POR MEDIA SUNDAY, 26 SEPTEMBER 1982
ST BASIL'S DINNER, SYDNEY
It really is a very real honour for Tarnie and imyself to have
been asked to share with you this 25th anniversary of St Basil's
Homes for the aged. Those who conceived of the idea and through
the years who have worked for the homes made an enormous
contribution to the elderly and the frail aged within the
Greek community of AustrAlia and to Australia itself. I know
there had been government assistance from time to time
from the State and -prom. the Commonwealth, but what is really
important is the sense of community and the indIviduals who are
prepared to qet out and to make this kind of contribution
possible. It would be a very sad day if we ever came to the
circumstance where people said that governments had to do
it all, whether it is a state governmenlt, a local government or
a Commonweal1th Government. One of the great things about the
Greek community in Australia and one of the great things about
Australia as a whole is the way in which people move out to
improve their own communities and make a better place than
would otherwise be.
This provides the kind of care and concern that can never
really come from governments no matter how much those
governments might care and might be concerned because a
government necessarily has to work through a siynficant army
of public servants and departments and it cannot have the initimate
knowledge of the immediate needs of indiViduals, of families or
of elderly people as other people in that community can have,.
So governments I suppose from their size are necessarily to an
extent temote when people from within their own community take
charge of these affairs and do it well, then that is something
of very real value indeed. I would like to thank and congratulate
who have done so much over 25 years in working for St Basil's
Homes* They have made the later years of many people much
happier than it might otherwise have been.
There are biundreds of thousands of Australians of Greek origin
and Greek e'xtraction committed to this country. The overwhelming
preponderance of those who were born in Greece have become
Australian citizens in-;' its fullest sense and you have all
provided enormous energy, skill, initiative and enterprise for
the role that has been played in Australia, helping us to build
a much better and more vigorous nation than this might otherwise
have been. There are industries that would have been established
that would not have been established were it not for the Greek.
association with Australia. There has been an enrichment in our
ST BlASIL'Swhole society because of the intermingling of Greek and cultures
of other lands and of Australia itself. Australians of Greek
origin have taken opportunities, they have set an example to
many other people and have won respect throughout the whole
community. We often talk about a multicultural society and I
think that some aignificant strides have been made in the
achievement of that society over the last five to ten years.
Some of these things have been mentioned tonight.'
There is one aspect of that which may not be adequately understood.
One of the reasons for our support, for my support, for
Government support for a multicultural society and all of those
things which go to make up that society is because we are
committed' . to a fair society. We might not always achieve it in
the fullest measure, but we are committed to a society and to
Government policies that are fair as between all Australians,
no matter where they may come from, no matter what their origins
may be.
I think we have achieved a great deal from the years in which
I was a very young child before the last World War when this
would have been a somewhat narrow, inward looking introspective
anglo-saxon community. There would have been peoplein the
1930s or darlier who said that to be a good Australian, if you
did not come from England or Wales, or Scotland or Ireland
I suppose, they would say,, forget where you came from. We
know that that was a narrow view and a false and that old
narrow anglo-saxon view of Australia is very much a thing of
the-. past because overwhelmingly Australians recognise that
we are strengthened by diversity, we are strengthened by. the
coming together of people from many, many different countries.
We are strengthened enormously by people who have come to this
country through the decades from many countries around the
world from every continent in the world. We have learnt so much
from each others' cultures, we have learnt a greater tolerance
and understanding. of what we are all about and f.' the origins
of the people who make up Australia.
I can reirerTher the arguments about multicultural television in the
early days within the wider community and to some extent within
my own Party. What was all this for people were saying. it
was going to be ' a divisive thing. Why do you want to introduce
it into Australia. The people that took F that view did not
understand any part of. what a multicultural Australia was all
about because multicultural television was never meant to provide
services one hour for Greeks, another hour for Italians and
another hour for people from some other country and whatever.
