I 0.
PRIME MINISTER'S PRESS CONFERENCE
PARLIAMENT HOUSE, CANBERRA
TUESDAY, 3 DECEMBER 1974
Gentlemen, are there any questions?
QUESTION: Will the Federal G rnment appeal against the decision
on Public Service wage increa-e by Mr Taylor?
PRIME MINISTER: The decision of Mr Taylor is under consideration.
That is all I can say at this stage.
QUESTION: By Cabinet?
PRIME MINISTER: It is under consideration.
QUESTION: What percentage would you regard in the Queensland
elections as the cut-off point which you consider Labor to be
holding ground or gaining ground or losing ground?
PRIME MINISTER: I have got nothing to say on that.
QUESTION: Under what circumstances would the next elections
come for the Ministry? Do you have any plans for something
preceding the Senate half term might that be the occasion,
or do you not su~ e this happening until the next house election?
PRIME MINISTER: The normal time is after there is another
election for the House of Representatives.
QUESTION: Do you see nothing coming ahead of that?
PRIME MINISTER: I know of no steps.
QUESTION: Last week Dr Cairns said that he believed the Government's
first and most important job now must be to look at a possible
reduction in the level of indirect taxes. Do you share the
Deputy Prime Minister's view that the economy needs further
stimulus and, in particular, do-you think that indirect taxes
should have top priority in this area?
PRIME MINISTER: I don't believe Dr Cairns'said that indirect taxes
would have top priority. I certainly don't believe that they
should. To reduce the Consumer Price Index by one percentage
point would require -a reduction in indirect taxation, Federal
and State, averaged over Australia equally of $ 400 million.
I believe there are very much more effective ways of coping with
the twin problems of inflation and unemployment than by reducing
indirect tax. The form of indirect tax which would produce
the biggest puc-duction in the Consumer Price Index would be in
respect of liquor which is both State and Federal and tobacco
which is Federal and also in some States a State tax as well.
I don't really believe that it is socially or economically necessary
to promote the consumption of liquor and tobacco.
QUESTION Last week the House of Representatives voted to defer
consideration of-the Family Law Bill until next February and a
number' of Labor Party members voted this way in the House....
-2-
PRIME MINISTER: And a great number were absent.
QUESTION:* And a great number were absent. But, taking account
of the number who voted the way they did, does this now suggest
that perhaps the Labor Party is as conservative a force as the
Opposition parties in the Senate which were able to put the
bill through there?
PRIME MINISTER: I believe that a majority of the members of the
Labor Party in the House of Representatives a considerable
majority of the members of the Labor Party in the House of
Representatives will support this admirable bill.
QUESTION: Do you believe there is enough members of the House
of Representatives will support it to get the bill through in
its present form?
PRIME MINISTER: I certainly hope so. But every member of all
three parties in the House of Representatives is, I believe,
free to vote as he sees fit on this bill. That is the case with
the Australian Labor Party, I believe it is the case with the
Liberal Party and the Country Party or the National Party or
whatever it is called. I would hope that a majority of members
of all parties would support this bill.
QUESTION: Prime Minister, are you satisfied that you have
the departmental resources to back up your statedi attempt to
inrolve yourself more in economic decision-making? If not, what
plans do you have to change the structure of your department
to help you play that role more effectively?
PRIME Mi. rSTER: The structure of any department is not-the
responsibii'y of the Minister, it is the responsibility of
the Permanent Head. The Minister can make recommendations to
the Cabinet concerning the appointment of Permanent HeaO
when positions of Permanent Heads are vacant but the Minister
does not decide thc-structure of any dcpartinent and that applies
to the Prime M4ini~ t, L wi -h teo~ ~ his department top.
QUL TTC1N: Can you expand on whether your Permanent Head has any
plans Ind has he discussed them with you?
PRIME Jy1.1.__ TER: No I can't expand on that.
QUESTION: Do you know of any plans or would you ny plans
to try and recommit that dlecision of last Thursday to d& fer the
consideration of the Family Law Bill to next year?
PRIME MINISTER: I know of no plan. Do any of you? Let me know
if you do.
QUESTION: Would you support any moves to recommit that decision?
PRIME MINISTER: If a vote came to recommit that decision I would
support it. But I-don't know of any moves to do so.
QUESTION: Do you expect the Foreign Affairs and Defence
Committee to report on the Omega base before the Federal Conference?
-3-
PRIME MINISTER: I don't know.
QUESTION: What will happen
PRIME MINISTER: I don't know.
QUESTION: What would happen if you don't get the report before
the Federal Conference then in view of the big row at the last
Conference on this issue?
PRIME MINISTER: There wasn't a big row at the last Conference on
this issue. -The Conference supported the idea that there should
be an inquiry into the whole issue by the Parliamentary Committee,
the Foreign Affairs and Defence Committee, and I think that was
supported on all sides. I don't know when the committee will
report.
