CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY EMBARGOED UNTIL DELIVERED
PRIIME MINISTER
SPEECH BY THE PRIME MINISTER MR BOB HAWKE
NATIONAL PRESS CLUB
CANBERRA 22 FEBRUARY 1984
I very much appreciate this opportunity to be with you again
today. I understand you are expecting both a review of the
Government's first year in office and a report on my
recently completed visit to North and South-East Asia. My
primary emphasis will necessarily be on reviewing my
Government's period in office, not least because of the
extensive media coverage that my trip received, but I will
touch on aspects of that vi-sit central to the basic thrust
of our policies.
The course we embarked on in March 1983 was one of national
reconciliation, national recovery and national
reconstruction. From the beginning my Government has been clear in its
purpose.
We knew what was wrong.
We knew what had to be done.
Rather than simply reacting to events, the policies that we
have developed and are implementing have been based on a
clear view of where we as a nation should be heading.
We have done more in the past twe lve months to give effect
to basic Lahor principles, policy and Platform than any
previous Labor Government in a comparable period.
This past year has been one of achievement. We have turned
the economy onto a path of strong recovery; a degree of
industrial peace unprecedented for many years now prevails;
far-reaching social reforms have been introduced; and
credibility and respect have been restored to our
international relationships.
The excesses of negative and destructive conflict which had
characterised Australian life in the past were holding back
the achievement of Australia's great potential. They were
sapping our great nation of its essential energies as talent
and ability were side-tracked into the selfish pursuit of
narrow sectional interests. We were a divided nation.
My Government has changed this. A new national consensus
has been forged. We have sought to identify and by the
dissemination of knowledge and information to assist the
community to identify both the areas of conflict which
were artificial, and the areas of common interest and shared
purpose in which agreement was achievable.
This focus on reconciliation and co-operation underpinned
the Prices and Incomes Accord, the National Economic Summit
Conference, the June 1983 Premiers' Conference and provides
the rationale of the Economic Planning Advisory Council. It
was also pivotal to our approach to industrial relations,
and finds concrete expression in the consultative mechanisms
we are putting in place with industry. We are not a
Government who believe we have a monopoly of wisdom, but
have sought to draw on the accumulated wisdom and experience
of the community.
The achievement of our objectives has required restoration
of a strong national economy. We have, therefore, from the
outset, accorded a high priority to this task. In twelve
months we have turned the economy around.
We have laid the basis for continued non-inflationary growth
and increased employment opportunities in the medium and
longer-term.
We have established a coherent and integrated framework for
economic decision making without precerient in Australia.
The results speak for themselves.
When my Government came into office Australia was in the
midst of a-deep recession: employment had declined
disastrously and unemployment had risen to unacceptably high
levels; inflation stood at twice the rate of most major OECD
countries; a negative rate of GDP growth had been recorded
in the previous y'sar, and real wages and through them
living standards were falling.
Through immediate action taken in the 19 M~ ay Economic
Statement, through the August 1983 Budget and helped both
by the breaking of the drought and strong recovery in the
Unite'd States my Government has not only arrested the
decline, but has quite dramatically turned it around.
3.
From the time of the Summit last April to January this year,
seasonally adjusted employment has expanded by over 2 per
, cent and seasonally adjusted unemployment has fallen from
10.3 per cent to 9.5 per cent.
indeed the number of jobs created so far thi~ s financial year
already exceeds the number projected by the Budget for the
whole financial year. We are also ahead of the rate
required to meet our target of 500,000 new jobs in our first
three years in office. Inflation has as well been brought
down from over 11 per cent to 8.6 per cent.
We have achieved these results with expansionary fiscal
policies, and with firm but not tight monetary policies.
Importantly, we have financed the deficit successfully at
the same time as seeing interest rates fall below the levels
which prevailed at the time of the Budget.
But if our immediate priority was to turn the Australian
economy around, we have attached at least equal importance
to securing the requirements of medium and long-term growth.
The perspectives we have brought to bear have given as much
weight to longer-term requirements -as to short-term
imperatives.
Crucial to the maintenance o'f sustained recovery into the
medium and longer term, is continued income restraint.
Restraint of the kind needed has been made possible, and
will hinge in the future, on continued adherence by all
parties to the Prices and Incomes Accord.
Very deliberately my Government has moved to give effect to
its responsibilities under the Accord. The second progress
report of the Advisory Committee on Prices and Incomes on
Government Initiatives, to be released shortly, will
describe a very solid record of achievement.
