J1;~
F0 R_ 2 R~ S S 9 iN. lnCf-zi. 1Y? 4
Ia ndelightLc d Lo be able to tal'K to the M'elbourne Chamber ofA
Cor.-mrce today. This is a tirze of increasing cotimisin and
con fidlence in th-_ busin_ Ess co-mLmity such as we have not
see'n : 3ince eariv in the 1970' s.
It h as often been d-ifficult to mc-. intain confidencc in -the
future in the face ofc the miany and pressing problLms the=
businLleSS Set-or and the community, at large have had to Cdeal % wizth
over thne past several years.
The Gov. ernmnent, for-its partk:, has had to deal wit-h thze leaCcis
of the economic policy failures of our prediecessors., th2
he-edle--s xaso of the public sector ana the budget ' fc,
the irresporns.-hie annroach to moetrypoicy and thle Unt!" I. a
support. for e: c. sv age de: mands.
7eh~ hefa d-to c rapiplc tLiit fundam-enta dsort icns, inte
eccm; nomy an" n-ut the -t ric. hts b h consistent applicatc: 3-
acon* erent economic pollicy strategy. Beus ehvrletiSL
pursued a cohe,, ren-t and offecti ye policy thcere is; a growi. n'-
opti~-sI a!" u Ausralia' s economic future, inflation has be-en
re. uced, -ntJ s i:-owi ag the first sicis o: recover',,
th'zre ' has been ron si monet~ ary -nenegement, Cmnn.-at
. s-nendOinq has been cur! bed, intereost' rates have
lew. _ red ar-d, ans yo-. w. 7i'Ll ' Know, bDusiness confid: ence
is . r C) n C'
Thriei gpoft-ohez : first half" of thi~ s financial ,, ear
SI" 0, f th . rC-ingcjo nfiLdence. A nubrof pu,. blic comcani-s
ha'e= _ rcdic-reases in interim asfter tax profits of
an2 eret Fo r exaa n-lI: Zimatil Bank
of :; wSouth, a es Dunlop 38%; Repco
Ov-ill a s a-: ioe. I of 7 9 -ajor I lsted an i es hav e r eporte
in: : rnoet~; ssOf an averacje o' L p-arc-an'.
49 ncrasd civdenisanid only 4 re -duced dlivi-dendIs.
Mh"-' rc mm-c rkc-h as cenn mrv-idnb g to -the bost lvl
fo--ears. At the saeof-llarch tho sh-are indices e
the . KoreStock xhtz~ ewr more than 26 nercent hch:
, nuar%-197-3 and hihe tt, n: 7nnrcn
J a thi s at
OfLf occar ' 1C-a r3 i n Jica te tL-h the-grow--. th in gross C-omastic
p r oc22cc i 1978-79 w'ill groatier than for some ycears. / 2
Pridvema.~ ndt e isincvoeusrtmagejnrt~ ci , rroew-F. inlcg tisntgro na gl! m\. Ood of gro-, 41q C~~
rTihsroiuncc~ h ouyft2: 197P8e, r -cIernitv aotvee r the, p-revjo epdiuee-gre, q'rea ia
cFtiht uo l-rerfu rti' os. b L:; a. tc2 , la e-l warsh eeactrdtht poctfrir1c. oe 9os 7 8ish-7e$ 9gh1 r', ao9vw se0i s0lb ien nvcialorluenk aeas eomd'u ,-cwsh tohCeuirmabot lonerg olryvJoe etdu a nCdy tvie-oeamrne ay' sf or-criosre th-e
Ariseg prlriocuci7 e_-Bec! eft su1fr9oa7rl9 , e1c9e-7_ vwo'. unpho-o7lmr 9itJ. sc sf o-trfo o ortheuucr aiwsitaos-o iol ar inr9n danure. s-rterctyes ntta hreer isiRe urienac ut esdao fle-tLo
