7% 7~ 512-42
PttJrie MIi~ ni~ u
FOR PEII NSOVsE MBER_ 24, 1975
MR, WHITLAM' S POLICY STATFMhENT
Rr. WhiLaml'g lunch time speech wa-0 a pathetic'cry from a per-son
who could not take the umpires vordict.
The Australijan Constitution provides an umpire to protect tho
people of A-uPtralia in just the kird of emergency that Mr. Whitlam
created. unlike the grocat majority of Austrlians Mr. Whitlam does ot
support the umpire. He cannot take thE-_ Ujipire's decision
when it goes against him.
One of the great questions arising that will probably never
bA answered is whether Mr. Whitlam forced the umpite to act in
thi, way knowing that 1-t would have to or did mr. Whitlam
misjudge the character of". Sir John Kerr, a ri he himself had
app~ ointed to be thJ twkp ire. If it were the forier, what
Mr. wihitlam has done is a deliberate act to destroy our constituional.
safeguards. The action of the Coevrnor General has now Leon endorsed by the
Queen. This i preoisely what I would have expected.
Mr. hitlam wants total power for him-self. He has said tfhe
states should leqisiate themselves out of existence. le ha
said he wans to s-riash the Senate.
qe has made it plain he wants to destroy the office of the Governor
General.
As euvery Liberal and National Country Party Leader around
Australia has said, Mr. Whitmam has taken Australia a significant
-tep along a road to establishing an Australian dictatorship.
Iis speech was the cry of a person who wants such a dictatorship, of
a person who brushes as id Constitutional safeguards and the rights
of the Australian people.
It started when he refused to face the people, when he refused
to go for an election.
Why did he refuse to go to the people? Because he knew they
would condemn him. Rather than face the people he would
sooner destroy the Constitution.
If that is Mr. whitlam's policy speech he will be condemned
Sb ecause there is no policy at all in it. There is no policy
in it to deal with inflation or to deal with unemployment.
There is no policy to deal with the revival of business confidence
which is necessary if Australia is going to work its way out of
the present economic tragedy,
MrY Whitlaim's speech was the speech of a man who is bemused
by his own self righteousness and tragically unable to see the
harm he has done to Australia. It was the speech of a man
unable to see that he is leading the Labor Party to destruction
and annihilation.