PRIME MINISTER~
FOR MEDIA SUNDAY, 27 JUNE 1982
ELECTORATE TALK
There were three main issues at the Premiers' Conference and
at the Loan Council. First, giving the States responsibility
for their own electricity borrowings and the greater Commonwealth
authority in nationd 1 econcirnic mranagement and third, the funding level
for the States following the Grants Commission report.
The Commonwealth's package to the Loan Council produced some
historic decisions, giving the States freedom to determine
the size of thieir electricity borrowings and to set the
interest rates on them, will make the states responsible for
their own electricity programs, and that greater degree of
responsibility will be welcomed by the community.
The Premiers also agreed to provide much more information about
their electricity authorities, to publish audits and tariff rates
and so end any secret deals on special electricity tariffs.
This information will open these authorities up to far more
public scrutiny and help in making the States more responsible
for their actions in a real sense.
The Loan Council also determined that the Commonwealth have
greater flexibility to use instruments which are vital in
national economic management through a tender system for
selling Commonwealth bonds as recommended by the Campbell
Committee, and through delegated authority to set terms and
conditions for the sale of Australian Savings Bonds. This will
make money supply management simpler than it has been for the
Commonwealth in the past. The Commonwealth will be able to
take the decisions in its own right where before it has been
necessary to consult in detail with six Premiers. No
longer will we need agreement from the state Premiers to adjust
rates, no longer will national economic objectives in this
area be constrained by state political considerations.
In relation t~ o the tax sharing grants all States have received
significant real increases in their funds. on present estimates
the overall increase on last year's base grant will be 17.1%
and they coul~ d only have achieved more through higher taxation.
This year's tax sharing arrangements, taking into account the
million the Commonwealth put in last year-as a first step
towards the new shares, means a 17.2% increase for New South
Wales and a 1.6.8% increase for Victoria. Arnd if the Labor Premiers
of those two states cannot manage their affairs on the basis of
that sort of increase then they should let somebody else do the
job for them. / 2
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Immediate adoption of the Grants Commission report would have
meant an actual reduction in dollar * terms for two of the smaller
states. No Au~ stralian would want to impose that kind of hardship
on the smaller states; no Australian would regard that as a
fair deal.
The Grants Commission itself suggested phasing in the recommendat ions
and the Commonwealth has guaranteed to the three smaller states
who dtood to l. ose that they will receive some real increase
in the tax sharing funds over the next three years. No one
can suggest with any validity that it is discrimination against
Victoria and New South Wales when they are getting 16.8% and
17.2% respecth'vely compared to Western Australia and Tasmania,
which will be getting a 12.2% increase under the Commonwealth's
guarantee. But now, against the background of a 16.8% increase for Victoria,
the Cain Labor Government is threatening to reduce hospital
services for t: he people living in three specific Federal electorates
including Wannon. Never before have the people of particular
electorates been threatened in this way. Using constituents in
this callous way is a new low in Australian politics, and the
Cain Labor Government will surely pay the price of this
explicit discrimination because ordinary Australians will not
stand for this kind of tactic by Governments.
The Cain Labor Government has made it perfectly plain that they
picked out the people of the electorates of Wannon,* Corangamite
and Gippsland because they are represented by three Federal
Ministers. Before I conclude tonight, I would like to say something about
the Brisbane Games and Mr Whitlam's trip to Africa. The
Commonwealth Games are one of the world's great sporting events
and all Australians were delighted when any shadow of a boycott
was lifted last May by the Games Federation's agreement to
full participation. Mr Whitlam may have subsequently denied
any intention to advise an African boycott of the Games, but
I would like to remind you all of the terms of the original
press statement that was issued which also announced his
participation. in the delegation. Part of that press statement
said this: " To participate in games such as the Queensland
Commonwealth Games with New Zealand participating,
and further in a country such as Australia that
deniEs the right of self determination of her
indigenous population, is to waive that responsibility."
That is quite plainly an indication that the delegation was
going to urge African states not to participate and that was
in the original press release on account of this particular
delegation. But Mr Whitlim has also said on other occasions that he was " ve'ry
much criticising Australia" and that he agreed that so far as hE! was
concerned that the Africans " rersn a tool to bring about
domestic change in Australia." So far from refusing to condemn
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a boycott he said he would " tell the Africans that it is
up to them to decide how they can make their views on the
treatment of Aborignes known." I think it is the first
time that a former Australian Prime Minister has gone
overseas so explicitly to criticise and seek to damage his
own country. I leave it up to the people of Australia to
judge what they think of Mr Whitlam and what Mr Whitlam is
really about on this visit.