ADRSS TrO TBB TOUNG LMBRA = T0M LOWEREN IN P2= 9r
JAI'IARY, 1976.
I a= . de. lighted to bea here to apeil this iational. Young; ldberal
Confer me. The Conference provides a welcc~ ue occasion both
to congratulate axtd thank the Youbg tdlseral movem1ent for
th--part -you pla-jed in the result of Ule. elec-t'oft.
-The contribution of You= w Liberals is Invaluable iii w-aAny
ways not-only in electdcm work and in assistance to members
but -also through cnzlba-tions to olicy development on the whole
' range. of issues Ycat naticwal office-beazers kept -us imformed
0 E' Young L~ iberal thinking on pollcyj iii Pra-VICcti41on per Lcd.
12he role of-the " Yowq Liberal Movement Is no less important
now that ti' 6 election is over. Along with the rest . of the -Party,
the Young Liberal MovenueiRt has -an important: job to do in asserting
a role for Governi ntwhich helps ind-ividuala achieve a better
life for themselves.
The XEibexali Party iLs cnmaittet to ackiievIng a way of life for
Australlan In whuich every person has the apportuni y to achleve
his or her qnals im 1. ie-This is -a coninef to progres-sive
and rezpons~ ible reform. The onus Is row on" u-to work to achieve
oixr abircti-_ A~ n ttays appropriate to. Australia as it Is. The
zize of our majority in the Farliament im! poses great obliqat-ion-3
on us. In this -mrk the belp and advice of the, Young Liberal
Moveent is of q-reat Jimpor taflct-
In the last three years we have ssen the f" aillure of La-bor1 s
-attempt = t -reformi. We shiou-ld be very cle~ ar about why Labor
faiLed w3 that we can avoid the . sams traps -ouroe.. veas. Lah-or
failed because the~ f were unable to astablish an effectivlfe process
making~ dec isions.
Labor f ailed -because tk& v did not maintain proper standardr,
of conduct ini Govermnent. Alhove all, Labor failed laecause thev
tried to establish a role -for Gover ient w~ hich was titteirly
-inappropzia-te(;-to-the needs of the courmñ try an~ d the wist-' s of
Australians. it never occurred to them to ask how
pwple concerned might. be hielped. to soive the probslem, ffor
tkhemrselves. Labor used problew to establish w~ ider Govermi~ ent
control over people Is lives. This approach xes'ealeri Labor
deep distrust of people's ability to smagae their ownm lives, to
do tlhings tbenieiv.-_ z
NJothing syubo. iUses, Labor's . attemrpt to dominate i-n all fields
better than the coiocssal -expansion of G-ovexrnent spendip~ irn the.
last three years. Alt took 72 years for Goaverxu~ ent spending
to reach $ 10,000 Million4 In three yea-ra Labor = ore th~ in double#
this to $ 22,000 izuillion. This failure to exercise a eesportsibhl4E
control over spendinq led tMranty of the problemns Ailstralia i. q now
experiencing.
All Government-i all parties receive numerous requests, lto spcend
=~ nev ftos -irdivldsials an~ d -oraati s& zions around the i-ozintry.
These requests ofteia overlook_.. orL, critical fact: a~ t ia-ny one
time Australias resources are limi-ted. It is qrowtni over
time vhich provideg -the tcapac ity to undertake new in-ttiativzs..
Growth can be and hat-a been -undermined by unrealistic and
. irresponmible policles.