It was meant to provide programs which would help to unify
Australia because all Australians would want to watch the programs
because they were intrinsically good programs and by so watching
them, all Australians would understand something more of the
origins, of the background of the history in culture of all
the people that go to make up this nation. Multicultural
television was nevery divisive in Its inspiration. It was
unifying, strengthening, leading to a greater understanding
amongst all Australians of other. Australians. ./ 3
2
ST BASIL'S-3
I have got to say many of those early critics of multicultural
television have come to understand now having seen the programs
and watched its development, have come to understand that the
original concept was a good one and should have been supported
as it is now supported and of course we know that the programs
are going to be extended to a significant number of other
centres and cities around Australia over the next three years.
We began several years ago a review of the post-arrival service
for migrants and this is something which in retrospect should
have been done about 1955 or 1960 or 1965 at the very latest.
It was not done. It was begun about 1976 and led to the Galbally
Report. It led. to the total acceptance of the originial
recommendations of that Report and as suggested in the original
Report, that led to a review of the programs and of virtually
total acceptance of the review only a few weeks ago. This has
led of course to many things, many new and. I think far-sighted
programs which are designed to assist people who first come to
this country. The pity of it is that we did, not, have the
wisdom -to do it so much earlier. The point now is that it has
been done. This must make the early arrival in Australia of
people a good deal ' 6asier than it would Otherwise be. It does
more than that. It does not just try and provide the services
and the circumstance to make it easier for somebody from another
land and who may not spleak English too well in the initial
stages, to understand what Australia is all about, what services
are available, what opportunities there are to be siezed. The
programs are also designed to encourage the -survival and the
passing on of the language, the culture the history and
traditions of your community, the Greek community as part of
Australia and of all the other communities that make up this
country. What we need to understand, and-I think overwhelmingly
Australians * are coming to understand, is that Greek history, your
origins are just as much part of Australia as a Scots history,
or English history or Welsh history or Irish history, I suppose
the countries from which most original settlers came and that
it it is important for these things to be -cherished and passed
on from one generation to another. That can lead to things
that might be small in themselves, but can be signifitcant in
terms of the expression and the understanding that they seek
to unfold and the support for community schools. which will teach
the language and the history of peoples in a way which Australian
Government schools or private ~ schools -might not -otherwise do
is one of the attempts and efforts of government to make the
passing on of cultures and of languages and of history easier
than it might otherwise have been.
Now there is a very widespread commitment to multiculturalism
right throughout Australia. I believe it-is much better
understood than it has ever been. I also believe that we lead
the world in what: we have done over the'.. lakt ten years in these
areas. ./ 4
3
ST BASIL'S
I would like * to turn if I could to one or two things, that are
obviously important to all of us because for those who want
to look after their own families, who want decent jobs for their
children, who want to build up their standard of living, a strong
economy, a strong Australia is obviously very important. I think
we all know that we live in a world where there are some
difficulties. we know there are problems in Eur6pe, in the
United States, in North America, that the price Australia gets
for export commodities are a good deal less than they were
two or three years ago. M~ ost of usrounderstand that the depths
of the world recession in spite of the problems we may have,
haS_ effected Australia much less than it has effected most
other countries. I believe, with the energy, with the capacities
to work of most Australians* that we won't experience problemrs
anything like as great as many of the countries of Europe
where unemployment levels for example might be 10, 12 or in
Britain 14%. Here it is too high. it is something like half
thatk' but the fact that it is something like half that says
something I believe about the kinds of policies Australia has
pursued as opposed to the kinds of policies that some other
countries have pursued.
we still have recognised the world recession has effected families
it has effected bu~ inesses and in our last Budget we tried to
do,. some things that would help. There are many changes in the
social security area that Fred Chaney looks after and changes
that were designed to assist aged people in the community. The
is going to be a much greater rate of building of homes for the
aged and the frail aged over the next year or two. I don't
know how many of you have applications for-. the faster rate of
spending, but I understand that Senator Chaney i~ s making*
the decisions fairly shortly, but there will be a greater rate
of building and that is one kind of response.
