE TO THE PUBLIC? THERE ARE TWO MAIN REASONS,
THE FIRST IS COMPETITION, THE MORE COMPETITION
GENUINE COMPETITION THERE IS IN ANY INDUSTRY,
THE BETTER THE SERVICE TO THE PUBLIC AND THE CHEAPER
THE RATES. THE SECOND REASON IS WIDER COVERAGE.
THE AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT INSURANCE CORPORATION
WILL BE PROVIDING INSURANCE COVER THAT CANNOT BE
OBTAINED FROM TH1-E OTHER COMPANIES, EITHER BECAUSE
THEY'RE NOT INTERESTED OR BECAUSE IT'S NOT
SUFFICIENTLY PROFITABLE,. ./ 3
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THE PEOPLE OF BRISBANE HAD THEIR OWN HARSH EXPERIENCE
OF THIS PROBLEM DURING THE FLOODS AT THE BEGINNING OF
LAST ? EAR. AT THE TIME OF THE FLOODS, THE AUSTRALIAN
GOVERNMENT ACTED PROMPTLY AND GENEROUSLY TO PROVIDE
RELIEF AND THE NECESSARY FUNDS FOR THE TASK OF REPAIR
AND RECONSTRUCTION. WE DIDN'T STINT ON THAT. BUT
THOUSANDS OF BRISBANE RESIDENTS FOUND THAT-THEIR
HOUSEHOLD POLICIES SIMPLY DIDN IT COVER THEM AGAINST
FLOOD DAMAGE., DARWI-N PEOPLE HAD THE SAME EXPERIENCE
AFTER THE CYCLONE LAST ClI11RISTi1AS, THE ONLY PEOPLE FULLY
COVERED IN THE FLOODS OR IN THE CYCLONE WERE THOSE
INSURED UNDER THE DEFENCE SERVICE HOMES SCHEME
ADMINISTERED BY THE AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT. THE AUSTRALIAN
GOVERNMENT INSURANCE CORPORATION WILL PROVIDE SUCH
INSURANCE FOR EVERYONE WHO NEEDS IT -AND PROVIDE IT
AT THE LOWEST POSSIBLE COST. IT WILL OPEN THE WAY
TO MORE WIDESPREAD INSURANCE COVERAGE AGAINST LIVESTOCK
AND CROP LOSSES ARISING OUT OF NATURAL DISASTERS, SO IT
WILL BE OF PARTICULAR VALUE TO THE MAN ON THE LAND$ @ 9IA
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I DO ASK YOU TO IGNORE THIS ABSURD TALK ABOUT
NATIONALISATION, SINCE WHEN HAS IT BEEN
" NATIONALISATION" FOR GOVERNMENT ENTERPRISES TO
COMPETE FAIRLY AND ON EQUAL TERMS WITH PRIVATE
ENTERPRISE? THERE ARE MANY EXAMPLES OF SUCH
COMPETITION, H' 1O ONE SUGGESTS THAT THE COMMONWEALTH
BANK ISN'T COMPETING FAIRLY WITH THE PRIVATE BANKS
AND NO ONE SUGGESTS THAT THE BANKS HAVE BEEN
NATIONALISED, No ONE SUGGESTS THAT THE AIRLINES
HAVE BEEN NATIONALISED BECAUSE TAA IS COMPETING WITH
ANSETT, IN EVERY CASE THE BENEFITS OF SUCH
COMPETITION HAVE BEEN PLAIN. FOR EXAMPLE, IT'S
CHEAPER TO INSURE YOUR HOUSE WITH THE COMMONWEALTH
SAVING BANK INSURANCE SCHEME THAN WITH ANY PRIVATE
INSURANCE COMPANY, IF THE COMINONWEALTH BANK CAN DO
THIS FOR ITS CUSTOMERS, WHY SHOULDN T THE SAME LOW.
