EMBARGOED UNTIL DELIVERY CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY
AUSTRALIA: APPROACHING 1988
MELBOURNE 5TH APRIL 1986
MR CHAIRMAN, MR PREMIER, MINISTERS, PARLIAMENTARY
COLLEAGUES, DISTINGUISHED GUESTS, FRIENDS.
FIRST, MR CHAIRMAN, LET ME THANK AND CONGRATULATE THE
VICTORIAN BRANCH FOR BRINGING US TOGETHER, IN THIS VERY
REPRESENTATIVE ASSEMBLY OF VICTORIANS AND AUSTRALIANS, WITH
THE TIMELY THEME OF APPROACHING 1988 THE BICENTENNIAL YEAR
OF THIS NATION.
I SAY ' TIMELY', BECAUSE, WITH THE YEAR ITSELF LESS THAN TWO
YEARS AWAY, AND WITH PLANNING AND ASSOCIATED ACTIVITIES WELL
ADVANCED AT BOTH THE NATIONAL AND STATE LEVELS, THERE IS A
NEED FOR US ALL TO BEGIN TO THINK SERIOUSLY ABOUT THE
MEANING AND PURPOSE OF THIS EVENT ITS MEANING AND PURPOSE
FOR AUSTRALIA AND AUSTRALIA'S FUTURE.
WITHOUT THAT CONTENT OF THOUGHT AND SELF-EXAMINATION, THE
CELEBRATIONS THEMSELVES, HOWEVER MEMORABLE I HOPE AND
BELIEVE THEY WILL BE FOR ALL AUSTRALIANS, WOULD BE HARDLY OF
MORE SIGNIFICANCE TO AUSTRALIA THAN THE VISITATION OF
HALLEY'S COMET SOMETHING WORTH SEEING OF COURSE, AND
SIGNIFICANT IN ITSELF BUT ESSENTIALLY IRRELEVANT TO OUR
COUNTRY'S FUTURE.
AND NOW IS THE TIME WELL BEFORE THE DAWN OF 1988 TO
BEGIN THAT PROCESS OF NATIONAL STOCK-TAKING WHERE WE HAVE
BEEN AND) WHERE WE ARE GOING SO THAT BY THE BICENTENNIAL
YEAR THERE WILL HAVE EMERGED A CLEARER UNDERSTANDING, BY ALL
AUSTRALIANS, OF THE MEANING AND TRUE SPIRIT OF THE
BICENTENARY. MUCH OF THAT MEANING AND SPIRIT IS I BELIEVE, ENCAPSULATED
IN THE THEME NOW ESTABLISHED FOR THE BICENTENNIAL.
ONE OF THE EARLIEST DECISIONS I TOOK ON BECOMING PRIME
MINISTER THREE YEARS AGO WAS TO CHANGE THE DESIGNATED THEME.
YOU MAY REMEMBER THAT UNDER THE PREVIOUS DISPENSATION IT HAD
BEEN DESIGNATED AS " TWO HUNDRED YEARS OF AUSTRALIAN
ACHIEVEMENT". I HAD ALWAYS THOUGHT THAT INAPPROPRIATE NOT
BECAUSE OF ANY LACK OF LEGITIMATE PRIDE IN WHAT WE HAVE
ACHIEVED ( QUITE THE CONTRARY), BUT BECAUSE, IN MY VIEW AND
IN MY COLLEAGUES' VIEW, IT WAS PAR TOO NARROW AND INDEED
BACKWARD-LOOKING, A FOCUS.
SO AT MY SUGGESTION, ON AUSTRALIA DAY 1984, THE BICENTENNIAL
AUTHORITY ESTABLISHED A NEW THEME OR TO BE MORE CORRECT
REVERTED TO ITS ORIGINALLY PREFERRED THEME " AUSTRALIANS
LIVING TOGETHER".
AND I THINK THE REALLY IMPORTANT POINT TO NOTE IS THAT THIS
REPRESENTS MUCH MORE THAN A STATEMENT ABOUT AUSTRALIA AS IT
HAS GROWN OVER THE LAST 200 YEARS. IT IS THAT, BUT MUCH
MORE. IT IS AN AFFIRMATION FOR THE FUTURE.