tOihmvepe rraobluvl1 e,; s _ _ nfaaenrmsdsoi l n 6sin7at-iccrrof1tam9on7rde7 ss-7 a3nia mdr oer ae ellxg o'eAoleedcuvste sedtalr nsad lt ioaan sndeiv nsc csaorsw e aithslebez enrbuy-reaalf lit t. skleeinacdtsos-rC
hiFiTnnieh gtebeh irmreurncrap ! arodyttruih tocsa1t nni9o aw7nl9ian , s . cootthornmeltiy nai pflpl cr21et eajO. tpxtivivoeoiCeroncnuo erost nssh stta.. hs s reeadesIr noa mnmtaihoalnelttyih cn tsa hallwrdyejh eui slimetme pditorh onevtwh esed cr geern oA% w-1c. u 3, t. sh dtpraelricael'nst
sTehceus rt-i_ rrenn ograoh-v eeminen t14i tnot eitna e our expooarctsc ouhnast. be,.-ne hraev-fel ecbteetdt eri n anad m-ore
iamfWmnoeed raa rthk awAe:_ eetuv . se, s : dt: Droca orclnririezaie sonr. i*~ n -c. rnPA " ru oitsn hdtn " eur Cac'thtb osiien. O au-sr, niatsn sto taopcaS croeetoumh suteshapr ke aEEentve. atEeets-m. rtCr an. nttApi otnss 1ia ak o troteh aa negUd ea . Strn e otwh . f.. e af( c raio nrMrod ,,.. i-oaLdiucindn rclepe ossr-taasn" t
erisutsDeniuhupatu: zr): e. vv-: r-veei* e-erenlns2fa ygt tt -t-hoe. ris t: ne nh. hdsatei-twgdc o a yt irBle neasul k-uttl soshrm et a aiutgne oail$ n neF$ o6g , oci70f> 0 r. te05 iQ-asSo a tirnnnit. b. da -mi talmtci: tlhaLsTeiametoihdlnieli npciu roa sfnlia g aofcnift" wtn ' eNu-ae-sirIo-nwil trbn. t ~ h sia f'liCae nlecisiaddfaoitpn l -sn-ueiitist nnhb1atvtr9wali y, 7l.. t. e ai8 pEsts, aryAt : omn: pdju2ee e9ssencn tctnt--r. do patt ay sigetnl ueorimac srnaSe. ee rri" necnwet, c, aes then,
To ai. investmc-, t e have ancz. roved $ 1.8 billi~ on of irfrast r L. c _ u c
irat0 . sele r uct: o i s ctein:! tde ndb. eyd ct h to Sstu apte-, so. rt The c-oin jveocltvse
: i; sthi1s amount.
5T1 h eex rc-ndheiKi& a t~ r , -sro ujac ts. kne. iw cn c ea p6itfaj l vin-avr c st+--tmoo nD-ct : ibnri1nv9 e7l3s a t mrgjne t s icna hl-eem irn eiinnstogh ur c e
: j12,
fulr~ trhze~ rr: 7i3 2n inPun erccoem:--~ ia einn ies1 9~ 7eCx9e.~ ttoC oirLeln creasea ' c~ tUes~ ~ t iVLxnCve ss: tumrevnot.'-' L-by a
./ 3
. te e. Q. r19 7, t-he c st. i i : it-e ( Ic e] c: cst of miLnCer-. l
pro tn~~ rnvc--t~ e or i; 1 LhC._ fn -lfcLt.
stage -was 4 ,0 00 mi iio n T h is fi CUre iCle 4the,
f o11o2-incj r cc -2n t-1 a n -ounccid r ro j C-Ct S the Gladstone
th-I : ver raniu-project $' 300 m-; Illion.
does not incilude Ithre orh t el' hisno,.. being
proven-up in a $ 30 mil] ion feasibility stuuy.
Weh ave ecoura d-1t-h e search for oil1 and t" CeCe f fic ie nt
dclo :~ eLand use of our e-,-isting resd-r vtcs. Our crude
Oil all,-' n
i h,-ve resFu1lticd in1 AulsL-r alia s oi r eserve s be ing
upgraded by some 600 700 imillion bJarrLels, appro:,: i-mately
a further tkhree years' Supply at curr'l-conjsumptionj leavels.
