EMBARGO: 6.3OPM
PRIME MINISTER
FOR MEDIA MONDAY, APRIL. 6 1981
SPEECH IN SUPPORT OF WENTWORTH CANDIDATE
I have no doubt that the voters in the Division of Wentworth
will show next Saturday that Peter Coleman has their support
as well as mine and yours.
S Peter Coleman will bring to Canberra a strong voice to
support the kind of government that the people of Wentworth
want. He is a-man of unusually wide experience. He has
been closely involved in the legal, cultural, educational
and Journalistic worlds. Wide experience like his is valuable
in government, and it is important that Members of Parliament
should be able-to bring broad perspective and informed
judgments to bear on the issues that come before them.
In addition to this, Peter Coleman knows the political world
well. He served in the New South Wales Parliament for ten
years as a backbencher, as a minister and as Leader of the
New South Wales Parliamentary Liberal Party. I look forward
to his. joining the Liberal team in Canberra just as soon as
there has been time for the poll to be declared.
Since the last election, the Government has been active to
ensure that we keep well on track with the sort of government
that Australia and Australians want with the kind of government
this electorate wants.
The Liberal Government has a clear and practical vision of the
future well-being of the Australian community, not just a
section of the community, but everyone, not just narrow
economic well-being, but a way of life in a free society
in which there, are opportunities for all, in which all people
have the confidence and security to grasp opportunities,
and live their own lives after their own fashion.
This Liberal vision is unique in Australian politics, and it
is in harmony with the aspirations of most Australians. No
other party has a clear vision of the future of this country
or an effective concern for the well-being of the Australian
community in its entirety.
Look at the Labor Party. What does Labor offer this country?
Wthout doubt, Labor wants a Socialist Australia. But Labor
is otale-or not willing to tell Australia what its
version of Socialism means.: The reality-is that Socialism is / 2
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not only a divisive doctrine it means big bureaucracy, big
spending, higher taxes, and over-regulation.
Labor knows that Australia does not want Socialism, that
Socialism cannot be made attractive to Australians. Andone
Labor Senator has said, to the extent that the Socialism
of theF-Labor platform can be implemented, it is ' electoral
dynamite'. Yet Labor continues to retain Socialism as the heart and the
basis of their policy, and the Leader of the Opposition keeps
affirming his commitment to Socialism.. He says-that Labor
politics need to be guided by what he calls the ' egalitarian.
and internatibnal principals of democratic Socialism'.
All of thisis an absurd spectacle in a major party in
this country. The plain fact is that the Labor Party is
barren in ideas. It-. is empty of ideals that are relevant to
Australia's circumstances and to the aspirations of Australians.
The Liberal Party is the . only party thatknows where it is
going. We are the only party with a clear view of the way
to build the kind of Australia that theigreat majority of
Australians want.
In building for the future, we are well aware, as I am sure
the electors of Wentworth are aware, that good economic
management is absolutely crucial. Without a strong economy,
every other success turns sour. A government that fails in this
fails Australia fundamentally.
The Liberal Government has not forgotten the lessons of the
last ten years. We have not forgotten how quickly Labor
ran the economy down or how hard it has been to build it
up again. we are well aware that we must continue to rein in
government expenditure, bring inflation down still further,
encourage investment and growth and thus increase employment.
This basic strategy is still the right one. We embarked upon
it five years ago when we came to office, and its dividends
are becoming increasingly obvious. We have demonstrated
decisively that we can deliver the goods, as decisively as
Labor demonstrated that it can only deliver economic chaos.
Over the~ last five years, the growth of Commonwealth Government
spending through the budget has been held to an average
annual rate of about 1% in real terms. The average rate under
Labor was 10%. Our restraint has been a remarkable achievement,
and we are determined to keep it up. Inflation has been brought
under control by this Government. In the year to last December
it was down at And let me repeat that we shall not
let up in the fight against inflation.
