4 K N
PARTIAL EXTRACT FROM SPEECH BY TBZ PRIM W4O1SITRI THE
JiOI P. ) CEATLVG MP. -ERICSSON AUSTRALIA EXPORT LAUNCII,
DIROADMEADOWS, MLBOURNE THUMSDAY, 26 AUGUST, M99
Wha we arc oin as a Govcricni is encouragh thi cbang. And tNs a=
culvad chang has now ovtakcn Australi a3 th. whole tedetcy on protwcton has
drop. The whiole nodmr that wuff priion was the way forward for AusrAli--
a th. ( owmmient hia weaned Apzahan hiduty off tarff protecton ad opened te
oppostiied to develop products we could novar have dreamued of yewr ago, in
makuwe would never hawe thought moostd for Australi procts~ l. Wbich onl
prome the poiA1 if you look ot and look up you ha~ ea fiMnm=;, but ifyou look down
and you we unmetain of youmsef and you lack cozfdene and you seek to axtificiall
potedt yours4f It the end all you do is let Austrakia living tdads decline.
Now, we hmv a chance of being a paut idustrial ntiot, a nsuaczignadon. I
guw up int MY9 sn ulk to tho imme, atIwet to the House of
Reeeit mb* A with ibe notion that you cW& bav a compoitiv inanufictn
ecfto awtng beside a wmoq. Uetit pdbuay export sector t* A an ki. ialay"
conttde soctor M ineirals and wieulturc mant tha it was irup ible becaus
Of the Otew ~ psum on t exchange rate it was imsible to have a burgootdig
And I alwmy thout tis was essenti* l wromg And ave thouth t was & meth e
7opular WWsdM of t Secittaty of te Treasury an thc Treay it was, in wsence,
wroog. AMd it i am t othr~ mpe of how die politWi em leads the wxy and not the
burewcacy. because die few of us HiMn frough die stnies with low growth,
watchig 1acforics close onc aftr te other, wc mai, ' Why mws Austalan be doomed
to a sbctrein nianufacturing simpl becaus@ of t n~ tAken view tha yu ean't
hmv a good MvtccftU* sector sitfizg besid a good pzimmy exp" i sector
Andso wte = wct abotdoft allthe V* that nedd obe doeto luangeth
Fromn opening up our financial rnaket to & oa~ in the Austraian dolla, hang ithe
tax sse" thnde Pro& l and wage shame in the emoM~ right promoting mosarch
and deelpm ntchng the education qftm to food our reearch and devlopntd
bAse and Our Ngtic technologies and taig down the tariff Wall. Anid in the end what
w4ve damei we'e sacocedod inchanging te view. Nobody toda Mubscibes to the
view tha we mal' havea burgcoinza nuacwt sector. But jWs a lite Over tena
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yers ago bweaucray in this coumty, pto view of the former Ge= ntmwn was that
thse sorts of produwtg couldn't be made and sold cmpeiti* ly. And dats changed
and changed eomously.
NO Vuy had to get as t Gorirnment In a period of groat change x W' makin
Alm the com MCentatoS in ts COtrY who of cous, Alway, lag behd the gm..
They are awas about soin it befae than we am ad being up the frovt showing to
way. But, i hot, they're most* tailng Whin& Becaue none of them oer articulated
a modem b= Vonhi# industria AustrAia lioked Into the Asia Pacc. It had to come
om tie POkiCj system and frm the Austaian wmmznity. And we're now seirg
Ig oft poiies home
And the Budget which weCvt just inftdlwed which has had more tha its share of
flAk again is about doing thi. Were gening ot budget dcfcit down in the mickte
nimewss so that When the next phase ofinvstment goes foug AustrW an
nanzzfaU& Ctg it doesn't Put too big a stri of 4oi curerl accom and on out
domuede irAvnW Now, by the tiddl nineties well hae die Au* r* mia Budget deficit
down to aba. 1 o0f ODP. The tnIed States -,* whicb ha justbeen trough aheati
rendcitg proess of gcitg the Bils * sou* u the Roes ofRepie tatives in the
ConUssB, Resident Clintos s Budge4 with Oe Viso P Castig the caiting voe in
the Seate & CY2 be down to 3% Of GDP only'by the middle 199& s. J other words
asai in fical tetv, ive're going to be ahead of & e world. As wc ae now with
vusmiabfy low inftion and the rest
Now, the AUtra& ia cornmurity has got to think about the long rm and to umderstad
that the Gvenent has to think about their lon rim interests. And if we want hiher
levels of employment and lower levels of aeamployment we have got to get mom
wh. we an't got mom growth without mor uvest ent and we cant get the
investMent if the Government's got its hands in the Uavi cookie jar, tairg the sVh
for publi consumption. But right now we want to kick the economy along with some
Cxta speafin which wil come viato tax cuts, hocaun we need that aw push to
make * e ecooy grow. But as it st growing and we get the investment raly
caciing again we want to pull the public sector ow of the way so te pdvato sector can
come through and create thcjobsL So the balnces have got to be ther.
And a of the people who have urged upon the Govermuet this kind of policy, when
you produce the pokiy they say, VWeo tanrks very much for that but we don't qite at
the way you got thee You know, you should have cut outlays moe, you should have
relied less On reenuC) you should have done this and done that' Well te fact; z, lets
Pay for & e medium to long tm. And nor think about thiMp just tomonmow, bu think
abo6t 60medium te and in doing & Atwell be them ready with pui e policy to help
the hices of campanies ike Ericsson Auwtralk to be in there o develop a fure for
themselves as we see these stroger growth policies come trougL
Now, wyloymet is Australia's grat problem And you know, wodg in a plant
like dd that higher productivity those macbn.. Mibh are doing the stamping and
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puttin the compomets on an not eznploqiag people. But it dom Make te busine
campetib and it does gi~ the business a fgtim. And ihan as it rows it cmplays
fm peope. $ mr, it's ftwe peope for the gvmi uabt of producton. But in die end
if * mee at nui nme un of produatio tre will be many mmr people Bt Owe
cWference is, in abusimwhchwMIA d p owasbn otsin uic~ h willbe
Pmb-eooltWyipU and which is static. -So this is wby wr'v .1was got to ty
and blend higher producv* t and mechanisaton in wMt amploymmn And the key to
that is growth and the kcy to go%* is low Wfaion, a competiMv exchanrw, good
budgetary policies, good * naee of t proft and ws~ s in dt econom and a decent
education sita pimnpin rmsarch and dmvlopincmt capacit and innovafmo imt our
kwtriml product.
Thr/ ng an the thinp tha ave sit* in thene now. For a coufty wbich has got a grem
htM.; " o jUSt alone hen. In Aumlia buit abroA, iA the Asia Padci& and the wodid in
generaL Wher, in the 1970' s im wmr consipe to bcln a qury and a fam, where
compaties WVe this and industries Mie this were witn off as not having real c. pacity...
ENDS.
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