The growth of oil exploration activity will continue in
1979' I-ndust~ ry esti.-= ates that bewan, 33 and 143 exploration
wells c-olid be drilled thi year even 831 wells would be
the best result for Seven vears. Esso and 13:! P alIone are
com. ritte. to investing over $ 1 billion in exiploratLion and
dvlpment over the next ve eas
Ove r l. ', by 1935, it is estimated that about 30 percent of
Australia' s crude oil production wiljl be ( derived from
oil fields which h-ave beco-Me viable as a consequence of
our oil and gas poilicies.
This rev. ival off nexloration activity is of vital importance
if we are to maintain a satisfEactory level of self-sufficiency
in o2.1 in-to t1-he 1920' s an~ d bevNond
Maufctrigind-Iustry is par-ticipating in the revival of
economi~ c activi ty in Australia. In recent weeks m-iajor new,.
investments in m-, anu~ facturing have b: een announced.
I. C. I. has announced -that it wilconstruct a $ 500 million
peL--_ ochem:.-ical complex-in Victoria and a $ 400 million
ethy--lone Plant atBtn Bay.
GMH %. ill proc-: e: d with new $ 210 millio-n en-ine complex
based in Victoria.
Auszrali-n Newssarint Limited have announced that they will construct
ilino7newsorint plant at Albur y-Uodn7 a
Th-e ien> c~ in~ flation a-rising from our economic polici-es
hasdrme icl l ioroved the compi-tiens of Aus tralian
s tr ai is. ore comeiie hna ayLm
i n z 1 s" sSe v c IY e a rs. In the Dece-mber Quarter, manufacturcd
exporzs were 29 percent hicher than For the previous / 4
A
OrUir bor s a r e f i . i1s o eei r~ ctL5: 1u
relc222 LsL 1 3n a m22c 2t~ 2 rac for the-_ ir staiel
' S n u: 1 hc r_ o s 17 i s; ihlx X k-u COh
Novm~ c 1 97, %-; 1itre h the cor-nespondaing poricc1
i~ n 1977, and are-a hicgher pr~ ~ o of totCal sales.
Our nuaucsare snowni. ng an Increasing ability to
com. ze aain : Lmpor.;-s. This -is an imoort-ant chancpc
over the P~ zsc raw vears, Faanu-Zacturing; industry has
been; 6ubj-ctedf to gre-at stress-es, casdby low-. er popuiation
rates, thn[ ctoichancje, ilnporL cce-t-LrJ. on,
ea ttans 0o1f:~ cion nsuer dem-and, and wvage cost pressurc-. s.
In lo minimum, award wag~ es increased by 37 percent
for ~ Tmisand 27 nercent for male-s.
In a3. tiofl unfer Labor, manufacturing industry had to
face_ the 25 -Dercent across-the-b-o:, rd, tarifEf cut in 1973,
applre ciaLJoris crthe exc hange ratc, and the scaling down
of the ex-ort -inesnchie., 7 re. reuess hs ldt
adjreer-probles in miianufacturinc-industry and the report on te
Crawvfor d study group set up by -this Government to exa-mine and
advise on theso issues wias released on Tuesday.
Thia Rep* ort willI make a major contribution to our cons iderat,. ionof
long-term icolicies to assist industry adjust to changing
economic conditi-ons. !" any of-E t4he areas covered by, the
Report are m--atters -to ,. hich the Covernme-nt is giving
continuous attzention: ero?, ort devolopmen L; indus_: tri. al rs'nc
a nd d ev elo mn t; i nv es tm nt mnen L ives; prod ucti-iv ity
improvem:, ent and industrial f inancing.
Theove',,, t as alreadyv introciucedl ta: xation concS S 4onS
to e:: Courage invecstment, made sicxni-ficant improvements to
export incentives, subStantially increased -fundinq for indust-ial
resnearch ar dveo en and instituted other projrairmes
desined o ir~) rovo productivity in inlustry.
