PRESS OFFiCE TRANSCRIPT
PRESS CONFERENCE ON MINISTERIAL CHANGES November 1978
Prime Minister:
The Ministerial changes that I have announced this afternoon
are designed to achieve a better and a fairer workload between
Ministers, but in particular they are designed to enable work
in certain areas to expand arnd to respond to the changing needs
of Government and of government service to the people of
Australia. I
Tony Street has had probably the hardest and the toughest
workload of any Minister over recent times, and there have
been very significant changes and improvements in Industrial
Relations. In addition to that, over the last two to three
years the training programmes have largely been introduced or
very significantly expanided.
So overall the responsibilities and the workload in that area
have grown very greatly. There have been one or two areas,
which you will see from the statement, where greater activity
is needed in the industrial relations area. It i~ s a part of
the activity that I know Tony Street has wanted to be more
involved in, but under the-arrangements as they have existed up to
the present that has not been possible.
So much of the work of the industrial relations section of
the old department was involved in a sense in putting out
brtusft fires dealing with a dispute after it has arisen.
What we want to do now is to build on the progress that has
been made in reducing the number of disputes by getting out
into industry where it is needed, working with labour and
working with management at the national, the industry and
at the factory level also, to do more to create the
circumstances which will avoid disputes. There is room for
much greater activity in that area, and the resources of the
new Department of Industrial Relations will be expanded to
enable it to undertake -that task.
The concerns that we all have, that I know you have and that
I certainly have, with unemployment also dictates the ' need
to have a separate Depa-rtment of Employment and Youth Affairs.
For some time there has been an Office of Youth Ar.-Ffairs
attached to another Denartment, but the work of that office
will again be expanded and will be more vigorous in pursuing
its particular responsibilities.
Ian Viner's task in this Department will be to monitor the
programmes to see what changes might be required from time
to time, to examine the many suggestions the new initiativesthat
come to us, and to enable the Government to respond to the
needs of Australian society and to the needs especially of young
people within our community. To make sure that a senior / 2
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Minister is devoting his full time to these particular matters,
which are of great importance to all of us.
The other changes are not completely consequential upon these,
but largely consequential. Senator Chaney will be moving to
Aboriginal Affairs and the opportunity is being taken to place
the particular parts of Environment, Housing and Community
Development with other Departments where, in a sense, they have
their natural home. Housing will be with construction, and
the environment, for instance, and national parks services, will
be established with the Department of Science, where it will be
easier for the resources of CSIRO to work even more closely with
those who have got direct responsibility for the protection of
the environment.
So I think those changes are natural and sensible ones. The
number of Ministers stays the same, the number of Departaents,
as a result of the changes in the area I have just spoken about,
the environmental area, will also remain the same.
Question: ( Laurie Power)
Mr Fraser, did you think that Kr Street wasn't doing enough in
the area of employment?
Prime Minister:
I think Tony Street was doing as much, or more, as could be
expected of any one Minister. The workload in industrial
relations and the workload in the employment area, with the
growth of the training prograeses, has expanded enormously,
and I believe it was asking more than enough of any one
Minister, and for that matter more than enough of any one
Permanent Head. There will be two Permanent Heads and there
will be two Ministers in relation to the two new Departments.
Question: ( Laurie Power)
It wasn't enough, as much as what you wanted, and you have
created Prime Minister:
I think you are putting an implication into the question which
I think is quite unfair.
Question: ( Duncan Fairweather)
Did : Ir Street tell you that his workload was too great,
Prime Minister, or was that your belief?
Prime Minister:
Tony Street is the sort of person who will undertake any
task that is asked of him ancd will do it to the very best
of his ability and put an enormous amount of time and effort
into it. In discussing this concept he had indicated to me,
in the preventive area that that was a part of the industrial
relations arena, for example, that he would like to be more
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active in, that the industrial relations part of the old
Department would want to be more active in, but there just
hadn't been an opportunity for that. The changes will enable
that to occur, and enable the improvements in industrial
relations over the last two or three years to be developped.
further. There is a very significant change here. The Department of
Industrial Relations, in a significant sense, not totally,
has been a reactive Department. That's not a criticism, it's
the way it has historically been. A dispute occurs and then
you do something about it. To get out and promote even more
actively than has been the case in the past,. the need for
preventive arrangements to advocate practices and procedures
between management and labour which avoid the possibility of
industrial dispute is obviously a highly desirable and, in
some areas I would think highly necessary.
It is intended that the resources of the Department of
Industrial Relations will be expanded quite specifically to
enable greater attention to be given to that part of its
role. Question: The appearance has been given that kir Street's role has been
diminished in Government and in the Cabinet.
Prime Minister:
I don't think so at all. I think industrial relations is
clearly of enormous importance to all of us. There are the
consultative processes, the need for conciliation, for
reconciliation, and then there is the question of the law,
there has been development of the Industrial Relations Bureau,
and in all of this area there is a very constant workload and
a very constant effort required.
It would be a very unreal Government that didn't respond to the
changing needs of differing times, differing circumstances, and
it's also plain over the last period that much greater time
is involved in the employment area.
If you like to go back to before the Labor time it was then
almost a Department of Industrial Relations. It wasn't called
that, but people didn't have the concern with employment, there
weren't the training programmes, there wasn't the necessity for
them, and the Commonwealth Employment Service didn't have the
very great and heavy responsibilities that they now have.
