PRIME MINISTER
EMBARGOED UNTIL DELIVERY CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY
SPEECH BY THE PRIME MINISTER
38TH BIENNIAL AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY FEDERAL CONFERENCE
HOBART 8 JUNE 1988
Australia today is a stronger country, a fairer country, a
country far better equipped to face the future than it was
in March 1983.
And these things are true because the Australian Labor
movement has fulfilled, better than ever before, its
fundamental and historic role.
we have proved ourselves, as never before, the Party of
progress and reform.
And we have been able to do that because, together as a
Party, a movement and a government we have understood the
true meaning of reform, in our time.
It is not about soft options.
It is not a matter of invoking some dogmatic formula.
And, however much we value our great Labor traditions and
we are right to be proud of our past Labor reform is about
the future.
The real importance of Labor traditions is their
contemporary relevance to Labor's enduring goals.
we have accepted that the Labor tradition of reform means
creating the conditions for real and sustainable
improvements in the living standards of all Australians.
we have embarked upon the massive task of sweeping away all
the causes of inefficiency and confrontation, the
inheritance of three decades of conservative rule, the
legacy of intolerance and injustice, all those things which
have held our nation back.
The task that lies ahead is the task of articulating and
pursuing our vision of what we want Australia to be in the
1990s, the Australia we lead into the twenty first century. 007081
It is that task I address today.
our vision for Australia is an Australia which is fair,
prosperous, competitive and independent.
It is an Australia in which all our children will have a
full and equal opportunity for the total development
of their talents within an education and training
system which is both adequate and relevant
an Australia where those who are actively engaged in
the productive processes will be equitably rewarded
and where those not so engaged the young, the
elderly, the disabled will be decently sustained
by the community,
an Australia whose economy will be able to cope with
the challenges of a rapidly changing world, enmeshed
in our dynamic region and able to contribute to a
better and more peaceful world.
And it is an Australia in which our national goals of
justice and fairness are achieved, not by the savage
conflict of competing interests and groups, but through
national co-operation.
The power of that vision for the future; the strength of our
record since 1983 in pursuing that vision; the unity of the.
Labor movement and its commitment to attain that vision; the
vigour, competence and dedication of our team of Ministers
in pursuit of the vision; the absolute incapacity of our
opponents ever to match or even grasp that vision all
these give me complete confidence that when I lead this
Party to the next election we will win again, and win
convincingly.
We will make the 1990s Labor's decade just as the 1980s have
been substantially ours, because Labor alone can take
Australia to a society based on justice and fairness, an
Australia with a sense of national purpose.
Our opponents had three decades. In their last, worst
period they governed by inciting conflict, by setting
Australian against Australian. They ignored the urgent need
to adapt to our changing environment. They eroded any sense
of Australian national purpose.
our five years in Government have been guided by a different
philosophy a determination that Australians as a community
develop the right and the durable responses to the economic
and social imperatives of the crises we faced. We wanted,
with steadiness and consistency, to assemble in an
integrated way all the necessary building blocks across the
whole range of policy in order to transform our vision into
real ity. 007082
And let it be quite clear what has been the foundation upon
which we have assembled and erected these building blocks
a foundation which I enunciated even before I became leader
in 1983.
It has been the creation of the atmosphere, attitude,
processes and machinery of constructive co-operation in our
society.
We Australians are now achieving our legitimate objectives
by co-operation, rather than dissipating our resources in
unnecessary confrontation.
That has been the foundation of all that we have achieved in
Government. That, I believe, will be the enduring hallmark of our vision
for Australia.
And it remains as relevant to our task today as it was in
1983.
The impetus of the April 1983 Summit has been transmitted
into the area of general economic policy consideration and
into the decision making process of every Ministerial
portfolio. We have developed processes of consultation across a vast
range of organisations and groups, who take part with us in
the work of building a better Australia.
But of course central to our strategy, a key to the
resolution of Australia's economic problems, the embodiment
of our vision of a co-operative rather than a
confrontationist Australia has been the great partnership,
the historic Accord between the industrial and political
wings of the Labor movement.
And although we will no doubt have our differences from time
to time, that partnership will remain, as it has been,
fundamental to our economic achievements, our social
programs and our political success.
And, delegates, here I answer any assertion that this Labor
Government has deserted its traditional base.
As a matter of history and philosophy, there are many
strands to the Labor tradition.
That is precisely why it has survived, now for nearly a
century, as Australia's greatest and strongest party, as a
rich and diverse movement.
