0. E MBARGO: 7. 15 p. m. RADIO TALK NO. 3
19 69 FEDERAL ELECTION
TALK GIVEN BY THE PRIME MINISTER,
MR. JOHN GORTON, OVER ABC NETWORK
ON FRIDAY 17 OCTOBER
In my previous talk to you, I dealt with the lack of
policy of the ALP in matters of defence and of foreign affairs. Also
I spoke of how I believed their policy of running out of our overseas
obligations and then cutting our own defence forces imperilled
Australia's future security and, indeed, made it quite possible that
the existence of Australia as an independent nation might, in the years
ahead, well be threatened by these policies.
And so, naturally, they have in their policy speech no
provision for increasing Australia's defences at all. Rather, as
would be expected, do they have a proposal to cut Australia's Army
by one-third by abolishing National Service Training, and this we
will not do. And also they have a proposal to deny the Air Force
that strike aircraft which the Air Force and all our military advisers
say Australia's defence needs. So they have no policy in those
directions. But when you examine the propositions put before you,
they don't have policies in other directions either. There arc no
policies for development which have been put before you by the Labor
Party. We, on the other hand, have put specific proposals.
We have proposed to build railways in South Australia.
We propose to establish an Institute of Marine Science so we can
learn about the Barrier Reef and help to protect it. We propose to
take Australia into the atomic age by establishing an atomic plant
at Jervis Bay. We propose to help the film industry in Australia so
that our talent can be employed, so that the pictures we make can be
exported and so that people overseas can see what the real Australia
is like. These are some of the specific proposals that we have put.
There are no such specific proposals to counter them from the
Opposition. Further, we have in what we have said, made it clear
that we realise that the State Governments will in the years ahead as
our revenue rises, need more and more revenue themselves so that
they can, as their population grows, provide the schools, the roads,
the hospitals, the other services they now give. e. / 2
-2-
There is no indication whatsoever in the speeches of
the Opposition that they realise there will be this need. No indication
whatsoever. All there is is an indication that they will bypass the
States; that they will in education, for example, set up a Commission
to examine ten thousand schools and assess the needs of each. Whereas
we are already working and have been for months been working with
the States not to bypass them, but with each State Education Department
to assess, so that they could assess, the needs of their own schwls.
This surely is a better way to do it.
Then we have in one field only these large promises
in welfare large promises, very costly promises, promises which
will lead to inflation and yet promises which Dr. Cairns, one of the
economists in the Labor Party, has already said may be so costly that
they won't be able to be carried out. It is not surprising he should
say that because in the Opposition, no matter what the Leader wants
to do, he is told what to do by an outside body.
Let me give you one example of that. In Bendigo nct
long ago, the Leader of the Opposition went to the people saying,
" My policy is to make a grant for education. I will give half to State
schools; half to independent schools. Elect my candidate". And a
few scant weeks later he had to change that under dictation.
You cannot rely on what a Parliamentary party, dictated
to by an outside body, will do no matter whatever they may promise
to do.