SUNDAY, 25 MARCH 1973
ADDRESS BY THE PRIME MINISTER,
THE HON. E. G. WHITLAM, TO
THE VICTORIAN GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE ALP, ST. KILDA TOWN HALL
This is the first General Assembly of the Victorian
Branch since the . House of Representatives elections. It's the
first time I've spoken in this St. Kilda Town Hall since the
great rally winding up the campaign for those elections.
That meeting, the biggest and most enthusiastic political
meeting I've ever attended is now part of Australian history.
Among other things, that meeting symbolised the coming together
of all the elements which now make Victoria a truly great branch
of the Australian Labor Party. We won the elections federally
because we won in Victoria and particularly in the capital of
Victoria and we won in Victoria because the people of Victoria
believed that the reconstruction in 1970 was a genuine
remaking and remoulding of the Branch. That belief was not
misplaced. I'm told by the Press that there's to be a
confrontation today. The only confrontation that my Government
is involved in in Victoria is not in the St. Kilda Town Hall
but further up St. Kilda Road.
In this room are represented all viewpoints of the Party
any member of the Party who wanted to attend can come here today.
Your time and efforts ' created the first Labor Government
federally for 23 years. It's with your help that I'm now
Prime Minister of Australia. I come here to co-operate
not to confront you. I come here to thank you not to
challenge you. You can all be proud of what you have done
to create it. The Australian Government is your Government.
You helped to make it. I come to thank you and to work with you.
I think it's now quite clear what a Labor Government is all
about and I think that the work of this Government has helped
make clear what the reconstruction was all about. The point
at issue in the years before 1970 was whether the aims of
our Party could be achieved through Parliament and whether a
change in the Government party would mean a real change in the
direction of Australian society. The reconstruction was carried
through in the belief that a party which wished to win the
support of half the people of Australia should itself be
representative of the views of at least half the people of
Australia. We believed that such a party would be able to use
Parliament and the Parliamentary system to affect great and
real changes in the nation. We offered a chance to change.
The people took up our offer. We are making the most of the
opportunity they gave us. We have to acknowledge that
significant sections of our people had come to despair of the
Parliamentary system. If we hadn't won on 2 December the
effective survival of the system wouldn't have been able to
get much of an insurance policy.
I believe that what we've done in the last three months
and even more what we are going to do in the next three years
and the next three Parliaments, not only restores Parliament
to its proper role as the effective instrument for economic,
social and political change, but will prove that, if used
properly, Parliament is the real instrument the only
instrument for achieving democratic socialism in our time.
Make no mistake about what we've been doing for the last
three months. The Governor-General himself said in his speech
opening the Parliament, our program is designed to achieve
basic changes in the administration and structure of
Australian society in the lifetime of this Parliament. We are
well on the way towards achieving this. We are determined to
affect our reforms in such a way that our reactionary opponents
will not be able to dismantle what we have created should they
ever again be given the opportunity.
And let me say this in passing about our opponents:
take no comfort at all in the fact that Mr Snedden or Mr Lynch
eminent Victorians as they may be have proved so ineffective.
The real result of their default is that the dominant voice
on the right is the voice of reaction. The Liberal Party is
moving under the control of men who speak the doctrine of
fear and hatred. The voice of the Liberal Parliament which
you now hear the Liberal Party which you now hear in the
Federal Parliament and outside is the echo of the early fifties.
These men haven't been chastened by defeat. They have merely
been further embittered by it. That is, they are a party bent
not on reform but on revenge, and it's our job to see that
they never get that opportunity.
It will be our fault if they get that chance to take
revenge to put the clock back, to dismantle the new structure.
I think it's fair to say that no government in Australia's
history has moved so rapidly and successfully to implement
the program for which it was elected. I have to confess that
when we were compiling the policy speech we anticipated that
it would take much longer to achieve substantial retention of
our promises. Yet setting aside for the moment the great
continuing matters the matters on which it will never be
possible to say we've done enough -' things like schools or
hospitals or cities setting them aside, we've already
implemented or set in train 70 per cent of the specific
promises in our policy speech. The real meaning of this,
the significance of our Party's future and Australia's
future is that by acting so competently we are freeing
ourselves we are preparing ourselves to take the political
debate in Australia to a new and yet even higher level. We
will be able to do this much sooner than we expected in
December. In 1975 we'll not just be standing on our record,
though that record will, I believe, be a very proud one.