Let me briefly go Co what has been done already in this
regard, it being understood that the' Accord touches in one
way or another on almost all areas of Government
responsibility.
A centralised wage fixing system is now firmly in place
throughout Australia; legislation establishing the Prices
Surveillance Authority has been passed; taxation
arrangements have been changed; the equity and efficiency of
the taxation system is being discussed within EPAC. As well
. major job creation programs have been introduced, training
schemes developed and social security needs addressed.
A particular area given prominence by the Accord, and for
too long neglected by Governments in the past, is that of
occupational health and safety. The establishment in
October 1983 of an Interim National Occupational Health and
Safety Commission provides the means by which. a major
national effort can now be mounted in this important area.
The other side of the coin is that the Accord has played a
particularly important part in the very significant
improvement in industrial relations which has occurred
during my Government's term in office.
From the outset my Government made clear its commitment to
securing the establishment of an orderly and stable
industrial relations system consistent with our
constitutional practices in Australia.
The Prices and Incomes Accord, the active support we have
given to the creation of tripartite consultative organs at
industry level, and the thorough review of the industrial
relations machinery we have initiated, are al11 part of a
deliberate effort to rid Australia of the costly burden of
continuing industrial strife.
The results already achieved are impres * sive; in the twelve
months to November last year, ' the number of working days
lost through industrial disputes was the lowest in a
comparable period for fifteen years, and nearly 30 per cent
less than for the year ended November 1982.
It is significant that the extent of this improvement in
Australia's industrial relations scene has been recognised
by our major trading parptners in Asia.
While some of them may in the past have exaggerated the
costs associated with industrial action in Australia, I was
left in no doubt in my discussions with Asian leaders on my
recent overseas trip that, in their minds, the improvement
achieved has helped restore confidence in Australia as a
stable, reliable supplier. Equally, I have no doubt that
for many Australians this improvement is a major factor in
their renewed confidence in our economic outlook.
My Government is also directing attention to the structural
conditions necessary to ensure persistent growth in national
productivity, output and employment. As was clearly
evidenced in the Steel Industry Assistance Plan, my
Government is committed to the dual, complementary
objectives of maintaining and increasing employment in the
manufacturing sector and of making Australia more
intetnationally competitive. To the extent we realise these
objectives, Australia as a nation should prosper and our
neighbours will benefit from dealing with us.
Success will hinge on the ability of our nation to adapt to
the rapidly changing world about us. There must be an
imaginative pursuit of available opportunities for securing
our medium and longer-term growth prospects and increasing
employment. Steps should include a return to a position of
increased competitiveness in the changing world.
In a speech in Osaka on 3 February which picked up themes of
earlier statements, I referred to the need to develop in
Australia long-term programs aimed at facilitating
structural change and developing strong, efficient and
competitive Australian industries. The reaction of
interested parties and of the media to these views was
generally very encouraging.
The reaction suggested to me that we have'passed the point
where we need to argue the case as I have long done for
Australia not only to accept such change, but to find ways
of turning it to our advantage. There is, I believe, now a
widespread community recognition of the need for gradual
change in Australia's industry structures.
What as a Government we will now be doing is putting in
place consultative processes regarding the framework within
which such change can occur., including through the provision
of a more adequate data base on macroeconomic and industry
trends. Changes in our industry structures cannot and will
not be superimposed by Government. We are not in the
business of picking winners and losers. But we will do
everything we can to provide a more comprehensive and
predictable framework for decision making by industry, and
will assist directly through working to develop a more
flexible and skilled workforce.
My Government's aim in considering industry adjustment is to
promote increased and assured emplo-yment in growing and
viable industries. Adjustment properly undertaken and
managed in an intecirated way is entirely consistent with,
and in the modern world essential to, rising living
standards. This has been an important aspect of rapid
development in Japan and in those other countries in our
region which have experienced strong growth.
The issues associated with structural change are at the
heart of this Government's agenda and can he expected to
continue receiving our closest attention.
As a Government we have moved also to establish the basis
* for greater equality in the nation's social and economic
fabric. While recognising the need for changes in work
patterns, industrial structures and patterns of trade, we
are acutely aware of the simultaneous need for deliberate
measures to ensure that these changes do not reduce groups
of Australians to a permanently marqinal position in our
society. While recognising the importance of individual
initiative, and wanting to do everything we can to encourage
it, my Government is at the same time committed to securing
for all our people fairer shares of the nations wealth and a
larger measure of genuine equality.