But, throughout that century, throughout all that grand
history, there has been one constant the strength brought
to the Party by its association with the trade union
movement. 0017083
This Party sprang from the trade union movement.
And now, at a time when a Labor Government has given a new
meaning to that association, a meaning of immense
significance for Australia's future, are we to be told that
we have lost touch with our traditional base?
I reject that utterly.
The truth is that we have forged a new partnership on the
basis of our oldest, strongest tradition our broad
association with the great trade union movement of
Australia. Here is the measure of the strength of the partnership. We
first lifted Australia out of the inherited recession, the
worst in fifty years. We then weathered the massive
collapse in our terms of trade that wiped $ 11 billion from
our national income. And through all that we have been and
are, putting Australia firmly on a reconstructed road to
sustainable prosperity.
We have seen the central objective as getting the economy
right and, in that process, creating secure jobs. indeed
this is the very condition of effectively meeting the social
obligations of Government. No social security payment is an
adequate substitute for the benefit and dignity of
employment. That is why all of us in the Labor movement are entitled to
take enormous pride in the fact that we have created over
one million new jobs since we have been in office more
than four times the rate of job creation under the
Fraser-Howard Government.
We have only been able to achieve this result because the
trade union movement, through the Accord, has exchanged
restraint in real wages for significant improvements in the
social wage.
Further real wage cuts will not be necessary in 1988-89. We
are committed to, and will support wage rises as large and
as prompt as the country can afford.
wage rises in line with An expected falling inflation rate
will enable us to bring in substantial cuts in personal tax
rates in the following financial year 1989-90.
By this combination of wage increases and tax cuts, this
Government will deliver over the remainder of this
Parliament what Australian workers need and deserve the
maintenance and gradual improvement of their living
standards.
Just as the Accor d underpins the strategy for economic
growth, it fosters Labor's social strategy for a fairer
society. The detailed description of our massive and
widespread achievements in the area of social justice is in
the report I recently launched " Towards a Fairer Australia." 007084
It is the proud record of a Government, proud in the Labor
tradition and unmatched in achievement by any Government in
the history of the country. I
And we must remember that the objectives of social justice
are not pursued through the avenue of Government outlays
alone. These are important, of course, as evidenced for
instance by our substantial increases in the real value of
pensions and targetted assistance for the most needy groups
in the community.
But social justice is also affected by the way in which
Government raises its revenue.
And your Labor Government, in undertaking this country's
most extensive tax reform, has been guided by the twin
imperatives of economic efficiency and equity.
We have systematically cut out the tax rorts for the
privileged. Capital gains and fringe benefits no longer go
untaxed. We are cracking down on companies that avoid their
fair share of the tax burden, including through the use of
international tax havens.
we are building an Australia which is fairer both in the
gathering of tax revenue and in the redistribution of it to
those who are most in need.
Just as we have received the support of the trade union
movement in addressing these macro-economic and social
issues, so also has there been constructive co-operation in
the approach to industry reconstruction.
The simple truth is that Australia can no longer afford to
be so exposed to dramatic commodity price fluctuations. our
manufacturing and service sectors have to become more
efficient and competitive both against imports and in
markets abroad. Increasingly the markets of Australian
industry must be not simply the 16 million people of this
country but the 5 billion people of the world.
In consultation with the trade unions and industry we have
already made significant progress through specific industry
sectoral plans and more general measures.
In 1987, for example, exports of manufactured goods
increased by 30 per cent. Over the last five years the
share of manufactured goods in our merchandise exports has
risen from 21 per cent to 26 per cent. And, of course,
tourism is rapidly growing as a major export earner in
fact at twice the rate of merchandise exports.
The May Economic Statement represents a further significant
commitment to this process of restructuring the economy.
The superannuation changes will provide a strong incentive
for funds to direct investment from abroad and from debt
into profitable, competitive Australian companies. 007085
6.
The tax and tariff changes mean that investment decisions in
future will generate real economic returns, rather than
simply take advantage of a subsidy.
I repeat here the undertaking I have given to the trade
union movement: together with the unions, we will closely
monitor the impact of tariff changes and if, against our
expectations, more needs to be done to assist those who may
be adversely affected, then this will be done.
Delegates, our achievement and commitment and vision in this
area is clear a more dynamic, competitive economy,
providing more secure and satisfying employment for our
young people into the future.
And, of course, this emphasises the centrality of education
and training to our vision for the future.
We are. not leaving the future of our children to chance.