We'll be seeking the people's support for a new program,
a new mandate on new issues that will take this nation to a
new and higher level of progress and progress and government.
It amazes me that people at home even some people
abroad have expressed surprise at the speed with which
we moved. Did anyone believe that we wouldn't do what we've
been saying we'd do for years and years. I'd suppose it's really
an illustration of how our opponents in their 23 years
debauched the standards of Parliamentary politics and the
standing of politicians. People had ceased to believe that
politicians could be trusted to keep their word. I remember
before the campaign that the draft resisters gave us only
grudging support. They gave it to us not on the grounds that
we were committed to the abolition of conscription but on the
grounds that we might be more susceptible to pressure than our
opponents. The first act of my first Government the
duumvirate with Barcnard and Hasluck. The first act was
to end the draft, to end national service prosecutions, to
free everybody imprisoned under the Act. Should anybody have
been surprised. We promised to do it. It was something we could
do by administrative action and we did it in the very first week.
Should anybody have been surprised that we immediately withdrew
the vestigial military force, the advisers which had been
left in Vietnam, that we cut off all military aid to South
Vietnam. Admittedly that took longer. It took place in the
second week. But we promised to do it. It could be done by
administrative action and we did it. Could anybody have been
surprised that, in the third week, before Christmas, we had
secured the recognition of the People's Republic of China
and the exchange of diplomatic representatives with them.
We promised to do it. It took over two weeks to do that.
We had to negotiate with another country, but we did it.
We successfully negotiated with them.
Could anybody have been surprised that when America
resumed the bombing of Hanoi, we protested. We did immediately.
Should anybody have been surprised that when the ceasef ire
took place we immediately set in train and in a week secured
the recognition and exchange of diplomatic representatives
with North Vietnam? Now all these things, ladies and gentlemen,
were things which could be done by administrative action or by
negotiation with other countries. We did them all. Nobody
could have done them more effectively, more promptly.
All these things were things for which we sought a mandate,
for which we secured a mandate, on which we discharged the
mandate. Now I suppose this is an appropriate point for me
to bring in some other matters of Foreign Affairs. You might
have read about them.' I noticed in the agenda, that it is
supposed that we say that we should get rid of all U. S. bases
from Australia. We will carry out the mandate for which we
were elected, for which we sought the mandate.
And you will remember that the general context of
a great number of suggestions are made that we are wanting to
break the alliance with the that we are wanting to get
out of ANZUS, and anything that anybody in the Party says
which might have that effect is certain to have the maximum
publicity. But that's not what the Platform says. It's not what
the policy said. It's not what the mandate sought. Because
what the Platform says is: the Labor Party seeks close
continuing co-operation with the people of the United States
and New Zealand to make the ANZUS Treaty an instrument for
justice and peace and political, social and economic
advancement in the Pacific area. And in the policy speech
as in every other respect I've followed it word for word:
the close and continuing co-operation with the people of
the United States and New Zealand to make it an instrument for
justice and peace and for political, social and economic
advancement in the Pacific. That's what the policy speech
said. It's what it had to say because it was in the Platform,
and that's what we want to make ANZUS. We want to make it
what the Platform says it should be. We want to make it
what the policy speech repeated that it should be. We want
to make it what we sought a mandate to achieve. We want
to make it what we were given a mandate to achieve.
