EXTRACT FROM PRIME MINISTER' S INTERVIE14 WITH LAURIE OAKES
-HEL= RNEJ 2 ULYW œ 9W
QUSTION UmfJ s O 7uepomn not specifically e ate
tho Budget ie% it.. true that -you have got ani. E4iplyment
*,~ Dpartilent projection of 500,000 out of work at the bigi n i ng
nerrxt year?.~-
PRIM MINISTER
I am not sure what specific projections there are in the
DepArtment of Emplovment arnd Industrial Relations.
irited th-t# 0 ployment prospects i andi .1
also disappointed at the outlook, The GovenDMe nft has* g iven ' a
great deal of attention to these particular problems and
remains-very--firrny--in -the--view that there are no short-term
solutions, there are no easy answers. I think a number of
~~ kV~ i~ gsbavehappene X ~ We' have got -less. assistance Jxoa~~
OveTSeftS trade them e ethett ht. There is less growth in ' the 3'
* world economy than one might have expected a year ago.
I don't really believe that the Bonn Summrit is altering
V A" m-4-k at , what,. t he, dif fexent -countries
ha~ hve oumited themselve to. In part it was a reaiffirmatLion
of a~ aha ey been announced:, thef Uz~ ited States
Y Fi . ye~ y-Jaapnad tagtgowh, ermany
~ roetl~ habee lagin a itte bt Grmany'si inf lat ioni.. s & fya
low by world standards, arnd they are going to take some measurs
IL-toddi pov4e--Lhi r~ ateof growth-Britain has hauled
* back on the reins, and America might have to to overcome
inflation President Carter has said that as far as the
economis. coniexned-i1nflatinn is the United States' number one
probleta. The plans for the forthcoming United States Budget
are going to be very tight that seems to indicate some
tongdo Awnnte UnitedStates expenditure. Out of the
to a cene. -idntedlraymsateiec -Uaplnifyt ...
in-world trade or world markets generally. That means thatE'
Jf " Rtala iq to imp -vher position overall we have got
to do it by getting a better share of our own domestic markets,
te rtetnt-that we, can to increase our, share of -world. trade...
. Ithn W wm dt do the latter so long as we
o fu*: erp especially' ic. ii~ t~
coitres ' if~ lation is increasing. We ax&~ e -eipad a
it because whatever the state of world demand, or world trade
li~ eeuny.-of t-he resources -that-Australia~ has. availableh,-
tink-' many look upon us as a secure and s-table * su pier"::
anye ou-qiat to be able_ñ 2kt ourselves all., a favoured
iition-COniPared:. to -some other sup pliers. ht9 peds,
on the way we handle our own economy with responsibiliyan
S . ii~ aiflty-tfAkig twithin Austr6La'.
It is In our capacity to e p ourselves in these areas.
4Wit. hifour, capacity to make things more difficult
o4rzt blves I,. was in New . Yo3Ijsptkn
-bus Osmeh ' but..
reations, and po inti ing out-t the6 xh t he A'-strAliin -reordin
the last couple of years is better on international figures
, thnthe rini3teel State ._ 1iYthey happened to be people involved
Ssiing, -and thyhaegot a-direct . coailn beween
2(
United States' ports and Australian ports and Australian
ports did not compare very well. So the overall figure
got lost. There is no doubt that Australian industrial
relations is one of the things which people take into account
in determining what they want to do what they are going to
do.-1 had something to say on Sunday over the wage claims
pressing 1-ey6nd indexation.-Leave-aside philosophical
. differences where there may be a few people who really do
want to break the system and just look at it on anr historic4-
basis. The arbitration commission in that system~ grew out of the
most damaging strikes that is going back to the turn of the
centurxy -and grew out of the view -that there has got to
be a better way than just having employers and employees
baig. wbrawl which does grave dlamage to both.
S'oteconcept of arbitratio n of an independent third paity, 9.4n0
~ kn) w th. at th-ie-Goverrument doesn't always-arc with the deciiionsz
ccptbeii decision as the third party. j; we. 7ptu.-Z
~ ow t6theArbtraion. Commission as oerpoedoanid
the result ought to be accepted. There is all tlidfeene -T
between driticism and accepting it, and trying to break
yindustrial action at nne time or another.-
-ba -ac-p~ so-called, or: wage : increases-,,
outside the guidelines, indiistrial disputation,' With the
guerilla tactics of the Builders Labourers Pederation, are
all'going to lead to the circumstance where Australia= employers
wactla, t e~ 1-emfelwo er ppl and do. wbatever they do.,
m~~~ ore. Duachlne8 INcbody can deny that . the; esftsofte
Arbitration Commission decision have-led to a-zr6d~ t'ion
* real--wages. Whatever we've argued, all the indications, and..
all the forecasts available to 1me are that for the last financial
Sweekcly earnings will have grown by something greater
han terate o f_ inf lation. ILt has be6M; hown in '. the -statALstacet
œ tink', at'the -end of March -but Lh6ose tiistics: have,
k~ i~ k~ ra~~ s in hem wich ive the growth leeaverage, weekly
earnings -' they miake it appear A bit higher' -hI I trnfit____
in-fact is. The later forecast we have got going to the end
June indicating emphasis the word forecast, because they..
round about 10 percent which is more than the rate of inflation.,
hen people talk about wage catch-up they need, to understand
they are talking about something which follows the most massive
growth in wages, well beyond Australia's real capacity to
sustain the figure I have moSt quoted is over 50 percent
in two years.. on hourly rates. I make these remarks
in3 the * context of the Government nlot-having a role in.
these things of . course we have but againsh the backgrounT
that if we are to overcome these emiployment problems in
Australia we have all got a role to play. Wie all need to
ircognise that we have got a role it is within our capacity,
working together, to do a great deal about it. It is
also within our capacity, as a nation, to take the wrong
policies in which case unemployment would remain too high.
I don't believe the unions have recognised that they have
a very real role.