NOTES FOR THE PRIME MINISTER, THE HON. E. G. WHITLAM, M. P.,
FOR A SPEECH AT ST PAUL'S HALL, IPSWICH, 18 NOVEMBERk 1974
1. I am proud to share this platform tonight with
Rex Connor, the Minister for Minerals and Energy. The people
of this city and this State have no greater friend and
benefactor. Labor's policies for the development of our coal,
minerals and other resources are in the best of hands.
Rex Connor's handling of our mineral resources has safeguarded
Australian ownership and vastly increased the returns to
Australian producers from the sale of our exports. His
achievements will ensure. They will be gratefully acknowledged
by millions of Australians today and in generations to come.
2. Queenslanders in particular should examine the
fruits of Labor's policies on-. minerals and energy. The future
of Queenslands coal industry has never looked brighter. Exports
are at a record level, both in volume -and price. The Labor
Government by careful planning and diligent negotiation has
secured fair returns on our mineral exports for the benefit of*
all Australians. We have carefully supervised contract tender
prices. Between January last year and September this year
increases negotiated in the export prices of Queensland coal
total $ 1836 million over the full terms of all coal export
contracts. The value of the increases actually received during
this period is approximately $ 100 million.
3. The facts can no longer be suppressed by the Queensland
Government they are crucial to Queensland's future development
and prosperity. The export controls imposed on black coal
exports from Queensland and New South Wales to Japan, Europe
and elsewhe~ re have been outstandingly successful. Coal exporting
companies are no longer fighting each other and cutting prices.
Above all we have put an end to interstate competition which was
resulting in lower returns to Australia as a whole. It is one
thing for Australia to compete with other countries for markets.
It is absurd for one Australian state to compete with another.
4. Japanese coal buyers. now acce, the value of dealing
with the. Australian coal industry under tne new export controls
system. -They know there is a certainty of supply at a fair
price and that the guarantee of the Australian Government stands
behind Queensland coal producers. As a result of Rex Connor' s
negotiations the Japanese have made known their. requirements
of coking coal an&~ steaming coal up to the year 1980. This
information will enable the Australian Government to plan in
conjunction with Queensland coal producers and other members of
the Australian Coal Association for the further development of
existing mines, increases * in their labour force improvement in
rail transport and harbour coal loading and other shipping
facilities. The visit of Prime Minister Tanaka to Australia
confirmed these arrangements. Australian-Japanese trading
relations are at their highest level of trust, cordiality and
mutual benefit. . A 77-7-1
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Contrast the benefits that Labor has brought to Queensland
with the benefits Mr Bjelke-Petersen has refused. By refusing
to co-operate in our plans for a growth centre at Townsville, by
refusing to co-operate in our plans for land acquisition to bring
down the price of land, Mr Bjelke-Petersen has thrown away
million in Australian Government assistance to Queensland. Labor's
policies are not only brining in hundreds of millions of extra dollars
in export earnings. At the same time we are giving money to the
States on an unprecendented scale. Queensland has received more
from my Government than it received from any previous Government
in history. Yet Mr Bjelke-Petersen constantly whinges about the
harsh treatment meted out to him by the Labor Government. Last
financial year our total payments to Queensland totalled $ 739
million. Queensland received more than $ 382 per head of population
in 1973-74 compared with $ 343 per head in average payments to all
States. 6. Last year our grants for primary and secondary education
were up 145 per cent on the year before. Tertiary education was
up 165 per cent, technical education 110 per cent, welfare housing
per cent, Aboriginal advancement nearly 30 per cent. Health
and welfare, roads and urban and regional development in Queensland
are all getting record amounts from my Government. We are doing
more for local government than any previous~ government in Canberra.
This year I approved grants totalling $ 56 million to local
government councils throughout Australia. Queensland's share
of these grants is $ 8.9 million. The Ipswich City Council is
receiving $ 364,000 the largest grant for any local council in
Queensland outside Brisbane itself.
7. One area of particular soci * al relevance to Ipswich is the
Austi lian Qovernment's decision to establish a community health
Centre _ n Ipswich. In the last financial year we provided a
total grc.. m of $ 78,719 to get the project off the ground. In
the current financial year 1974-75 the total grant is to be
$ 297,802 $ 258,577 for operating costs and a capital grant
of $ 39,225. That's what you get when you are fortunate enough to
have socially committed men like Bill Hayden and Doug Everingham
z: cting in your best interests in the vital fields of health
a1Ad welfare. You wouldn't get it from Mr Tooth. You didn't
get it from Mr Tooth.
8. 1 know the great hardship suffered by your district
from the fleod disaster earlier this year. All Australia
sympathised with you i. n that terrible experience. My Government
gave prompt and generous assistance for flood relief. We
immediately mobilised Civil Defence and Defence personnel and
resources. Our payments to Queensland, totalling $ 66 million
so far, are the biggest natural disaster outlay ever made by
an Australian Government. Queensland's expenditure on flood
relief from its own resources has amounted to $ 3.7 million.
We created a natural disasters organisation to * absorb
the existing Civil Defence arrangements and deal with the
long-term relief of flood and bushfire devastation.