PREMIUMS BE AVAILABLE TO EVERY HOUSEHOLDER? WE WANT
TO SEE THAT THEY ARE$
IT'S WORTH REMEMBERING THAT EVERY STATE
HAS HD A STATE GOVERNMENT INSURANCE OFFICE
FOR MANY YEARS, AND VERY EFFICIENT ENTERPRISES
MOST OF THEM HAVE BEEN. HERE IN QUEENSLAND YOU HAVE
A STATE GOVERNMENT INSURANCE OFFICE THE SGIO:
ITS BUILDING IS A PROMINENT LANDMARK IN BRISBANE.
I DON'T SUPPOSE EVEN MR BJELKE-PETERSEN WOULD
SUGGEST THAT INSURANCE IN QUEENSLAND HAS BEEN
NATIONALISED. THE FACT IS THAT UNDER THE
CONSTITUTION THE AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT HAS AS
MUCH RIGHT TO ESTABLISH AN INSURANCE CORPORATION AS
IT HAS TO ESTABLISH A BANK, IT HAS AS MUCH RIGHT
TO ESTABLISH AN INSURANCE CORPORATION AS THE STATE
GOVERNMENTS HAVE, ! O ONE TODAY WOULD DREAM OF
DISBANDING OR RESTRICTING THE OPERATIONS OF THE
STATE GOVERNMENT INSURANCE OFFICES. THEY HAVE
SERVED THE PUBLIC WELL. THEY WILL CONTINUE TO DO
SO, / 6
REMEMBER THIS: FOR ALL THEIR PATRIOTIC TALK,
A LARGE PART OF THE INSURANCE INDUSTRY IN AUSTRALIA
IS CONTROLLED DY OVERSEAS INTERESTS, LESS THAN
TWO YEARS AGO THE LEVEL OF FOREIGN OWNERSHIP OF
GENERAL INSURANCE BUSINESS CONDUCTED IN AUSTRALIA
WAS NEARLY 46%. A GREAT DEAL OF AUSTRALIAN MONEY
IS BEING CHANNELLED TO FOREIGN COUNTRIES, I KNOW
THERE ARE SOME GREAT AUSTRALIAN FIRMS, AND I PAY
TRIBUTE TO THEM; BUT AN AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT
INSURANCE CORPORATION WILL HELP REDUCE THE FLOW OF
FUNDS OUT OF AUSTRALIA AND COULD WELL ENCOURAGE MORE
MONEY INTO AUSTRALIA, GENUINE AUSTRALIAN-OWNED
INSURANCE COMPANIES HAVE MUCH MORE TO FEAR FROM
GRO'ING FOREIGN COMPETITION THAN THEY HAVE FROM
COMPETITION FROM AN AUSTRALIAN GOVERNMENT CORPORATION.
WE'VE MADE IT PERFECTLY CLEAR THAT ACROSS THE GREAT
RANGE OF ITS BUSINESS, THE GOVERNMENT INSURANCE
CORPORATION WILL BE OPERATING ON EXACTLY THE
SAME COMMERCIAL AND COMPETITIVE LINES AS THE REST OF
THE INDUSTRY, ANY SUGGESTION THAT IT WILL BE GIVEN
UNFAIR ADVANTAGE IS SIMPLY UNTRUE. UP TO NOW, THE
UNFAIR ADVANTAGE HAS BEEN WITH THE PRIVATE COMPANIES,
THEY HAVE' LAVISHED FUNDS ON EXPENSIVE OFFICE
BUILDINGS AND IN SPECULATIVE REAL ESTATE
DEVELOPN. ThTS; THEIR INVESTMENT IN HOUSING LOANS HAS
FALLEN STEEPLY, A LARGE PART OF THEIR FUNDS HAS GONE
OVERSEAS; AND IMPORTANT FIELDS OF INSURANCE IAVE BEEN
NEGLECTED,
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REMEMBER THESE FACTS NEXT TIME YOU SEE YOUR
PREMIUMS BEING WASTED ON COSTLY AND MISLEADING
ADVERTISING, AIMED AT A GOVERNMENT INSURANCE
CORPORATION THAT WILL PROVIDE MUCH NEEDED
COMPETITION, AND A COMPREHENSIVE INSURANCE COVER
FOR ALL AUSTRALIANS WHO NEED IT,