QUESTION: Will you be speaking to us again in this form before
you go overseas, and....
PRIME MINISTER: I hope so next Tuesday. I am not quite sure
whether the House of Representatives will be sitting but it looks
as if it won't be and I would hope to be having this pleasant
colloquy at that time.
QUESTION: If you don't sir, perhaps you could tell us a little
of what you expect of this trip and do you consider Russia to be
thehighlight-of the journey and what things you might be raising
with the Russians? Will it include the problem of the Jewish
emigration? PRIME MINISTER: I have got nothing to add to questions I have
alreLdy canswered on this subject, including the one you mentioned.
I answered a question on that on TV 22 hours ago. I am sorry
I haven't been able to have these conferences the last f'-w we
but I had the advantage of the company of many of you t! la.. L
three weekends in Queensland north, south, centre, west.
QUESTION: Prime Minister, if you don't appeal against Mr Taylor's
decision what does this mean for your policy on wage restraint?
The flow-on effects will be quite considerable to the private
white-collar sector?
PRIME MINISTER: I don't make that assumption at all. Incidc. ntally,
some of th.-reporting and the headlines ci; this subject seem to L~ e
very much astray. Th'is is the first time, I hclleve, that
Mr Taylor or his predecessors have granted I-ntage
increases. For instanc, the percentage increase whic, hu ,_ Lo
to the people on the smallest incomes were 25 per cent. Tiñ. ' rc.
he granted to those on the hic' was 13 per cent which is qui.
a change as far as the Public Service Arbitrator is concerned.
QUESTION: On the dreaded trip again.
PRIME MINISTER: Aren't you coming?
QUESTION: I hope so. During the election campaign you addressed
members of the Jewish community at a breakfast in Melbourne and
you were reported as saying then that you hoped to include Israel
in the itinerary for the trip.
-4-
PRIME MINISTER: No, I don't think I said that. I did not say that.
I believe I said that I expected to be the first Australian Prime
Minister to visit Israel. I am, of course, the only political
1' eader in the Australian Parliament present or past who has
ever visited Israel. I have visited if four times. I hope to
visit Israel and, of course, also Egypt and Lebanon.
QUESTION: On this trip Prime linister or at another time?
PRIME MINISTER: No, there was never any suggestion on this trip.
The statement to which you refer was last May, just before the
elections and at that time it was expected I would visit Europe
but not the Middle East in June, and that European visit has been
postponed to this Christmas/ New Year period.
QUESTION: Sir, the Senate has just defeated your Broadcasting
and Television legislation by 27 to 25. Do you regard this as
significant defeat?
PRIME MINISTER: Let me consider the implications.
QUESTION: Last weekend in Brisbane you defended cons imer interests
and said that some trade unions and employers were scrf'wing the
public. Are you prepared to back up these wo ' rds with action and.
oppose any move within the Labor Party to increase tariffs or
duties on imported goods?
PRIME MINISTER: I will look at all these matters on their merit.
The attitude I take to protection, the assistance to some industries,
impositions on consumers in respect of the products of those
-'-industries, should be well-known. But as far as I am concerned
an'y decisi-ons should be reached after considering the point of
view seeking the point of view of all people concerned, and
I don't believe that the only points of view that ziiould be
cnsidered are those of the employers and employees in
' IKrticular industries. I believe the consumer also hias to be
-' c6nsidered.
QUESTION: I refer to the Broadcasting Act which precludes
television and radio from being broadcast or televised from
midnight on the Wednesday preceding any election Federal or
State. Has Cabinet at any stage considered amending that law?
PRIME MINISTER: There has been some discussion but there has
been no decision. And there hasn't been any recent discussions
either. I
QUESTION: How do you now see the role of the Public Service and,
in particular, the Treasury after some of the things that have been
said last week and after the reports that were in the papers this
morning that yo! ire going to set up a new non-Public Service
decision advisory body around you, and after Dr Cairns decision
not. to appoint his personal private secretary from the Treasury
telf. Does this mean that the Government now regards the
. f~ sury in particular and the Public Service in general as
liable, that you are trying to set up alternative decision-
~~ ing bodies or can we expect to see a change back towards the
Jaditional pattern later in the course of this Government.
PRIME MINISTER: You have asked me several questions. I can't
pretend that I can remember them. I will therefore not try to
give precise answers to them. All that I have done in this matter
is to see that the three senior Ministers confer with me and
with the Permanent Heads of my Department and of the Treasury and
of the Department of Minerals and Energy and the Reserve Bank
at regular intervals. This is not a decision-making body, it's
a consultative body but I have not appointed and it doesn't
fall to me to appoint any of the other bodies to which you refer.
