PROME MINISTER
CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY EMBARGOED UNTIL DELIVERY
SPEECH BY THE PRIME MINISTER
RURAL POLICY LAUNCH
BUNDABERG 25 JUNE 1987
Two days ago at the Opera House in Sydney I had tho honour
of launchinj our Government's campaign for a renewed mandate
from the Australian people.
Today, another honour falls to me. That is to outline our
policies and set our goals for the great rural sector of
this nation.
But let ne first repeat the central issue at stake on the
11th of July the central issue for all Australians,
wherever they live in this nation of ours.
And it is t^ hs:
Are we to continue to unite together in the task of national
renewal, reconstruction and revitalisation, for which we
have been wo. king so hard together, and on which the success
of our country depends?
Are we to go forward with strength and stability stability
in government, stability in our society?
Or are we to take the other course, the path of our
opponento inflicting upon the nation itself all their own
divisions, al their own disunity, all their own
instability?
That is the paramount issue in this election. It
encompasses all other issues.
Today, in Bundaberg I want to spell out my Government0
record and policies of particular interest to the five
million Australians who live outside the capital cities.
But my first message to you today must be this that when
in Sydney X used the words " the Australian people" I was
speaking to the whole nation and I was referring to all the
Australian people, wether they live in Bankstoun or
Bundaberg.
This Government rejects the view that policies should appeal
to one section of the community by damaging another should
advance the interests of a few by setting back the interesto
of the majority.
That is not the way we have governed.
It is not the way we are campaigning.
Instead, my Government has taken decisions to advance the
interests of the whole community, the future of the wholo
nation.
And never has the approach been more important, more
relevant, than in the last two years.
Through no fault of Australian farmers or Australian miners
the world suddenly began paying us much less for our primry
exports. Despite their hard work, their efficiency, Australia's
agricultural producers were dealt a body blow by the corrupt
trading practices of our European, American and Japanocse
trading partners.
Our export prices collapsed and our national income wao
slashed by some $ 9,000 million. The collapse opened up a
large gap between the amount we ac a nation spend abroad and
the amount we earn abroad.
This in turn meant we had to offer higher interest rates an
the international money market to bridge that gap.
So the problem of high domestic interest rates is a direca
consequence of our trading deficit.
My Governnsnt has set about the task of closing that gap
and, whilo doing that, spreading the burden of adjustment
more fairly across the community.
Exactly a year ago, in my Address to the Nation, I said
this: ' We all have to adjust to the loss in our national
income through the fall in commodity prices. It is not jest
for the farmers and the other exporters to carry the loss.
We all havo to share the burden."
Now, twelve months later, when our work together is bringing
its benefits and rewards within our reach, they, too, will
be shared fairly.
And the policies that deliver these benefits to the country
dweller are precisely the same as the policies that deliver
them to the city dweller.
There can bo no escaping this fundamental interdependence of
our urban and non-urban communities. ' V
So the solutions to the problems posed by conditions in the
world market must also recognise this interdependence.
In the past, when there were balance of payments problems,
conservative Australian governments resorted to
short-sighted, divisive, counter-productive measures such ac
protection and regulation.
That is an approach I will never countenance.
Rather, my government adopted an historic new approach, an
approach which has two essential and complementary elemento.
First, we have set about the task of restructuring the
Australian economy to make it more competitive, more
diverse, and more able to provide secure jobs and rising
living standards.
Second, we have launched an onprecedented international
effort to reduce the agricultural protectioniso with which
our trad. no partners are afflicting their own economies and,
consequently, the Australian economy.
Neither of these tasks is easy and in neither can results be
achieved overnight.
But in both we are making substantial progress. And in both
the long torm prospects are encouraging.
And here 2ot me pay tribute to my Minister for Primary
Industry, John Kerin.
No Prime inister could be b2tter served in the
administration of this important portfolio than I am by
John.
And more importantly at no stage in recent history has the
rural comiunity been better cerved by its Minister.
