Embargoed until delivery F77/ 162
10.45 a. m.* PRIME MINISTER
FOR PRESS 30 JULY 1977
ADDRESS TO VICTORIAN LIBERAL COUNCIL -MELBOURNE
It is a great pleasure to participate once again in a meeting of
the State Council, and I would like to take this opportunity to
thank Joy Mein for her support in the past twelve months. I am very
much looking forward to working with her in the year ahead. I
would also like to pay a special tribute to two Foundation Members
of the Party, who, after many years of distinguished service have
decided not to renominate for the State Executive Mrs. Audrey
Reader and Mrs. Valerie Austin. Both were members of the
Victorian State Executive with me when I was first elected
to the Parliament in 1955. Both have served continuously on
Executive since then. It is the intelligence and hard work of
people like Mrs. Reader and Mrs. Austin that has made the success
of the Liberal Party possible.
But this intelligence, hard work and the concern with matters of
substance that mark the Liberal Party means however that we
cannot surpass the ALP in one respect.. Our Councils are not
as exciting as ALP Conferences.
At the Perth ALP Conference, Mr. Whitlam delivered a sp eech in
which he claimed he had seen the light of economic responsibility.
As Mr. Hayden pointed out, the speech had undoubtedly been drafted
on the road to Damascus.
This was a stirring performance, but it was outdone by Mr. Hawke's
announcement that if the leadership of the Parliamentary Labor
Party was not bestowed upon him, he just would not enter the
Parliament. But, as Mr. Whitlam said some years ago " I do not care how many
prima donnas there are in the Labor Party so long as I am the
prima donna assoluta". And at his National Press Club appearance
he proved that he could still hit the highest note.
In the space of a few sentences, he managed to attack the
Commonwealth Treasury, the Bank of New South Wales, all Rotarians,
and the Reserve Bank, of which his own Mr. Hawke is a Board member.
/ Under
2
Under Labor, taxes rose inexorably minimising individual
choice and maximising Government direction over our lives.
Increasing numbers of Australians were being compelled to
become more dependent on welfare payments. The bureaucracy
grew ever larger as it regulated more and more of the
nation's life. Power was relentlessly transferred from
state and local government to Canberra.
We as Liberals rejected the notion that the answer to
society's problems was more government spending, more
power for Canberra. Labor had taken that path and it
was stifling the initiative and drive on which our prosperity
was founded.
We were elected nineteen months ago because we were
committed to a fresh start, a new direction for Government.
Because we-were committed to creating the conditions in
which people's independence was enhanced, their ability
to achieve things for themselves and for others increased.
We have begun to fulfil that commitment.
The trend to bigger, more impersonal, more centralised
government has been broken. We have introduced fundamental
reforms to the taxation system. Through tax indexation
we have brought to an end the system under which income
tax rose simply through the effects of inflation. / We have
-3
We have reformed company taxation so that businessmen are no
longer taxed on imaginary profits derived from the effect of
inflation on their stocks. The growth of the public sector
has been halted. Our estimates indicate that the proportion
of gross national product attributable to the Commonwealth has
fallen. We are keeping Government spending to zero real grow th.
The rapid growth of the Public Service has been reversed. By
reducing staff ceilings, we have cut the number of Commonwealth
Government employees by 12,000. This is 31,000 less than it
would have been under Labor's policies.
Protection of the individual against the State is one of the
most fundamental commitments of Liberalism, and we have legislated
to provide far greater protection for individuals against the
power of the bureaucracy.
The first Ombudsman, Professor Richardson, commenced work this
month. The Administrative Appeals Tribunal has commenced work.
The procedures for the Courts to review administrative decisions
have been simplified. The Federal Court system has been reformed.
We have moved to provide effective aid to the disadvantaged aid
which is directed to those in need and which does not make them
more dependent on the Government. The Family Allowance Scheme
exemplifies our approach. We abolished tax deductions for
children which disproportionately benefitted the better of f
sections of the community, and replaced them with direct cash
payments to all mothers. This scheme has been of the greatest
benefit to the poorer sections of the community.