BECAUSE, OUR CAPACITY TO LIVE TOGETHER, TO WORK TOGETHER IN
OUR INCREASINGLY DIVERSE SOCIETY, IN A GENUINELY
MULTICULTURAL SOCIETY, IS THE VERY CONDITION FOR OUR FUTURE
SUCCESS AND SURVIVAL AS A COHESIVE COMMUNITY.
SO THE BICENTENNIAL THEME, " LIVING TOGETHER" IS NOT JUST A
DESCRIPTION OF MODERN AUSTRALIA IN 1988 BUT, IN A VERY REAL
SENSE, A PRESCRIPTION FOR AUSTRALIA FAR BEYOND 1988.
AND I BELIEVE THAT THE AUSTRALIAN ACHIEVEMENT OVER THE LAST
3 YEARS HAS PROVIDED AN OUTSTANDING EXAMPLE OF THAT
PRESCRIPTION IN ACTION.
MY FRIENDS, IT IS EXACTLY 3 YEARS NEXT WEEK SINCE THE
HISTORIC NATIONAL ECONOMIC SUMMIT.
BEHIND THE CONCEPT OF THE CONFERENCE LAY MY LONG-HELD BELIEF
THAT AUSTRALIA COULD NO LONGER AFFORD TO GO DOWN THE PATH OF
CONFRONTATION AND FRAGMENTATION WHICH HAD EMBITTERED AND
DISFIGURED SO MANY ASPECTS OF OUR NATIONAL LIFE, FOR MUCH OF
THE PREVIOUS DECADE.
AND I SAID WHEN OPENING THE SUMMIT ON 11 APRIL 1983 THAT THE
NEED FOR NATIONAL RECONCILIATION WENT FAR BEYOND THE
ECONOMIC CRISIS WE THEN FACED AND NEED I REMIND YOU THAT
AUSTRALIA WAS THEN EXPERIENCING ITS WORST ECONOMIC CRISIS
FOR 50 YEARS.
I SAID THEN THAT WHAT WAS AT STAKE WAS NOT ONLY THE URGENT
AND IMMEDIATE TASK OF ACHIEVING ECONOMIC RECOVERY, BUT THE
FOUNDATIONS WE COULD LAY FOR THE WHOLE FUTURE OF THIS GREAT
COUNTRY OF OURS INTO THE 21ST CENTURY.
YOU WILL RECALL THAT THERE WAS A GREAT DEAL OF SCEPTICISM
AND CYNICISM ABOUT OUR APPROACH, AT THE TIME AND IT WAS
NOT CONFINED TO THE RANKS OF OUR POLITICAL OPPONENTS, WHO OF
COURSE HAD A DEEP VESTED INTEREST AS THEY STILL HAVE IN
THE FAILURE OF OUR APPROACH.
IN SOME QUARTERS, THE WHOLE THING FROM THE CONCEPT OF THE
SUMMIT TO THE SPECIFIC PROPOSALS WHICH EMERGED FROM THE
COMMUNIQUE AND THE ACCORD WAS DISMISSED AS MERE RHETORIC
SOMETHING THAT COULD NOT WORK, SOMETHING THAT COULD NOT
LAST.
LET ME SAY THIS: IF THE IDEA OF NATIONAL RECONCILIATION AS
THE PRECONDITION FOR NATIONAL RECOVERY AND NATIONAL
RECONSTRUCTION WAS MERE RHETORIC, THEN IT SPEAKS VOLUMES FOR
THE PRACTICAL POWER OF RHETORIC IN THE ECONOMIC, INDUSTRIAL
AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THIS NATION.
BUT OF COURSE, IT WAS NOT RHETORIC AT ALL. THE WORDS, THE
APPROACH, THE CONCEPT CLOTHED CLEAR AND PRACTICAL PROPOSALS,
AND EFFECTIVE MACHINERY, FOR THE ATTAINMENT OF OUR NATIONAL
ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL GOALS AND OBJECTIVES.
AND I EMPHASISE THE TWIN NATURE OF THE GOALS THE SOCIAL
GOALS HAND IN HAND WITH THE ECONOMIC GOALS; SUSTAINED AND
SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC GROWTH AS THE MEANS TO OUR WIDER SOCIAL
ENDS AND OBJECTIVES OF A FAIRER, MORE EQUITABLE SOCIETY.
WHO COULD NOW DISMISS AS RHETORIC AN APPROACH THROUGH WHICH
MORE THAN 600,000 JOBS HAVE BEEN CREATED WITHIN 3 YEARS?
