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A
PRIME MINISTER
TRANSCRIPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER, THE HON P J KEATING, MP
DEPARTURE DOORSTOP, FAIRBAIRN RAAF BASE, CANBERRA
7 JULY 1992
E & OE PROOF COPY
PM: You know that the practice of Australian leaders is when they leave
Australia they don't comment on domestic affairs, but as I'm leaving I can
comment and I want to just put a few things on the record about Dr
Hewson and Mr Howard.
What Dr Hewson showed over the weekend with his heartless policy
towards young eople, leaving them in a deadendjob without training is
that he's not a Liberal leader with traditional Liberal values he's simply a
clinical technician. A clinical technician who wants to make everybody
wear a penalty, the young wear a penalty and now Mr Howard has let the
cat out of the bag by telling us that adult wages will also be slashed and
he'll be announcing a new low wage structure for adults. The wage share in
our economy this year is at 1960s levels, how much lower do these people
want it to go? For the 90 per cent of Australians in work, how much
greater penalty does Dr Hewson and Mr Howard want them to wear?
Everything that Dr Hewson does is about a penalty, a penalty for young
people on wages, leaving them in deadend jobs without training, a penalty
on middle aged workers, a penalty on the community with a 15 per cnt
Goods and Services Tax, everything is about wearing a penalty.
I know Australia has got its troubles at the moment and the recession has
been a problem and we've got to work our~ way out of it, but this
Government will not abandon Australia's social values Australian
values. To take the 90 per cent of people in work and slash their wages or
to leave our young people destitute of an education and without hope in the
future of a decent job and training.
I said in the past that Dr Hewson was a wolf in sheeps clothing and I think
on the weekend he reveals himself to be just that a clinical technician
without any understanding of the human equation or Australian social
values.
J: What figure are you looking at for a youth-? age
PM: We've got a different approach all together. We're saying that mostly those
in the 15 to 19 year age bracket have largely unskilled jobs, and they've
largely disappeared and that 15 to 19 ought to be a period a period of
vocational preparation. We're the Government that got the retention rates
up in school, we're the Government that made the places available in
universities, and we're now the Government trying to reconstruct the
technical and further education system to give young Australians jobs and
hope in the future and not leave them and say we're not training them, we'll
leave them in a deadend job and we'll pretend we can expand the number
of jobs by cutting the price of their labour.
J: Will your plan ensure that older workers, experienced workers don't get
sacked for younger workers in training?
PM: Interestingly I notice Mr Howard today refused to confirm that they would
be protecting older workers from displacement by younger more
inexpensively paid workers a la the Liberal proposal. The fact is that
per cent of Australians are still in work and Dr Hewson and Mr Howard
want to savagely cut their wages. As I say the wage share in GDP, the
wage share in the economy this year at that 1960s level. What do they
want to do to the public of Australia? Make them destitute? Why must
they wear penalties? Why is Dr Hewson so penalty prone? Penalties for
young people, penalties for middle age workers, penalties for the
community with the GST, penalties, pain, sacrifice. What about some joy?
Growth, jobs, rise in living standards and jobs for young and older people
alike.
J: Mr Keating, what do you hope to achieve from this Forum?
PM: It is a chance for the leaders of the South Pacific, the Pacific area to talk
about problems of the area. I think what I'd like to achieve, I don't go there
with any particular agenda, just to participate in the discussions on
development and environmental issues in the Pacific. I've got a few
bilateral meetings arranged with Mr Bolger and the Prime Minister of Fiji
Mr Rabuka and I expect it will be a vexr' interesting meeting.
J: Will you be talking with Mr Carlot about the crisis with Vanuatu?
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PM: I will be talking about it I think yes. Senator Evans met him, Senator
Evans told me that they still intend that they should expel our diplomat,
we've made it clear we don't take very kindly to that so we've cancelled our
ships visit for this week. I'll be taking the opportunity to discuss this with
Mr Carlot while I'm there.
J: Mr Keating, do you think a drop in interest rates would be enough to
stimulate the economy?
PM: At a doorstop or a fencestop I don't think we should go through macro
economic settings. Thank you.
ENDS