At any ore tizie w~ e cannot give moneyr to scuea new project without
takincr money froms somie existingr project. If we-are not prepared
to transfier money fronm -one govermnret project to another the money
miust be takcen -frx= mri-vate individuals or from companies by way
of tta CS.
it Is often-difficult -to recognize thia truth that in asking
Gover_ n to pay for sme new project we are actually asking
our niglibours to pay for it, through the additional taxeu or
pric~ es they will have to pay-People are probably prepared to
ask qovexnmen~ tg9 f r money whpre th~ e' wauld iw~ ln t-h-;
rieighbours beca use qovezxlnaets i mpersor-U and becauLse
qcvernments are sometie, w~ rongly, -thoughat to -have acceS2 t. 0
an inexhaustible supply of . fuinis. Anking gover~ e;% t i.. s te
the easy way out. 1-t--requires neither the cc'qTitmenat nor tt
couage neceszary to put one's plans beiore one'zs ei91-tors
and as5k for their voluntary support.
tMany weil-t&-do -groups have -got Goverrnment assistance at the?
exoense of those ini real need. The Labor Party's lack of restraint
meant that people did not -have to face up to this fact. It
eametites seems easier -to get projects started 1111 they are
mupported by the Cavernment. PeopiLe feel. aggjrieved if t-he
Co'vernmient van't give them money to support som~ e Worthwhila
project-People feel that Government isn ' t helping them because
the politicians are too short sighted to3 apprectate just howi
worthwhile-their project is hoiw much thae chianging times requixe
thia new* exp~ enditure. Dixt how~ many people are prepared to say
-Wheze the funds are to come from, who : 3hall bie taxed rzare heavily
or -which projects should be abandoned?_
A -people, aconnutry need to be careful of the seductions, the
at-taction' 5 thit appear Wo flow frna -a lack of raz~ raint. For
al wuh~ e int t % e eaxly days. of Labor people felt that all. Labor* s
projects Cou. ld be pair!' for without pain -Uiey-could not.-Onl~ y
4M vecent times are people beqirwing -to unvderstand the effects of
an~ ratzineq exenitztre by' Cove ent.
Unf oftuiaate~ ry it is often the weaker sections -of the community
who miuat be4r " he heaviest costs43 Tis wa made very clear by
th11_ e ftendierzcji Re0port on P'overty In Ausitr-aia. The Report
miphasised the -need: " To prevent Australian Governments failingi
into the inflat-ionary-trap'of attemiptinq to carry out so many
F; Ocial1 reformrs or oth-er puablic expenditures ati once t-hat they
añ&-eerate am . infiatianary spLrral thiat does more damuage to.
poor-naale than 11:-h aszi: tarne prvided by the reforms-This.
trap 3-s 1baiied with elie buqe yields of ta-vation which accrue to
the Australiar_ C-aermawnt when inf lation -prv~ ceeds at the
accelaration zates of Zecent years. It looks as though there.
is lots to spend T o get hack to real1ity wre must reiuenber the
8 oO42f qzoath in r~ a natii-al output -and claims upo; n
to rn~ or qurip s off Poor--poople ovar the I'st Lr
years. ' to p~ ay for its rprorazes, . wany or Wftich in L1olati~ n r4werei
worhw~ hiie but wiiich In total ure iapoasible t-o ~ aio Lao
had tv, force othier oeople to curtail. thei-r plans. 4, aboz J'. a-d to
raise -taxes -to the hiqhest ieve'Lls In ou-r hjataory.. ThoIj ina' 4i zource
of rising pleaddeclinizg job vpportnnitie~ s has beer. uhe
massive expansion in qt~ varnmeat spendinq -u ncer Labor., This moasry
had to come -fromi somxewhere. it czue out otl the savinqos of the
retired, from those on 4fixed. inccmes, from. al-I w1hoswe iz-accmes
were eroded by infIlaticra. it came fram private enterprise, from
the mitoney business needed to expand plant and equlpmeat, =.-iney nieeded
to create jobs.