He has, as I believe you know, built a special rapport,
based on fairness and frankness and sheer hard work which
has resulted in no small measure in the progress we are
making. Our decision in 1983 to float the dollar has given the
Australian economy the greatest competitive boost in living
memory. Had the currency not been floated had we still been stuck
with the over-valued exchange rate of our predecessors
farmers vould have been devastated by the subsequent
collapse in commodity prices.
The task of maintaining this competitiveness in the face of
our primary commodity collapse has required some tough
decisions on our part and has imposed sacrifices on the
community.
: I I
Farmers were among those who bore the impact of the
unavoidable rise in interest rates.
But we quickly began to share the adjustment burden through
our wages policies and a further toughening of fiscal
policy. We had to seek further real wage restraint from the
Australian workforce. And we are~ achieving that real unit
labour costs are now around 8 per cent lower than in Ilarch
1983.
we supported these efforts throuo very large reductions. in
the Budget deficit, which we will have progressively brought
down from~ the prospective 5 per cent of Gross Domestic
Product we inherited to under 1 r-r cent next year.
These efforts are starting to yield dividends.
As I said on Tuesday, inflation Is falling and under Labor
will continue to fall.
Interest rates are falling and unlar Labor w~ ill continuo to
fall.
Last month'G balance of payment figures, which showed a
current account deficit below the bottom of the range of
market expectations, have given further ionetus to the fall
in interest rates as representaives of most of the major
banka have zcknowledged.
And throug., hout this whole period of difficulty and
challenge, jobs have continued to grow 100,000 In the last
six months and 800,000 overall.
And under Labor jobs will continu2 to grow.
But thic woul. d all be undone in one devastating stroke if
the various opposition parties were ever to be given the
chance to implement their various tax policies.
I have said on several occasions and I repeat here today
that the various tax policies of the Opposition parties have
one thing in common : they would tear apart the economic and
social fabric of this country.
Friends, it is just impossible, with any credibility, to
proclaim concern for families and then proceed to smash
every part of, the social infrastructure that determines the
welfare of Australian families. Yet that is the measure of
our opponents' hypocrisy.
Not only would they force Australians to pay more for health
insurance and give them less, not only would they limit our
children's education opportunities through bigger class
sizes, not only would they let the roads deteriorate, but
they would Gtrike down Australiam farmers through
skyrocketing interest rates.
/ And this is the reason the Liberal Party's tax policy, now
embraced by the Federal National party, does not add up.
That is not simply an observation of mine or Paul Keating's,
it is a conclusion of commentators throughout the country
the latest of these being Dr Neville Norman, who estimates a
shortfall in the order of $ 2.5 billion.
John Howard has said repeatedly that he would not put his
name to a tax policy that did not add up. Now he has
admitted that his tax policy doesn't add up. And Mr
Sinclair has endorsed that policy.
The Liberal/ National Parties' tax polices would blow out the
Budget deficit. And the inevitable consequence of that is
soaring interest rates a return to their days in
Government when short term interest rates exceeded 22 per
cent. And for what?
For a grab bag of tax promises that would put hundreds of
dollars a week back into the pockets of the wealthy. The
incomes of moot rural Australians are not high enough to
derive any significant tax benefit from the Opposition's
proposals. Rural Auctralians would be the big losers from the
Opposition's tax policies.
My friencds
Our succocc has been based on co-operative endeavours
between cnployers, employees and governments to resolve the
problems facing each industry problems such as the legacy
of regulation and protection from past conservative
governmentc. In this pgeat task of reconstruction, it is vital to
appreciate that the challenge of modernisation is not just
something that can be met by factories in Melbourne and
Sydney.
Australia's great primary industries, including our
agricultural industries, are also caught up in the action.
Our farrers must respond to the need to restructure their
industries, modernise their methods and endeavour where
possible to add value to their raw materials by further
processing within Australia.
Increasingly, as manufacturing becomes more competitive, it
is becoming more closely tied to its primary sector inputs
as we enhance the further processing within Australia of our
primary products.
A vivid specific example of our achievements in encouraging
downstrean processing can be found in our plan to modernise
the textile, clothing and footwear industry.
Already, the proportion ol our wool exports that have been
subject to the first stages of processing has increased by
over Zifteen per cent since we came to office. This is
clear-y the way Australian industry should go in the future.
