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PRIME MINISTER
TRANSCRIPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER, THE HON PAJ KEATING, MP
ADDRESS AT OPENING OF ALP HEADQUARTERS, CANBERRA,
FRIDAY, 18 JUNE 1993
E& OE PROOF COPY
Thank you Bob ( Hogg), President Barry ( Jones) and other distinguished
members of the National Executive, particularly our Secretary Gary ( Grey),
Andrew ( Schroth) representing Civil and Civic, my Deputy Brian Howe, other
members of the parliamentary party, Lionel Bowen its lovely to see you
Uonel, Fred ( Daley), the father of the tribe as he is called I don't know
where that leaves Gough ( Whitiam), probably the Holy Ghost I suppose, with
many people vying for the job of Son. John Bannon and Angela who Is with
him, thanks for coming over John during your Presidency this occurred, David
Combe who was the first ' Mr Builder' of the Labor party, the Federal Labor party
and it is great to see him here on this occasion and other distinguished guests.
I am sure I have left somebody out, but I'm sure they will believe they are
distinguished, ladies and gentlemen.
It is a very telling thing 10to see a modem, strong, contemporary building like this
opened under the ownership and name of the Australian Labor Party in 1993;
that Is Centenary House, a century on the Labor party has remained relevant to
Australia and useful to the Australia people. What often happens with political
parties over such an extended period, they are no longer useful to their
communities, the fall into disrepair, often disrepute, and they fade away. The
remarkable thing Is that our Party which, of course, has always taken its
strength and Inspiration from the great body of the Australian people has
maintalned Its strength of purpose and Its Integrity and Its usefulness to the.
community of Australia and therefore 100 years after its founding we still*
control the national government of Australia after a decade, many of the States,
and until recently most of the States, and here we are building a building to take
us on into the next century as this building will.
This must say something about us as a Party, about our capacity to change,
our ability to tap the consciousness of the Australian ommuiy oudrtn
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Its aspiratons, and to try and do justice to them. The building represents more
than an Investment or an abode for our federal officers, It represents in a very
tangible way the life spirit of the Labor party In that In difficult financial times
even and with another federal election behind us aind its expense we have been
able to build a building like this and perhaps a testimony to the culture we hav# e
ushered In In this country to see it built under budget and under time. That Is a
tribute to Civil and Civic, but of course a greater tribute to the people who work
and build bildings, the workers of this country, and In this case of the ACT.
who put this building up.
It speaks muvch about the contemporary Labor party and its relevance to
modem Australia and as Barry said a moment ago we are out there again,
starting to draw on some of those Issues which have for so long lain dormant
which Indicates we will always be the Party of change In this country and the
Party that recognises the true underlying issues of substance and tries to do
something about them. I sincerely hope that in this year where so many young
people are now joining the party one of the great things about the election Is
that thousands of young people are joining the Labor party. I went to a function
for Clyde Holding recently in Melbourne on the occasion of his 31 st year In
elective public life and a third to forty per cent of the people there would have
been under 30. We are seeing them coming to our State branches, people
phoning up to join, and for a party to get such an Infusion of youth and
enthusiasm will, of course, carry us on for another generation.
This is a tremendous change for us. We don't have mass parties In Australia,
we like to think we are mass parties, they are not large parties neither the
Labor party nor the Coalition parties they are not large by world standards,
but they are enthusiastic, they are paticipatory parties and to get such a
charge from young people today Is tremendous.
So, If you look at the building and the election and subsequently the
enthusiasms of the election are embracing these great national Issues and the
Influx of young people I think it has got to say a lot about the Party which fit
very nicely with the deblsion to build this building.
It Is funny how foresight always matters, and David Combe had this when he
built our first building, which was a struggle. David was always a frustrated
developer and became a developer not long thereafter and we got the building
up and the building, in our most difficult time in our financial history of recent
times, stood us In great stead as we sold some of it down to pay the election
costs of the previous election. But it said more than that, it was again at its.
time a contemporary building, a brave statement of the Labor party it put a
large building which was then, by Canberra's reckoning, a large building. And I
always thought it was very nicely juxtaposed against the pastiche the Ulberal
party put up a couple of blocks away. It was almost lifted straight from the
suburbs of Connecticut, this architectural pastiche which fitted the politi~ cal
pastiche of the Uberal party. Here they were all being tradltional, this must
have been In their ' all the way the L13J' phase. Or it cp~ sd by ee ht hy
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Eggleton looking suitably wise and Menzian felt he had to be surrounded by a
building with traditional cultural emblems of more conservative times and
values. So they built this building and I have always thought it was a scream.
Every time I have come past It I have always thought it was a scream of a
building. But it sits over there, and In and out they go In their cars and when
ever their crises are on In they walk, with the little Georgian windows and you
used to see Tony Eggieton bobbing around through his oval Georgian spoked
window. Isn't this them? And Its just the same, whether Its last week with Mabo or be it
the republic. We have now got Petrou Georglau, who must be breaking new
ground for anyone with a name like that, pushing John Hewson towards
standing up to the monarchy last week when he supposedly wrote the signature
tune on his last speech. Well, be careful John, be careful. That is all I say.
Don't ail believe that old advisers are good advisers. But this Is them. It
doesn't matter what it Is in the contemporary environment, you can bet they will
always be down the time tunnel there, tripping along behind us.
Anyway, here we are brave as always, modern to a fault, putting up this
wonderful building and let me pay you know I am normally such a critic of
packing case architecture and Australians architects and the post-modem
school but, I think Darryl Jackson and Alister Swain have done a marvellous
job here. When our architects get It right, they get It right in a big way and we
want to thank them for this effort and with the builders they have done
something really contemporary and good for us.
I think It says a lot about the spirit of the Party, that we should, in difficult
political times and they were, jump In and build a building like this In bad
financial times as well. Of course we had the support of the trade unions and
the ACTU In the financing of John Curtin House and acquisition of half the
property, but can I say, to particularly John Bannon who was the President,
under his leadership and, most particulaly In an executive sense, to Bob Hogg
a second ' Mr Buiider has come along and put up a building for us and though
Bob has now left the federal secretaryship of the Party he leaves behind
another monument to his great contribution to the Australian Labor Party. Barry
mentioned ItIn Victoria, we have mentioned itI nt he national domain of national
politics and a couple of significant national elections, but in organisational
terms, Bob will go down as one of the greats of our Party and this building will
be here probably when we are ali long gone.
Thank you Bob, and John, for your work here today, but I would like to thank
David Combes for starting this process of giving the Labor Party assets which it
Is able to call, on In difficult times, for those of you in the National Executive
particularly. And I would like to also thank the Auditor-General as the tenant. I
thought the last time we attacked him in the House he might have oancelled the
lease, but he didn't, he has done the right thing by us and even the super
sleuths like Senator Bishop have been over the lease and apparently she thinks
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it is all right as well. So there we are, clean as a whistle. There Is nothing like
getting a Seal of approval from the obscurantists of the Opposition.
Can I now say to the Party In general this Is a monument to our vitality and our
verve. I am very pleased to be associated with It, It is a tribute to be here, it is
nice to be asked to officially open it and to unveil the plaque. Thank you.
ends U
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