EMBARGOED: AGAINST DELIVERY QOSIITOA x~ L4r,. ~~ IS
, jUSTRA IlAL
FOR PRESS SUNDAY OCTOBER 17.
THURSDAY OCTOBER 21
ELECTORAL TALK
The Federal Treasurer, Phillip Lynch, renewed the Government's
offer of a fair and reasonable partnership for foreign investors
when he addressed a conference in Sydney this week.
He was careful to emphasise that the Government's priority
remains domestic economic policy. There is good reason, he
reported to the conference in Sydney, for confidence in Australia's
economic prospects.
The Treasurer reminded the overseas businessmen that Australian
strategy is squarely in line with international views on
economic management. He repeated the Government's resolve to
deal with the economic problems which we inherited.
For rural industry in Australia there is nothing new in the
message that the fight to control inflation and restore economic
stability must take priority.
The last few years have been difficult ones for farmers. Yet
unless we successfully attack inflation there will not be the
jobs or the incentive to invest on which primary industry and
manufacturing industry both depend.
The Government has taken a series of major steps aimed at
restoring profitability to industry. To make more resources
available to the private sector, some $ 2.6 million was sliced
off forward estimates for the current year, thus holding growth
in the budget back to 11%.
We did that to make more money available to taxpayers and to
other spheres of Government.
This has been particularly important for Local Government,
which are now receiving a guaranteed share of national income
tax revenue.
Threir proportion of the revenue this year will increase by
percent to 140 million dollars.
Legislation to give effect to this grant will be coming into
Parliament shortly. it will reach local governments, once
procedures are established, as an annual lump sum early in
each financial year. / 2
Your Government has taken this action because we consider
that the burden on ratepayers in many parts of Australia
4 have been too heavy.
This is especially so in rural areas and we hope that
Shire and Municipal Authorities will now, with these
additional funds, be able to hold rates steady, or even
reduce them.
There are always requirements for more funds. There are
always good uses to which Government authorities can put
extra dollars.
But when the. Gross National Product is static or actually
declining, as it was for the last year or two of the last
government, then all spheres of government must understand
that they cannot go on taking more and more out of the
pockets of taxpayers and ratepayers.
As wall as the new level of assistance for local government,
we will be introducing in this session of Parliament,
legislation for an Income Equalizatian Deposit Scheme.
The scheme will be brought in to apply to income earned this
year. 0
The Income Equalization Deposit. Scheme is a long term measure
designed to produce more equitable taxation for farmers who3e
incomes fluctuate wildly because of weather, or world commodity
prices. It will not help those farmers this year who have little or
no income at all. But it is evidence of the Government's
firm desire to. see primary industry put back on a sound
footing.
Another long term reform will be the establishment of a rural
bank. This is going ahead. We hope that existing banks will
take part in it but if they do not wish to be involved the
rural bank will be established in any case.
As well as being able to provide long term finance, the
Rural Bank will have funds available for the purchase of
equipment so that farmers do not have the burden of high
interest rates under hire purchase agreements.
Many other measures have been taken since the Government
came to office. Some of them short term, others long term.
None of these measures alter the fact that general economic
recovery is critical for a restoration of profitability for
rural industry.
That recovery has begun. It is clearly going to be slow
after the battering which the economy took under the former
administration.
We said before the last election that it would take a full
three y', 7-ars. Ho-, yevecr I wcald liie o rcucto the wu:; ds
of the Treasurer when he was speaking to international
investors in Sydney this week there is now good reason for
confidence in Australia's economic prospects.