In aencition, we have greatly increased our efforts to
sec: ure_ bette" r anCC~ S tCo overSeas akesfor Autaingoce. S,
a m-azter heLavil-y enehasised in the Cra-ford TReport.
The ?~ cr ilbe a vcerv valuable inou-t to the Governrent's
dec,' sion-making proc-ess. The Gov. ernment is determined to
acne-: agreater imerovemen C in the co-aetitive position
of taininuty a n imnorovie-miet which will enable
manuctu ingto palav a nluch stronuer role in the economy.
Becuseof t11 mcrtnc of the Cr-awf;: ord Report, I am sure
th~: cc ~. idely and intensively discussed.
The 2o.: vernment looks forward to rcceiving the response and
Arom theD co:-mmrunity and cspecially from organisations
sut thhsi s.
Theecmc co-rs tak-ing plac2 w.. ill oncourage all 7Au_, s2.-: cn'_ 1i~ S,
~ Qwizi maintain th.-e p. olicLs that have ! beErL cs! antio. l to t-e
reoe-vand that are essential to allo0wing further progres-s.
3
aciainst ila tio n. d no oiha dt his f ont is
demonstratred by h rede,, ction in in-flat1ion to perce~ nL
in 1978, c rd a h9.3 percent in the-pr vicus -ea.
Over the veeI-r to >:. arch 1.975 -a -mere 4 y'ears ago i n f 1a ion
r eachee 17 5 p er c c:.
Last yoear's infIlatio-n w., ould ha-ve been lo; wer, but for thc
Goecn~ et: z rsons.. leMOVe to escbi ol aritvy nricca2
for D-LL d tlh E irncroas. s in food Driecs hich are revivin~ g
la~ esectorLs of a rur _ al industry that has been depressedC
for , iany years.
Give.,-n th-se tw. o factors the fall in inflation from 9.3 uercent
in 19077 to 7.8 cercent in 1970, is a sinoificant success.
ThIs success : s due to the determi nation with iwhVc h we have
apjpliec t.-h, 2 whole r~ veof instrum-en-tS of economiAc policy.
There has be-en some discussion recently regarding the
money sunoly targe; t. The Trreasulrer has always imade it clear
that this is not an infle-xibLe tarqget. V-hat is inflexible
ise the ' Goverprnent s determination to rmaintain responsible
monetary policy. ThIis is an integral part of our
anti-inflationary strat-egy.
The money supply %-, illg -row at a rate ade: g! u ate to finance
on-going rocovery . while still continui-a " o maintain the fi. r m
d wazr d pressure on inflai djon. I will give one illustration.
Thi2 -; 2ar Va: rrshad-_ record crocs. The tradition-.-l
mehoofrf, i ancj the cro-' invlv sCse of 7{~ O?\ CBn
credr. L TIhc uinusuall large crop haF; conseguantly had an
une! nticiop4 ed, once-off impact on the rate of gro(. 7th of. L
the oeys'-v In-order to li ithis impact we have
rcci. uired 11~~ of the additional fEinan Cing requircl-. entLs
of the Austrn aan ' N-hat Bocard' in l1-78-79 to be izet bv an
2su 0 co ec 1 Ius . The-win.--t crwesil~ l still.
tha i a ca C 2?& t att coas: ut our
t r._. a
m a:. e w~ l1i involV E. $ 15 o:, illionl and in the light o2-s-ubfsecviecat
y vcc it w, l consid k in a f Urt-hel
f:: gof-a smiror la-. rger inu
zm'wo ncrm Jc pc licis, o ur , tone Lar oc, our control of
eiothve crcati _ d thne concit on for_ the fall in
., 2i or~ v -Cre las-3 month. Is.
cc S, ann. oaf 2s w here in-2re~ rst rates in mnajor oversc-as canital
marke-ts ha-ve been rising
Ovr helast year, w. hile our interest rates fell, U. S. initerestrrasetbsy
n t 4ocrce nt ; nd in the by 53 perca: nz.