Central to our social welfare measures is the understanding that
need and disadvantage are caused not only by a lack of material
resources, but also by a lack of knowledge about where to go to
get assistance; and often by a sense of powerlessness when faced
with large organisations. We have accordingly moved to make the
bureaucracy more responsive to peoples needs, and encouraged and
supported the work done by voluntary organisations that are often
more accessible than public service departments.
At the moment for instance, we are conducting an important
experiment with migrant resource centres in Melbourne and Sydney.
The erosion of the power of the states and local government has
been reversed. Under our policies of new federalism, greater
financial independence and responsibility has been given back
to the states, and the Commonwealth has withdrawn from fields
in which ' it had been unnecessarily interfering.
We have directed our energies in tackling the most disastrous
consequence of Labor rule inflation. Inflation hurts us all,
but as the Henderson Poverty Report pointed out it hurts
none so much as the poor and old, those least able to protect
themselves. Inflation stifles investment and reduces real
business profits. The inevitable result is unemployment. Our
concerted anti-inflationary policies have met with considerable
success. Inflation as measured by the Consumer Price Index has
fallen, after excluding the effects of Medibank, from 16.7%
when we came to office to 10.2%. / other
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Other economic indicators show that the economy is growing
again. In the financial year just ended, there is every
indication that our target of 4% real growth has been achieved.
Private investment is rising. In 1976, investment in plant and
equipment rose 6.8% in real terms. Company profits have risen.
In the March quarter, they were up 27% on the preceding year.
But much remains to be done. We must reduce inflation still
further, and of course it is essential that the present high
level of unemployment be reduced. A number of innovative schemes
have been introduced to alleviate unemployment, and the results
have been encouraging.
The Community Youth Support Scheme now involves some 15,000
young people. The NEAT scheme has been expanded to cover
18,000 people, three quarters of whom have found a job at the
end of their term under the scheme. NEAT's special Youth
Employment Training Programme is particularly successful. It
subsidises employers to hire young people who have been unemployed
for a lengthy period of time. Over 70% of them retain their jobs
when the subsidy expires. The CRAFT scheme for promoting
apprenticeships has also been a significant success. The
figures for the financial year just ended are now available.
They show that this scheme now covers over 41,500 apprentices,
and apprenticeships throughout Australia are up 9% on last year.
This scheme is still in its early developmental stage, and even
further increases can be expected this year.
There is also the Relocation Assistance Scheme to help those
who have to move to another area to find employment. But if
there are to be jobs for all those who genuinely want to work,
we must face squarely the fact that wage increases over recent
years have been pricing many people out of jobs. We have not
yet recovered from -the wages explosion that Labor fostered
and it was a vast explosion.
In the two years to October 1975, award wages in manufacturing
industry increased by 53%. Even today, average weekly earnings
in Australia are over 13% higher than those in the United States.
Only a few years ago, the position was the reverse.
Mr. Whitlam had a momentary flash of insight when he said
" Every excessive increase in income for one man takes away
the job of another".
A survey last week starkly underlined the importance of wage
restraint to reducing inflation and unemployment. The survey
showed that one third of companies were wholly passing on wage
rises by increasing their prices, and that of the companies
absorbing wage increases, half were doing so by reducing
their number of employees.
It is clear the high price of labour makes employers reluctant
to employ more workers even when their sales increase. Instead,
they prefer to purchase more labour-saving machines. Excessive
wages contribute to inflation, they slow down economic recovery,
and reduce employment opportunities. / i'f
4
If certain trade union leaders continue their present policies
and attitudes, and if the Arbitration Commission make high wage
determinations, a return to full employment of the kind Australia
once knew will not be possible.
There is also a pressing need for a responsible attitude towards
industrial disputes. Since we were elected, we have legislated
to bring a greater measure of justice, common sense and consultation
to industrial relations in this country, and many of the
major proposals contained in our Industrial Relations policy have
been passed into law. we have legislated to provide for secret
postal ballots for the election of officers registered under the
Conciliation and Arbitration Act. We have established an
Industrial Relations Bureau as an independent statutory authority.
And we have established the National Labour Consultative Council to
permit continuing discussions on industrial relations issues.
Our approach to industrial relations has resulted in a significant
reduction in the level of industrial disputes. In Labor's last
fifteen months, 4 million working days were lost due to disputes.
