L' i 7L
FOR PRESS 28 NOVEMBER 1977
ADDRESS AT HOBART CAM. PAIGN LUN'. CHEON
In this election, the questions which face the people of
Tasmania and all Australians, are as clear as they
were in 1975. In 1975 Australians faced up to the question of
whether they wanted our country to lift itself out of the
suffocating morass Labor had created.
Australia and Tasmania first of all answered yes,
with the most resounding vote in our history.
Since then, the Australian people and government have been
working together to bring our country -to the threshold of
a new era of growth and prosperity.
Now in this election, Tasmania will play a key role in deciding
whether Australia will move forward, or whether we return
to the excesses and extremes under Labor that almost wrecked
our great country. of this result in Tasmania as throughout
Australia I have no doubt. Just as in 1975 Tasmanians will
resoundly return the Liberal government. For we can justly
claim that we have done more for Australia, more for Tasmania,
than any government before us.-This government has always
kept the interests of Tasmania firmly in mind.
Investment in Tasmania has been particularly helped, by our
freight equalisation scheme which has removed Tasmania's freight
disadvantage. That scheme, and our investment allowance,
is responsible for such development as the new multi-million
dollar APPM project at Burnie. It is development such as
this which creates real new jobs for Tasmanians, jobs which
they can keep.
As a result of the Callaghan Report which we commissioned,
the government is examining ways to boost further development
of industry in this State. Investigations are already underway
to see how we can further assist the forestry, fishing and
tourist industries; how we might expand
public service activities in this State; how we can
best aiLect decentralisation funds to Tasmania; and the
feasibility of launchinga pilot industrial estate in
Launceston. The Hobart area has benefitted from Commonwealth funding of
the first Hobart bridge I say " first" because this governmen-t
is committed to the construction of a second bridge for Hobart.
I was surprised to see thta. t M~ r Neilsen had momentarily
forgotten this the other day, surprised because last year he and
I issued a joint press release confirming the decision that
a second bridge be built. Pre'liminary studies for the second
bridge are underway and I expect to receive the report in about
six months.
I want to pay special tribute at this point to the
Tasmanian Liberal team in both houses. In my view they are
the best team that Tasmania has ever had in the Federal
Parliament. Kevin Newman has done a magnificent job in a
difficult portfolio and he never lets his Ministerial rank stand
in the way of sticking up for the interests of the State he
represents. Bruce Goodluck has been a tireless fighter for
lone fathers and the second Hobart bridge and he has been
successful on'both. Max Burr has keenly advocated the interests
of Tasmanian rural industry particularly the application
of the investment allowance to primary producers. Ray Groom
has fought for the -co ' ntinued existence of the Mount Lyeli
Mine and Queenstown which is so dependent on the mine, and
with his help, the Commonwealth has acted to keep the mine
working. Michael Hodgman has pressed the cause of the
underprivileged. It was largely through his efforts that the
Commonwealth decided to assist most generously the overnight
shelter for derelicts and alcoholics run by the Society of
St. Vincent de Paul. And of course, as I think would be well
known here, Michael Hodgman has taken a leading role in
getting the Antartic Division transferred to his hometown
Kingston. This project will have a major impact on the area
creating 300 jobs durinq construction( which is scheduled
to commence in 197S) and up to 200 jobs once it is opened and
operating. The last two years have not been easy ones we have not taken
soft options. We have not avoided the hard decisions.
We have not fallen into the trap of seeking a cheap popularity
that would undermine our country's future.
We have faced the reality that if there is to be employment for
those that want to work, Australia had to be restored to
economic health. our policies are succeeding because we have
restrained government spending, we have been able to reduce
inflation.-inflation is down to 9 percent and fallinr this
will help jobs. We have moderated wage increases.
We have been able to make major tax reforms because of our
restraint of government spending. $ 3.3 million will be saved
in personal tax from our first two budgets. Business has saved
a further $ 1000 million. They are a fundamental part of
our strategy for wage restarint and economic recovery.
We have ended Labor's tax rip off, cut taxes so that individuals,
and businesses, could take decisions to invest, spend and save.
Our tax reforms have greatly reduced the pressure for illusory
wac--, increases which put more and more people out of work.
our policies and our incentives to invest have given business
the confidence to invest in Australia six billion dollars of
investment is underway or ready to go.
