CON4FERENCE OF P~ tESIDENTS OF CHAMBERS 0~
MANUFACTURES AND OF FEIRAL MANUFACTURERS'
ORGANISATIONS
A. C. Mi. A. C~ nference Centre, Canberra 2ND MAY 1968
Speech by the Prime Minister, Mr John Gorton
Mr President and Gentlemen: What I have to say to you, because of the time in
which I can say it, will not be very deep, nor would you expect it to go
very deeply into any of the many subjects which will be occupying your
own minds during the course of the Conference. But you will, I ' know, be
hearing from the Treasurer on matters financial, and I think the Minister
for Denfence will be talking about those aspects of defence which impinge
upon the manufacturing industry inside Australia. You will get from the
acting Minister for Trade and Industry comments in that field of activity
which are of interest to you. So really, the object of my being here is,
firstly, to show publicly the respect and regard which the Government, on
behalf of the people of Australia has for the Associated Chambers of
Manufactures and for what they are seeking in one way or another to do
for the growth of our country. It is a tribute to come, and that I think, you
realise is the main object of my presence with you.
I did notice that this was supposed to be a two-way
flow of ideas that is, a flow of ideas from the Chambers to the Government,
and on other aspects, a flow back from the Government to the Chambers.
It will, I think, be a three-way flow of ideas because I have no doubt that
at the meeting here itself, there will be a flowing of ideas from some people
with some ideas as to what should happen and they in turn will be tne subject
of discussion with others. You can do, and have done and can do more to
dvance the possibilities of Australia's becoming more quickly than she
otherwise would, a significant national power. I think it was Sir Robert
Menzies, some time ago, who said he doubted whether any country had
grown so quickly in so many fields in such a relatively short length of time
fis has Australia since the end of the Second V~ orld ' Var. I don't thin.-
that anyone could deny that the building-up of our manufacturing industry,
the provision of new fields of endeavour inside it, has given to this country
industrial muscles which, for a variety of reasons, are essential in these
days, and has given that employment which makes possible the continuation
of immigration policies which in turn make possible the growth of the
nation. There will be argulrents as to how this can best be done,
as to what price should be paid for what is being contributed by you. Of
course there will. But that there has been a contribution, I think nobody
can doubt. And so I hope you will take further advantage still of
such export incentive schemes as have been or will be provided and take
further advantage, too, of the ability to raise capital throughout the world
in this comparatively safe haven of the world, in order further to expand / 2
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manufacturing activities. i don't suppose that twenty or twenty-five years ago
it would have been possible for this nation to have gone through the
period of drought in its most productive areas, which it has but recently
gone through, without having been most visibly affected, and badly
affected in its economic life. I think it is the growth of alternative
avenues of employment, the growth of manufacturing which has not wiped
out, but minimisect the economic effects of this drought which recently has
hit us. Well, how best to continue these matters is first
going to be the subject of discussion amongst yourselves, and secondly
the subject of submissions made on your behalf to us, some of which,
as you have indicated, may be difficult; some of which, it is not
impossible, might not be accepted, but all of wich will be very carefully
studied. We have for our part and I make this just a very
brief thumbnail sketch we for our part have to try, as n-anagers in the
way in which you are managers, to choose between what are in some
respects contradictory requirements. I think we maust see that those of
our citizens in Australia who are, as a result of the slings and arrows of
outrageous fortune, crippled by illness, unable to live a full life in their
age, invalids during the course of their productive life, are looked after
by the community to a degree which provides a respectable life for these
people. I know we have to supply for this country, more
than ever before, a proportion of our production going towards defence
greater than we have ever had to supply before except in tim. e of war, but
one which must be kept down and is not allowed to grow disproportionately.
Indeed, although the expenditure on defence will inevitably grow because of
commitments already entered into in this coming financial year and possibly
the one after, any increase in proportion must in the future be checked
against the other requirements we have got.
We have, at the same time as having to meet those
requirements amongst many others, to endeavour to see that we leave in
the hands of the individual citizen of Australia, and those who mobilise
the individual citizen for work, such as yourselves, sufficient reward for
what has been earned or what has been done to see that an incentive,
a financial incentive for future advance still remains.
We have to provide, and there are some here who
have been active in urging that this must be provided, and rightly so
we have to provide for even better educational levels than is provided
now, and particularly seek to build up technical education at all levels.
I would think that at a gathering of significant people in Chambers of
Manufactures, I do not need to underline the essentiality of technical
and technological education, in which I include such matters as retraining,
and such matters as managerial training at various levels.
All of these things, and of course many more are those
between which governments as managers have to choose. On one occasion, / 3
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I said something of this kind to a Chamber of Commerce, and for some
reason which I find it impossible to understand, was reported in the
newspapers with a big headline saying :" More Taxatbn is Threatened".
What I am really doing is putting before you all the different requirements
which you want, and showing how, as managexs, one must choose between
them all, and that is all I am doing. In a way, it is trying to do what each
of you in each of your industries do
Whatever choices we finally make, whatever area. it is in
which we finally decide to try first because all of them cannot be all
overcome at once I can tell you this, and I believe that you will believe
me. We will, in this managerial role make choices which we arrive at
on a completely honest assessment, right or wrong, but completely honest
assessment of what we think to be the best for the present and future
growth of this nation, and I would think that you gentlemen would do the
same. If through your efforts, and if thrwugh the efforts of governments
throughout Australia, we can infuse into the Australian people a belief
that each one of them as an individual, in whatever it is that he is called
upon to do by way of employment, that each one of them should follow
the rule :" Whatsoever thy right hand findeth to do, do it with all thy
might" in production, on the land, wherever it may be; if we can
infuse into them the belief that in doing this they are contributing as much
to the growth of a great nation, and a nation in which it is good to live, as
is a soldier on the battlefield protecting Australia in Viet Nam, and that if
they are doing this, they are doing it not merely for their own material
advancement but also for the provision of a better material and spiritual
m-ilieu for their children, then really, Sir, we will have done a great
deal to make this a greater country than it is.
I hope that out of this conference which I now declare open
may come steps in that direction.