PRIME MINISTER
FOR P) RESS 19 M 1% y 197
ADDREISS TO A~ USTRA~ LIAN IBERJAL. STtJJBNTS FF-DEIATICIN, SYDNEY
I have been following with intere& t and enthusiasm the growing streng
of your Federation in recent years. It has come a lon way & ince it
format-ion by my friena the late Ivor Greenwood and others some
years ago. ItS recent extension to nearly all terti ary e. d11ctionul1
institutions has heralded a new era of activity, v. axyirn from meat
pi ep for the men of the U. S. S. TrmiXt~ n, to your camptignP to bring
responsible leadership to the Australian Union of Stud-3, nts. your
Pederation has built up a strong tradition of maintaiiinh; liberal
ideasi amn Jt 8tudents.
Liberal ideas and ideals, which originally emerged ini opy-osition to
autooratic power and entrenched privilceje, are of the qrcates-t
relevtince to the issues and problems fauincj contemporalcy soci ety;
to the problems of human freedom; to the problems of the xelatioyslti
bet-ween the inavidval and the l. arge ortjanisatio~ ns thoti domninate our
society; to the problems of inequality and disadvantagej arid to the
problems of achieving meaningful change and refoym.
in the last 18 months since being elected, this Guvex1nmr! 7it has acted
to bring about reforms which implement Liberal princ~ tj. Qes, which
translate lberal~ ism into reality. We have acted to Increfi-e
individual freedomi and choice, to provide effective assistance
to-p-eople whki are dIsadvantaqcd or in yiejed, to provid eLq 1 i y co
the law, to preserve fundamental civil liberties and ti--envourage
inaiviadual initiativeo in the Bocial welfare area, for i-n. stance,
the cornerstone of our approach has been to aivc: pr~ iority of
assistance to those most in need, and mak-e-sure that aid -sprovided
to people in wayfi that increase their independenc: in ways wi ch
allow them to choose how they will use-the; aid to rrc s; t enit
tbemHelves. Need and disadvantage is not. mere-ty a Iprcblcem of ntria
It is also a matt-er of .1im-ted cho: ice,. brte3o-tu'tv An v
e ff ec; t iv e 15x oqramiftne thIa t se e ks t o avsI i e thh i . W n i a
provi-de both material aid) andI the : qport unityfo : cc.,~ ew
It will not havre Isuceed* d
One example of our appxoachi i ti oxi; r pam~. A.' Th j -~ Im~
tichIeme hau beer) Widely reuuqnisy d to bte wn fj Cly t
d va nc e in t he Au st r & l i L; n wCe l I 1 1 s y iLtcCr : f; ñ n inC! CICt! C LiC,
We abolished tax deductions f or ch i 11ren, ~* bi1wer" e 8
to those who had 611ffikci~ ent taxb: eI i( C ii' to e~ . Ut: ~ e
deduct ioins, a nd subs6t ituteI:; d d II: eCtLA ba1 y;-n) tof COtV . c
in Aust ralia. 1-h i S sclieme b -ouqht z; 1ou t E.. q0 i ) 1f i -e17 i E-t 17i huk~ v
of income in favour of the pcorlest n -diu c ornimi -jy Wwta S 1* t, i : k Ia*'
2-
particul arly beneficial to suich groupS' as. snqlv parentg, igirants,~
aborigines, and all low-. irio y. r oups. We ri-orientatea oujr ( ohid-
-~ care, programme towardeu thje area' of greateszt neeo3 by pyoviding ( lay-K
care facilities, to provide chil1dren of.. working) imofhcrs with adeqkiate
care; and particular emphaasir is be~ Ing 9TV-Yn to low income families.
wpero tehcatevde the aged aqa~~~ ins'-eeoino terpn. sb
inflation. The a pension now amount~ t-o a higher percentage of average
earnS nge tha'n at any time in AuFTra-. , a' 7-1. i~ tory.
it is sometimnes difficult to clotlrmine in -advance Whether a ncw programme
which proiniseg to increase p'eoptD ' s choice will actually do, no. Thu E
* where nece& sary we hav'e been prepa. Mred to devise experimental programmes
to test their effectiven ss. We-: ate, at the mroment preparing to launch
1 the Housing I) Issist; Aiice r Uher Zxperiinent. This progromme
will assist low income earnor's -b-.> ay~ Ing to them, in cavdi, subsidies
towardb the cost of their family'AJ accommodation. It is uip to them
how they use such subsiaieS. They may rent housing commiasion flats or
they may prefer private accommodation. The choice, and the responsibility
is left to the recipient.
