LtBARGO 1.30 p. m.
PRIMIE MINISTER 7
FOR PRESS 26 NOVEMBER 1978
ADDRESS TO THE VICTORIAN YOUN,\ G LIBERALS
It's very good to be here today, and sDeaking at this venue.
know that the economy is improving, that confidence is increasing
and that we have made major social reforms, but I never thought
that I'd be able to say that the Liberals have arrived at Camelot.
Outside this building, however, there are still a great many
things to achieve, and this Party, with its commritment with its
philosophy, and its policies will achieve them.
We will achieve them because our primary concern as a Party
is with people with people's gifts and talents, and
their right to develop them to the full; with people's freedom
to determine their own lives arnd the life of this country;
with people's right to take risks and be rewarded for success;
with people's need for help and ' compassion when in difficulty help
which does not diminish their dignity but enhances it.
We believe that it is people that are valuable, that it is people's
opportunities that should be expanded, not the power and intrusiveness
of the state. As John Stuart Mill said, " A state that dwarfs its
men in order that they may be more docile instruments in its
hands even for beneficial purposes will find that with
small men no great thing can be accomplished."
The Liberal idea is a stable, humane and civilised society, a
society enriched by a diversity of cultures and lifestyles, a
society unified by a national purpose and identity, a society in
which people can accomplish great things.
The Liberal tradition has been an inspiration to social reform in
Australia for a century. It was the Liberals who introduced:
votes for women and eighteen year olds; the secret ballot;
the arbitration system; old age pensions; tariff protection for
local industry; and Commonwealth funding for education.
Under this Government we have introduiced such fundamental reforms
as family allowances, the indexation of pensions, tax indexation and
revenue sharing with the States. ./ 2
2.
The fundamental commitment of the Liberal tradition, a belief
in people and their potential, their creativity, is as
important to the future of our country and to this Stateas
it has ever been. That's why it's so important that we
win the election coming up in Victoria. That's why Victorian
Young Liberals) with their commitment to Liberalism shoulddo
their utmost to return the government. It's not a matter
of power for power's sake it's a matter of-whether Victoria is
governed by a Party committed to people, or by a Party committed
to imposing a stifling and corrosive ideology.
Frankly, it would be astounding if a Party that had been in governmen
for over two decades did not have its rough patches. But make no
mistake about it the yawning gap between the principles of the
Liberal Party and those of the A. L. P. is just as wide as it has ever
been. Liberals are committed to curbing the power of big government, to
checking the encroachments of the bureaucracy. The A. L. P. wants
more government more intrusive bureaucracy.
In Victoria, the A. L. P. has again reaffirmed without any qualificatic
its desire to socialise the means of production, distribution and
exchange. Just two weeks ago, the State A. L. P. refused to amend
the original 1921 wording of their policy on nationalisation.
What a decisive step forward into the future that was.
The Liberals are committed to individual freedom, and have supported
the cause of Soviet defenders of human rights. At its conference
a fortnight ago, the Labor Party in Victoria refused to condemn the
Soviet Government's infringements of human rights.
Despite the mountains of evidence from objective, impartial sources,
the. A. L. P. preferred to believe the official Soviet line.
The Liberals have been forging new policies, which are meeting
today's challenges. The A. L. P. is still caught up in the toils
of old dogma, failed policies discredited plans.' It's no wonder
that Labor has consistently adopted a negative approach to
Australia's future. Mr Hayden has called the 1980' s " the decade
of despair"~," the decade of gloom", " the dismal decade." The only
phrase Mr Hayden has not yet used is " a decade of doom.'' and
with the Labor -Party looking down the barrel of ten years and more
of Opposition, I've no doubt we'll see that phrase creep into
Mr Hayden's vocabulary before long.
We utterly reject the Labor Party's policy of defeatism and
despondency. We reject their policies, which generated an
explosion of prices, wages and government spending, which
gravely weakened the economy. .13
J 3.
One of the first tasks we faced was to get inflation down, and
governments around the world are coming to accept the
correctness of this priority. For instance, the British Labor
Prime Minister, Mr Callaghan, said in October:
" The beginning for the Government is now do we keep inflation
down? " It is the Government's inescapable responsibility to keep
down inflation, not against anybody, but in the interests
of the whole of the people of this country."