The encouragement we have given to investment has borneamazing
fruit. $ 33 billion is committed or * At the final
feasibility stage in mining and manufacturing alone. Consumer
confidence has-also been restored. For the three months to
February retail sales were almost 15% higher than a year
earlier. And the OECD predicts a 4% growth rate in Australia
for 1981, against a 1% average in the OECD. I believe it : is ./ 3
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to our great credit that although we have a small economy
by world standards, we have swum against'the tide. And it
has done us good not harm, as the doom merchants in the
Labor Party predicted. Mr Hayden's 1978 prediction that the
1980~ s would be a decade of gloom seemed absurd at the timeand
how much more absurd it now is.
Employment growth has always been an integral part of our
total ' economic approach. More than quarter of a million
new jobs have been created in the last two years, more
than 116POQ in New South Wales. Employment opportunities
grew more rapidly in Australia in 1980 than in the United States,
the United Kingdom, Germany or Japan. None of this is accideital.
It all comes from the firm, consistent and sustained applications
of Liberal policies. The gaiins which we have achieved establish
a strong base for economic recovery. It is now plain to see
that economic recovery is spreading right across this country
7 in manufacturing as well as in resources. This recovery
* is already bringing -and will continue to bring -steadily
increasing prosperity for all Australians.
Let me say, however,-. that the present period is critically
important in ensuring that the benefits of growth are not
thrown away. It always happens, when things start to go
well, that some people push relentlessly for themselves,
wanting too much, too quickly, caring nothing about others.
Australia cannot afford the strikes we are experiencing or
the 35 hour week campaign or the relentless wage pushes that
are going on.
The Government stands for the better future of this country
as a whole.-and for the just claims of young people in
particular for employment opportunities. we have made plain
our resolve-~ to resist threats to economic recovery. I have
no doubt that the voters in-Wentworth like voters throughout.
Australia, want their government to be willing to take a
strong stand, when necessary, to protect the public good.
I have no doubt that the country is behind us in our moves
to de-register the BLF, just as the country was behind us in
the Qantas dispute, and when we brought in the RAAF to fly
home stranded passengers from overseas.
The Government will act and act strongly when sectional
interests threaten-the -overa-ll1 well-being-of the-community.
The Liberal. Party asks.. yo-u. to,. give practical expression, in
Saturday's election, to your support for this approach.
The Government also seeks your support in its call for
acceptance by all people for their responsibilities. to their
fellow Australians. We all know that voluntary acceptance of
But the Government will step in if it must in order to deal
with threats to economic recovery. .14
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in a similar way, it has been forced to step in to deal with
various anti-social tax avoidance schemes. Labor did nothing about
tax avoidance when they were in office. Now they say they will cut
it out. That is easy to say but it not so easy to find a
practical way to catch the guilty without harming the innocent.
The plain fact is that no government has taken such a strong
stand, ' nor such a fair stand, against tax avoidance as has
the Liberal Government, and we shall continue to do so. But
let me also say this, if every piece of anti-social behaviour,
whether strikes or tax avoidance or whatever, has to be
proscribed by law, then we shall be overwhelmed by laws.
Reasonable people in a co-operative community are willing to
accept-their obligations to others, we must never allow the
divisive and selfish forces within our community to get the
upper hand, or the basis of freedom may be undermined. A.
free society must be based on attitudes of mutual respect
between people,' and upon acceptance of moral responsibility
without recourse to law at e'Cery point.
We are all Australians, and we want the Australian way of life
to continue, this means that we must accept our community
obligations. Since the last election, the Government has taken
a major step to ensure that its own house is in order and a
massive review of the.-. functions and activities of the
Commonwealth is now almost complete. TIhe review committee,
headed by Sir Phillip Lynch, has been nicknamed the razor
gang, and I think that most people see the review as nothing
more than a cost-cutting exercise. In fact, it is far more than
that, far more. It will lead to expenditure cuts, and these
cuts will be significant and useful, but these cuts are
incidental to the main purpose of the review.
