FOR PRESS 24 NOVE~ MBER 1977
A33DRPSS AT LUNCHEON IN BRISBANE
It is great to be in an State where there is a determiration to
grow, and deveop. t-b' State's vast natural resources, to secure
lonsg lasting pros perity.
Queenslarders can look forward to their future with confidence
because this Commoniealth Government, together witCh your State
Government have created the essential conditions in which this
State can flourish.
T'he fir: st requiremnent when we camre to office was to cut b~ ack inflatio
which was stifliM* g developyme-)-t-To do this, tough decisions had
to be m-ade. Firm control vas reqU'ired over government spending
we had to reduce Labor'r-. extravagant defic-its Wo bad to bring
to a St11op the xparision of the Commnonwealth bureaucracy.
All this we prcnmised to do, and all this we have successfull~ y
achived. NO~ Wrf~ ar is running at half of that -around 9 p. erce
Because of our success in reducing inflation, interest rntes are
now staztingt-o fall, and this is another significant indicator
that r ecovery is wi. ijnderwa-y. Bec-ause of our success
in ccontrolling goverment spending and streamlining the Australian
Public Service we have manjaged to prov~ ide tax cuts for every
PAustxal. ian.
Our historic t'-ax reforrnis tax indexation and the reforms of the
tax soalo which will come into force on FObruary 1 single
out this goverrnnent as a great ref orming government., and a
governrment which is determined to give individual Australians a
say over how their own money is spent.
Our two reforms of person. income tax have resulted ip enormous
savings for taxpayers $ 3,300 million in two years._____
I
In addition to this, we have iprovidedl business and rining. companies
with the tax concessions necessary to get investment, exploration
and development going again. At this very moment, $ 6,000 inillion
projects are now undecr way or ready to go projects in mining,
manufacturing, processing, construction anid retailing.
Irhis is investment lqhich will create new jobs roal jobs whichn
peopAle can _ keep.
In February, ouir new tax cuts will stimulate consumier demand pom
and with inflatioz n and interest rates continuing to fall, iunempamn
will begin to decline and keep on steadily deolining.
Our wide range of training schemeg, education progranunes and
job assistance schemes for the unemployed and our upgrading
of the Commonwealth BmpAoyment Service ensure that those
genuinely looking for work have the skills necessary to grasp
job opportunities as they arise.
The prospects for 1978 are b-righter than many predicted not long
ago it is clear that inflation will be ( own to between 6-8 percent
by mid-1978, But all this the breakthbrough into prosperity
and development which is ' upon us would be forfeited under
Labox's policies. F'cr it1-is bc-yond douibt that the jeconornic programn
offered by the Labour Party would bring that development and cirowth
to a halt it would destroy the sound foondations Nye have laid.
Labor's firsC problem ig that they cannot finally decide what their
economic policey is. The confusion amongst Labor's multi-headed
hydra of economic managers has now reached pore farcea.
Labor's economic policies spelt out just one week ago, already
have been contradicted or refuted in every major detail b
Labor' s own etcnmc spokesmen.
On Sunday morning Mr Whitlam began by saying that Labor woula
merely postpone the tax cuts coming in on February 1. Sunday
lunchtime he said " he had made a mistak~ e", that Labor would
never bjring in those tax cots. Sunday afternoon he said tLax
indeatin wold e ~ postponed" ' until income tax receipts
rise sufficiently to offset the cost of payroll tax. By Sunday
nigbt-he was sayinc4 perhaps held " expressed himself wrongly'K.
Ivr Whitlain now says be would " expect"' full tax indexation
sometime 2oon, but Mr Burford is checking it. Poor Dir Ffurford
he had alreadly b) en thrOWn out ag Labor'S eConomic spokesman
and now he had been set Scurryingq off to try to deal with Labor's
great gaffe.
But the impetuous Mr Hayden couldn't wait. Yesterday he said in
Adelaide the definitive Labor policy was that tax cuts would be
abandoned, and that there would be half tax indexation from 1 July.
Nor could Mr Willis wait. lie said in Perth that Labor would
bring in full tax indexation from 1 July. Where did all that
leave poor fir Biurford still in Cairns tryi-ng to work it all out.