We have already had great success in reducing inflation,
and by maintaining our policies we will force inflation further
down. The more we can get inflation down, the more quickly we
implement the programmes that will realise our goals for Australia.
The goals for which we are striving are not pie-in-the-sky,
or unrealistic. As Liberals, we have a vision of Australia's
future. Our vision is of an Australia which is a country of growth
and developrrent; of prosperity and enlightenment, of stability
and security, of compassion and effective help for those in need.
A country in which the quality of freedom and opportunity for
individuals has no equal anywhere.
To make this vision a reality, the actions of government, of
voluntary organisations, of individual Australians, must be spurred
forward by a common commitment, J; eading us to be a more caring,
more responsible, more creative, more tolerant, more
self-reliant nation.
After three years of Liberal government, we have already
started on the road to realising this great ideal. It is our goal
to build a vigorous economy, strengthened through the initiative
and capacity of its people, and through emphasis on competition
and private initiative rather than government restrictions.
We are making progress towards this goal. Lower inflation is making
our industry competitive again. Manufacturers are looking again
to export markets.
I know that at least one major motor vehicle manufacturer is
rebuilding its export organisation, and an industry survey found that
during the September quarter Australian exporters of manufactured
goods reported an increase of 5 percent in export deliveries
the first reported upturn since September 1972.
Mining and oil exploration and development are rising sharply.
Two companies alone have committed themselves to spending
$ 1,000 million in Bass Strait and off Western Australia, directly
because of the Goverrnent's realistic energy and oil pricing policy.
Our goal is a society in which satisfying work is available to those
who seek it, a society in which Australian Youth * can realise their
aspirations to live a fulfilling life doing productive creative
work. A4
Our economic policies are establishing the foundations of a stror1
and diversified economy which will meet these needs. We reject
the self-serving and defeatist pessimism of the Labor Party
the creators of unemployment in this country, the men who now
hypocritically and falsely talk about a lost generation.
The facts are there if they would only face up to them. Last year,
about 250,000 young people left school, according to surveys
by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. By February 1978,
135,000 had already found work; by September this had risen
to 180,000; 40,000 young people either continued their education
or did not seek employment. This means that of 1978' s original
250,000 school leavers, 30,000 had not'found jobs by
September this year. What is more, by October, no more than 17,500 of
last year's school leavers were registered with the C. E. S.
This number is far too large but to talk as Labor persists
in doing of a lost generation is in utter.-defiance of the facts.
For those of our young people that do need help in getting
a job, for those of our young people that need training or job
experience, we have a coherent and extensive network of training
programmes. Overall, the Government is spending $ 240 million on
employment and training.
Our NEAT Scheme, the Special Youth Employment Training Programme,
and a number of other programmes are providing meaningful help
to those who do not have jobs particularly to the young unemployed.
At the end of October 1978, six times as many people were being
trained under NEAT as at the end of December 1975, and we have
changed NEAT to give a much greater emphasis to on-the-job training
training more directly related'to industries' needs.
Our programmes to assist young people include the introduction of
a Special Youth Employment Thaining Programme. More than 80,000
young people have already been assisted by this programme, since
it was introduced in October 1976, and there are'another 35,000
people in training under the scheme at the moment.
A further 45,000 young people have been assisted under the
Community Youth Support Scheme and the Educational Programme
for Unemployed Youth has provided remedial education assistance
for over 3,600 young people who have never had a fair go in their
whole lives. In all, more than 300,000 people have been helped
through these schemes.
We have never been for one moment complacent about these schemes,
and in the next few weeks, Tony Street will have a complete review
of the various training programmes before Cabinet. If the,
programmes can be effectively improved, if they can be expanded,
if they can be developed, they certainly will be.
We are also awaiting the report of the inquiry under Professor
Williams.. which was set up in October 1976. That inquiry was
established because we were concerned to make sure that our
educational system was adequately designed to meet the educational
needs and preferences of the individual and the requirements of the
labour market. The results of that long and difficult inquiry should
be available shortly, and we are looking for a constructive report
which will clearly involVe the states and many sections of the
community in its implementation.
7
It is our goal, in cooperation with the States, to take new
initiatives to secure Australia's future growth and development.