AN APPROACH WHICH HAS REDUCED INDUSTRIAL DISPUTATION TO
ITS LOWEST LEVEL FOR 16 YEARS;
AN APPROACH WHICH HAS RESTORED THE PROFIT SHARE AND
REDUCED REAL UNIT LABOUR COSTS TO THE LEVELS OF THE LATE
1960' S AND EARLY 19701S;
AN APPROACH WHICH HAS RESTORED AUSTRALIA'S INTERNTAIONAL
COMPETITIVENESS TO THE LEVELS OF 15 YEARS AGO; AND
AN APPROACH WHICH HAS CREATED THROUGHOUT THE COMMUNITY A
NEW AWARENESS AND ACCEPTANCE OF THE NEED FOR FUNDAMENTAL
RESTRUCTURING OF KEY SECTORS OF THE AUSTRALIAN ECONOMY.
THESE ARE THE ESSENTIAL ELEMENTS OF THE ECONOMIC RECORD OF
THE PAST 3 YEARS.
BUT WHAT IS EVEN MORE IMPORTANT NOW, AS WE APPROACH 1988,
AND AS WE PLAN FAR BEYOND 1988, IS THE CAPACITY OF OUR
APPROACH TO MEET THE DEMANDS OF THE FUTURE.
THE PRICES AND INCOMES ACCORD IS OF COURSE THE. CENTRAL PART
OF OUR APPROACH THE KEYSTONE OF THE ARCH.
BUT THE ACCORD ITSELF IS PART OF A COMPREHENSIVE APPROACH TO
DECISION MAKING.
IT PLAYED A CRUCIAL ROLE THOUGH BY NO MEANS AN EXCLUSIVE
ROLE IN THE REMARKABLE ACHIEVEMENT OF STRONG GROWTH
WITHOUT INCREASED INFLATION. IT WILL CONTINUE TO PLAY THAT
ROLE. BUT THE SUBSTANTIAL IMPORTANCE OF THE ACCORD NOW LIES
IN ITS CAPACITY TO PROVIDE A FRAMEWORK OF CERTAINTY AND
PREDICTABILITY, YET AT THE SAME TIME TO PROVIDE A
FLEXIBILITY TO COPE WITH UNFORSEEN CHANGES IN ECONOMIC
CIRCUMSTANCES. THIS IS WHY IT IS IMPERATIVE THAT THE ACCORD SHOULD BE
MAINTAINED.
YET WE NOW KNOW THAT OUR POLITICAL ADVERSARIES PROPOSE TO
STRIKE AT THE VERY HEART OF THE ACCORD AND UNDERMINE THE
FOUNDATIONS UPON WHICH ALL THAT HAS BEEN ACHIEVED SO FAR HAS
BEEN BUILT.
I MUST SAY I FIND IT ALL VERY FASCINATING.
THE POLICY MAKING PROCESSES OF THE LIBERAL PARTY ARE NOW
QUITE REMARKABLE. THESE DAYS, IT APPEARS, THEY DECIDE HOW
TO MARKET A POLICY BEFORE THEY MAKE THE POLICY.
PERHAPS SOMEWHERE IN THE INNER RECESSES OF THE LIBERAL PARTY
SECRETARIAT I SUPPOSE WE CAN CALL THEM THE " FACELESS
MEN" THERE IS A DOCUMENT CONTAINING THE LIBERAL WAGES
POLICY. BUT THE PARLIAMENTARY LIBERAL PARTY HAS YET TO BE
INFORMED. MR VALDER HAS YET TO TELL THEM NOT ONLY HOW TO
VOTE, BUT WHAT THEY ARE SUPPOSED TO BE VOTING ON. NO DOUBT
THE POLICY WILL BE LEAKED IN DUE COURSE.
BUT AT PRESENT THEY HAVE NO POLICY.
YET THEY DO HAVE, AS YOU NOW KNOW, A STRATEGY TO MARKET
THEIR NON-EXISTENT POLICY.
YOU HAVE ALL BEEN WARNED.
YOU ARE TO BE NEUTRALISED!
SERIOUSLY LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, WHAT AN EXTRAORDINARY
BUSINESS IT ALL IS!
NO POLICY, NO PROPOSAL, NO PLAN BUT A MARKETING STRATEGY.