That demonstrates how some aspects of the role and the
responsibilities have qrown over past years compared to what
used to happen, for example, before 1972.
Question: ( Peterson)
Did you invite Mr Peacock to be part of these moves, and
did he decline?
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Prime Minister:
I'm not going to make any comment on particular Ministers.
Question: ( Peterson)
on one who is not a Minister. Did you invite Senator Withers?
Prime Minister:
I'm not going to make any comment on members of the Senate
or the House of Representatives. It's a good try, but I'm
sure you wouldn't have expected any other answer.
Question: Are you lessening the influence of Aboriginal Affairs within
the Ministry or is Senator Chaney to be a Cabinet Minister?
Prime Minister:
No, the numbers in the Cabinet and the members of the Cabinet
will not be altered. But again, I think, it's a question of
people very often who you have in Cabinet, and they sometimes
take their portfolio with them into the Cabinet and they are
often in Cabinet, in some cases obviously the Treasurer
has to be in Cabinet and some other portfolios have to be in
Cabinet but with a number of portfolios it depends upon the
Minister and, as in Ian Viner's case, he wasn't in Cabinet, he
carried Aboriginal A2ffairs with him into Cabinet, and I believe
and I think the Department might believe and the Aboriginal
people might believe that he has been one of the best Ministers
if not the best Minister ever in that area.
Let me only say that the fact that Senator Chaney is going to
become minister for Aboriginal Affairs indicates the extehrt of
confidence that I have in him to undertake a very important
and very sensitive task.
Question: ( Peterson)
Do you see him beinq able to better take on Joh Bjelke-Petersen?
Prime Minister:
That's a question of the Media looking for confrontation to
make a better story.
Question: ( Laurie Power)
Mr Fraser, with your increased emphasis on e-ployment generations,
splitting a portfolio what are you going to do to match NSW?
Prime minister:
I don't know if a r generation", in one sense concern for employment
and for those who want jobs and find it difficult to get work
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is the way i would like to have it out and understood. I was
interested to see Mr Wran's initiatives last night, and lookina
at his words closely it seemed to me that he was taking
advantage of the Special Youth Employment Training Scheme and
I think, as you know, this does apply to people who do find
work. That scheme applies to people who have been out of
work for four months and then go into work in private employment
or in Government departments. In reading the statement and
listening to Ir Wran it seemed to me that he was taking
advantage of the Special Youth Employment Training Scheme to
make more zlaces available within the public service of NSW
for young people to fit the Special Youth Employment Training
Programme. I'm very glad that he is finding it possible to
give greater weight to that particular Commonwealth initiative.
I think all the States do provide places in their own public
services. VMr Wran has chosen a good time to expand the number
of places available in the NSW public service under the Special
Youth Emolo--rment Training Scheme previously initiated by
Tony Street.
Question: ( Peterson)
Are you an admirer of Mr Wran?
Prime Minister:
Mr Wran is a very capable politician.
Question:
Will Mr Street and Mr Viner maintain their respective ranking
in Cabinet?
Prime Minister:
There will be no changes in Ministerial ranking orders.
Question: Prime Minister. has your decision to boost the role of Employment
been prompted by the gloomy predictions of unemployment for
next year and the possible political implications of those
on the next Federal election?
Prime Minister:
No, not prompted by that at all, but in examining the workload
and the structure of Government and the structure of Departments
I had come to the view that there was a need to achieve a more
even workload and also to put in this area two Ministers into
the field who can both very capably and forcefully argue the
Government's policies and approach in relation to it and at
the same tLme give full-time Ministerial attention, one in the
industrial relations arena and the other in employment and in
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relation to the Office of Youth Affairs, whose role will also
be significantly expanded. Again, I think this is a response
to the changing needs of the community and the changing
perceptions of ' the importance of different aspects of Government.
Question: ( Duncan Fairweather)
The split between industrial relations and employment, will
that be a straight split down the middle of the Department
or do you envisage that either side will be bigger than the
whole that it is at the moment.
Prime Minister:
The Industrial Relations Department is going to have expanded
responsibilities, I've already mentioned that.
Question: ( Tony Walker)
Expanded staff?
Prime Minister:
It will need some additional human resources to undertake
the additional tasks that are required. Yes it will.
Question: ( Malcolm Colless)
Maybe they could take some people from the IRB.
Prime Minister:
Well the rest of that Act has just been proclaimed, or a
major part of it. The regulations in relation to union
accounts haven't yet been proclaimed, but they are under
examination in the National Labour Consultative Committee,
and I hope it tvon't be too long before they also are
proclaimed. I think it has been necessary for the work of
the Industrial Relations Bureau to begin slowly. It was
necessary to build up a staff of appropriate quality and
calibre to meet again the * very sensitive requirements of the
Bureau. I think it is worth noting that the Industrial
Relations Bureau and its work is being followed very very
closely in a number of countries. It is an Australian
initiative and the importance of it, and its possibilities
I think, can in part be judged from the fact that the
Director of the Industrial Relations Bureau, Des Linehan,
was pleased to take that job, and ha-ving a mind to his
own industrial background, I think, says something for
the initiative. But it has been doing its work, doesn't
seek to be obtrusive. I believe it will be a very effective
Bureau and somet--hing that is worth watching.