Labor's taxesi were identified b-th rirto ciisnAs
a lsiqn. if icant cause of demands for wage increasez. Prices were
freed higher and higher by private entprprise' s attempt to
keep ahead of taxes and wages.-
Last year, i: ncipally as a result of_. Labor s exces-sive spexiding
amd misianagemont, Au~ stralia-actually produced less th-ir tnhe
Year bef ore.,-
The iaradox is that beyn a eran rvoLht the miore Govr~ n
Sp nds to Jna, e evieryone better off: the = ore w~ e are in gTrave,
edarqer or-aaking everyone worse of f
_ Ln. tLh last iyears we : reached the absurd Gtage where we had a
Labor C. overt ent actually robbing people tbro., uqh in-fclation of the
money needed to create jobs. The Labor Party was actually ñ undlin
its3 prcqrnieS at the eXnenjSe of 4oi2# S. Tens of thousan~ s of scbool
leavers are havini difficulty fin~ dinq w~ ork bscau': ge of -the e_% tmaarrd. inar
sperdi-nj sazree we -havie just gone tA-rouqn. I-n 1& he last twa years
the Lab~ or Party actually spent $ 1,000l% millic. imore tihan it raised
in rvne
The ma ss ive diversion of rezoiurces Labor ongiT. eered inits effort ' to
ga-Ai. rrore cc.~ pete -govrnmen't cantroL over he iaor'Setucs
lprodiiae the orr-AcLoged ltin 1iz. i tbV= A~ s4
h ia u piyet since the i~ eat 1kprass;'.' Cn WE+ 1-1 N1-n4e tieen
Thirties. This is why despitLe the aumber of thlnqs Lab-ar claimed
t-0 have done, rmost people felt Jiess secure, lesproserou. s
in 1975 than thejr had b'efore-. The onlTy -way wie can rcal ly m ake
everyonie -better oiIt iJs Wo implemenat policies whichi wUl increase our
to-tal nationalI ea-L-lah.
One our masot imubxrtant tasks over the next tiar-e~ yeazrs ST1ll
be to as tab~ ish a mcore accurate understa-jnding of wht fGoverni~ eatu.
can do -to help paeople solve -orbems.
In the elect-ion iampaq -we placed before the ' voters a progra= e
to eas~ e the pressure on prices anid wa'ges,. get Job opport'lnities
exgoandinq again, increatie Australi-as' production andI restore
prosperity. On . December 13 the Austraiiau people showed they
wianited a Goverzunent w~ hich was prepared to take~ the action necessary
to restore prosperitli.
Economny has to Wtart at hcme. T'he Gov~ xme-nt has to practise v& iat
it reachea As evidence of our detem. ination + to cuurb rGo"-rm-nt
spending an-hcrease effi1ciency in admniistration -we ha7. I3
_ introduced a zmber of mneasu~ res directly affecting AMenx-ers of
The nwdber of inr'sterial1 staff has b'een reduxced from 242 ind~ ex
La, or to 166-1 The entitleets of Members of Parliam2ent to
overseas -traveal have been curtailed. && rribilli H~ ouse, whichi
bad beccrme a second hoiue' foir thd7 Zrimre Minister-;-will be. returned
to its oriqi~ val purpose as a Guiest Rouse for di'stiqzi. hed
; iLitars and -cxcaz-. onat use onliy by the Deputyt Prime M. iriiester
or Prime M~ inister. The size of the Public Service. has been
frozen-All. Departmexits have beeni a-skd to examine and rank
all their current -activities in order off prioiity. They, ? di~ l
not be aillowed to * ark acrtivitPes eqlkuaily.
wa have r 3duced the laumiber of Cenexl~ ents frona 28 to 25 and
the -tmmber of ktinizters fr-om 2+ 7 to 24. We kave.. esbabiished
under Sir He= ry Bland an inv-estigation of all functions presently'
co rred aut by F'ederal. Depztnernts Autthoriti-s -t;
d qem_ ine Wnre ecoi-c-mies mnay . be ma-_ without affectrzLagi Lf
. u~ L~ st~ atin. This jiziuixy shou~ ld lead t-a rte4minc.
t,. t thf alloat; t 9of ñ~ r'Uctions and work am" iOq eamrsad
Authoities. ILI Will alzo help to avoid du. picatiori ge" xt.~
C~ 0n'~ alth d -the State..