Now let me point out that there are five bases
facilities ( that's a more appropriate term in most cases)
which have some defence significance which the U. S. has
arranged to have here. With two of them there has been a
great deal of mystery for a long, long time. One has been
at Alice Springs. It was to look at disturbances in the
atmosphere and attendant phenomena. We revealed to the
people and the Parliament that it was to detect nuclear
explosions in the atmosphere. It's because it's able to
do that that the U. S. felt confident to enter into the
treaty with the Soviet Union and Britain to ban nuclear
explosions in the atmosphere the treaty which China and
France will not sign. The other one was at Amberley
Air Force Base near Ipswich and it was to disturb tremors
in the underground and of course to distinguish earthquakes from
nuclear explsions underground. We are able to reveal that that's
what it did and it's because it's able to do that that the
United States is confidently working towards a comprehensive
nuclear treaty to ban it all. Now, nobody now would say that
these were not valuable. They were valuable. We ought to be
supporting it. And we have promptly ratified every nuclear
treaty which has ever been made. Our opponents had to drag
the chain. We had the conflict. But about those two things,
nobody could learn. They now know what they were for, and
nobody would object to them. They've helped to remove the
spectre of nuclear war from the face of the earth and they
could be effectively done from our part of the hemisphere.
Now the next two things are secret. One is at Pine Gap
near Alice Springs, one is at Nurunga near Woomera. I
emphasise that they are not part of weapons systems. They
can not be used to make war on any country, and the Ministers
whose job it is Foreign Affairs, Defence, Barnard, myself,
Willesee and Bishop all have verified that fact. We know
what goes on there. It's not our secret. One goes till
1976, one goes till 1979. They are expressed in the ANZUS
context. I repeat they are not part of weapons systems.
They can not be used to make war on any country. We can not
disclose any more about their purposes because they're not
our secrets. But ladies and gentlemen, what we want to
recognise is this: that if we seek to govern this country,
the people are entitled to believe that we will do it
responsibly.
We never told the people at the elections that we
would disclose other countries' secrets if we knew them.
We never told the people that we'd break agreements that
went into 1976 or 1979 and we knew this. These were public
documents. Anybody can get copies of the Treaty.
Now you can't now say to people that you'll break
them. We didn't seek a mandate on that. But I urge you if you
want to know more about these, read what Barnard has said after
the discussion in Cabinet and Caucus. Don't go on subsequent
glosses about it. Read what was said. What the Cabinet and
Caucus heard. Then there's a final one, and that's the North West
Cape. Because Australia and the United States entered into
correspondence which said that the Australian Government
had no right to know the messages that went through, we
don't know.* We are determined to find out. The agreement
goes to 1988. But Barnard has said on behalf of the Cabinet
and the Caucus in the Parliament that he will make it this
year we would be negotiating that. We would never have
kept the silly secrecy that there was about the original
thing in Alice Springs the nuclear atmospheric one, or the
silly secrecy about the Amberley one the nuclear underground.
You now know. I can assure you that when in due course it's
regarded as proper to release the information as to what is
done at Pine Gap and Nurunga, you will find it just as acceptable
as you now find what's been done at the old one at Alice Springs
or at Amberley. Then you say that helps to see that the great
powers don't have this ignorance of suspicion of each other which
leads to wars. Because the wars that have taken place this
century have been due to the ignorance of rival powers upon each
other's doing. It's been due to the over-reaction of what great
powers have committed themselves to in ignorance and suspicion
of their rivals. These ones there will allay the suspicion
and remove the ignorance.
The North West Cape is unsatisfactory. No self-respecting
Government should ever have entered into it. No Government in
the world would now enter into such an arrangement. And it's only
fair to give us the opportunity when the Parliament gets up to
negotiate with the Americans to do a proper contemporary thing.
But believe me, we are determined to see in the terms of the
Party Platform that Australia will not be party into undertaking
or entering upon a war without knowing what it's all about and
how it's being done.
We have said through the conferences in the past that
members of Parliament in Australia should have just as much
right to see these things a's United States congressmen and that
has already been conceded it has been agreed there's no
difficulty about that. We achieved that promptly by putting
our cards on the table and it was seen to be reasonable.
Now don't blame the yanks for everything you don't like in this
country. It's not their fault that go many of our companies
and cattle stations are being bought overseas by them. It's
the fault of our predecessors. Don't blame the Republicans
and the Democrats for what the Liberals did.
