a AUSTRALIA
PROGRAMME The Sattler File, 6KY ( Howard Sattler)
SUBJECT Prime Minister's First Year in Office
DATE Monday 5 March 1.984
SATTLER:
Well today it is appropriately Labour Day in Western Australia,
we're on holidays but at least two people aren't yours truly
and Prime Minister Bob Hawke and he certainly wouldn't be because
today he is celebrating his first twelve months in office. Good
morning Mr Hawke.
PM; Good morning Howard.
SATTLER:
Congratulations. PM: Thank you very much indeed
SATTLER:
Well if you liked your job when I talked to you and I think it
was around the middle of last year about it, how do you feel
about it now?
PM: Well I like it even more. I've been able to I think settle in well
and you've got the satisfaction of seeing it working. ./ 2
SATTLER:
Well I do detect a few more grey hairs. I wonder if that's a symton
of the worries that go with the job?
PM: No. I don't think so. It's just the natural ageing process, 6ut
the important thing is I've still got them Howard.
SATTLER: ( Laughter) Luckier than most! Your popularity is in no small way
due to your association I would suggest with major sporting
achievements over the year. You were at the America's Cup celebrations
in Perth; Davis Cop tennis final which we won; your Australian
cricket team's victory was the only one in the one day series
over the West Indies; now who deserves the credit for those
appearances you, or your publicity people?
PM:
Oh it's got nothing to do with my publicity people. You know
that ever since I've been a small boy I've been a sports fanat-ic.
But not just a watcher--a player. Over there in Perth I played
first grade cricket with the University for about six years. So
my personal involvement in sport has been a very important part
of my life right from my earliest days in Perth, Howard.
SATTLER: Are you concerned that the polls show that you're much higher
than the whole Government, and I'm wondering whether that's a
healthy reflection of Australians'penchant for voting for the leader
above his party?
PM: Oh well there are two things to say about it. Remember that the
voter support for the Government is higher, I think, than it's been
just about for any other government at 57 per cent--a very high
and healthy figure. But I suppose it's inevitable the way the
media tends to concentrate on the leaders of parties that there
be a bit of a difference between the leader and the party. But the
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PM: -iportant thing in respect of the Government is it's at a very
high figure.
SATTLER:
Have you consciously adopted a high media profile?
PM: Oh no. I've always regarded it as an obligation since I was President
of the ACTU to be available to the media and to put the point cf
view of those whom you are representing and to be available to their
legitimate questioning. I think you know that that was a characteristi
of my ACTU presidency and I think it's a responsibility that carries
even more say with this position.
SATTLER: Of course you've got to igh that up against the commitment to pouring
over the reams of paper work in your office, don't you?
PM: Well they are not alternatives.-I get everything read. There is
no submission that goes before the Cabinet or the Cabinet Committees
that I haven't read. I think if you check with my officials I'm
assiduous in that respect.
SATTLER: Have you done a speed reading course somewhere along the line?
PM: No not a speed reading course. I just.. can read fairly quickly.
I mean I've taught myself to do that over 0the years.
SATTLER: How do you rate yourself as a parliamentary performer, say compared
with the people we regard as the best of them Menzies and Whitlam?
PM: Oh I don't know. I think it's for others to judge. I think I do
./ 4
PM; reasonably well there, Although I just.. must say this that I
think that the political commentator. i over the years have tended
to get a quite distorted view of the relative importance of what
happens in Parliament as far as the political scene is concerned.
It's natural enough that parliamentarians and the Press Gallery
because they live fairly incestuously there together in a small
environment think that that environment in which they live together
is where it all happens--what it's all about. It's never a view
that I've shared.
SATTLER:
Does it really matter whether you're a better orator than your
opponent in the House?
PM: Oh it is important to be able to get on top of your Opposition
arid your opposite number. We've been able to do that relatively
easy in this year.
SATTLER: You created some waves that you would be aware of back in Australia
with you speech in Osaka about the necessity to restructure Australian
industry most concern, naturally, was for jobs that could be lost
in the short term now could you briefly explain your concept
about restructuring?
PM:
Well Howard first of all to talk about causing waves, of course that's
not really true. What was caused was a little bit of noise from a
couple of quarters. The fact is that the trade union movement, for
instance, has endorsed absolutely what I said as has business and
all, I think all economic and financial commentators. Now what you
ask me what have we got in mind af) out economic restructuring
well of course you'd need a couple of hours to explain it in detail.