There have b~ een son changes in other social security arrangements,
again designed to assist individuals or families thatmight be
in greatest difficult-y. Family allowances have been increased
very significantly. People trying to pay off their own homes
are being assisted by a housing rebate because we know interest
rates are far, far higher than anyone wants. As a farmer I know
very much how interest rates effect people and small businesses
and individuals with their homes and all the rest. Here we
have been very much effected by what-has happened overseas.
The moves over bhe last week or two in which interest rates
have started to come down,--are in~ deed encburaging and give us
somne reason to hope that that move will be reinforced. I think
it is worth noting that it was sometimes said that the Budget
was not going to help in that area, well I believe it has helped
because it is not only as a result of overseas changes, but
also as a result of our Budget that interest%. rates have started
to move down. I am not going to make predictions, because
I made predictions once before and [-it took me about three
years after that to try'. and persuade people that the prediction
had fin fact been all right, but that circumstances had changed
and I-am not going to give Lionel Bowen the opportunity to make
that kind of argument against me again. I think we must all
hope that rates will start to move down in a way which does
effect families beneficially. -4
-ST BASIL'S
Also if this last Budget which we introduced can be remembered
for anything, I hope it can be remembered as one which
encourages the situation in which it makes it easier for Australians
to work together and help by wo~ rking together to overcome
whatever problemis that we might have. Let me explain that
by one example. if you had a family on a single income of
say $ 300 a week, a wife and two dependent children paying
off a housing loan of about $ 25,000 which by some of today's
standards would be a relatively modest loant then that particular
family would be $ 18 a week better off as;. a result. of the Budget.-
Now if that person had to be as much'better off by getting
the money from an employer on which tax would have to be
paid, you would have to get about an extra $ 25 or $ 30 a week
and in some circumstances that could be enough to make it
very difficult indeed for the employer and very difficult for
him to continue to sell whatever his product was. Therefore,
those changes I believe make it reasonable to argue fo-r restraint
in things such as wages and reasonable to say that by so
doing that family living standards are not going to fall
because of other countervailing measures in the Budget.
I think this is an example of-the way in which governments
can try and create the situation in which different sections,
different groups within the Australian community can recognise.
that there are problems and if we are all prepared to make
some kind of contribution tothe overcoming of those problems,
then it will happen so much more easily, so much quickly than
would otherwise be the case.
There have been some difficult arguments in the last few weeks
and very briefly I would like to try and explain the Governmeftt's
point of vriew. I said that much of our attitude towards
multi cul turali sm and many of the policies that we have. introduced
have been introduced because we believe in a fair society and
because we believe that governments must govern for all Australians
no matter where they are, where they have come from or what
they are doing, equally and reasonably. This is one of the
things that we have had very much in mind over a somewhat
contentious and difficult tax legislation which some of you
might have heard of over the last three weeks, because a horrible
word retrospectivity has come into the argument. I don't think
anyone likes retrospective legislation, but I would like to say
very briefly what we are in fact doing with legislation that
John Howard introduced last Thursday night.
That legislation is only seeking to collect from a certain very
narrow group within the Australian community, tax that should
have been Oaid, but was not paid because of a device. that was
patently wrong and always was wrong and that at'some point always
had to involve in relation to some of the peor-14 that patticipated
in it, an illegality. It involved a device in which there was
significant income in the course of a year in relation say to
a company and no tax whatever was paid in ielation to that
income. 0. 0 / 6
5
ST BASIL'S
It would be wonderful if all of us having our individual income
could think up some legal and proper way in which we did not
have to pay any tax, but if the whole community did that we
would know quite well that the community just would not work.
The schools-, the multicultural programs, the whole fabric.
of government and society would fall apart. There is no
reason in my view why people with access to sophisticated.' i
legal and accountancy advice should evade their obligations
to the wider Australian community. The kind of device;-that
we have been talking about was in fact outlawed in 1980, but
there was a very large amount of. tax that should have been
paid and was not.