Beyond these measures, di~ t-icuLL arid h4-xd decisions will havae
tobe made.---Let-: a, not petend that Austnali. t6d -es zlot fa~
eniormxouis anid difficult econoaic problemG, or-that t'e. eprdblemns
cata be so lved without hard dclsionv;. Rea~ ources wiUtJ have to
-be made available to eniable the private Seator to ztar t expanisq,
job opportu. nitierionce mre.. ut essential prxoqra.= wn_, iA educatixjn,
healtli, welfare and uxb1-an po~ licies will be miaintaiaed.
Ln -tdkinq and itipl'enenting these -~ iionsetwhe Corernment isI
deter-mined, to denwonstrate its serious ifttention to co-operate with
all sections+ of the ccwrwwiity and ith all lev~ els of~ Clverr~ nit
: Ln. meeting the Nation's pro-blemsi.. We wIll be a Gvezent for
A us tra Iians. Gnae of our first actio cmn t oe~~ n
was to hold i.-scussions virith the Trade Union Itavmnt and witA
empliyes.. Wq'wl~ l shortly be holding a contference witl~ te
Trade Unhion's azA anployera -which will inaziude briefings on tC. he
-state Of the ecc-rwy arA discuss Iduat-nIal relatio'n* and the
conzstitutioni of tK-iia Labour Advisory Cotalit.
Iri salving p. 7r problems Austxala will need a n~ ew
Attrtie idealist doces not m#. rel', adivouate expensive pr cqrammes
of Governmant sverina He isypropared to coxntr ibute to the
costs of his ! deals, to sacrifice thizngs ihe valu~ t to achipeva
hj~ s objectivies. He sho~ ws by his ex= ple what he would lk
otherz to aq'r6e -to, do., White ilt is obvicusiy tzue that a
stacra s cnlybe maeto -salving some problems with GGernent
expendituxe, it -is eq.& aLW obvious thiat a vast number of the
Dproblems wichi. troublte A-oatcaltarxs arfe not. golvatizb s , nply
by spemdinq more money. This is Imcasc they a-re probtems of
-human relAtionships, whPich have never been know to greal y improve
simply by spending money on themi.
8c acnd ing money is Qnly o~ ne ape~ t: of' the a vt ies r f C ~ r rJV,
to govern ' justly, Io hold thea bance, etwe. icn d f'rn
ar-d F'ometimeas Comm+ intx S~ CCtio.-of-O tile tLoot seeiyU t
are tii13ee~ t~ f, Iaradt t see that P01l.. Lees and
an_, istratit_, ebange as clrai~ stances requ t, o ethat
tlhere is a basis for zespect fo-Cr Goe' at-ir-sti; tiaonsC
ilthin our ccmuni ty and bayoiid
-Many -of the problemus g-e -face tn are~ iES zuh as educatioa, Social
tself'are and~ In helping Aborigi-il people are not ezxc! UAss. rety
problems of -wonev. To really' help the disadvantaged we~ must
h~ ave arn undn sta. rdjnq of what moiney cachie; e, arA the iirnit-'
on what mtoney can achieve. ' Mhe view that the problems~
disadtiantaqed ca~ n L-e solved tby the mere spendinj of maney caa be
avuel and deceptiive. We need good school rooms h* tt that doesa'Rt
guarantee a good -education. We nee4 welfare housingi but that
do salt, solve the problems of the PcKor..
, haepo~ rt: at the Heterson Cotee : of ' Utiniry I-nto Pover,_ y
will1 ptczbabid' he kznown to you for its -recocmmendations of a rhinIMlxM
~ guaranteed' incom~ e. Lress weil ' rMOwn,--but of very qrealc im~ portance,
are the -reco = e atxion~ s of-the R~ eport concerning th~ e arganization
ardde . liverjr Of " 4pXfare services. The Report critIcised the~
present zy_-ifem of : ser-iice delie-ry -for excessive bureaiicracy,
imer~ zonality centralisatio) n and lack of choice, the sa-ime
criticiams} ha the Liberal. P-i" has bnen making. The refors
rer'. iired ' here arc clearly reforms which the Liberal Pairty, with
its emphasies on the i-ndivichair Is -much better.-fitted to introduce
* than the L4ckbor ? arty1. They are reforms wh'dc4 r= coqnisea
itkortrioe. re]. ationships betveen people as Well as the need
for roeayassistance Tboo uch empbasis on one at -the
expenze of another wil11 oly lead as deeper into trcub2.. o.
