ADELAIDE-. YOUTH RALLY 22 NO) VEMBER 1977
The choice in this election is very clear. The choice is between
the responsible policies of the government and the economic
irresponsibility of Mr Whitlarn's proposals. The choice is between
growth and develop-ment and the jobs these wil. l bring, and Labor's
disastrous recipe for stagnation. The choice is between lower
taxes to let Australians have more say over how their own money is
spent and the dead hand of Labor's high taxation policy.
This Government' s policies are workinq. W-e have broken through in Iche fight against
inflation. Under Labor it reached a peak in 1974 of 19% this year it's been
running at around 9.
Mr Hawke is desperately claiming it is untrue to say inflation
reached 191% under Labor. This is very surprising Mr H-awke should
have had plenty of time -to read page 13 of Budget Statement Number 2
published in August, which shows tha-t Labor's inflation did reach 19%.
After all, during the Victorian power dispute Mr Hawke had plenty of
time on his hands for-a bit of light reading. I understand that the
Labor party are showing tonight, for the first tir~ ie and in living
colour, their advertisement of Mr Hawk,. e in a motel room, hurriedlly
packing his bags to go out and resolve ancother of his disputes.
Well, in the case of the Victorian power dispute a dispute which
caused 450,000 people to be laid off for weeks, which caused 36,000
people to lose their jobs, which affected not only Victoria but other
states including South Australia; it took Mr Hawke 9 weeks to pack his
bages, gat out of his hotel room and take a hand.
The reduction in inflation we have achieved is restoring business
confidence confidence which is essential to beating unemrployment.
Australia is ready to go with $ 6,00 millioin of investment which will
* create more jobs bring more wealth to Australia.
Because of our firm control over Government spendi4ng, intIIerest rates
are now falling. This will help business to finance expansion and create
more jobs. / 2
, Pax indexation and our personal tax reforms which are alreadyLw
have saved taxpayers $ 3,300 million. They are restoring incentive
and giving Australians greater control over their incomes.
our wages policy has made a significant contribution to reducing
excess~ ie wage . increases wage increases that put people out of johs;
that put companies out of businoss.
our policies of assistance to business have protected tens of thousand., 3
of jobs. We have protected the kind of jobs Mr Whitlam wiped out with
a stroke of his pen in his 25% across-the-board tariff cut.
He had before him an official report which told him this would wipe
out 30, O00jobs, but he still quite deliberately went ahead with the
tariff cuts; and that's not all. In July, at his national press club
speech, Mr Whitlan, after all the devastation he has wrought on
Australian industry, had the gall to say-
" There is no doubt that Australian industry is excessively
protected that is the basic trouble with our
manufacturing industry".
Well he's wrong again the basic problem with industry is the after
effects of the Whitlam years.
This government will have none of his policies. Unlike Labor, which
bought overseas, we've adopted a policy of buying Australian wherever
possiblp s~ o that there can be work for Australians.
Our policies are working. We are doing the job we were elected to do.
We are ready to break through into a new period of development and
prosperity. This breakthrough would not occur under Labor.
Mr Whitlam's proposals are a recipe for national disaster. Mr Whitlam
proposes higher personal income taxes and higher marginal rates of
taxation.
Mr Whitlam proposes a massive increase in government expenditure. He
himself admits he wants to spend an additional $ 800 million in his
first six months, and that figure doesn't include any significant
amount for what would be a very expensive and ineffective job subsidy
scheme. This $ 000 million is only a start. Six of the many other programm~ es
he wants to introduce will alone cost over $ 3 billion per year. / 3
-3-
Mr Whitlam's reaction tc any problem and this election is certainly
a problem for him is to scatter money, your money, in add directions.
Other pcople's money means nothing to Mr Thitam. Mr Whitlairm wants to
abandon the policy of wage and salary restraint.
Mr Whitlam has been forced by the trade unions the unions which fund the
Labor party to support full wage indexation.
This means more people being put out of jobs business being hit with
ever higher wages and small businesses being hit particularly hard.
Mr Whitlam still has the same progratme, the same policies that pushed
inflation to a peak of 19% under Labor. The same policies which
increased unemployment by almost 200,00 in just 12 months.
Mr Whitlam wants to do it all over again, and his policies would hit
Australia with higher taxes, higher interest rates, bigger wage bills
and more unemployment. Labor hasn't changed! They are still divided,
still incompetent.
The Labor Party's policy speech is only five days old, but the Labor
Party is already fighting about what it means.
As they start to comprehend the full enormity of the pitfalls, loopholes,
and injustices of their hastily thought-out schemes
Mr Whitlam, Mr Hayden, and Mr HUrford are constantly refuting each
other's interpretations and contradicting their own statements. Let's
look at some of the major planks of their economic policy.
Mr Whitlam is committed to abolish payroll tax, apparently about the start
of 1978, or before the February reductions in personal income taxation
come into force. As payroll tax this financial year is estimated at
$ 1,700 million, this means Labor would have to find about half of that
about $ 850 million for the second half of this financial year, and a
further $ 1,900 million next financial year.