The legialation that John Howard is introducing is not criminal
legislation as somebody said why did it have to be. Itt is not,
it is tax legislation and it is designed to collect the tax
from those who benefited from the particular device known as
the bottom of the harbour scheme. it became known as a bottom
of the harbour schene because the company was sold, people
converted the income into a capital gain and ultimately the
papers got dropped in the harbour-I don't know whether it
was Sydney harbour or the port of Melbourne, one or the other
or it might even have been Fremantle Habour in Perth. That is
what happened. Without going into the intricacy of it, it is
the only device which this legislation is related to. We have
had to balance our dislike of any kind of retrospective legislation
against our concept aLnd our idea of fairness for all Australians.
We have quite plainly as a Government given greater weight
tio the concept, to ~ the idea of fairness in this particular
instance, because if thbere are people who are not paying taxes
and who ought to be, thnen other people have to pay higher taxes
and that is not fair and it is not reasonable.
other people say that this has never happened at all, I could
but I won't point to Learned opinions in the United Kingdom
going back to 1941 or' 4-2 or ' 43 in which the Lord Chancellor,
in our terms, our Chief Justice has confirmed retrospective
legislation in B~ ritain for very much the same reason as we have0
introduced it in Australia. So it is not a novel step within
English speaking societies. It was done there because some
people were acting very unfairly in relation to the rest of
the British community. There is an interesting phrase because
one of those giving the judgement said that from the nature of
the contest, that is people not wanting to pay tax and people
having to collect tax when those who are-trying to do much
not to pay tax go too far, they should understand the rigour
of the contest and know the consequences. We believc that
some people in Australia, and it is a very few, went too far
and they ought to understand the rigour of the context and
there is the question of fairness to all Australians. That
I believe is perhaps the most important principle of all by
which governments must judge their own decisions.
It is a while ago, but not very long ago, since President visited
Australia and I was honoured to be his host while he was here.
I was not able to be in Sydney while he was in Sydney, but in
./ 7
6
ST BASIL'S-7
Canberra and in Melbourne. One of the most exciting things I think
I ever was part of was the occasion in which there were 60,000
Australians, I would believe overwhelmingly of Greek origin
around the War Memorial in Melbourne on an occasion to welcome
and to honour President laramanlis. It was a great and exciting
occasion. I think it did much for the relationship between
Greece and Australia and between our two peoples. I am very
glad indeed that the President's visit is going to be honoured
for all -time by the Australian-Greek Presidential Awards,
which over the, last two or three days those who have won
the awards for the first time are first being announced that
will be taken up early in the new year.
We have in the past had Churchhill Fellowships, Queen Elizabeth 11
Trust Fellowships and the Menzies Trust. The Australian-Greek
Presidential Awards in honour of President Karamanlis' visit
to Australia is the first time in the history of Australia that
such awards have been offered I believe to honour one of
Australia's great ethnic communities and to do so in a permanent
way because down through the years, each year young Australians
I suppose mostly of Greek origin, but not necessarily of Greek
origin, will be chosen to study in Greece to learn more of a
very important part of the history anrd culture and experience
of'a people who have done so much to help build up this Australia
which we all love. Some awards have been announced in Melbourne,
others are to be announced tomorrow morning in this city. I am
very glad indeed that these awards have been established because
they will be a perpetual reminder of the living vitality of the
relationship between Greece and Australia and to the contribution
that Australians of Greek origin have made to building this
nation. Australia is not made up of governments of any kind. Australia
is made up of people and the nature of this country the kind
of society it is, is dependent upon the actions of something
a little more than 15 million Australians in every day as they
go about their lives. You are leaders of your corniunity. You
come mostly from Sydney but not entirely from Sydney from other
places as well as we have been told, but all of you in this
room have contributed enormously not only to the Greek community
in Australia, but you have contributed enormously to building
the kind of Australia that we all want to see for the future and
I want to thank you all for that. 7