We have increased access, retention, resources and
relevance. We have done this right across the board, from
schools through to TAFE colleges and universities.
Let me give these examples:
We have increased retention rates of secondary
students from 36 per cent in 1982 to 53 per cent in
1987 and will achieve 65 per cent early in the next
decade. We have more than doubled the secondary allowance
to assist children from low income families, and
removed disincentives to continue with education
and training.*
We have created 46,400 extra higher education
places compared with only 14,900 in the same
period under our predecessors.
By next year, we will have doubled, in real terms,
funding for training and begun to re-vamp the
apprenticeship system.
Delegates, we can take pride in these achievements.
Together we will continue reform to that point where all our
young people will have access to a system which will fully
develop their talents and will ensure for Australia a well
trained, flexible and relevant work force.
And in this respect we will encourage an extension of the
historic process now developing between workers and their
employers in the metal trades industry. 007086
7.
This involves a deliberate attempt to improve job
satisfaction and productivity by restructuring and
simplifying the mass of award classifications accumulated
over half a century. This is the kind of process
fundamental to securing the long term prosperity of this
country. Delegates, in so man-y of the policy areas to which I have
referred the achievements themselves point the way to our
future vision. But I want to be quite specific about how
your Labor Government will face the demanding task of
further fulfilling our social justice aspirations.
We have already introduced the historic reforms of the
Family Allowance Supplement and the Child Support Scheme-
Bill Kelty has said of the former they are of such a
magnitude they would have taken fifty years to achieve
through industrial negotiations. But to achieve our pledge
that by 1990 no Australian child need live in poverty
your Government has set targets for further increases in
family ' payments which, once achieved, will be maintained in
real terms.
we will further improve care for the aged.
we will continue to work on the National Agenda for Women,
the most detailed, practical and comprehensive strategy ever
produced by an Australian Government to achieve equality of
opportunity for Australian women.
We will continue to provide more child care places.
We will work to break down the barriers which prevent the
long-term unemployed, sole parents and other disadvantaged
groups from obtaining rewarding jobs.
We will continue to defend Mledicare ensuring that the
millions of Australians who live in security under its
umbrella are not left out in the cold by those who want to
dismantle dismantle again that great Labor achievement.
By 1990 we will have extended access to occupational*
superannuation to cover the great majority of Australian
workers a reform which will provide them with security in
their retirement years.
we will continue to fight for the rights of consumers
through monitoring prices and, more directly, by ensuring*
they get the maximum benefit in lower prices and better
services through tariff cuts and through our steady
improvement in the management of Government business
enterprises.,
We will remain dedicated to an immigration process
thoroughly free of discrimination, and the creation of a
society diverse in its skills and cultures and faiths, and
committed as one to building the future of our great
Australian nation. 007087
We will seek to effect a reconciliation between Aboriginal
and all other Australians which recognises the obligations
of this nation to its most disadvantaged group.
Delegates, I have to this point spoken exclusively of domestic matters.
But Labor's achievements and Labor's vision encompass
Australia's place in the region and the wider world.
We have not been prepared to ignore the challenges of a
changing world economy, nor stand aside and allow others to
determine, alone, the issues of international relations
which are critical to our future.
Australia under Labor is at last preparing to meet those
challenges and is exercising a constructive and creative
role in the great issues of our time.
With our initiative in establishing the Cairns Group and in
its continuing leadership, we are taking a leading role in
the urgent struggle being waged to establish a fair system
of international trade.
More than any Australian Government we have worked with
diligence and determination in all relevant international
forums to press for reduction of nuclear arsenals and their
ultimate elimination from the face of the earth.
For this reason Australia particularly welcomes the outcome
of the fourth Reagan/ Gorbachev Summit and the signing of the
INF Treaty. The world is entitled to feel we may be
witnessing a real turning point in the hitherto negative and
potentially disastrous relationship between the two
superpowers.
We have maintained close and continuous dialogue with our
American friends and allies on these and other issues a
dialogue I look forward to continuing with President Reagan,
George Shultz and other members of the Administration later
this month.
And we have also been able to develop an open-minded
communication with the Soviet Union most particularly on the
occasion of my visit there with Bill Hayden last December.
In three and a half hours discussion with General-Secretary
Gorbachev I was able to establish a basis for future
relations which should be of mutual benefit to our two
countries. We will continue a cautious but constructive
dialogue in the face of opponents who are incapable of
rising above the slogans and reflexes of the 1950s.