To do this, Labor would increas the burden of personal tax falling on
Australian taxpayers. They would have to raise $ 850 million in personal
taxes in the first half of 1978, and $ 1,900 million more taxes in
1978/ 79 and every year thereafter. That much is clear. But that is the
only thing that Labor is clear about.
On Sunday morning, Mr Whitlam began by saying that Labor would merely
" postpone" the tax cuts coming in on February first. At Sunday lunchtime
he said " he had made a mistake" that Labor would never bring in those
tax cuts. Sunday afternoon, he said tax indexation would be " postponed"
until income tax receipts rise sufficiently to offset the cost of payroll
tax. By Sunday night he was saying perhaps he'd " expressed himself wrongly"
Mr Whitlam now says he would" expect" full tax indexation sometime soon, but
Mr Hurford is checking it. Poor Mr Hurford he's already been thrown out
as Labor's economic spokesman, and now he's been sent scurrying off to
try to deal with Labor's great gaffe!
The second plank of Labor's economic programme is its wages policy. In
his policy speech, Mr tihitlam coini-mittedc Labir to " restore irntogrity to
the wage indexation guidelines". That speech was only hours old when Mir
Hayden said that meant support for -full wage indexation but only7 for
people on less than average weekly earnings.
By Sunday, Mr Whitlam was saying that Labor wanted full wage indexation
for everyone. Mr Hayden confessed he might be wrong. " I feel I'm on
shaky ground" he said. Ile said questions on wage indexation should be
directed to Mr Willis. work in the economic area its a demarcation
problem". So much for Mr Hayden as an economic manager!
If hie believes wages policy is outside the economic area, he certainl~ y is
on shaky ground. Labor has so many economic managers, that there ' s always
a threat of a demarcation dispute.
This sort of behaviour on Labor's part is typical of Labor's behaviour when
they were in office. Labor was then the party of high taxation. They put
personal income tax up 125% 0 in just three years. They have made it clear
they are now the party of even higher taxes still.
The tragedy of the sacrifice which Mr 11hitlam asks taxpayers to make, in
voting for higher taxation is that the sacrifice would be utterly
pointless. Mr Whitlam says his schemes will reduce inflation. In fact
inflation will go up through the enormous cost of full wage indexation.
Full indexation over 18 months would add five percent more to wage costs
than two thirds indexation, which is about the level granted over the
past two years. This would more than wipe out any anti-inflationary effectsJ
of ending payroll tax.
Mr Whitlam says his scheme will help business. In fact, it will bring n~ o
benefit to the self-employed and tens of thousands of small businessmen
who at present do not pay payroll tax. 1Ehat would happen is that they would
be left with higher wages bills, and higher income tax, without any
compensating effect in lower payroll tax. Their competitive position would
be seriously eroded in relation to importers, overseas manufacturers and
bigger companies.
Mr whitlam says his scheme will increase employm-ient. Even thaL: claim
is false. As Mr Dunstan pointed out when he said in September:
" The Government has already trieC, a payroll tax remission
scheme and found that it does not create employment".
Ever since this disastrous and ill-considered policy, was unveiled last
week, I and other ministers have constantly pointed out its host of
inequities and inconsistencies. Serious doubts about the im plications
of the policy have been raised in the press. Not a single labor
spokesman has mounted a reasoned argument to defend the policy on its
merits. They refuse to think througih the consequences of their hastily
conceived plan. Mere emotionalism on this vital issue is not enough.
The tragedy of Labor's crash unemployment programme is that within
a very short time it would actually increase unemployment in this country.
Until such time as Mr Whitlam is prepared to answer the barrage of
criticisms which have been made by the Government and by financial
commentators, their policy simply cannot be taken seriously. It can' t
even be said that their policy has been poorly thought out it has not
been thougrht out all.
The Government's policies tackle the real causes of unemployment, by
successfully getting inflation do~ wn by arguing consistently against
high wages increases and by taking a fair b: ut resolute stand against
industrial disruption, by giving business incentives to invest and grow.
The combined effect of all these policies is starting to have a major
impact. After this year's school leavers join the Labour Market in
February, unemployment will fall and keep on steadily falling..
Throughout this period, our care and concern for those out of work., and
who genuinely want to work, has been very real. We have established
a number~ of programmes to help people very many of them young people
to find jobs and get essential retraining; the NEAT scheme, the special
Youth Employment Training Programme, the Community Youth Support Scheme,
Relocation Assistance, the CRAFT Scheme for apprentices.
We are spending more than $ 100 million on these schemes this year, and
more will be spent if necessary because no el~ igible unemployed person
will be turned away. More than 120,000 people have already benefitted
from these schemes.
In the policy speech last night, I announced an expansion of an education
programme for young unemployed people. This programme has already been
tested most successfully in pilot schemes. It has been found most
ef * fective in helping young people to acquire the basic skills
necessary to get a job, and perhaps even more, to get the motivation
necessary to get a job and keep it.