Another experimental programme ik; our milgrant roncurcez centxe in
Melbourne. Instead of the Government bureaucracy runnincj the centre,
we have conitra~ ted out this responsibility to a voluntary organisation,
the Greek welfare Society. Early indication& are thaIt the centre is;
working well and that somne other ethnic groups see the centre as a
possible model for their own operations.
The Government has recognised that there are many act. ivitie& which
public servants cannot conduct. as ef fectively as voluntary organi sati ODA,
particularly the personal warmth and perfsonal assistance that many people
in need or dist-ress really need. Voluntary organisation" also provide
opportunities for participation and involvement tbat public bureaucracieA,
because of their very structure, find it almost impossible to provide.
our policy of placing greater emphasis on voluntary oxrganisations is
designed to stren( gthen the capacity of voluntaryorganiisations to provide
the die~ advantaqod with such opportunities. In all age in which Government
hais grown considerably, notmetimes appearing to dwarf the individual
citizen, suibstantial reforms have been requi red to counteract the
power) esznaso that citizens feel iii thke face of thc size and power of
the-Commoinwealth's bureaucracy.
We have acted to ensure that people. dealing with the Government are
treated fairly, promptly and accoraing to the l. aw. That adequate redres
is avail; Able for those who have cjenuine grievances, and to incerease the
oitizens access to infoxmittion. The first Ombudsman haS6 bL'uis ti: puisite( I
and the AdminintratiVe Appebls TriI7unal has comnmencod operation. We have
reformed our Court system b-y intr oducin1t h Ie new 1Federal Court, and we
4re moving to simplify Court procedures and certain archaic forms of
writs. We shall this year introduce freedom of informnation legjislation t~ o
provide, as of rig~ ht, access to cextair, categories of infornjatinheld
by Goveranent affecting individualt;. The (; ovornment has also introduced
various law reforms to enhance, civil liberties. Unfortunately, they are
too often taken for frantec d i n AuIPt r ali a. -Contitant vigilance AA required
to isec how they Can be. ijmproved, aind itdarated as our sioiety changes.
We have introduced legisilationi on criminal investigation which is-an
important advance in civil i: ete. / we have
we have extendecl legjal aid, by reticetinq it towardts the mos[. t Li
n eqt constraints in Government spending, our-a l~ ocation
to leg~ al aid this year was increased We have ilnstituted land
rights legislation for aboriginese Jrt the. Nvrthern Territory, We hiave
undetaken to cstabli sb a Human Rights Commission to enfixrce compliance
of Federal liaw with the UN nt eynati onal Covenant On ci vil and
po: it i cal rights.
R~ eferences have been made to the Law Reform Commission on a nuinher
of iRsxeA, for eyample -proteution of pxivacy, reform of thie law of
defamation, investigation of the possibility of applyin( aboriginal
customary law In criminal mattekR to aboriginem~ livingq in the tradition
manner. This is an iinpresiveQ list, an($ amply dleinoitratus the depth of our
commni tnmenit to maintaining civil: liberties-and increasing Goveyiment ' s
reg~ olsiveness to the people. Pe'rhaps even more iinporta ntly it
illustrates oux ocipacity to translate that corraitrnent into reality.
The GovernMent has also institxited historic political reforms.
We have commencea a prograinme of pxrogrers. vely handing, over powers to
the legislative territories of the Northern Territory and the hCT.
We aiM to ensure full statehood for the Northern Territory by 981.
We propose to strengthen the power of Parliament to scruitinise pXIIlic,
expenditure. A~ s a firrt step, we have establisheed a pi~ bliu expenditure
committee which has already iontone tatsk of carefully vetting;
particular areas of publ ic eypenditure. And of courFee we aire
committed to con % t i txtional reform.
Nex: t Saturday, Australiians will vote on four propofials tie. amend the
constitutio". If all four succeedl, we will at one stroke have almost
doubled the number of succefiiful amnmnsto our ccrnstixtution.
I Elm confident that they will succeed because the pxoposals are
patently sensible, fair and just. The princ~ iples oif the four1. pxopoeials
wiere supported at the Holbart Constitutionial Convetion. They are
supported by all r'edvriil political parties, anel they will imp: rovc
the operation of the constitution. The fo-or propos: als may be bimnply
6tated and justified.