These projects will bring work to Australia.
It is through our policies of growth and development that we will.
overcome the unemployment problei imposed on Australia.
Labor increased unemployment by 157 percent almost
200,000 people in one year. Labor did not just increase
unemployment. It was not just that new entrantsto the workforce
coulu not find jobs. The total number of people in work adtuallv
fell.
We have reversed this trend. In fact, over the two years
to August 1977 total employment rose by 180,000. One
vital reason for this is that we are propared to give
Australian industry the protection itneeds. Labor slashed
tariffs across the board even though they knew that this would
throw tens of thousands out of work.
Mr Whitlam and Senator Wriedt have made it clear Labor would do
the same again. The vital protection we have given the
Tasmanian textiles industry would be thrown into jeopardy
if Labor were let loose on the economy again. We have
passed laws to ensure that the Industries Assistance Commission
fully takes into account the employment consequences of its
recommendations. And we have taken decisions to protect
the textiles,
clothing and footwear industries for three years.
All our economic policies are aimed at promoting greater growth
and development and thus more jobs.
We are spending more than $ 100 million on training
and job assistance schemes which help youngj people in
particular learn new skills. Already well over 120,000 people
have been or are being helped by hour schemes and we are
constantly improving them. Because of our job assistance
strategy and the growth and development our policies have
made possible, unemployment will fall from February and
keep failling.
The major forecasts that the government has before it show that wit
the continuation of the government's policies, work
opportunities will expand. The first February tax cuts just two
months away will increase the household income and spenaing
power, injecting an extra $ 26.7 million a week into the economy.
Because this injection takes place at a time when the
inflationary fires are being put out the tax cut will have a
positive impact on jobs. It will lift consumer spending,
and because inflation is lower Australian manufacturers will be
in a much better position to compete with imports in meeting
the rising demand. our factories will get larger orders,
and start working at higher levels of capacity.
As that dei?-. vlopment gets under way, there will be a demand for
more eraployees. Investment expenditure will continue to qrow
in response to this more optimistic outlook.
The February tax cuts are an integral part of the Government's
plan for continued steady economic recovery. The reform not
only greatly simplifies the tax rate scale,. it does not
only assist 225,000 low income earners including
tens of thousands of pensioners by relieving them of tax;
it not only provides a new incentive for work, by putting
percent of taxpayers on the same marginal tax rate, and
allowing them to increase their earnings up to $ 16,000 a year
before moving beyond this standard rate; it also provides
for a responsible stimulus to the economy which will add to
spending and activity, leading to higher employment.
Unfortunately there has been no instant solution to the problems
we inherited. There has just been the hard and undramatic grindi
of developing and maintaining policies for restoring the
economy and reducing inflation and unemployment.
These policies are working. They form a consistent and coherent
strategy which has brought us to the point of economic take-off.
The Labor Party by contrast has no coherent economic strategy.
Thatis the unequivocal conclusion to be drawn from ten days
of conflict and contradiction between Labor's various
economic spokesmen. Barely a day passes without some backdown
anolocrv or hasty retreat. Consider their policy on taxes.
Labor has said that, to pay for abolishing payroll tax, they will
greatly increase personal income tax the major tax cuts
to commence on first February are to be abandoned. Labor has
spent over a week avoiding telling Australians what is now
obvious that they will not. only abolish the February 1 tax
cuts they will abolish tax indexaLion too. They have
tried to avoid telling the Australian people that to finance
the abolition of payroll tax the average wage earner
would be taxed an extra six dollars a week. Last Sunday
week, Mr Whitlam said tax indexation would be postponed.
Without hours, he s-iid he had " expressed himself wrongly."
By Monday Mr Whitlam was saying Labor would bring in full
tax indexation by July and Mr Willis was saying the same
By Wednesday morning Mr Hayden was saying Labor could not commit
itself beyond half tax indexation and Mr Hurford said
he could not say what the Party's policy was, as he had not
read about it in the papers.
By Wednesday evening, Mr Hayden and Mr Hurford were disowning
even half indexation. All this left the hapless Mr Whitlam
somewhat in the lurch. He said yesterday he agreed with what
Mr Hurford had said, apparently by that he meant the last
thing Mr Hurford said whatever that was.
