PRIME MINISTER
TRAN~ SCRIPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER, THE RON P J KEATING, MP
DOORSTOP, WORLD CONGRESS CENTRE, MELBOURNE, 15 JUNE 1992
E OE PROOF COPY
Js Mr Keating, do you support the Democrats' idea of a code of
conduct for Ministers?
PM: I don't know that it's the Democrats' idea. It's only at
this stage as I understand it, floating around in
dis cussion
JS Do you support the principle?
PM: We've always supported the principle. It is the Senate
which has . voted against disclosure. Every House of
Representatives Member discloses interests and the previous
Prime Minister and myself have insisted that ministers
behave to a code, if not one chiselled in stone.
J: Mr Keating, on superannuation, the Democrats remain
unconvinced that the superannuation guarantee levy won't
cost jobs; what else can you dQ to persuade them otherwise?
PM: The thing is it is the Government which has taken over the
years primary carriage of macro-economic policy.. We started
with superannuation to give workers a decent standard of
living in retirement. We started with that in the middle
19809. Today we are looking at an inflation rate of 1.7 per
cent. We're the ones to best make the judgement, we're the
ones most competently placed to make that judgement. And we
assert, and I think assert without fear of contradiction,
that we can afford payments by employers to superannuation
without a macro-economic risk. That is, without the
inflation rate rising.
J: The employers themselves, the ones who will be making the
payments, they also insist that they will have to shed jobs.
You don't give their concern any credence?
PM: No because what the Government is asking of them would mean
the devotion of even just about roughly 30 per cent of the
productivity improvements which are likely to come through
the economy. So it's a relatively small, affordable,
manageable colt which will give Australian workers a decent
standard of living in retirement and build a pool of
national savings. That's what I think is important, but if
we had taken the view that superannuation would upset the
inflation rate and the future prospects of the economy we
wouldn't have done it in the 1980s and we wouldn't be
sitting now with an inflation rate of 1.7 per cent.
J1 Mr Keating, do you support another interest rate cut?
PM: I'm not here to discuss interest rates.
J1 What do you think of the Herald-Sun campaign Mr Keating?
PM: The Herald-Sun is obviously pamphleteering for the Liberal
Party. Last week they editorialised against the Government
and today they have as their front page lead a story which
comes from the Liberal Party's policy of six months ago on a
prediction about employment. growth which Mr Hewson has
himself disowned. He said it was only a guesstimate,
Fightback wasn't a model, in fact he said in the House of
Representatives, ' repeat Fightback wasn't modelled'. in
other words and when asked on radio about the two million
job., Dr Howson said well it's not real world. So for a
story which is six months oldt not real world, denied in the
House of Representatives, is the front page lead in the
Herald-Sun. I think Victorians ought to reasonably assume
that the Herald-Sun is no longer carrying news to them but
carrying the political views of the Liberal Party of
Australia and that this newspaper has decided to phampleteer
and editorialise for and on behalf of the Liberal Party of
Australia.
Jt Is this coming from the proprietor do you think?
PM: I don't think so. I think it's coming basically from the
Editor and the editorial staff.
J: Mr Keating, if the Democrat's push for a 4 per cent
superannuation levy instead of a 5 per cent, will you accept
that?
PM: I'm not here to discuss that. Now why would I respond to
that in a stand up news conference in a hotel?
J1 Would a ministerial code of conduct Marshall Island
affair..
PM: No. no we have had that, I've answered that before for you.
Are there any others?
Ja There are mixed signals about the economy and whether it's
recovering, do you think it's time for a cut in interest
rates?
P11: Well you asked me that a minute ago. Look the economy is
recovering, we had the Blusiness Council of Australia
yesterday saying a recovery was one That in the
organisation which speaks for our largest companies, they
said a recovery is on. We've had the national accounts show
2 per cent non-f arm growth for the past three quarters. A
recovery is definitely proceeding. While the recovery is
not proceeding evenly around Australia and it is much to the
lament that it is not proceeding as strongly in Victoria,
the fact is that it is still proceeding and the Government
will just make judgments as time goes by about what things
it should do in the macro-economic settings to maintain that
recovery and strengthen it.
ENDS A.