In my Government's first fifteen months, excluding Medibank, only
2 million working days have been lost. Over the same period,
wages lost due to disputes have been reduced by $ 48 million.
But despite this improvement, unwarranted strikes and stoppages
still contribute to unemployment, and have imposed hardship on
large sections of the Australian people. The air controllers
strike was a blatant example of the attempt by powerful vested
interest groups to impose their views on the whole community.
This strike was resolved only after we indicated that we would
bring down emergency legislation as a matter of urgency. And now,
stoppages at our major export based mineral projects are seriously
harming Australia.
In the Pilbara there has been an average of over a strike a week.
The seamen's dispute in Queensland typifies the situation where
a small militant group holds not only their employer to ransom,
but also forces large numbers of fellow unionists out of work in
areas unrelated to the strike. The seamen's dispute has led to
the suspension of the $ 250 million Norwich Park project. The
conclusion of subcontracts had had to be postponed and employment
has been seriously affected. The demands of the seamen's union
for Australian-manned ships would, if met, undermine the
competitive position of our iron ore and coal industries.
Industrial disputes of this type are harming this state and
harming the nation. The overwhelming majority of Australians
is opposed to unnecessary strikes so is the overwhelming
majority of unionists. The only people who want them are the
tiny minority of extremist unionists. Many disputes have been
initiated with so little sign of reason and common sense being
displayed that the people of Australia are entitled to ask
whether there is a deliberate attempt to undermine the nation's
prosperity. It is time the selfish minority recognised that
they are members of a civilised community one in which there
are rights and responsibilities, not a jungle in which the most
militant can get their way, irrespective of the cost to others.
The Government will be bringing down further industrial relations
legislation in the Spring Session of Parliament. / we
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We have made progress in facing the issues which concern Australia
because the coalition is united and strong. We were elected on a
joint platform endorsed by both parties, and the Ministry works
as a cohesive single unit. I cannot remember a time in my 22
years in Parliament when the coalition parties have worked
better together. Compare our ministry with the conflicts, the
disruptions and dismissals in the Labor Cabinet. The strength
of relations within the coalition will remain. There could be
nothing more shortsighted than actions which do not recognise that
the Federal Coalition is essential to the good government of
Australia. The effective working of the coalition depends on
co-operation and trust. This has been established by the
politicians. If the Ministers of one coalition party are opposed
by the organisation of another at future elections, Ithat would
inevitably detract from our single-minded pursuit of the good
government of Australia and to defeating the ALP. it is
towards the overriding goal of giving Australia responsible
Government that all our energies should be directed.
Ladies and gentlemen, we have only made a beginning in the pro. s
of -translating Liberal principles into Government programmes.
There is still great scope for introducing civil liberties reforms.
They are too often taken for granted and constant vigilance is
required to see how they can be improved and adapted to the
changing needs of our society.
These are some of the.. actions we shall take. We shall establish
a Human Rights Commission. We shall reform the laws governing
criminal investigation by Commonwealth Police to set a fair balance
between the public interest and individual rights. We shall enact
legislation providing free access to many categories of Government
information and archives. In addition, a number of matters have
been referred to the Australian Law Reform Commission for enquiry
and report: the Law of Privacy, the Law of Defamation; the right
to sue in Federal Courts. There is still great scope for improving
our social security system and ensuring that all people in need get
effective and sensitive assistance, and we intend to take more of
the steps necessary to achieve this end.
A great deal more needs to be done in the area of aboriginal affairs.
Years of neglect cannot be overcome overnight. It is clear that we
have only made a beginning, and in pursuing the Liberal idea of a
freer more equitable society, the whole of the Liberal Party has
a major role to play.
Our party is not just an organisation for getting people elected
into Parliament. It is a major arena in which the central ideas
and ideals of liberalism are kept alive and related to the world
in which we live. Liberalism has survived as a philosophy of
social, economic and political life because its central theme
concern for the individual reflects the aspirations of men and
women for freedom and a better life, and because Liberal ideas have
been translated into policies, policies into actions. The
Council provides a stimulus for new thought, and new approaches,
a stimulus which maintains the vitality of the Liberal Party.
By its deliberations and resolutions, it has helped to keep our
party's platform and policy relevant to the great issues and
problems facing our society.