Now I'll hurry on to some of the other things here.
If things are capable of being done by Federal administrative
action we've already acted because already there's been a very
great deal done to transform the social security systems of
Australia. We already, before Christmas, set up the Interim
Schools Commission which will make its report before the end
of may which will, we expect, be put into force in; tie coming
bcudget and which, with the co-operation of the States, to which
we've written, will mean that the Commonwealth can take over
in the terms of the Party Platform, in the terms of the policy
speech, in the terms of Sir Paul's opening address to the
Parliament, will enable the Commonwealth to assume the
responsibility for planning and financing tertiary education
in Australia on the condition that the money so saved is spent
on other forms of education. It can all be done this year.
As far as we are concerned the report from the Committee which
I set up when I was Minister for Education in the thirteen
days before Christmas will be received before the end of May,
and with the co-operation of the States it will all be fully
implemented in the next scholastic year.
Some of these things involve legislation. It takes a
bit longer to get legislation but we are resolved to see that
our legislation will be in the terms of the mandate we sought
and which we got. Then the remaining thing is of course the
things which have to be done by co-operation with the States.
Things where the Commonwealth can't do it single-handed.
Admittedly, where international affairs are concerned the
Australian Government the national Government is the only
one which has any standing at all. Nobody could have acted
more promptly and fully than we did then. And when there are
administrative things, such as discharging prisoners or
discontinuing prosecutions or entering the draft, we did them
promptly immediately. We've already brought in the first
three weeks of this new Parliament more bills than any Government
has ever brought in federally in such a period all within the
terms of our mandate. We believe they should go through the
Parliament. If any of them are stalled, there's no question
what the public response will be when we put them to the people
at the Senate elections whether or not that is the whole of
the Senate or whether it is jointly with another House of
Representatives election.
You in this State have the great opportunity within the
next couple of months to have a State election and there are so
many things that we can only do by co-operation with the States.
If you want to do anything about the use and the cost of land,
if you want to do anything about public transport, if you want
to do anything about the environment, or the national estate
in general, the federal people can't do it single'handed.
The State people can't do it single'handed. We don't have,
federally, many of the constitutional powers, State governments
don't have financially many of the necessary powers, but between
us we could do any of these things. Now your great opportunity
in a couple of months is to elect a State Labor Government
again.
I've known Clyde Holding for many years. I've worked
with him constantly. There's never a week goes by but we are
in touch with each other and I can assure you that if you want
an effective administration of this nation, of this city,
the only certain way to get it is to have a federal Government
and a State Government which without any inhibitions will
carry out a joint program. Governments, Federal and State,
which are both committed to the Platform of the Australian
Labor Party. I didn't seek a mandate on anything which is
not there. We got a mandate for things that are in there.
I know we will not seek a mandate for anything which isn't
in there, and it will all be in there, the lot of it will be
in his program, between us without division, we will co-operate
in seeing that this Platform is fulfilled. That's where we seek
a mandate. That's the mandate we can expect to get. Now,
the public, in the Victorian elections, will vote for Labor
candidates if they believe that the Labor Party will discharge
the mandate it seeks promptly and fully and that the Party
will back it. Now we've carried out the mandate that we
sought federally. I believe we are entitled to get the
support of this great assembly, the most representative gathering
of any political party in any State in Australia, and I believe
if we get that backing for the mandate we sought and got and
are discharging, that is the best hope of seeing that you have
success in the Mtate elections. The Party backs its Government.
That Government discharges its mandate.
Ladies and gentlemen, Clyde Holding and I, and our
colleagues between us seek a mandate consistent with the
Party Platform. We have shown federally that fully and
promptly we will discharge that mandate. That's why the
public are supporting the Party federally. I believe that
the public of Victoria are entitled to a reassurance that the
Labor Party will back the Government for which it works
the Governments for which the public gave a mandate. In that
way, ladies and gentlemen, at the time of your next assembly
you can not only have the Prime Minister and his Ministers but you
can have once again a Premier and a Labor Ministry as well.