This dimension to our policies is apparent in a wide range
of areas. Some examples are the Community Employment
Program, the vast expansion of the public housing program,
the highly successful First Home Owners Scheme, and the
assistance extended to the young unemployed and children of
pensioners. Other steps include measures aimed at
redirecting social security benefits to those who need them,
the abolition of more blatant tax concessions and
inequities, our attack on tax avoidance to the extent we
have not been frustrated by a Senate ignoring the wishes of
an overwhelming majority of the Australian people and our
deliberate moves to promote real equality of opportunity
regardless of sex, race or ethnic background. All these
measures together constitute a major and concentrated drive
to establish Australia as a fairer and more equitable
society. In that drive we have directed considerable attention to the
situation of our Aboriginal people. We have substantially
boosted Commonwealth Government funding for aboriginal
advancement programs. We aim to reverse a situation in
which the lot of too many of our aboriginal people is one of
constant denegration and contempt, grinding poverty, fear,
helplessness and apathy.
Similarly the initiatives we have mounted to eliminate sex
discrimination constitute an important element in our
overall interest in securing a more just and equitable
Australian society. Among the significant achievements of
my Government is the progress it has made in raising the
status of women. The full details of our approach I spelt
out recently at the National Labor Women's Conference in
Adelaide. The introduction of Medicare is another landmark in the
history of my Government.
Every Australian is now covered for 85% of the schedule fee
in respect of all services provided by doctors and
specialists. In times of acute illness every Australian can
now receive free hospital treatment. With Medicare we now
have a stable system which provides everyone with cover at a
fair cost.
Similarly in education, the policies and initiatives we have
introduced in the last year are aimed at increasing
opportunities for all Australians to develop, on an
equitable basis, their full potential.
My Government' believes strongly that as a nation we must be
prepared to invest heavily in human skills. Only if we
equip our people with the capacities and attitudes to
compete effectively, with flexibility and with confidence,
can we make the most of future opportunities.
Training the workforce to maximise the benefits for
themselves and for our society of new, more productive
technologies is of fundamental importance. As a Government
we are giving urgent attention to the creation of a base of
skills across the whole workforce through education and
training of our young people, at the same time as seeking to
ensure an adequate retraining of the existing workforce to
handle these new technologies more capably.
The provision of financial assistance to enable diversity of
educational opportunity is an integral part of my
Government's education policy approach. Such assistance is
provided with due regard both to the principle of equality
of educational opportunity, and the principle of need as
defined in close consultation with interested parties.
The Government is committed to supporting all those schools
most in need with the limited additional resources it is
able to make available. Somehow or other the gap between
low resource schools and other schools has to be reduced.
This year my Government is giving more money to
non-government schools than any Government before it. The
fact is that in 1984 the neediest non-government schools,
and that includes more than 90 per cent of all
non-government schools, will receive higher Commonwealth
Grants in real terms tlian before.
Arrangements for 1985 and beyond are not yet settled. The
Government has asked the Schools Commission to provide
advice and options on a new arrangements for non-government
school general resources funding. No new arrangements will
be implemented witfiout the fullest possible consultations
with non-government schools, and I give a guarantee that I
will be fully involved in this process. I will not only be
interested in seeing that all views are heard but, with
Senator Susan Ryan, will aim to ensure that the Gov'ernment's
objectives in this area are carried forward in so equitable
a fashion that they have the full support of the interested
parties.
When we talk of education we naturally thin' of the young.
One of the most difficult and necessary issues we as a
Government have to face in the medium and longer term is how
to handle the aging of our population in a fair and
equitable way.
We have taken steps to tackle this issue but I am prepared
to say that we have not been as successful as we should have
been. A year ago I conceded that our Government., like any other,
would make mistakes. At that time I added that I hoped one
of the distinguishing features of our Government would be
that we would have the courage to admit errors and face the
responsibility of correcting them.
It has become clear that there is continuing and justifiable
uncertainty about whether the Government has yet found the
best way to implement legislation on an assets test mna
fair and equitable way.
My senior Ministers and I remain absolutel. y wedded to the
principle that the majority those who genuinely need
Government support through the pension receive it, and
that the claims of those like ex-Prime Ministers who do
not need it, do not continue to limit the Government's
capacity to help the truly needy.
However, we have also become concerned that many ordinary
pensioners have been caused unnecessary worry by those who,
for short-sighted political purposes, have encouraged
groundless fears about our intentions.
