VISION VALLEY OPENING
N. S W.
Speech by the Prime tUinister, The Rt Hon. William McMahon, C. H. rM. P.
3 June, 1972.
The Reverend Alan Walker, Ladies and Gentlemen,
When Alan Walker asks me to do something for one of the
many projects which spring from his fertile mind, it isn't easy to say
no'. I have known him for a long time and I admire him in the work
he is doing in the name of his church for people in all walks of life.
So whien he asked me to open " The Vision Valley Project"
this afternoon, I could'nt say ' no' It is a great personal pleasure,
Alan, for my wife and me to be here and for me to say a few words about
this project. You have " reached for the stars", and here in this valley
you and your colleagues have built a " Country Club" with a difference.
This Centre will bring relief to young and old from the stifling life
of the crowded city of Sydney. And in this way it will help to refresh
the moral and spiritual values of our own community. In many ways I
believe we can look upon it as a pathfinder for others. Its conception
alone is inspiring and its practical value will be unlimited. It will
give direct expression to some of the things my Government wants to secure
for the Australian people. Among these is the development of a quality
of life in Australia which has as its symbol and slandard, excellence in
all things, and an end to oovcrty so far as it is within the power of
mortal men, to achieve.
There are tasks ahead in the seventies for all of us
tasks which require us to share in a concerted national effort to protect
the Australian environment not only from the man-made pollution of the
air and the water, and the desecration of our great and unique natural
assets, but from the diseascs of s) ciety which flow from crowded living
and the tensions and pressures of contemporary life. Vision Valley will
make a notable contribution to thlat effort.
I sooke the other day Df Government plans to expand the work
of the National Health and Mledi.: a2 Research Council, and of our wish to
do something more in the nursing home and home care fields.
These are examples of a strong and continuing desire on the
part of my Government to join with others in dealing with the social
problems of the day, and to do our best to give to every man, woman
and child in the Australian community the security and dignity that is
theirs by right as citizens of this wonderful country.
We will not rest in this task. Some of what we do can be
measured in money terms and in the shape of buildings against the sky.
But a lot, too, depends on the research we make possible; on the
guidance we can give, and on the goodwill of the Central Missions of
many faiths which we can foster.
I think it is one of the remarkable aspects of Australian
life that so much is being achieved by voluntary effort and by the
gift of time and ideas and enthusiasms by a great legion of Australians
who are insnired to do things in humanity's name. I hope it will
always go on for it is one of the ennobling characteristics of any
nation. Alan, I congratulate you and your fellow workers of the
' ethodist Central Mission on the example you set and the leadership
you give. Some of you may ask " What is the Government giving in hard
cash to this project The honest answer is that it is not giving
anything directly, because under the acts of Parliament as they stand
we cannot spend the taxpayers' money in this way. But indirectly I
want to tell you that we are helping, and I believe, helping significantly.
We are doing this by tax deductability for donations of $ 2 and over to
the project, and our contributions to projects run by the Methodist
Central Mission which do qualify under existing acts of Parliament.
This, of course, does allow the Mission to divert more of its
own funds to exciting and original new projects like Vision Valley. And
so many of you will know the Central Methodist Mission supports many
socially significant and essential projects. There is its famous
Lifeline Service, its homes for the aged and chronically ill and its aid
to the physically and mentally handicapped so that they can be helped
to find a useful nlace with dignity in our society. Homes for the aged
and chronically ill and the handicapped do come under the acts I have
referred to. And over the years the Commonwealth Government has given
just over half a million dollars $ 574,000 to be precise to the
' lathodist Central Mission for its nursing homes, hostels and home units
for the aged. Now, under another act of Parliament under the Sheltered
Employment Assistance Act we propose to give another substantial sum
to the 1Methodist Central Mission.
Mr Chairman, I have pleasure in announcing that my Government
will grant the sum of $ 137,000 for the Mission's Sheltered Workshop at
the Lifeline Centre in Rydalmere. This will be for the direct assistance
of dibibled people. It will, as I explained before, also help to improve
the development of Vision Valley by freeing other funds for this project. / 3
3.
M. r Chairman, many people who are sorely troubled will come
to this Valley and find comfort and hope. Others will find it a place
to rest from their labours, and others, too: will find it a olace to
refresh their spirit and body in healthy surroundings.
All of them, I am sure, will find a new communion in life
which will make them hapoier people.
It is for these reasons I feel privileged to be here today,
and to officially declare this Centre open.