Just three weeks ago, the Commonwealth and the States, showing a
common commitment and a common purpose, agreed that for the first
time state authorities can borrow over $ 1,700 million overseas
to develop such essential facilities as railways, ports, power
projects, water supplies and pipelines.
For Victoria, this will meanfurther progress for the crucial Loy
Yang power project, and a new world trade centre in Melbourne
which will bring business and capital to the State and to Australia.
Our goal is to help people buy their own homes, and because of our
success in combating inflation, interest on housing loans have
been falling. In the course of this year, home interest rates
have fallen by 1 percent. On a home loan of say $ 25,000, being
repaid over 25 years this means a saving in the order of $ 17 a
month $ 5,000 over the period of the loan. In a full year,
this is a total saving of around $ 150 million to families with
home loans.
Our goal is to provide effective and compassionate assistance to
those in need and government welfare programmes are constantly
being re-designed to achieve this end. By introducing the
family allowance by indexing pensions , by reforming the outdated
means test, by providing a completely new deal for the
handicapped, by extending the supporting parent's benefit to sole
fathers, this Government has al~ eady established a record of
innovation and compassion in its welfare services.
As a result of the Galbally Report, new programmes are being
introduced for our migrant and ethnic communities which will provide
a real breakthrough in overcoming the language barrier, and helping
newly arrived migrants to adjust quickly and smoothly to Australian
society. Our goal is a free and civilised society in which the basic rights
of our citizens are protected. We are working towards a society
in which justice is available to all, in which the rule of law prevailE
for all; in which minorities have no cause for fear; in which
bureaucracies are responsive to people's needs, and there is
redress for ill-considered decisions by public servants.
Our goal is a society in which employers and employees thrash
out their differences through consultation and conciliation,
working together for the benefit for employees, management,
shareholders and consumers alike.
At the same time, we recognise that where conciliation fails,
the rule of law must prevail. The reforms already introduced in
industrial law have made significant advances by providing
protection for conscientious objectors, by introducing secret postal
ballots for union elections, by requiring unions to have their
accounts audited and report regularly to their membership, by
establishin g the Industrial Relations Bureau and the National Labour
Consultative Council. / 16
Our goal is to find solutions to the problems created by our
complex industrial society. Together with the States and
voluntary welfare organisations, we are acting to meet the problems
of drug abuse, of family breakdown of frustration and alienation.
Our goal is a healthy Australia with health services equal to any
in the world, provided at a reasonable cost -with the consumer
retaining a right of choice. The substantial reforms we
have made in health insurance and preventive medicine have advanced
Australia a significant distance towards this goal.
Our aim is for Australia to enjoy a high sta. ndard of education,
which encourages Australians to be inventive, constructive and
Self-reliant; which meets with the needs of out multi-cultural
society; and which provides all Australians with indispensable.
basic skills.
The steady improvements which have been achieved will continue.
We have made significant progress in the last three years.
The goals to which we aspire will be achieved. But this is not just
a job for Government. What we must all do is to relate these goals
to our daily lives. In some cases, some fundamental rethinking is
required. Let us look at a few examples. It is the goal of all Australians
to see that jobs are available for those looking for work.
It is time union leaders showed . real concern for the unemployed by
restraining their wage claims, so that working men and women stop
being priced out of the labour market.
All Australians believe that tHe handicapped should receive a fair
deal. It is time more employers showed real concern for the
handicapped by finding them work as vacancies occur.
We all believe that Australia should grow and develop in strength and
prosperity. It is time all Australians encouraged and welcomed
the generation of healthy profits by business and industry
the profits that are essential to investment, the profits that
are essential to jobs. We all believe we live in a great country
it is time we stopped knocking Australia.
Our nation has the undoubted capacity to achieve the goals and
aspirations we share. We ask only one thing of this nation for
the men and women of Australia to recognise their common interests,
to recognise that by working together with determination and
unity of purpose, these goals can be attained.
In realising this promise, in achieving these goals, the Government
seeks a partnership with the community, between Commonwealth, State
and local government; between employers and employees;
between Government agencies, voluntary assocations and individual
Australians. With such a partnership, with a real sense of common purpose, and pric
in our country, with a deep commitment to the future of our country,
there is nothing Australia cannot achieve.