I concede that as a Government we have not been able to
allay those fears. There is no way that we will allow these
people the people who during their working lives
contributed to building Australia into the great country it
is today to be worried and alarmed about their future.
After consulting with some senior Ministers I have decided
that the whole question must be looked at again.
Cabinet will review this matter tomorrow. I expect
following that consideration to be able to announce details
of an alternative,-more acceptable approach.
The task my Government has begun is one not only of shaping
an Australia which will be well placed to Sustain growth in
the medium and longer-term. It is also one of sharing the
benefits of such growth equitably and of maintaining a
credible standing in the international community.
A sound foreign policy is obviously important to securing
these objectives.
My Government has made clear from the beginning its
commiitment to its alliance relationships. Australia is an
aligned nation and we regard this as being fundamental to
the conduct of our international relations.
On this basis, and bringing to bear a healthy independence
of view, Australia's relationship with the United States has
been consolidated into a mature, multifaceted and beneficial
partnership. This represents a logical progression of the
foundational Australia/ United States relationship forged by
Labor Prime Minister John Curtin. That relationship is now
stronger than ever before.
At the same time, while we do not seek to disguise
fun'damental differences of outlook and strategic interest,
we have moved to put Australia's relations with the Soviet
Union on a more productive footing. Paul Keating's recent
visit to Moscow was important in this regard not only was
he able to indicate our interest in constructive dialogue
with the Soviets in multilateral disarmament fora, he was
also able to register clearly with the Soviet leadership our
readiness to seek further opportunities for practical
co-operation with the Soviet Union.
Relations with the countries of the Asia/ Pacific region must
obviously command the highest priority for Australia. I
said this immediately after assuming office; others had said
it before me. I suggest the difference is that over the
last twelve months my Government has succeeded in giving
real substance to the character of Australia's involvement
with the region.
This reflects the very substantive character of the
political, strategic and economic issues that my Government
has been prepared to address with the countries of the area,
and the unprecedently cordial terms on which these
disucssions have proceeded.
As a Government we have been concerned to promote conditions
of regional peace and stability, and in particular we have
actively explored with interested parties the scope for
progress in the Kampuchean situation. The spontaneous
commendation of our efforts by Premier Zhao and Prime
Minister Lee duringj our recent discussions indicate that our
efforts are of value and are appreciated by the countries in
our region.
My Government's ability to address openly and constructively
differences where they exist has contributed significantly
to respect for Australia's role in the region. The
Australian electorate will match this reality against the
base and baseless opportunism of our political opponents in
their claims that in pursuing this approach we were
endangering our relations with the region. The truth is
that these relations are now stronger than they have ever
been before.
The reaction on my overseas trip to my 22 November Bangkok
trade initiative suggest that this has also struck a
responsive chord with the countries of the! region. All the
regional countries we have approached, including all of the
Asean countries, have now agreed to participate in a senior
officials' meeting to be convened i~ n April in an Asean
country, to help identify regional countries' interests in a
proposed multilateral trade liberalisation round. The
meeting would also consider how best to focus attention on
those interests in such a round. For Australia our
interests would include subsidies and non-tariff barriers to
trade, especially in agriculture and processed minerals.
Closely linked with this effort to secure an international
trading environment more satisfactory to the countries of
the region, has been the deliberate effort we have made to
put Australia's bilateral trading relations with individual
countries of the region onto a sounder, long-term footing.
As a result of rapid economic development throughout the
region, quite fundamental structural changes are taking
place within the countries of the area.
This has major implications for the character and direction
of Australia's regional trade. In established markets it
makes diversification of our trading interests a compelling
necessity. Elsewhere, high growth opportunities and new
markets are opening up.
In each of the countries I recently visited Japan, Korea,
China, Singapore and Malaysia the speed and extent of
change are considerable. Australians must understand the
full dimensions of what . is happening and move effectively to
relate our productive capacities to these dynamic and
challenging developments.
For example, the interest that Premier Zhao demonstrated in
the integration of -the iron and steel industries of
Australia and China through programs of mutual investment,
technical assistance and the supply of Australian raw
materials and semi-processed products to China's mills is
indicative of the scale of possibilities which exist.
Indeed the importance of what is happening in China is too
rarely appreciated. I am convinced that the fundamental
changes taking place in China today, in its economic
philosophy and practices, hold major implications for all
countries. Australia, as a country now enjoying a
particularly close relationship with China, is well placed
to work together with it to our Mutual advantage.