Australia's forestry industries also have great potential
for further development ia an environmentally sensitive
manner to reduce imports, provide jobs and reduce land
degradation. Reflecting the Labor Government's commitment to its forestry
policy objectives we will introduce a new broad acre
afforestation program, with emphasis on native hardwoods.
The program will have the complementary objective of
assisting the reclamation of areas subjected to land
degradation. Ladies and gentlemen,
All tc, 3e developments lead me to the second of the two
elemonto of Labor's historic approach to reinvigorating the
economy that I referred to a moment ago.
The fundamental truth is that our future prosperity depends
on trade. For all our efforts at economic reform at home,
our sUccess depends critically on the policies and attitudes
of ou: trading partners.
As a nation, Australia has been at the forefront of efforts
to stop the insane agricultural trade war.
te used our good relations with the United States to send
two all-party delegations of Members of Parliament to
Washington to lobby Congress on its Farm Bill.
Senior Hlinisters, including myself, have frequently pressed
the Americans, the Europeans and the Japanese to reform
their acricultural policies and to liberalise international
agricultural trade.
we organised the " Cairns Group" of 14 fair traders of
agricultural products which succeeded for the first time in
getting agriculture as a priority item on the agenda for the
new round of multilateral trade negotiations.
The Bureau of Agricultural Economics has prepared detailed
studios which clearly identify the costs of agricultural
protectionism not only to Australia and to underdeveloped
countries, but, let us never forget, to the protectionist
nations themselves.
This was the argument I put to the World Economic Forum in
Davos, Switzerland, in January. I called for a ceasefire in
the trade war and a commitment to early reductions in the
gap between artificial, protected, prices for farm products
and the real prices those goods would earn in a free market. m
,1 7.
Since launctIing that initiative at Davos, I have been
pleased to see that events are starting to march in the
right direction.
The recent neeting of OECD Ministers endorsed the major
elements o. the proposal. The Cairns Group had a successful
meeting in Canada and called on the Big Seven leaders to
take action at their Summit in Venice. As further evidenco
that the Cai: ns Group has become a vital third force in
agriculturvl diplomacy, declaration of that Venice Summit
did in fact echo the long-term proposals sought by fair
trading nati. ons like Australia.
Perhaps noT, here can our efforts to restructure the
Australian Pronomy and reform international trade be seen
more cleariv than in the sugar industry.
The sugar industry, which plays such an important role in
the economy of this region, was the first to suffer the full
effects of the trade war. And it has been one of the
hardest hit 1y decades of ad hoc State Government regulation
which inhibited its ability to respond to that challenge.
So my Govezn:' ent sought a co-operative approach with
industry, tnuloyees and State Governments involving the
phased removal of the most damaging regulation, combined
with price oapport and special adjustment funding for the
industry.
The basic elements of this program have been implemented
through our $ 100 million three year sugar assistance
package, wUih is placing the industry on a stronger, more
competitiv2 basis for the future.
To lend fvrther momentum to the industry, I want to announce
another initiative today. My Government has passed
legislation to enable the establishment of a Sugar Industry
Research Fund and I can now give a firm commitment that the
next Labo: Government will ensure funds will be provided to
match sugi: industry research funding.
This sort of research is an effective vehicle for long-term
reductions in farm costs a task my Government has embarked
upon from its, first days in office.
The rate of increase in costs to farmers has fallen steadily
from 11 per cent in 1982-83 to an expected 4 per cent in
1987-88.
Tariffs on iarvesting and cultivation equipment have been
replaced pith bounties while our chemicals industry package
is halvinq the tariff protection provided to agricultural
chemicals. These are in addition to the $ 260 million
benefit bc-% ng received by primary producers from the full
rebate of the diesel fuel excise.
8.
We have decided to send a further reference to the
Industries Assistance Commission on farm machinery and
machinery parts with the aim of taking further measures to
reduce fara costs.
Similarly, we are acting to reduce costs to farmers after
the farm gate.
A Royal Comrission is currently investigating the storage,
handling and transport systems used by the grain industry.