Nothing that I have done in this respect would be designed
or likely to downgrade or oust Treasury. It should assist in the
prompt and comprehensive examination, at the highest level of
government, of all economic, statistics and indices.
QUESTION: Over the last few days you have had quite a deal to
say about the problems and achievements of the Whitlam Labor
Government over the past two years. Sir, could I ask you what
would you like to say on December 2, 1975 in terms of the
achievements of your Government? What do you see as the problems'
in the next 12 months, what are you hoping the results will be?
PRIME MINISTER: I believe that within the next 12 months we will
see still more of our programs and the institutions we propose
in operation. A year ago many of these institutions were still
fledgelings the Cities Commission, the Grants Commission, the
Schools Commission, the Prices Justification Tribunal, the Industries
Assistance Commission. They are all now very effective
institutions.* Now in the last twelve months we have set up many
other bodies for instance, the Trade Commission. And I have no
doubt that in twelve months time we will see the benefit of that
body of the various pieces of legislation under the Australian
Parliiment's taxation and corporations jurisdiction and we
will al.: see'the benefit of many of the local bodies which we
are estabji hing such as legal aid offices and community health
centres. I believe that in twelve months time, right around t-e
country, you will see the effective demonstrations of t! program
which I have outlined over the last two years.
QUESTION: And the problems sir?
PRIME MINISTER: The problems will be of the same kind but less in
deiree than at the moment.
QUESTrION: Sir, within that twelve months would you see a
reducti'-in interest rates possibility?
PRIME MINISTER: A very distinct possibility. t~ -, av a
probability. QUESTION: Recently in a telcv i q4on interview you endorsed thri-
Caucus system as an integral element in the Federal Parliamnzlu. Ly
Labor Party.
PRIME MINISTER: Yes.
QUESTION: T am wondering if you could give us your views on members
of the Caucus initiating broad economic policies. What would
happen....
-6-
PRIME MINISTER: The Caucus system, the Standing Orders of the
Caucus, don't provide for that. There are committees which the
Caucus elect~ s and they make recommendations on matters within
their jurisdiction if they wish and they are considered by the
Cabinet and then put to the full Caucus.
QUESTION: Do you support that idea of a Caucus committee
initiating economic policies?
PRIME MINISTER: No, it can initiate certain ideas but quite
obviously the executive which is elected wholly by the Caucus
must be the prime initiating body. I don't mind where ideas come
from I welcome them. There has been some error by some Caucus
committees in presuming to review decisions which have been
made under the Caucus Standing Orders by committee and by Cabinet
itself.
QUESTION: Following up to your answer to Mr Begg's question, to
what extent would you hope to see the interest rate reduction
and when?
PRIME MINISTER: I haje got no more to say on that.
QUESTION: Prime Minister you mentioned the. IAC as one of the
achievements of the last 12 months. Are you concerned now at the
rather sarcastic manner in which the IAC is being referred to
by some political leaders and do you think this might reduce
its effectiveness?
PRIME' MINISTER: No. I believe the quality of the appointments
we made to the IAC and the statutory obligations of the IACG
will s r-Tive any such sarcastic comments. The critics of the IAC,
I fin, -i't'stand up in general to the IAC itself. r haven't
got very ML-sympathy for those people who criticise the IAC
when either they have given evidence to the IAC, which the lAC
has found deficient, or when they have not given evidenc( t all.
I think people in assessing the views of critics of the IAC should
examine the motive., and the performance of those critics. There
was a recent case where a State department made a submission on
a r-atter which had been reported on by the IAC and there were
alz some outside consultants whom my own department asked to
rel-on this same matter. I must say that the State departmenlL
and outside consultants didn't stand up very well to what the
TAC Eaid.
QUESTION: made a few remarks about the Pub] i' Service wage
increase which eft us rather up in the air. Yu, it
being reconsidcored. Ca, -ou tell us how?
PRIME MINISTER: i said it i, 1-ir considered.
QUESTION: Well it is being considered. Can you tell us how?
PRIME MINISTER: It is under consideration I think I said.
No I won't elaborate.
QUESTION: Can you tell us whether you are happy with it. Do you
think it will da-mage the case which the Government is about to
put to the....
7--
-7-
PRIME MINISTER: I won't state any views on those either.
QUESTION: Would you like to 1, ave power to select yourself
for portion of the Cabinet?
PRIME MINISTER: No. I've been asked this question so often
and I have always given the same reply. I support the idea of a
Government party electing the ministers. I have always said that
and, I believe you know I have always said that. I believe the
other system which applied under our predecessors was one of the
reasons for our predecessors crumbling.
QUESTION: I did say portion though, I never said....
PRIME MINISTER: No, well I have been asked that to. I don't
appreciate your asking me questions which then promote me to
take up a didactic attitude towards you. But, the fact is that
I support the present system wholly. I always have and I have
always said so.