The essential role of this major review has been to ensure that
the Commonwealth bureaucracy is not allowed to grow like
Topsy, and that the Commonwealth is not distracted from its
proper tasks by a needless duplication of tasks which
are more appropriately handled by private functions are
effectively-and economically discharged. The R. C. F Report
will be finalised and acted upon within the next few weeks
and this will make plain our commitment to Government that
is limited and restrained, but also firm and effective.
In case there is any misunderstanding, let me make it clear0
that the R. C. F. does not seek cut-backs for the sake of cut-backs,
at the expense of effectiveness, in functions that belong
to the Commonwealth. The review is concerned to achieve
the twin goals of effectiveness and economy in the functioning
of the Commonwealth.
In social security,-for example, the Government remains
absolutely committed to making sure that support and assistance
will be available to those who need it. Australians are a
generous people, and they rightly insist ' that Governments
make good provision for pensioners and disadvantaged. The
present Government is not a big spending Government, but
neither is it a small spending Government in the help
it gives to theelderly, the sick and disabled. During the
period of this Government pensions have stood at higher levels
in relation to average weekly earnings than at any time in the
last 25 years. We are now spending over $ 1 billion on overall
assistance to the handicapped, a substantial real increase in
the-amnount of five years ago. Liberals-act in these areas,
while others just talk, and for our partE,' we will continue
to act.
I want to emphasise that small and limi-ted Government bears
no relationship to mean and ungenerous Government. On the contrary,
by producing a strong and growing economy, limited Government
provides the only foundation for the kind of social security.
arrangements that Australians want. Economic growth is
equally the foundation for pulling tax rates further back.
Through our restraints on expenditure, we have-made
substantial inroads on marginal tax rates. Since we came..*
to office, we have cut the marginal tax rate on the
average wage earner from 44 cents in the dollar under Labor
to the present rate of 32 cents, and the highest rate has come
down from 65 cents in the dollar to 60 cents. But the real
basis for tax cuts lies in economic growth and increasing
0 porpopdourcttuinviittyy . t o cuFto r taouxre s padrutr, i ngw e twhiel lt ebrem olfo oktihnigs-fPoarr lieavmeernyt.
Overall, then, there is room for tremendous optimism about
Australia. Provided that we act together as one people,
our future looks magnificent. I only wish that other countries
possessedthe stability and the prospects, the freedom
and opportunities, which we have in Australia. I do not
have time to talk of these matters tonight, but there are
considerable uncertainties abroad at this time. Look at
Poland, or El Salvador, or Afghanistan. There are
de-stabilising influences ready to take advantage of any
opportunities that arise. I said in Parliament last
week that the world would not be the same again if the
Soviet Union moved to-an invasion of Poland. I just
mention these things because we are not insulated from
world events in this country.
And I want to take this opportunity-t6 say how pleased Australianscan
be at the success of our recent negotiations with the
United States on B-52' s staging through Darwin for training
and surveillance flights. The negotiations have established an
extremely good relationship between the Australian Government
and the Reagan administration in the United States. This
relationship is vitally important to Australia. It forms
part of a good overall picture for Australia's future.
. As-. Australia-. embarkson. anewage of growth and.-development,
we must keep clearly in view what we want from Government in
the 1980' s and beyond. The goals of the Liberal Party
in Government are clear. They are a strong, growing and securea
Australia; an Australia united in a commitment to solving
problems by co-operation, not confrontation; a competitive
Australia which can hold its own in an increasingly competitive
world, an Australia in which individual people can build
the kind of lives they want for themselves and their families,
not an Australia dominated by bureaucrats and politicians. ./ 6
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We stand for the right of people to choose for themselves
and for the opportunities which give meaning to that freedom.
of choice. We stand for an Australia in which people recognise
their moral responsibilities to the best of the community, a
nation which is morally and spiritually, as well as materially,
strong.
On Saturday, when the electors of Wentworth weigh up the
candidates and their parties in this by-election, there is
only one choice.
A vote for Peter Coleman and the Liberal Government is the
right vote on every score, on every issue. 0
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