PRIME MINISTER ON HSV7' S THIS WEEK PROGRAM
SUNDAY 28 SEPTEMBER 1975
You will have noticed that in Melbourne this week-
Wednesday, Thursday and Friday there was a second meeting of
the Australian Constitutional Convention. The first meeting
took place in Sydney in September 1973. That meeting, the
Convention set up, unanimously, committees and working parties
to prepare for the next meeting. And then over the last three
months all the Premiers in Australia and I have co-operated
in arrangements for this meeting of the Convention in
Melbourne. We all drew up an agenda which we thought we
should make in order to make more modern and effective
arrangements between us for the government of Australia.
These arrangements were in fact supported by the Federal
Opposition. A month ago Mr Fraser, the Leader of the
Opposition, spoke in the House of Representatives in
these terms: " It's our hope that this Convention will be
Affika useful forum in which Federal and State
0 representatives may constructively consider
Constitutional reform in a way which will
advance the good government of Australia.
The Co~ istitutional Con-vention will provide
a place where constructive efforts may be made
to work out constitutional reform. The
Opposition is glad that the Constitutional
Convention will be reconvened in Melbourne
in September."
Now those were fine words. I agreed with all ofU
0 them. And yet what happened? When we camne along to
Melbourne last Wednesday, all the Liberal leaders were
absent. The agenda had been announced three weeks before
by the Deputy Premier of Victoria, Mr Thompson, and he
expressed the hope which we all share, that this will
O be a fruitful meeting of the Convention.
But the very next day,' after Mr Thompson spoke,
Mr Bjelke-Petersen, the Premier of Queensland, said that
Queensland wouldn't be sendling a delegation. Then the next
day the Premier of Western Australia, Sir Charles Court,
said that Western Australia wouldn't be sending a delegation.
And then Mr Lewis did the same for New South Wales and last
of all Mr Hamer for Victoria. And then bringing up the
rear, Mr Fraser let it be known that he wouldn't. So all
the noble words, all the work of two years went to nothing.
Nevertheless there was a full delegation from South Australia,
a full delegation from Tasmania, a full delegation from
local government throughout Australia, a full delegation
from the Northern Territory and from the Australian Capital
Territory and of course, the Australian Government.
2.
Now the idea didn't come from the Australian
Government; it came from the Victorian Parliament in 1972.
It wasn't a Labor gathering; a majority of the people who
should have-been there and a majority of the people who were,
in fact, there, didn't belong to the Labor Party. But
nevertheless we went through the agenda, we agreed on
proposals for the Federal Government to-put to the people
to reform the Constitution. We agreed on proposals for
the State Governments to refer matters to the Federal
Parliament under the Constitution.
Over the road on the opening day the Liberal
leaders throughout Australia met and issued a statement on
Federalism. It's amazing theydidn't choose to turn up and
debate it and discuss it with us. But the significant thing
about it was and this is the real reason why they boycotted
the Convention on the agenda was provision for local
0, government. Because, obviously, if you're looking at
constitutional arrangements in Australia today, you ought to
make it possible for the Federal Government to have
financial relations; to borrow money, to make assistance
o available to local governments as well as to the State
governments, and that's what we decided at the Convention.
And this is the key to the Liberal objection, because the
Liberal Governments, starting with the Victorian State
Government, have~ been opposing Federal financial assistance
for local government. They've challenged this in the High
Court and programs, for instance, for child care, preschools,
projects for aged, homeless, handicapped and aboriginal peo~ ple,
isolated children, health centres, legal aid offices, nursing
homes and home nursing, meals on wheels, flying doctor services,
blood transfusion serVices, all these are under challenge in
the High Court, by State Liberal Governments. The Liberalo
0 if they got the chance would cut off assistance for local
government and for community providence.
That's why they boycotted the Constitutional
0 Convention this week in Melbourne.
NOW