We have significantly enlarged the programme to provide courses for all
young people under 21 seeking employment, and eligibility will be extended
to include unemployed youth in the 21 to 24 age group.
Last night I also announced improvements to the NEAT scheme and
the relocation assistance scheme. In the case of the special Youth
Employment Scheme, which is part of NEAT, we will seek the cooperation of:
the States in providing training in technical schools and colleges, for
young people seeking on-the-job training for whom no vacancies are
immediately available. Above all, the certainty and confidence our
po. icies have provided are letting businesses plan confidently for
the future.
$ 6 billion of development' projects are now underway or ready to
go and they will create jobs all around Australia. Let me emphasise
one point which is often overlooked a continuation of our
policies is not only essential to beat unemployment, it is also
essential to providing meaningful assistance to those in real need1.
The fact is that responsible economic policies are essenti al to
give genuine assistance to low income and disadvantaged people.
Labor's policies of higher wages, higlter rates, higher inflation,
are a presceiption for increasing poverty in Australia. This is
what Labor did in office as the Henderson Poverty Report so clearly
shows, and they would do it all again.
One of the great myths that Labor likes to create is that it is
the party that cares for the disadvantaged. In office they were
the party of enquiries, commissions, task forces and talk. They
talked while inflation raged and those on low incomes suffered
cruelly. This Government has acted to help the poor in Australia.
our care and concern for the least privileged is-not to be found
simply in the pages of Hansard, but in programme after programme
which we have introduced. Our family allowances have enormously
improved the condition of 300,000 poor families who got no assistance
from Mr. Whitlam. From February 1st, our tax reforms will exempt
an additional 225,000 low income people from paying any income tax.
Mr. Whitlan will abolish this reform. Labor would compel nearly
a quarter of a million pensioners, widows, students and others to
pay tax once again.
We have taken politics out of old age pensions and all other social
welfare and repatriation pensions by increasing them automatically
in line with inflation. We have brought in assistance for all
sole parents. For the first time, lone fathers are getting sorely
needed help. We have given the handicapped a new deal and we will
end the injustice of the parents of handicapped children paying
more for their children's education. Labor has talked a lot we
have acted. Let the people of Australia judge which Government
has done more which party really cares for those most in need.
The same applies in the vital area of conservation. Labor was
prepared to abandon Fraser Island we have secured this remarkable
wilderness for posterity. We are establishing the largest national
park in the world in the magnificent Arnhem Land country the
Kakadu National Park. We are determined to take effective action
to preserve all special of whales. We have established an
independent inquiry to determine the most effective ways of doing
this. In our responsible decisions on uranium mining, we have
adopted all. the environmental safeguards recommended by the Fox Inquiry.,
We are helping the World Wildlife Fund to set up a branch in Australia.
There has never been an Australian Government which has acted more
effectively to conserve our wilderness and wildlife. Across the
whole range of areas of social concern, this Government has acted
effectively, sensitively and responsibly.
There is one great issue in this election it is whether Australia
is going to continue on the path of responsible tax reforms
responsible wages policy; responsible government spending; lower
interest rates and falling inflation; the path of economic
recovery; or whether Australia is to return to the high tax,
extravagant government spending, excessive wage increase, and
high interest rate policies Mr. t1hitlam is proposing. The policies
which breed inflation and unemployment the policies which now
lie as usual in a state of confusion.
7.
The choice is between the policy confusion of Labor and the known
and effective strategy of the Government between policies which
damage the weakest sections of the conLmunity and policies which
lay the basis for effective assistance.
The great potential of Australia is opening up once again. Our future
is unlimited if we pursue policies which respect individual freedom
and encourage individual initiative the same policies which
permit help that really means something to those in need.
rhe Government knows that it is vitally important for the future
of Australia that young people, this sumner and in the future,
have ready opportunities for decent well paid jobs. I know that
the course we are on is the best one the only one to achieve
this. That course involves maintaining the pressure on inflation,
and control of Government spending, control on the money supply.
With this policy there will be sustained, upward growth in
employment. The Opposition's path of big increases in Government spending, of
big increases in the money supply, of big increases in taxation,
is a path offering an instant solution, based on outdated and failed
ideas. They tried this same policy in 1974-75 and it failed then.
Other countries tried and it failed. Most countries in a position
similar to that of Australia have abandoned the solutions based on
high Government spending. The gains to employment through Government
subsidy on Government spending which might be achieved with this
policy are short lived. They are rapidly offset by the contracting
employment opportunities which accompany the escalating inflation.
here has been no major, quick solution to our problems. Progress
towards our objective of good long term growth has necessarily had
to be a moderate pace. It has had to be a pace which would not, I
repeat not, refuel the fires of inflation.
But I can tell you now that after two years of difficult decisions,
we are ready to move into a new period of hard won success.