He said: " Well I wouldn't know because I have ohly seen the
Cairns Post this morning, and there is not a word about it in
in the Cilirns Post. Fir H-urford said he would have a press
conference later:
" I will look at the media before I1 get to the press conference-,
I'll make sure I know what has happened in the meanti-me."
ljovt we '-now how Labo-) r ocOnomic policy is made by the Shadiow
Treasurer by consultinq th~ e papers.
The second plank Of Labor's economic progranye ' is
its waqes Policy. In his p'_ Olicy spceech-YX Vnitlarn commuitted
Labor to " restore-integrity to the wage indexation guidelines."
Triat ~ pehwas only hours oldl when Mr liayaen saA that meant
support flor full wage inidexation.... but on'ly for people on less
than average weekly earnings.
fl3y Su-Inda-y Mr ' hitlcam war saying that Labor wanted fuil wage
indexation flor everyone. Mr Mayden confessed he might be wrong:
" I feel Vnm on shaky oproui-d," ha said,
Hie said questions on waige indexation should b~ te irected to Fir Willis:;
" I worh in the ecopomic area a demarcation problem".
So rti-ch for Mr Hayden as an economic manager.
If he believes wages polioy is outside the economic area, he
-ertaiinly is an shak y ground.
Mr-Wiiitlam % with hi~ s usual degree of frankness directed
pTesg secretary to say " there was no contradiction ' between himself
and kMa Hayden on wage andexation." Hie said:." We are committe( I
-Lo rf~ i wage indexation, but no one has ever asked about the
level at wh) icb f7ull -indexation would apply."
? 4r Whjit~ am, the Cweenls ' oupnsel, must have devoted hours in coming
up with an ex-lanation asz deceitful as that.
There is now so much confusion on tax indexing and wage indexing
the Pstrali) n public necd their ownr indcex to kerqp track.
Thle central isslie of esqtate duty hag also slIown up th-e deep divisions'
in Labo-cr ' Party r-a. nks. Fir Whitlan has bitterly attacked our
p lan to relieve I-en-s of thousands of families the misery and
burden of pa'ying dezAth duties. He was even so desperate that
he usedl utterly false figures Anhis att-ack. Now Mr Hayden
says hec supports the abolition of estatie duty, and bir Wran
says he will follow our example and the fine example of the
Queenslaind Govt-rimnent by ending state death duties too.
Mr h'urfo-Td had the last word yesterday. He said the ALP could
) lot responsibly make economnic decision5s seven months in advance of t
1978 b~ udgjet. lie should have added that Lnbor would have trouble
making responsible economic decisions after the budget or any
other time for that matter..
Labox. lz varicus progrannes to reduce unemploymentiir fllo
errors and ~ ciqloop.-holes. They simply do not stand up to cloze
examination. Let's look at z -11itlarm's proposal to t, bolish payroll
tax. Mx Wh-Ltlan says lie can only abolish this tax on -companies
by increa.-,: tg tLaxes on individunl Avstra' ians-. The plain fct
is that Labor would have to abandon tax indexation as well
as our Yebruazy tax reforms to pay for the abolition of
payroll tax. The ending of payroll tax would lot effect
unemployment. Mr Duns5tart pointed that out in September when, he
stated: " The Government has already tried a payroll tax renmision
Lchene and found that it does not create employment. H
4.
Labor's wages polici-es wouldl enoouxage inuch higher wage
rises, regardleSs of the economic dannage they iqht
These wage rises would fuxther discourage eirnplovers
f rojn takftg on m ore' labour, and woula put inf lation on
way up again.
' Yesterday a-survey-of Large -employers revealed that not o
cornpany sux-veyed was prepaiced to . forecast any increane in. t~ hokr.-.
own emnployme~ nt levels if payroll were abolished.
The srvey-showed-that, on the'j orjtrary' emj~ loyers cons
Labor's policy of full wagre indexation would inake the capri. I
of business to create nciw jobs worse not better.
