PRS OFIC TASCRIlPT SUDY 18
-PRIbe 1INISTER'S PRESS CONFERENCE, MBLBOUPRNE
Prime Minister, it is the morning tifter the nightbeo. Ho
do' you feel?"
Prime Minister
Ri~ laxea. , I am glad that the fight is over, that the election is
ovek, because that nowv enables us to get on with the business of
GZoVernment, and put oUr plans into action.
Question
WTh. at are the f irst priorities?
Prirne-kinister
will1 be having discussions with my own Department either tonight
tomorrow morning.. because there is some legislation that : 1 would
'.: like to ' get through in a ishort session before Christmas
P~ ob~ ably about two weekst the training a.. wz. e t
people to -undertak~ en. training rather than to be unemployed -that
. puqbt to be operating as Boon as possible.
* Question
Does-it concern you that the majority of Austra. ianls did not
: vote for your Party.
. PrmeMinister
What counts are the numbers you get in the Parlianient, and we
* had vprystrong support for the Liberal Party and for the National
* Peirty combined. The voting system works -and it is a Very fair one.
We have the rnumbfers in the Parliament.
Question Arce-you concernera that your Government's actions may be frustrated
* by the Democrats in. the Senate?
Prime* U~ inister
I -thinX, that -is Jumping too far ahead, because in Queensland I
think-we will h ave three Government Senators. 711nere ierTwchanz; of
that in New South Wales, South Autralia, and also in Western
-:-Australia. go it is qch. 1 6: early to assume that the Denmorats
would bave the' balance of power in the Senate. S.
. ij
I .7.
I I Question if they dic hold the balance of power
Primfe Minister
: 1 do not need hypothetical circumstances before I comie to them.
-Ques9tion
. Whatother legis ati6h aPa ~ rom thle training legislation
I. ~ ie Minister
-* Well#, I wilkb 9Ing. through~ all the. policy commitments :. to-have. a
lok at what ought to be done. That will enable the drafting to
be undertaken.
Quesftion-Would you have any . o1thers in mind at this stage that you can
pp ipoint:; any other aspects of legislation that you
~ in~ e MinSter___
that renlly isthe-one thing that ija forefront in my mind; but
we ar~ e obviously not going to meet for a couple of weeks just for
-tha ' t piece of legislation. There will. be other le, jislation which
we-would want to be ableto-getñ hrough;--depreciation, allowanceE;
for~ primnary producera is probably one, but I am goingj to go through
the whole list either this evening or tomorrow morning, and see
what could desirably go th-rough before Christmas and what
altntil can be delayed to an Autumn session.
Question
Z. Pri. me Minister, any drought legislation -that depreciation
allowance wQuld help with the
P riite Miniater
' Well, it would In a marginal % qay, but the drought assistance is an
>~ n~ oingone. We hve mde vry substantial advances available to
-the. States to assist in that. Over thle last three or four weeks
the.-re-stooking and carry-on loans havie been extended. This is
rhat we have been urging on the State8, and especially on NSW for
sme time. We made the advances against our commitmtent under the
frmula, available-t-tile-St-ate-a-othat--there would he no
3iuati-fication for delaying or % githholding payments any more. in
a sme cases I think they have been delayed.
. i 2 9,.
Meib. 19/ 1-0/ 80 -3
Question Did you ~ expect to do as well as you' have -done.
4 Prime Minister
I believe so, yes. This eletion and-at a. little later time
I will have something more to-say about it -concentrated tauch
too much on the polls in the media. That is not what the election.
was -about.
Question But it has gone right against the
Prime -minister
it has gone against the polls. That ought to be a warnIng.
Not all-polls -there was one publiahed on F. day-that, w~ z~ ajaxt
neaiethe mark. But, it has gone against'the others * arnd I-' alwaysbeliveoduilt
, beaus I eltthepolls -were mis~ ud ing _ the
mbcoudf the Australian electorate. There is a warning'. in that
becusetoo much discussion about the polls that hides the
issue3 and. it s in'fact the is auia-th at -arxne port ant-Jeas ues
pk are much more important than whether I or M4r. { fayden deliver a:
speech well or deliver it badly. That might have ;. an Impact oii
soirie people, but what is going to affect peoplr's lives aiid the
prosperity and well-being of Aus tral ia is In fact the -actual issuels.
They received remarliably little coverage once th 61c peeches
themselves were out of the way.
Question . the lesson$ that you have learnt front this election c; mpaign,
and losing, apparently, half your majority.