And I can tell you, we will not allow the Report of this
Commission to gather dust.
Other transport initiatives have included major reforms to
regulations governing air freight charter for primary
produce0 review of liner shipping policy, establishment of
Task Forces to reduce the burden of shore-based shipping
costs, and record road funding.
Revamped export inspection arrangements, including the
eliminaticn of dual inspection, have reduced inspection
costs by $ 17 million per year.
Notwithstanding the importance of these initiatives,
probably the greatest reduction in off-farm costs has come
from our industrial relations policies.
Ve have weCuced the level of industrial disputation in
Australia by 60 per cent. In the important transport and
communi. catono inductries, there has been an 80 percent
reduction ' Ln industrial disputation since we came to office.
Friends
Let me return to the point I made at the outset Australia
is not a divided nation and the policies with which it is
governed must not be divided.
All Australian families whether they are urban or rural
dwellers, still expect and deserve the basic services which
only governmcnt can provide.
Poverty and : hardship know no boundaries between city and
country. Labor will continue to put the health of Australian families
first, by aintaining our commitment to Medicare.
We will continue to help the aged and disabled. We will
boost education and training opportunities for our young
people.
And we will take on a new, and a great task.
We will see to it that by 1990 no Australian child will be
living in poverty.
And to thi7 ene, my Government will establish a new program
of family ;, cip a program designed to lift more than one
million Auj , ralian children into security, and to help the
more than a million Austraiian families in greatest
need, the ' bcLrdest pushed, the most disadvantaged, the
battlers. Labor's nev. 7amily Allowanco Supplement will be paid, to
mothers, on the basis of farrily income and family size.
The Family Allowance Supplement will total $ 22 per child per
week with an extra $ 6 a week for children aged between
thirteen auz-l fifteen.
We will al3o take new steps to help disadvantaged families
in private : ented accomnmodation.
And we wil;.. ' urther recognisc the special needs faced by
families w-' hA children who are disabled.
Rural pecp.',: 17:. x a particular disadvantage, coopared with
metropolitz.. r res-identG, in respect of the information they
have abount C:.-vernr. ent services for which they may be
eligible. This is s e2alytrue of iural women. Dorothy flosG, the
Nationa*.. P7-odent of ti~ e Country WomenG1 Association raiGed
this di ic wiith me c2arly iast ycar, and X accepted her
suggestion t'It a survey of ural women's needs be
conductoc3. Jhe sii! vcri rcsu~ t will be released later this
year. Let Ms tako -hi s opportunity to thank Dorothy Ross and
indeed, al'. he women who participated in the survey, for
the insicW-i and suggestions they have given uo about the
delivery c tjoverninent services.
In part, a response to thesc expressed needs of women,
the Gover.. icnt wi"' l also move to establish a Commonwealth
Services ICmtonSyst:? m a national network designed
especially to provide country people with this crucial
information.
While we &: ce going about the task of improving and
co-ordinatinq services to the rural community, the
opposition s.! ems to be deternined to restrict them.
For example, the Liberals opposed in the Senate our
legislaticvn designed to extend to rural residents the same
level of cc. itercial TV services available in the cities.
Ladies and 9r ntlemen
The achievei-ants and policies I have outlined today have
created the basis for a healthy, competitive future for
Australia's great primary industries and for the whole
economy.
Together, we have been through very trying times on world
markets. But I can confidently assert that my Government
has set in train the measures to modernise and restructure
the econoiay so as to meet these challenges.
And, abona all, we are building a fair nation a nation
where all can reap the rewards of their own efforts, and
where all can share in the rewards of the national effort.
Friends,
The Australian Labor Party is proudly campaigning with these
words as our theme :" Lets stick together. Lets see it
through". Those words encapsulate the broad meaning of this task of
economic Kevitalisation in which we are engaged and in which
we must succeed.
it captvrEo also the manner in which we are carrying out
that prcco~ s fairly, compassionately, in the interacts of,
all Australians.
we are carrying it out together and must see it through
together. Farmer an-t. factory worker together.
Iiner and M~ anufacturer together.
Country Ct;. ller and city dweller together.
Lets see it through. 0*