AND, THIS, FROM THE ONCE GREAT LIBERAL PARTY THE PARTY OF
MENZIES, THE PARTY EVEN OF BOLTE.
I MIGHT SAY IN PASSING THAT I CAN UNDERSTAND FROM A CERTAIN
BIZARRE INCIDENT THIS WEEK, HOW SIR HENRY BOLTE MUST HAVE
FELT WHEN THE FINANCIAL REVIEW, A MONTH OR SO AGO HEADLINED
AN EDITORIAL " SIR HENRY BOLTE TURNS IN HIS GRAVE".
BUT THE EDITORIAL DEALT COMPREHENSIVELY WITH THE APPALLING
DECLINE IN STANDARDS AND CAPACITY OF THE LIBERAL PARTY AND
THEREFORE WAS IN ALL OTHER RESPECTS COMPLETELY ACCURATE.
BUT WHILE WE STILL AWAIT IN BREATHLESS EXPECTATION, I AM
SURE THE ANNOUNCEMENT OF THE LIBERAL WAGES POLICY, WE KNOW
ONLY TOO WELL WHAT IT REALLY MEANS.
WHATEVER ITS FINAL FORM, ITS MEANING AND PURPOSE WOULD BE
RETURN TO THE CONFRONTATIONISM OF THE 1970' S AND ALL THAT
THAT PRODUCED.
SO WHAT EMERGES WITH CRYSTAL CLARITY, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,
THE ALTERNATIVE IS NO ALTERNATIVE AT ALL. NEITHER IN TERMS
OF MEN OR IN TERMS OF MEASURES.
I DO NOT DISGUISE, FOR A MOMENT, THAT WE FACE, AS A
GOVERNMENT AND AS A NATION, A TIME OF DIFFICULT AND COMPLEX
DECISION MAKING.
I DO NOT DISGUISE THAT SOME OF THESE DECISIONS MAY BE
UNPALATABLE UNPALATABLE TO MAKE, UNPALATABLE FOR SOME OF
US TO TAKE.
BUT THE IMPORTANT THING FOR US, FOR AUSTRALIA AND FOR THE
LABOR GOVERNMENTS OF AUSTRALIA, FOR THE AUSTRALIAN LABOR
PARTY, FOR THE AUSTRALIAN LABOR MOVEMENT AND FOR THE WHOLE
AUSTRA LIAN COMMUNITY IS THAT THE CRUCIAL DECISIONS ARE
MADE WITHIN A COHERENT AND CONSISTENT FRAMEWORK, WORKING
TOWARDS COHERENT AND CONSISTENT ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL
OBJECTIVES. A COHERENT FRAMEWORK AND A CLEAR COMMITMENT TO
LONG-TERM GOALS ALONE CAN ENSURE THAT THE DECISIONS, HOWEVER
DIFFICULT, ARE THE CORRECT DECISIONS.
WE HAVE ESTABLISHED THAT FRAMEWORK. WE ARE COMMITTED
IRREVOCABLY TO THOSE GOALS AND OBJECTIVES THE ECONOMIC AND
SOCIAL OBJECTIVES OF THE AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY AND THE
AUSTRALIAN LABOR GOVERNMENT.
AND IN CONTINUING THE WORK OF ACHIEVING OUR GOALS, I BELIEVE
THAT THE SPIRIT OF CO-OPERATION BETWEEN ALL SECTIONS OF THE
COMMUNITY, WHICH HAS BEEN AT THE HEART OF SO MUCH THAT HAS
BEEN ACHIEVED DURING THE PAST 3 YEARS, WILL BE JUST AS
IMPORTANT AND NECESSARY, IN THE YEARS TO 1988 AND BEYOND.
THERE IS NO WAY AHEAD AT LEAST NO VIABLE WAY AHEAD FOR
AUSTRALIA BY ANY REVIVAL OF THE CONFRONTATION AND
FRAGMENTATION OF THE PAST, OR BY THE PURSUIT OF PURELY
SECTIONAL SHORT-TERM INTERESTS.
LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, A VITAL ASPECT OF THE PROCESS OF
CO-OPERATION AND CONSULTATION WE HAVE ESTABLISHED OVER THE
LAST 3 YEARS HAS BEEN THE CO-OPERATION BETWEEN OUR LABOR
GOVERNMENTS THROUGHOUT AUSTRALIA.