Prime* Minisater
Well, the numbers have stood up very well in nearly every State
other than Victoria. . There were some particular reasons in
Queensland which there are no need to go into now. But -there.~
a very clear message there. But that is a Gueens1-zind message'
U ~ are going to have to look into the s tiTon i iEriav~
closely indeed. But apart. from Victoria the numbers have.-to
very well. The other meaeage that people need to -undrstAndis -that,
thie real movement in votes in this election is: from Democrat to
Labor, -Australian Democrat -to Labor. -The-AusgtraIlian'. DRnioAtsa
have in fact polled rather badly, much worse than, I am suethey
would have wanted. . In most-areas the actual Liberal vrote has std-:
up pretty well. nut obviously in the af termath of an eiection yo
examine all of these things as a matter of routine and -see what
lessons you ought to draw out OE it--for tefutr----
Question
While your Party has won sir, do you'. think you have wan-as ' a'
leader?
Prime MiTat ' r.
. Apart from Sir Robert Menzies, I think I am the only person
. who* has. carried this Party to three successive victories at the
Quiestion On: the ote-hand, do you think Mr. Hayden,: because he
picked'up saa-ts.. ea-o---inr-s leaaer?
Prime Minister
Trhe Austra1ian Labor-Party has lost. the election.
-wha. do you think of;: their promne
Prime'Minister Thgy . have put up a redoubtable eight.
' OldI ask you on isstie -that of taxation -Eric Pisstron
fromthe Australian Taxpayer's' Atssociation odysid he had
-ittformnation that the Goeretwould now introduce a value -added'
twk. Do0 yotr-Ime anY-oMTert-on -that?
. Well: if he has, Mr. Risstron has informnation that I do not have.
1I. have said I have nothing to adcl to whiat John Howard had eaid
-on the subject about IS znonth5 ago.
Ii~. -Question-'
Will:_ you not introduce a value addedl tax at any stage?
Pj'ix~ e Hiister
" IhaVe nothzing-to add--to-whmt Jhn--oward sai. d
QUEStion,
-Prim ' Xiinlster., you referzred to your results in Victoria, Do you
hink -the victoiriacnmalienevr~ lr
Nlo. I thinkAñ it oeryo~ a~ JO~ n in a pa)-ticulat-direction.
would just say that it needs examination.
.4/
S Meb.' 19/ 10/ 80 5
Question There will be a post mortem inVictoria
Prime Minister
After every election, Aust alia-wide,~ you. have_ an_ exaznination
to see what you need to learn: fromnit. There is nothin. g new
in that.
II would just like to repeat something that I said last night
on national television, and that is to thank all those people who
have supported the Government Parties either' by their vote or
by working actively for the Government and-the-return of-the
Government. I do feel very strongly for those supporters of the
Government who have lost their seats, because there have been some
very good people amongst them. I hope they will come back into
-the political arena at some point in the future, I would also
want to repeat that our purpose is to govern for all the people
of this nation, and not just those who might happen to vote
Liberal or. National Party, That i s--ur obje-tive-and one-which
we will seek to discharge as well as we possibly can.
The-other thing which I did not say last night, which . I1s hould
Shavesaid last night;:-I do not think I would have been able to
carry the fight on in the way in which it did, and to a successful
concltsion, if it was not for the very particular support aTd help
of Tamie through the campaign and indeed, not ust during campaig,
right throughout my political life And I should have said that
Question Do you think Sir Billy is going tongat back in?
Prime Minister
On: the last figures I saw last night, yes.
I Question
Very -close, isn't it?
Prime Minister
Very-close. But on the last figures I saw last night he would
be-but..'. again, when it is as close as that you have got to wait
until all the votes are counted and-for the-absert votes,-the
postal votes,
* 1i C cT
Meib. 19/ 3.0/ 80 6
Question -Anb~ dy-oufeel particularly sad to have lost?
Primte Mirnirter
Year but I think it is invidious to bring out cornparisona.
Prime Minister, the si. ze of the Ministry -youtve got a 27 men
Ministry at the moment. Can we expect that to be reviewed downwards?
Prime Minister
* I . tbink 3-t is too early to start speculating or making decisions
about that. Obviously again, as one would expect after an
election, you talk with your own collJeagues about these things.
What is more Important than the size of the Ministry is the size
of the Public Serice as a whole.
Question -PM, when are you going to come to Canberra, ( Inaudible) at the farm. 7
Prime iiiater
I wi~ ll probably go to-the farm tomorrow morning for a couple of
days. But there are certh-in things I will be putting in traill
____ onight-or tomorrow~ miorning as I indicated earlier, 5o that for, the
I legislation we would want to introduce in that group session,
the drafting . nrutoscan be given so that it can be ready
Question
-Wht-r~ you looking at sir, end of November?
Prime minister
.1 would thik. probably the last week, in November or the f irst
I week-In Decemnber, but---again, that wIl]. hav'/ e to be firially determined
I af ter I have discussed it with my colleagues.