BROADCAST: 3H UNDAY Z. AtUGUST
3YB -THURSDAY 2 SEPT.
U STRA L A
PRIME MINISTER
FOR PRESS 29 AUGUST 1976
ELECTORAL TALK
Last week the Australian Labor Party's leader presented
his formal alternative to the Government's Budget. One
central fact emerged from his statement. And that is that
he has not learnt or understood that before anything else
inflation must be controlled.
He has not been able to understand that in present circumstances
inflation and unemployment and inextricable linked.
He does not understand.-or does not want to understand that
there cannot be any su'stained return to national growth and
prosperity until inflation and inflationary
expectations are curbe
The Leader of the Opposition said, and I quote:
" People come last" in the Liberal Budget.
This is nonsense. I have said before and I repeat this is
a Budget of reform, People come first.
No aspect of our Budget demonstrates our concern for people more
than the attack on inflation. I want to make the point clear.
Unless inflation is seen to be coming under control there will be
no increased investment, no long term sustained increase in consumer
spending and no genuine increase in employment.
Inflation must be controlled before unemployment can be
reduced on a sustained long term level. There are no
short run panaceas.
As we have said all along even before we were electedthe
job ahead will take time. The key to how quickly we progress
depends on. what happens to inflation in the period ahead.
We have set a planned, controlled and steady course to control inflation,
Wle are determined as the Budget demonstrates to reduce the
annual inflation rate below 10 percent before the end of the
financial year. What a far cry this will be from the 17 and 18
percent galloping inflation rate that highlighted the Whitlam years.
Just what did this rampant inflation do to Australia? It
cost tens of thousands of jobs, sent industry broke and bankrupt,
crippled the rural sector and smashed the savings of the poor and
the pensioners. It just about brought this nation to its knees.
Yet once again Mr Whitlam. has shown that he would go on spending.
He is unrepentant. He doesn't learn easily. He fails to understand
that his big spending approach simply leads to more inflation
and more unemployment.
I repeat, the budget document is a budget for the people-of
Australia because it recognises the one central fact inflation
must be controlled before we can return this nation to sound,
stable, manageable growth.
The Government's budget is also a budget that puts people first
because it attacks the problems of taxation. For the first time
in years it has taken the course of not raising any major tax at all.
Anyone with the faintest concern with what is happening in
Australia will know that taxation has become a major problem
for individuals, families and businesses. Australians pay too much tax.
We have blocked this unlegislated tax grab by Canberra.
This Government is committed to tax reform. We have already
introduced full indexation on personal income tax and we have
started reforms in the complex area of business taxation.
Tax indexation now in operation puts earnings back into the
hands of individuals-and eliminates as far as possible total
dependence on big government-programmes. We will continue
to pursue vigorously our reforms in this vital area.
Our approach to this probleml differs markedly from Mr Whitlam's.
He does not see, or do ' es not want to see, that excessive taxes
erode incentives and make Australian families increasingly
dependent on what politicians choose to provide. In other words,
Australians under Labor had to meekly surrender their priorities
to a-Canberra based socialist government that believed that all
power should rest with a few.
Mr Whitlam. has again shed crocodile tears about this Government's
method of putting responsibility back : into national management.
Mr Whitlam mouths: meaningless words about our so-called:
" heartlessness" and " skinflint mentality".
Through this mindless rhetoric he and his party are incapable of
understanding that the mere spending of money fuelled by inflationdoes
nothing to meet the deep seated needs of the poor and
underprivileged. He seems incapable of understanding that it is not
enou gh that programmes are worthy. As I have often said, worthy
goals are limitless -but resources are limited.
It has been a tragedy for this young nation that both government
programmes and the hopes and plans of individuals have had to be cut
back because our national resources have actually been diminishing.
It has been a tragedy that for three years we had a government
which had neither courage nor the common sense to set and
keep responsible priorities.
We now have a Government that does have responsible attitues and
has taken responsible action. Our first budget demonstrates our
priorities and our desire to set Australia firmly towards prosperity.
The budget provides jobs, restrains taxes, encourages initiative and
helps those in need. It is a budget that Australians voted
for last December.