Vie Y( oung Liberal Movemenc can play a -ial3uab . La role ITh eai-surin9I
th-it A'ustralta -becomes a country in hhritcethf-Gove t-a Iitat"~
rather than + hinders people in zichieving their oni 94nids In life.
You can do thi-s by encoviraijing that practical ideaiisn which
requires a -personal. corumitrl. eft and -; ghdch aims to help people help
themselv~ es. You can do this by encouragring Vroung ILberala~ to
L~~ paz-oGz wi& Aeiy in proqrawmas to -sAifst tic d issadat:
,-ynd those in real -nee, y offringq you. r pzer: 3onal.~ r~~
tertas of tieamd efz' rt to porto~ ghr~ a n-ag, and by
an~ a ctive role In tha3 rmatlterz: which are t yyAu-. xrL L. ocail
ctnuunity. You can d. o this~ by tak-nq att active role inL the
affairz of the i~ berai Party oy mai~ tntaining a continuinig interest
in-iflat the ' GavezT=-unt d'oes.
As s-cucit-. andx predictabiiit-r retrn to thr: Lives of qustral iais
you can heip to en!; Lre that r-eop], e do not put as-ide ( Gover=, en-t
as something tht* doean't c-oncern them any m~ ore, that ati = any people
az~ possIble remain concerned. Only if we are. prepared to -reallyW
iynrk at irt aurseives i% 3 Austr-alia going to be a better-cou ntry.
Simply leavingq it to the Goirjermnent or adwvKcatI~ ng that " the
Govternm~ ent should dio scethim9" i-z the road to disaster.
ln -the last three years ue have came very close to destroyi N.
thie! thasis of AutaI-as' i ndepentdcnce,:, th-a free -Spir-it, -the w i 1,
the kblat ive of Australians La solve their own problems and nlanage
their own co-muities. PoliicIes that breed depe--ndence on CGovernment
have made that., pai-easy to follow. as -i-t has been followed
The ba ic~ d i strc i. n fact, betwaen the Libera. 1 and ILabor
Partieds is Ithat the L; or Party does not;--eally trust Pao-Die
to, do t-hingsiay-thems-eives. Labor has encouraged the centa za st ion
of f inc nLiaV Wwoer i n % cJover~ fetn, the increa! 5ing depend-ence
0 f individuals. and ccoiniAtie-s on what ti-e Goverrrment ca-, icoses to
Providie..~ Liberal 10arty on the other hanad val. ues theindepeandeznc
and autemmy of co~ unitlles and people, . a~ d thei~ r
rl~ ht to mTakd their own deci~ iions-and set their own priorities
withia the broad framework of' the public nret
bDatter and more econcioaLly used, and that: people 6erx-nn mnore
cont idence in, an~ d m~ ore skillful ini the uzse-of., the'i~ r owrt abilitiezi
when they~ theaiseives miake t~ io decisions.
Our purpose imust be to restore -4nteqr-it y and respect to AUS-trciliaolll
public iznstitution-s. The pol-tical phitosophy that the G~ overnment
! 77
kiois best that the morze Gc-vexrment does the bettexr, his
failed im Australia is it is failing aroundi the world.
It is a philosophy which, for all its pie--ensioms, is ulti mately
distrust'uD. arnd disrespectful of People-More than this, it i&
fal1e be-cause it o" erlookz thie basio tztiLt that people should
k: ow thLeir own interests best ocf all, wid thi is especially
true * n an -ncreasingaly well educatei society such as Australl&-
and that pEcple can -, ni grow in mc'ra2 stature by taking th-eiz
rjjqy decisions.
I hope thzt. we will be Judged in oix turn by the extent to
which w-can restrxe to people the independence dignity
to Whii evexy' pers'On is enti2. e~ d.