In the Commonwealth and in the United Nations this
Government has taken a leading role in mobilising world
opinion against the abhorrent system of apartheid in South
Africa. We will continue this fight and recognise our
obligation to assist in material terms the peoples of this
region. O( J~' O88
As I promised early in the life of our Government we are
involving ourselves as never before in the dramatic economic
and political changes in our region the fastest growing
region in the world. I say with pride that no nation has
built a warmer or more constructive relationship with China
than Australia has.
Of course we have and will continue to have a particular
involvement with the South Pacific region. At a time of
lessening stability in the region we have been prepared to
condemn and react where that is necessary as in the case of
the military overthrow of the Bavadra Government in Fiji.
But we do not see Australia's role being to bully, to
patronise or to lecture but to be a friendly and
constructive partner, to carry out the responsibilities
which flow from our comparative wealth and to use our
influence as befits a decent and democratic neighbour.
In this context it was perhaps not surprising that recently
it was Australia to whom Vanuatu first turned and we were
able to respond positively to a request for assistance from
a democratically elected Government and so prevent a
recurrence of destructive violence and a possible threat to
our citizens.
For all these reasons I am able to say proudly to you that
after five years of Labor in office Australia's name has
never stood higher in the world than it does today.
And that is simply because in our policies abroad, as at
home, we have adhered to and pursued the fundamental
principles of this great Party.
Delegates, in the discussions before and during this
Conference, there have been many references to the
principles and traditions of the Party and the movement.
And that is how it should be because it is our principles.
and our traditions that inspire and inform the continuing
practical work to which we are committed, as a Party and as
a Government.
The real importance of our traditions and principles is
precisely the extent that we are capable of using them as
And to illustrate my meaning, let me go to the source the
platform itself.
Let me quote the opening words of the platform.
" The Australian Labor Party had its origins in
The aspirations of the Australian people for a decent,
secure, dignified and constructive way of life. 0 708 9
The recognition by the trade union movement of the
necessity for a political voice to take forward the
struggle of the working class against the excesses,
injustices and inequalities of capitalism.
The commitment by the Australian people to the creation
of an independent, free and enlightened Australia."
Delegates, I assert that the record of achievement I have
outlined today, and the program for the future, expresses
and embodies those basic principles and goals, in a
practical sustainable way, and to a degree unparalleled in
the history of the Party.
Delegates, The simple fact is that no party in Australian politics
today can come close to matching the capacity, commitment
and breadth of vision which the Labor Party brings to the
task of managing these domestic and external challenges of
the future.
Since our historic third successive victory last July our
conservative opponents have failed every political hurdle
they have faced: the consumption tax issue, media
ownership, justice in South Africa, aborigines, the
constitutional referendums.
The conservatives stand in mid-1988 just where they stood in
mid-1987 leaderless, directionless, devoid of policy,
motivated solely by political opportunism.
They would take us back to an unfair taxation system, to
confrontation in the workplace, to environmental vandalism.
They would inflict savage cuts in government outlays for
those in need in order to restore tax perks for the
privileged. They would reimpose the kneejerk foreign policy
of the 150s and
Most of all they would set aside the absolutely vital task
of economic reconstruction. They would once again shirk the
challenge of reform they simply do not have the capacity,
wit or guts for the task.
That, however, delegates, should make us not the more
complacent but the more diligent in ensuring they stay in
the wilderness.
That is a ta sk in which all of us share a responsibilityfrom
Cabinet Minister to branch member. I exclude none of
us from this task. I pledge myself to it.
We must bear the shared responsibility because the best.
interests of the Australian people demand it.
In a very real sense, if we fail, all Australians fail. 007090
11.
That commitment to Labor's continued success does indeed
involve a commitment to Labor traditions and Labor
principles. But as I said at the beginning there are many strands to
the Labor tradition; and that tradition must be constantly
revalued, if it is to retain its real and enduring
relevance. Only if we continue to do that will we continue to be part,
not only of the great Labor tradition, but of a living and
growing tradition the tradition and the reality of. Labor's
service to this nation and to this people.
Only if we continue to do that, will we maintain our
capacity to take this country forward and to fulfil, again
in the words of our platform, " the aspirations of the
Australian people for a decent, secure, dignified and
constructive way of life."
I believe this Conference has advanced that cause.
Let us keep working. Let us enter the 1990s strong, united,
determined, still pursuing, together, the vision of a
better, fairer Australia proud in itself, proud in the world
a vision which flows in a direct line from the inspiration
of those pioneers who, now nearly a century ago, founded
this great Australian Labor Party. 007091