MR PREMIER, I CONGRATULATE YOU AND YOUR MINISTERIAL AND
PARLIAMENTARY COLLEAGUES ON THIS 4TH ANNIVERSARY OF YOUR
ELECTION AND ON A MAGNIFICENT RECORD OF ACHIEVEMENT FOR THE
ADVANCEMENT OF LABOR'S CAUSE IN VICTORIA AND IN AUSTRALIA.
I SHOULD MENTION HERE THAT TOMORROW NIGHT THE PREMIER WILL
JOIN ME IN LAUNCHING THE NATIONAL DRUG OFFENSIVE A PROGRAM
FOR A COMPREHENSIVE AND RELENTLESS CAMPAIGN AGAINST THE
ILLEGAL DRUG TRAFFIC IN AUSTRALIA. THIS IS A MATTER OF
PROFOUND IMPORTANCE TO OUR FUTURE AND OUR CHILDRENS'
FUTURE AND ONE WHICH, OF COURSE, UTTERLY TRANSCENDS ANY
POLITICAL OR REGIONAL CONSIDERATIONS. AND I ACKNOWLEDGE THE
WHOLEHEARTED SUPPORT AND CO-OPERATION WE ARE RECEIVING FROM
ALL STATE GOVERNMENTS IN THIS GREAT NATIONAL EFFORT.
BUT, AS MUCH AS THE IN THE WIDER ECONOMIC AND SOCIAL ISSUES
OF OUR TIME, THE SUCCESS OF THAT EFFORT REQUIRES, IN THE
FINAL ANALYSIS, THE CO-OPERATION AND SUPPORT OF THE WHOLE
COMMUNITY.
6
IT NEEDS THE VERY KIND OF COMMUNITY CO-OPERATION SUPPORT AND
GOOD WILL WHICH BROUGHT US OUT OF THE ECONOMIC CRISIS AFTER
MARCH 1983 AND WHICH WE STILL NEED AS A NATION TO ENSURE
THAT OUR EFFORTS ARE AS EFFECTIVE IN THE FUTURE, AND TO
ENSURE THAT THOSE EFFORTS ARE NOT DISSIPATED IN SECTIONAL
POINT SCORING.
I HAVE SAID MANY TIMES, AND I SAY AGAIN TO THIS
REPRESENTATIVE ASSEMBLY, THERE IS NO AUTOMATIC GUARANTEE OF
SUCCESS FOR NATIONS OR-FOR THAT MATTER, POLITICAL
PARTIES IN OUR HIGHLY COMPETITIVE AND CHALLENGING WORLD.
WE MAY DESERVE SUCCESS BUT WE CANNOT COMMAND IT. IT HAS TO
BE WORKED FOR, AND WORKED AT, UNREMITTINGLY.
AND I BELIEVE THAT NOW, AS MUCH AS AT ANY TIME IN THE PAST
THREE YEARS, THE KEY TO ALL WE HOPE FOR, ALL WE STRIVE FOR,
IS THE MAINTENANCE AND FOSTERING OF THE SPIRIT AND FACT OF
NATIONAL RECONCILIATION AND NATIONAL CO-OPERATION.
I AM CONVINCED THAT THAT SPIRIT OF CO-OPERATION IS THE
NECESSARY FOUNDATION FOR THE SUCCESS WE ALL SO DEEPLY DESIRE
FOR OUR COUNTRY, AND FOR THE CONTINUED SUCCESS OF WHAT IS
NOW A UNIQUELY AUSTRALIAN EXPERIENCE AND A UNIQUELY
AUSTRALIAN EXPERIMENT. IT IS ACKNOWLEDGED THROUGHOUT THE
WORLD TO HAVE BEEN A REMARKABLE SUCCESS IN THE PAST THREE
YEARS. THE TASK AHEAD IS TO BUILD ON THAT SUCCESS, IN
ADVANCING AND ENHANCING THE EXPERIENCE AND EXPERIMENT OF A
GENUINELY MULTICULTURAL NATION PERHAPS, IN-THAT RESPECT
THE MOST DIVERSE ON EARTH LIVING TOGETHER, WORKING
TOGETHER, BUILDING TOGETHER AN EVEN FAIRER, MORE SECURE AND
MORE EQUITABLE SOCIETY IN THIS GREAT COUNTRY OF OURS.