PRIME MINISTER
FOR MEDIA-MONDAY, 28 FEBRUARY .1983
LABOR'S CENTRALJISM
It is clear that a Labor Government would centralise power
in Canberra and ride rough-shod over the States,
Mr Hawke has made his attitude quite plain. He has said that
he believes " that Australidns would be better served by the
elimination of ( State) Government
His Deputy, Mr Bowen, was equally derogatory about S tate's
rigjhts wh! en he spoke on Wednesday of the " nonsense of
contradi~ ctory State rights and ' State jealouosies'.
Mr Hawels comxents, in speaking to Queenslanders on Queensland
television, three weeks ago, that he will not be a
person who tries to impose decisions upon Queensland or any
other State" are without credibility.
He spoke on that occasion with one voice and yet at other
times, he has spo~ en with a different voice.
He has already made it clear that he will impose decisions
upon-Western Australia and Tasmania,
As late as yesterday, Mr Hawke declared his intention to
intervene in South-West Tasmania and ov! erride the decision
of the State Government.
Thebuildingof the doirdon-below-Franklin dam, whatever we
may think of it, is directly a matter for the State, Even
Mr Hayden recognisea this when he wrote in a letter 18 months
ago that " bhe main fundamental matters of cconcern are very
much a State responsibility and outside ( if the constitutiollal
authority of the national Governiment".
The Constitution is a solemn contract which sets down the
various responsibilities between the State and Comrmonwealth
Goverrjrents and the balance of power between them.
The only way it can be altered is by the delibercate decisiQl
of the people.
Mr Hawke seems determined to ignore this fundamental Safeguard.
He seeks to use the external affairs power of the Cornionwealth
inl a way quite uripre ceden ted to override the rights of the State.
The external affairs power comnes into operation when the
Conunonwealth Goverrnment. accedes to art international treaty or
convent ion. Mv Haws-e has said that he wants to use the
authority that the Co o-nwoealth attracts by acceding to a
treaty to overvide thie State Governmnent,
This would set a precedent of the most dangerous Kind.
Linder Mr Hawke's view, a Comonwealth Covernnment, could sign
any treaty with any country on any matter and thereby attract
the authority to override a decision of a State Government.
That is socialism, at its worst.
The other assertion that Kr H-awke has made in respect f h* 411
Commvronwealth's power to intervene is that a Labor Gover~ ne~ t
could uise a tied grant to ( jet its way, even a condition ettgh~
to a grant which bore no relationship to the subject mat er
of the grant, and that is what Mr-Hawke h-as suggested,
If oiie looks at holw Mr Whitlc= v sought, to centralise powe cr
of the principal mfechanisms used then was the use of sp cifTh
purpose grants under S96 of the Con) stitution, That was
dangerous enough.
But when Mr: Hawke suggested on Tasm. a-nian radio on 11 F'ebruary
that he may uIse the provision of tied grants to Tasmania to
force the Tasmanians not to proceed with the dam, he was going
ver y much further indeed.
H-e was in) fact saying that a Labor Govercnpient would be prepared
to use its powers under S96 of the Constitution to interfere
in any State matter.
That would put to an end the balance of Federal-State relations
and destroy Federalism in Australia. 000----