CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY EMBARGOED UNTIL 11.30 A. M.
1j, AUST A . I A
PRIME MINISTIER
AUSTRALIAN RURAL ADJU. STMI-' NT UNIT SP'ECH
BY THE PRIME MINISTER
CANBERRA, 30 OCTOBER 1984
Ladies and. Gentlemen,
I welcome this opportunity to Address you at this the
beginning of a new period in the hist. ory of what until
today has been called the Australian Rural Adjustment
Unit. The Unit has played a very important role in promoting
understanding of the implications of rural issues. It
has brought together the concerns and expertise of many
in rural areas, in universities and research
organisations an3 others involved in formulating and
advising on policy, to devise solutions to the complex
problems of rural Australia. The Unit's contribution is
a valued input to the task of developing sound rural
policies. The agenda the Unit has set itself is diverse. During
the past year it has addressed issues such as:
Developing a plan for the training of professionals
in soil conservation;
A consultation program to develop agricultural
education criteria;
Investigations into a strategy. for the dairy
industry; and
An investigation into the role, financing and
performance o rural local Government.
The focus of the Unit's interest has therefore shifted
from a concentration on adjustment problems to a broader
concern for the rural sector generally and for the
quality of life in rural Australia. I think it is quite
fitting, therefore, that the Unit should now be renamed
the Rural Development Centre.
Obviously this shift in emphasis is in no way intended
to diminish the importance of rural adjustment and
productivity continued attention is needed to such
matters. On top of this, however, there is a need for a
balanced, integrated approach to the development of
rural policy. It is in this sense that I welcome the
Centre's exaini, i i L on O ir n'-ti L: rs, ich -is col ndit ions
inj luenc i ng ruc. il bus[ nesses, social isues a EEfcti Lg
the cural . om. T: nJ i iy, Govri.' n? 1r I t ser: vi s Ii rCjral
Australia. Broad based consideratLions of this kind are
re. uired if rural policy is to be ad'eqately sensitive
to the interests of Australians in rural areas.
It is a particularly welcome developne. it that the Centre
now is launching a new publication called Inside
Australia. It should be a useful vehicle through which
to better inform Australians on the problems and
conditions facing rural Australia.
Ladies and Gentlemen,
There can be no doubt that those in cural areas have
made a major contribution to the well being of all
Australians. Our rural export industcries have [ or
several generations been a mainstay of Australia's
enviably high standard of living.
As a Government, we have sought to provide the
conditions that would see our efficient and productive
rural industries prosper.
In this regard the direct and regular consultations we
have had with the National Farmers Federation have been
especially valuable. Their advice and their
constructive participation in the National Economic
Summit and in EPAC have contributed greatly to this
Government's appreciation of the concerns of Australians
in rural areas.
The Government's approach to rural policy has operated
on three broad levels, each of which supports the other.
The first is in the provision of sound economic
management. Here the record speaks for itself. This
has wrought substantial benefits for the rural
community.
We have curbed inflation and, through the Accord,
reduced wage pressures. This has assisted rural
producers considerably in holding down cost pressures
and should continue to assist them in the future.
Our record of reducing interest rates will also have
greatly helped those using capital intensive methods of
production.
We have as vill been nost a-ctive as a Government in
seeking to bcoad:. n Austcalia's access to foreign
ma ckets. The jai ns s( ecLre d, for example, in the
recently concluTe. 3 AustCalia-Japan beef agreement
while noti all that we : 3ho). 1ld, hav: e * wanted will provid
a solid basa for the further development of our cattle
inids t ry.
Th3e deregjulation of Austcalian Cinanci l markets and tlhe
floating of the Australian dollar have also benefitted
greatly Australia's rurcal producers. Most impoc tantly
these landmark decisions have substantially boosted the
competitiveness of our rural exports.
The second level at which the Government has operated
has been through the initiation of policies aimed at
laying the foundations for the future prosperity of our
rural industries. Confident of the long run
contribution which our rural industries can make to
Australia we have given particular priority to programs
that address the longer-term needs of the sector.
It is in this context that we have increased funds for
rural research and wool promotion; that we have
introduced'a soil conservation program; and that we
have introduced fisheries management plans.
There are nevertheless limits to what the Government can
do. The real decisions affecting the day to day
prosperity of the industry must be taken by the industry
itself.
This brings me to the third strand of our policy. We
need to be sure that those taking decisions affecting
rural industries themselves bring adequate expertise and
experience to the task. We have taken steps to ensure
that the management structures of the industries'
marketing organisations are so designed that those
organisations are most likely to secure the best results
possible for the producer interests they serve.
In making its decisions on policies affecting rural
industries the Goverhment has been very conscious of the
unique circumstances facing primary producers:
-Despite popular opinion I can't make it rain or
prevent floods.
The Government has nevertheless taken steps to reduce
the impact of these natural phenomena, and to cushion
the effects of swings in market prices on Ehe rural
sector.
We have retained , and na. o ;' nore flexible the R: ural
Adjustment Scheme to facilitate the process of
structural rahnigdj ' e to help overcome short Lterm
difficulties. Only last week we announced additilonal assistance of
under Part A of that scheme to help sugar cane
growers in Queensland and iew South Wales.
The Government has also supported marketing schemes
which have featured mechanisms to b'ouf f. r the . ee: Ect of
short teem fluctuations in prices.
In taking Lthese decisions, the Government has recognised
the close relationship between fluctualions in the
prosperity of rural industries and the prosperity of the
large numbers of people servicing those industries.
-The work of the Australian Rural Adjustment Unit has
focused attention on the close linkages that exist in
this part of the economy.
We have also been conscious of the often very special
circumstances of those in the rural sector. These
circumstances include isolation from the major
population centres and the services located in these
centres and the established pattern of families working
the same property, sometimes for generations.
Such circumstances have influenced our approach and
decisions on a range of issues:
SThe Pensions Assets Test includes special provisions
in recognition of the special circumstances
surrounding some farmers.
Our final decision on Land Rights Legislation will
reflect consultations with a spectrum of community
groups, including those from the rural sector.
Rural communities will also have better access to
telecommunications through AUSSAT and better
transport. facilities as a result of the Bicentennial
Roads Program.
Our concern for the rural community as part of the wider
Australian community is evidenced by these and other
decisions. The stance we have taken does, I believe,
represent a fair compromise between the competing claims
of different sectors of society.
I think it is a mark of our success is t GovtcrninentL tlat
the balance we have srnck is genuinely ap1rciat,? d by
Australia' 3; riiCral co-mmunitty. The imoCoverl e: noa thy and
understanding which now tcists between the Labor
Governinent andt thos in cural x: reais so-mething we as
a Govertnment welcome. In large measure it is due to the
untirinj efforts of our Minister for Primary Industry,
John Kerin, and to the co-operative spirit with which
rural producecs have been pre! pare:] to idc'ess the?
Government. I see maintenance of this spirit as an
imnoor l: anLt act'Coin Au. s; cil ia's coai: i i uel ecolo-mic
pro sper i ty.
Th.! Iuture ' 4ock o' t-he -Rurirl D; eonn: Cntri
focusing on issues relating to t'he ecohornic and social
environmentL of rural area's, will bre a valued
contribution to the ability of-Government to continue to
reach informed andl fair decisions -aiffectiny rural
Australia. Certainly a Labor Government will never
underesti-mate the importace of such decisions.
It will be among our greatest challenges and most
important responsibilities as a Government to get those
decisions right. I am sure we shall continue to do so.