Exactly the same confusion and deception has occurred over
Labor's wages policy. Mr Whitlam said Labor would support full
wage indexation. Mr Hayden however said Labor wanted only
partial indexation. Then on Friday the ALP President, Mr
Hawke, made it clear it did not matter a fig what Mr Whitlam
and Mr Hayden thought the unions would not accept anything
less than full wage indexation, regardless of the consequences.
Amidst this conflict and confusion in the Labor Party, yesterday
Mr Whitlam announced a sudden conversion to wage moderation.
He sai he-supporte.-full wage indexation up to the level of
average weekly earnings. When it is
recalled how many speeches and statements Mr Whitlam has
devoted to attacking this government's wages policy, the
magnitude of Mr Whitlam's reversal can be seen.
He has not only abandoned Labor's sacred platform. He has
also admitted in effect that every statement hearnd his
colleagues have made in Parliament over the two years attacking
our wages policy have been cynical political propaganda.
We've seen in the past how ephemeral Mr Whitlam's conv-sions
to -conomic responsibility has been. Buthe has outdone
himself with the current twists and turns
the contradictions, the reversals in Labor's policy. A policy
in which change is only a news flash away. The people of
Australia must be rapidly coming to the conclusion that
Mr Whitlan's latest " definitive commitment" is worth the
price of yesterday's newspaper.
Labor's-confusion on tax and wage indexation indicates how little
they have thought through any of their economic policies.
This is clear when their various unemployment schemes are
examined in any detail. The scheme to abolish payroll t--
will be a handy boost to company prof its that is, for those largE
companies that currently pay State payroll tax.
Utah would be a windfall of $ 2 million.
C RA $ 10 million
BHP $ 33 million
MIM 4.5 million
CSR 8 million
Bank NSW $ 11 million
Ford 7 million
ACI $ 11 million
Dunlop $ 11-13 million
General Motors $ 10 million
A survey last week of large employers showed that not one
could forecast any increase in their own employment levels
if relieved of payroll tax. The Premier of South Australia,
Mr Dunstan, has made it clear that a payroll remission scheme
does not work he has tried it in South Australia with no result.
Labor's alternative solution to unemployment is to spend up big.
$ 800 million in the first six months, and if all their promises
are to be believed, thousands of millions of dollars after that.
Some of the initial $ 8.00 million will be spent on items that
will produce no jobs at all, even in the short term. Mr Whitlam.
includes money for the Julius Dam in Queensland, a dam that has
already been built. He.-includes more funds for the Dartmouth
Dam, even though the funds will not alter existing work
schedules one iota. This spend-up would be quite counterproductive;
it would expand the deficit and inevitably promote
the biggest unemployment-creator in which country inflation.
I can do no better in pointing out the obvious defects in Labor's
scheme than to quote a former Treasurer who said:
" While the level of unemployment is much higher than would
be wished; the fact is that any efforts to accelerate the
reflation of the economy in our urgent response to
the unemployment figures., would have most undesirable
effects. It would be self-defeating."
Those sound words were spoken in October 1975. The
Treasurer was Mr Hayden. How quickly responsible economics can
hp~ fr)-rrcn-. f-. pn in thp T, ahn'r ' Part-w. How long it seems to be
taking the Labor Party to adopt responsible policies which are in
the interests of Tasmanians and all Australians.
In just two years we h-ave gone a long way to restoring hope,
confidence and spirit to our people. For total success, we
need one more ingredient and that is certainty. We have
to be certain that our countr economic management is in the
hands of a government that will pursue sound policies.
4 .7.
The alternative that Mr Whitlam offers is government by
wrangle -a hop scotch governennt. That kind of government
has been tried. It did not work. It will still not work.
Australia needs policies whichwill reduce inflation, not increas
it. Australia needs fair but firm policies for trade unions
not placing Mr Gallagher hbove the law.
Australia needs programmes and policies that it can afford.
Not lavish and ill conceived crash schemes. Australia needs
lower not higher taxes. That is the only way to get unemployment
down, and keep it down.
With your help in Tasmania, my Government will get on with the joh