1z4-
EMBARGO: Sunday, S. 00 P. M.
QUEENSLAND BROADCAST NO. 3
GROWTH CENTRES
6 APRIL 1975
During the Easter weekend, I visited Albury
where 2,000 delegates from all over Australia were attending
the Annual Apex Convention. As well as attending the Apex
Convention I was able to see the progress being made on one of
the most exciting experiments ever undertaken in Australia.
The governments of New South Wales and Victoria are
cooperating fully with the Australian Government in the
development of Albury-Wodonga as a-growth centre. There
on the banks of the Murray, the three governments and the
people of Albury-Wodonga are working together to create
what will be virttually a new inland city Australia's first
such since the founding of Canberra itself, more than
sixty years ago. Reflecting on what is happening in Albury,
one can't help drawing a contrast with what is happeningor
rather, what is not happening here in Queensland to
be precise, here in Townsville where I am recording this
broadcast. It's a very unfortunate story. For the fact is
that the development taking place in Albury, the finance
being made available, could be and should be paralleled in
Townsville. In the policy speech for the elections of
1972, I said this: " In our first term of office, a Federal
Labor Government will concentrate its own
initiatives and endeavours on two areas-
Albury-Wodonga and Townsville. At
Albury-Wodonga the Commonwealth has all the
ingredients for a successful effort to establish
another inland city the size of Canberra*.
The Commonwealth is already responsible for
decisions which have determined the growth and
the burdens of Townsville more than any other
-Austra-lian city, except Canberra itself."
That was what I said in 1972. The new government
moved very promptly to meet its undertakings. The
Albury-Wodonga project is going ahead. Townsville has
stalled. Why the difference?
I have to be quite blunt. The sole difference
lies in the attitude of the State Governments concerned.
From the beginning, we had good cooperation from
the Premiers of New South Wales and Victoria. Sure, there
were problems to be sorted out. The State Governments both
of them incidentally, non-Labor Governments sought and
obtained assurances about their own role and responsibilities.
That's fair enough.
But the important thing was that the basic approach
by the three governments was a desire to cooperate, a
desire to see that the project succeeds. During my Easter
visit to Albury, I was able to make a joint statement with the
Premiers of New South Wales and Victoria, announcing that we
had signed an agreement providing $ 40 million from the
Australian Government for further development at Albury-Wodonga.
So the work is going ahead. My promise of 1972 is being
fulfilled. I am afraid I can't report the same progress with
Townsville. The fruitful cooperation we have had with the
non-Labor Government in New South Wales and Victoria just
has not been forthcoming from the Queensland Government.
In both the 1973 Budget and last year's Budget, we allocated"
very substantial sums to the States for land acquisition
and growth centre programs $ 30 million in 1973,
$ 125 million in 1974-75. Initially we offered the Queensland
Government over $ 4 million specifically for development in
Towns ville. That offer has never been taken up.
Our interest in Townsville is very close. The
growth of Townsville in recent years has owed very much to
initiatives by the Australian Government, to decisions made
indeed by the previous Australian Government. The James
Cook University, the Marine Research Institute and the choice
of Townsville as the headquarters of our northern defence
system h ave shaped the Townsville of today. The growth
that these institutions and installations have brought, has
also imposed very heavy burdens on Townsville's services
and amenities. It would be intolerable for any Australian
Government to ignore the consequences of its own initiatives
for the people of Townsville the taxpayers, the rat(% payers.
We can't expect the people of Townsville to foot the bill for
new community needs which have been created by decisions In
of the Australian Government, so we want to contribute. We
want to cooperate with the State Government and Townsville's
local authorities, to ensure that Townsville grows in a
well-ordered, well-planned way, that proper community services
are provided, that land prices are held down. But we
jus t are not receiving the necessary cooperation.
Why should this be so? What nonsense it is
to talk of this being an example of centralism, and what
nonsense it is to talk of this in terms of State rights.
what we offer is a splendid opportunity for genuine
decentralisation. This is what is being achieved at Albury-
Wodongai. Why' should it not be achieved in Queensland?
Why should the non-Labor Premier of Queensland refuse the kind
of cooperation we have had from the non-Labor Premiers of
New South Wales and Victoria. What is it that Mr Bjelke-
Petersen sees so sinister in an offer which is perfectly
acceptable to Mr Lewis and Mr Hamer? .3
-3-
It is not too late although with every month
that passes the problems of Townsville's growth will
mount and the cost of solving them will go up.
But our offer the offer I made in 1972 still stands.
It requires only a word from Mr Bjelke-Petersen a word
that would indicated his willingness to cooperate in
the way that his southern colleagues are cooperating
This is something of concern to Townsville. It is in the
interest of Queensland as a whole that the Australian
Government should be involved in developing growth centres,
not only in Townsville but also in the Fitzroy and Moreton
regions. But if these projects are to go ahead, then we
must have cooperation from the State Government. Queenslanders
should insist that that cooperation is forthcoming.