-3-
9. We must heed the lessons of the Queensland flood
disaster. Brisbane is a clear example of a city with inadequate
land use, planning and control, especially with respect to flood
plains. Since 1887 floods have occurred eight times in the
lower catchment areas, and as the city and vulnerable surrounding
districts grow, the risk increases. Despite the devastation
in the past, Queensland governments did little to prevent or
prepare for new emergencies. We can be ' sure that flooding
rains will occur again. We must act now to modify their
effects. In April I invited the Premier to submit a state-wide
plan for flood mitigation measures to be considered for
Australian Government assistance. The Premier supplied such
a plan. We have undertaken to consider requests for assistance
for any Queensland flood mitigation project as soon as we receive
full information on the proposed work. We have been prevented
from acting on requests for assistance because the Queensland
Government has not provided the information we need.
In July we asked the Queensland Premier to supply
more detailed information on the projects he had submitted.
We hoped to have a response by October. We are., still waiting.
We have received no detailed proposal at all about the
Bremmer River which is of most vital concern to the people
of Ipswich. Although the Australian Government allocated $ 66 million
for flood relief and restoration in Queensland it looks as though
only about $ 57 million will be spent.
My Government adheres to its goal of full employment.
We are taking action on many fronts to safeguard workers' jobs.
The increase in unemployment in Ipswich in recent months,
pardcicularly in the textile industry, has given us gveat concern.
Of 19k -enple in Ipswich out of work in the clothing and textile
industr.. 160 are receiving structural adjustment assistance
and a further 21 applications are being processed. We have acted
to curb imports of certain finished knitted and woven goods
from South East Asia. On 11 September a further referen~ ce was
sent to the textile authority covering yarns, knitted fabrics and.
towelling. The Government has received this report and is
considering its recommendations. On 26 August the Industries
*-ssistance Commission began public hearings to determine what
widcr as~ istance is required for the clothing, industry.
11. Only last Friday I sent a reference to * the Textiles
Authoriiy' within th~ e Industries Assistance Commission covering
a wide rancj of men' s, women' s, children's, and infant's clothing,
as well as hosiery an~ d gloves.
This action is being taken as a result of high and
rising levels of imports and apparent total availability of such
goods on the Australian market substantially in excess of
previous levels.
The reference seeks the advice of the. Textiles Authority
on whether action should be taken to restrain imports either under
the GATT textile arrangement or, if necessary to advise on any
other measures considered desirable. / 14
I have asked the Textiles Authority to repo---c-witkhin
days in relation -to certain shirts and pyjamas, and . within.
days -in respect of-the remainder.
I take the opportunity now * to invite manufacturers and
any other interested parties to start preparing submissiLoa_ to
the Textile Authority without delay. The Authority will arrange
to hold public hearings and details of these will shortly be
announced. 12. We have taken many other measures to relieve unemployment.
They are not just short-term palliative measures but far-sighted
schemes to bring help to deprived regions and make our industries
more efficient and resilient. On 23 September we announced a
special scheme of grants to towns outside the main metropolitan
areas, including subsidies to companies and grants to companies
or local bodies for the establishment of viable alternative
production and employment. Ipswich City Council has received
$ 808,000 since the introduction in September of the" Regional
Employment Development Scheme. This will provide new roadside
retaining walls, concrete channelling and footpaths. We have
approved 34 local projects to provide employment in Queensland
under our REDS scheme.
Another 15 have been given provisional approval pending
further discussions with local government bodies. Besides
providing employment, these schemes will bring permanent benefits
to Queensland cities, towns and tourist resorts. In October we
introduced the National Employment and Training System to
develop and rationalise our manpower resources. Since the
introduction of NEAT, 704 people in Queensland have undergone
training and retraining in new jobs. A further 1600 Queensland
applicants are-wai-ting to join the-scheme.'
13. -Never once have we relaxed our efforts to solve our
eco nomic problems problems we share with every comparable
country. Prices in Queensland are rising faster than in any
other State but Mr Bjelke-Petersen does nothing about it. He
campaigned against our referendum seeking powers to deal with
prices and refuses to use-the powers that the States alone possess.
He refuses to co-operate with us in redu,. high electricity
costs in Queensland. He refuses to let ANL ships operate between
Queensland ports,* thus-keepinqg'up -the high cost of freights. He
refuses to discuss our -offer-to take over the'State Railways
and relieve Queensland of this constant and growing burder, on
its budget thus keeping up the cost of railway freights and
fares. 14. Contrast this negative and unco-operative attitude with
the major economic decisions and initiatives I announced last
Tuesday. In my statement to Parliament I said:
' These measures add up to a very sub~ stantial relaxation
of monetary policy. Financial conditions can be
expected to become a good deal easier in the months
ahead than they have been in the recent past. In the
past week the Governor of the Reserve Bank has written
to the banks requesting them to increase appreciably
their rate of new lending and I would expect to see a
prompt response by the banks some savings banks are
already stepping up the rate of their housing loan
approvals.' e7-7..
We are increasing the real purchasing value of takehome
pay by cutting income tax. These tax cuts are part of our
plan for the reintroduction of cost of living adjustments for
wage and salary earners. Wage indexation will ensure that the
real wages of employees are protected in the years ahead. In
the transition period the value of wages will be preserved by
the tax cuts.
16. In Queensland the only people whose wages have been
subject to indexation so far are Members of Parliament.
I ask Queenslanders to contrast our support of cost of living
adjustments for all wage and salary earners with the outright
opposition of the Liberal-Country Party to the applications
for wage indexation now before the Arbitration Commission.
This contrast between the Labor Party and the Liberal-Country
parties will be clear for all to see when the Australian
Government representative speaks in support of cost of living
adjustments before the Arbitration Commission and the
Queensland Government representative opposes them.