Labor's scheme would hurt thbe -, elf-einpoye' and' many small
businessmen who arc! already exe-mpt from payroll tax Ibut wY-ould)-.
be lumb) ered with higher wage costs an6 higher personal tax
commtmets. Well, if M4r whiltlamls Scheme Would fail to -redtice
inflation, fail to help smnall business, fail to help the unemployed,
what would it svcceed An doing: it would succeed in -ripping
hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes fromn the Australian pueblic,
just to satisfy Mr Whitlam's ill-conueived plans.
To finan-ce his schemnes, Mr 1' bitljn would recall Parliament to
repe, 11 tax indexatiob and our roforms of the tax scales.
me would rip about $ 850 million out of the hands of the Pustralian
Public this financial year -$ 19100 inillion next year more than
6 a week-out of the hands of the Man) who earns $ 200 a week.
ite would put this. money into the ) lands oi big a-r-J profitable
copn. s inc: Luaing th-e nultinationals Mr ' Whitlam and hi; party
have attacked day in ayid day out. Utah would get over $ 2 ill11ion
a year; General tiotorsg would clet ar~ ou-nd $ 10 million.
Labor ' s payroll tax scheive woul1d put-the States at Canberra's
mercy. P14yr'o 1 tax m~ akes uip a third of thie revenue or the States.
. If Labor got its, hlands oni it, Labor would have the States exactly
where they want them, under thizeir thuvd).
That would have one advantage for M'r Donstan it would leave ni-m mci
tine to ge-t oni with his anti-uranilim Coxm-,, ercials and mnore time
lirivatceiy to give every -_ ncouragameflt to viranum~ mining in his State
Mr Dunstan has licensced a forn. ign. multinational com-, pany to C-xplore
for uranium, not in some far off remote corner of -the State, but
just 30 kilometres from Adelaide. B~ e . nust be telling
his foreign company a very different story from that he puts ouL
in his comm'ercials, because if he was sazyi,-g in private what
he has been sayingl in public, that company would not. come withbin
a thousand miles of South * Australia.
The choice irn tlhis election is between the polic-y confu ion of
Lab~ or and the known and effective strategy of the government.
Between Labox's. po'liciieg of high taxe-s ancl high inflation and
the Government's proven policies of cotting taxes and cutting ifa
The programme which the government has developed over the past
two years ayid the -ncw in~ tiativeF. which I ann~ ounced on Mondaymeet
Australia's needg. Several of the p) rogrammes I announced
are of direot benefit to the city and suburbs; of Brisbane.
Let me briefly mentionf a few.
I do i-nct have to tell you about the deficienPcies in Drisbainels
pubA. c transport, and6 the sad plight of the suburban commuter.
We have decided' to continue and expand an existing programme
by paying the States a total of $ 60 million a year for five
years, to help improve the standnrds of our trains and bus services
Voe have also decided to contribute some $ 70 ililion over five years.
to upgrade critical sHections of ma-inline railways.. Por this
modest outlay, many -intersttate services will be significantly
improved.
our new national water resources progra. mme will make available
funds to improve city and country water supplies and such other
vital projects as the mitigation of floods.
We will help inner city areas3 by our enphasis on providing
first class technical colleges. Some inner city colleges are of
a standaret which simply is not acceptable to this gjovernment.
They will be modernised or completely replaced.
-vcryone will be hrelped b~ y itany of our other programies, FUch as
tLLhe reduction of of f peak long di: 3tance telephone charges to
pe~ rcent of the norminl rate.
Perhaps most importantly for Brisbane, we have decided to give
Brisbane the airport that the great State of Queensland dese~ jrve.
Cons iderable progress has been made over the last two yearg
in restoring Australia to economic health, towards
making Australia a more juzt, and more equitable society.
it's been hard work and there are still problems to be o-vercome.
But we are now seeing the t.-a-ngible results of that work-
Australia is ready to stride into a new era of prosp-erity and
dcvclo pymeni:. The fundamental question which this election will
decide is whether we will build on the achievements which we
have made, or whether Labor will be a-. llowed to throw it away.
With your help, we'll still be doing the job in 1978 and beyond.