Australia's regional relationships have been nurtured in the
context of an overriding desire for global peace and
stability.
At a time when the world has entered an era of heightened
distrust and suspicion between the super-powers, my
Government's commitment to securing progress in arms control
and disarmament has taken on a particular significance.
Every available opportunity has been taken to press the case
for agreements that might preserve the strategic balance and
secure deterrence at the lowest possible l. evel of armaments.
This has included our discussions with the super-powers,
with the other nuclear powers China, France and the United
Kingdom, and with the international community more generally
including at the CHOGM.
My Government, and our Ambassador for Disarmament, have been
working especially hard for the revitalization of the
international non-proliferation regime and for the creation
of an international climate that could lead to agreement on
a comprehensive and fully verifiable ban on nuclear testing.
A convention to ban chemical weapons and an agreement to
prevent the arms race from extending to outer space are also
high among our priorities.
We were recently very encouraged by the adoption at the
United Nations General Assembly of the Australia/ New Zealand
resolution calling for negotiations to commence on a
comprehensive test ban treaty.
That the United States was persuaded to move from its
previous year's negative vote to abstention was a
significant development a development we appreciated and
now intend building on.
We shall also continue to lay great emphasis on the risks
not only of vertical but also horizontal proliferation of
nuclear weapons.
As a producer and exporter of uranium we see ourselves as
having particular responsibilities in this regard.
More specifically,-Australia has an obligation under Article
IV of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation-Treaty to facilitate and
participate in the exchange of equipment, materials and
information for the peaceful uses of atomic energy, with due
consideration for the needs of the developing areas of the
world. Acceptance of this obligation serves to accentuate the
particular responsibility we have to secure improved
international safeguards against diversion of nuclear
materials from peaceful uses.
We take this latter responsibility seriously and are
unflinching in our commitment to the demands it imposes. In
this, we believe we are contributing within our capacities
to a better world.
I Z
The challenges of the year ahead are not to be
underestimated. The main challenge is to keep the economy moving in the
right direction.
This will involve maintaining continued progress in the
positive trends in the principal economic indicators that
is, employment and unemployment, economic growth, inflation
and interest rates. This is no simple task. But the
prospects are good and it can be said with certainty that
there will be no return to the sustained, simultaneous high
unemployment and inflation levels that characterised the
economy during the period of my predecessors.
Another key challenge will be to continue progress towards a
manufacturing sector that is viable and competitive and
contributes directly to strong growth in employment.
To this end my Government will be stepping up its process of
consultation with the manufacturing sector and seeking wider
community understanding of the issues involved. In this way
it should be possible to contemplate in the longer run
structural changes that are understood by all to be in the
community's broader interest.
Finally, 1984 should be a year in which recovery depends
less directly on the Government sector, and is carried more
by the private sector. As I have said many times, we
recognise the vital role in our economy of the private
sector where more than three quarters of the work force are
employed. Quite deliberately many of the Government's
decisions have been aimed at providing a basis for healthy
growth in the private sector. Let me give you two examples.
First, the Government's own borrowing strategy has been
geared to allowing substantial private borrowing in the
second half of the current financial year, to meet seasonal
as well as longer-term investment needs. Later in the year,
in our 1984/ 85 Budget, we will be seeking to make further
progress in reducing the deficit thus ensuring that
interest rate pressures do not re-emerge with their negative
impact on growth while providing some tax relief. Second
ours is not an approach which seeks regulation for the sake
of regulation. Only where regulatory approaches clearly
promote economic efficiency or social equity will they be
considered by our Government.
I recognise that some of the decisions we have taken have
not and will not win universal acclaim, at least not until
the results are in. But frankly I am not prepared just to
sit on the popularity ratings my Government now enjoys. I
do not want to fritter away the opportunities this measure
of community support provides to move this country in
directions which almost all objective observers agree are
vital for our future we ll-being and that of our children.
13.
1983 was a year in which I along with most Australians took
pride in a number of great sporting achievements. The task
, we all have now, I would suggest, is to harness that same
focus of national interest and enthusiasm to those other
issues of national significance which too often in the past
have been determined exclusively by narrowly-based
self-interest.
If this can be achieved, we shall not only have a more
economically advanced society with relatively improved
living standards for all, but we will have laid the basis
for a more assured economic future for our children.
My Government is committed to this. It is a firm commitment
to a bright and more prosperous future for all Australians.
It