Thefistproposal is that the Hourie of Representatives an Senate
elections be held simultacneously. it is Simply common Psenve that
these elections always 13e held at the same time; that Aiistralians
should onlIy have to vote in a-)? eaeral eClCtetiJri WIIC) I Australia's
Government is at stake. Unlessv thie confstitut-ion is changed, the only
way to bring the elections togethey would be repeatedly to ,-ut short
the term of the Hjouse of Rupresentatives. Tihe three, yeor tcrlp is
howevlerxc atively short on-e of theh Mote st Parli amen) tary termst
in the democratic world Puither re-duciine it would damage loc-d
Uovernment. This pro-posal1 does not in any way affect the! po. w( errs c0
the Senate, It In fact in) CreaSCes the auh'rYitv Of Uhe SeY. acc0 ec
a bad Government for i~ t w. i. rnic ange possibl-c, to clair thtat only
the lower House xieflects Ithe 1latest. w. ith) the people Vuirtnc'r, if
the Senate should ever aq: 0-ukl se itS(-' all flnite wICEapon of forcli rq the L
Government to the aol,. t lceaIst half the 8ernatoxs i-i thecmse: lves
have to) facoe the voters to have thei4r acti onL :' fdried at the Polls,
and it is only faix tHiat thiis should ocour. 1 /' PIh ue. L n a
Thescon re di proiJosp-l isthat whenever a Senator dies or
rasigns, hie will be replaced .,_ for tile remainder of his term of office,-
by a member of the Ham(-party. It wjll guarantee that your choicet
of parties for the Senate cannot healt~ ered by avvident or design.
U) de-r the constitution ap, it~ srd,_ Senate vacancy can completely
change the party balionce. But ly ttoi ,_ peoplc should determine the
balance of the parties in the Siena b nce this propor,; a is accJepted,
the peoples choice will he preerve u'li they hlave anl opportunity to
make another choice at the nexI el~ in:
The third referendum pr-op osal i to gi Ve Voters; in Australian
Capital Territory an( I Northiern7 x itor y the basic right to vote in afll.
flitlie xeferendvins. This is a-nnta right all other Australians
Ita ve. I know of no rational. or7reasbliable argument for denying it to
Territorial voters. They have, the . ae obliglations as other Australians..
They pay taXeS; they are obliged to observe the laws of the Commonwealth;
they vote for Members of Parliament; and the outcome of referendums
affect themn ac4 niucli afs they do other Australians. IReStoring thi6
right will strengthen Australian democracy.
The fourth and final referendum proposal is to set a retiring age for
Federal justices. High Cotirt Justices would retire at 70 and the
retiremnent age for other Vederal Court judge3 woul. ' De dvterinined by
Pairliamnent. The proposal does not affect the terma of Jiudges already
appointed to the bench. Moot jobs have retirement ages, and for good
reason. JvidqeG are as affected by old age as the rest of xis. This
principle has long been recognisedI by the States, all of which have
compulsory retiring ageR for tbeir own Jiudges. It is only fair that
after the age of 70 responsibility shiould be handed over to youinger
people. That is even more important, now that the new system of
Federal Family Courts han been Vot up, Placing a premium-on juidges
abilIity to k~ eep up with changing community.
All four referendum proposals are fair, j-ost and reasonable. Trhey have
been extensively cohaidezed. They have the support of all major Feaeral
parties. They do not involve further power for Canberra. Thley will
istrengthen the Senate and ensure that it can better look after the
interests of the States, They will make the constitution work better.
on Saturday, I amn sure that a clear majority of Austritliant; in is clear
majority of the states will vote Yeii in theoe four referendums. But
those of yoti who think the referendum propositions should be paFIsed,
vannot afford to be complacent. The referendums will not pass thL-iselve~
All people who care about vonstitutional and political reform in this
country have a responsibility to work for the referendums. If we all
do this, then the referendumu will be pass; ed, and we will have a constituition
which mervets Australia's needs more effectively.
The process bf change and reform in our society is a continuing one, and
in thio procesg we are constantly seeliing innovative ideas which effectively
translate our id~ ealB into reality.
The Austrailian Students Liberal P.-eceration has a .4i( nificant role to
contribute in making Australia a better and more equal society. I
believe that our soci et. y has unique advantages because of the wealth
of ou~ r natural regources, our history of egalitarianism and clemocratic
tradition&, and the general level of equxality ani. oppOrtun-ity which
prevail s
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prev~ ails III AU1Stralia U I e V e I eqt lty that is unmatched in
almost any other society. But our advan ages shoulid not be a cause
for complacency. Rather, they. s) ti d--be a challenqe.
Against this baiekgyound of coi~ rr ~,-wealth and equality, the
social problern which do pers~ st in~ Aust. ialia stand out all the
more sharply. We sbouuld have the ingenuity, the resources and
the determination rcquir ccl to come to g; rip6 With them effectively.
in our early history, Asrl ~ re aoeo h ol'
motst advanced and enlightened-, em o s we have the chjancp to
recapture that position by dev! f6-i ne solutions to the problems
of our Bociety which put peolces wishes aind aelf-respect firnt.
This is a tas~ k in whichi we need your help the help of all Australians