Our ecnscnol1i c. es are thc only , wiay to achieve sustLain;:.! le
i n c r c as c; in c 7. oloy 7m entn Ovor the ls two or three moniths:,
we-have sceen encouraglinc! signs of increeas ing 0m3. POoyrnent
thcse ar tentative early signS but thcy are all favournbl.
0-
each of: i~ -ho nths to DecembecI 1973 a i0~~
of 56, 300 t he 4iiMs e thshas occ-urr ed Co iev~ s
In the D2ce; be 19ur7e 3Seao-l~' a ; d~ l'm
in s ine: r Cn, -o. v et-r-ne scta~ ce C~ n. -he LarCst oe
thteisem~ -em srr f iv vc C1 11_ L
Ov~ ri.-: has rise n to thea hichb-st sinco .97A.
.1,2 nwValcnPliCies notified to sivm---S
a i-oirea atj~ ted
ttTohh ee cgGuetnLoth v-o ferer ri onm ), ee, nd0t 01-0aiJnsE % p> haF1 rpdta ieevceot , e prlme inuhelaadv r ey toba-deirodethc'he-e -elrp ahn yegot_ h-uJ~ roii nasg e unywPe phoooll Duih cvci. ooaevvnsretm . njtoob s1-obp
ro g a me s over-, the past three vears and wie are reviewing
tararien iga s efficei1etrnatir vainndq1 aan-. d-fferectliovec ataiso nT DsOcSheSmr~ eb., e,-. s tL-o ensure that they
oAf mAaujosUr rccaolniacne rni ndisu stthrye. lacTkh aot f latcrka, d-eissm ebn C cofron4r. ncrth ~ ma nofrue tuaprren trneceds
aNarsae t wiope, n reaslse ee nTttrhlayein icnoocninc osCiudroae-., ur-niinn. cggi l toas igptnr_ a-sr oinoi no spale -oh ereeocnom: rzi nn metnhdoe da n. 1db0 y wo, t. 2heyeer
aagpep regnrotiump eships'. w. a nt ICt -o biel comine clturaddee sam erne, c ' nbnuict al ' h -edinuicssaetidb lou-t on
co; innarable -to _ hat rn4c-do andI off-hejb
training vhich is hecavily practical in, content.
Th1-and(: G h'aovt ermhn et -ret is are also a-wew-eo cotlh lat th-f4e1 art-hee -mjo, ' bsvauvniob esomei-s
do not sene to be tak' 1ing up the opportunity. One of thle
ProblJIe-or arclas temo ary and casual emr-lovment.
cTsoehnaec_ -:> eor-nnIai nii sat! cCuDnaerosursuu rit. a -lfeatotol h r e sEkmf;-a! otah. coe, tv * mct-hk, ea. n, ttih t eeaprrneisisdo o sp laYevo auia~ thrl eh o-rln, e fof. i tr r s aI'Laishv tahsse Entxaiooo1i-n t: gpr. p esosr-tEu-xcn) ity
to 11,?-snu ich' woDrk oacicularly wihen oro-soective eooetooff
e_ i-rre cotoiv ep ayu n! ltorva-. v-,' l n t b2nefis o, Cs su. ld TnheeCv. Se. hrstbeelaeksds ontnu
for aor on thirL atter anda will adiethe Governimen~
s hor 7-lv \
Our enoyis strenathe ning. The business com -: unity is !-or~ e
a: fu s Ccaol a in Chlan it has been fo many yearz.
sa resur-enco of inv e! S tme' nt an, eeomn in min-ing
s, t r revj. t lised.
coromrAi nnrgt r~ yivneCe srocs : ,,-wnil2bbbr c-saf ch-i sa nedhxl stc rfsieaotini rbn degsea lalin n dA eumsus-ctc-rclfoaeovairams s. a-efn Pnsgut. lr eanafodtI r -khfAnuoeluwbtu satrtlrehaa : el'noirnce.
000---