Let me simply make this point. At the end of the 1960s manufacturing
industry provided about 28 per cent of all employment in Australia.
Now it's more like" 18 per cent. In other words that in these last
PM: decades more change has been taking place. It's been taking place
in a way which hasn't been really for the overall good of Australia
it'r happened in a pretty traumatic, hurtful sort of way and
certainly not in a way which has been planned or intergrated, or
most likely to best use our resources, Now what I'm talking"
about is that we've got to have a position where Government in
consultation with industry and trade unions plans for change, so
that we can create a structure of industry here which is going
to be most able to as I put it immesh Australia in with the
region of Asia, Pacific rim, Western Pacific rim which is the
fastest growing economic region in the world today and is going
to be as far ahead as we can see. Now we're part of that region
so the sensible thing is to try and make sure that we have a
structure of industry here which is 4oing to be best able to be
export-oriented in to that region and which enables, also, imports
to come into this country from those regions, from the countries
of those regions in return for what we'll be selling to them.
Now those sort of things are not going to happen by accident.
And when you are talking about restructuring you're saying, therefore,
that some industries that we've got will have to be strengthened
it makes sense to strengthen them others will gradually have to
change and not take so much of our resources and we will have to
build other new ones. Now that's going to mean, Howard, that as
I've put it so often if we say that this sort of a judgement is
necessary in the community interest, as it wil be, then its the
community that has got to help to bear the burden of the cost of
change. We can't just say to some men and women, or some capital
that's employed in a particular industry, ' well, you've got to
run down a bit because that's in the interest of the community'.
The community has got to be prepared to have systems in place like
retraining schemes for labour, relocation assistance, incentives
for capital to go into new industries. The community as a whole,
via the Government, has to have thos-esort of systems in place to
help and assist constructive change. Now in broad terms that's the
pattern of what I'm talking about. The thing I'm happiest about is
that we've really now jumped the hurdle that people, I think, now
understand that these things have got to happen the question now
/ 6
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PM: is how we work together to do it.
SATTLER:
What's the alternative if we don't?
PM: The alternative is disaster. Let me put this to you: as things
stand now with the rapid rate of growth in-Singapore that's been
taking place by about 1990 which is not a long time away that
Singapore which Australians have tended to think about as that,
oh that little place there, a few people, where you go and they've
got all these duty-free shops and you can get cheap goods have
tended to think pretty derogatively of it. By 1990 with the
relative rates of growth that are going on their per capita income
will be as high as Australia. Now we shouldn't be frightened about
their increase in income, but what we should be frightened of is
that Australia is relatively by not taking advantage of its
own resources falling further behind and we will. If we don't
make these decisions so that we are going to part of this great
growth in this region then it will grow without us. Now we've
got the great challenge and opportunity of growing with it, of
contributing to their growth and ourselves benefitting from it.
We can do that.
SATTLER: The deficit: that was your biggest headache, I'd suggest, last
year. Are you satisfied that your plans to reduce that are now
in hand?
PM: Yes I am. We won't get the detailed figures until later this
month, Howard, but I am fairly confident that we're going to be
able in this next financial yearr-m-further reduce the deficit.
And I hope to be able to do that also in the context of some
reductions in taxation.
SATTLER: We're all looking forward to that. ./ 7
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I bet we are. ( Laughter)
SATTLER:
What hiccups can you see along t. he way to leading this country out
of recession?
PH: Well obviously we are dependent to some extent upon what happens
overseas. The United States economy is fundamentally important;
for the rest of the world-the rest of the democratic world in
particular and the big question mark in a lot of peoples' minds
is whether the recovery that is still surging on in the United
States is going to have the degree of durability which will mean
positive impacts upon us through prices for exports and so on.
Now that's, therefore, something that we've got to in our whole
calculus say there's therefore a question mark. But as far as
our own internal affairs a re concerned and as far as the decisions
that we can take in regard to our region that I've been talking
about I am confident about all those things. I think the
Australian people have responded to this Government and our
leadership, that they are co-opeirating more together in the
industrial disputation area lower level of disputes than in the
past 15 years. The economic growth is coming back, jobs are
growing. So we can do it out of own reo-ources and our own
attitudes; they are right now I think. And our relations with
the regions are better than they've ever been. So, no hiccups
in regard to the factors over which we can exercise our own
control. The only thing that I rtepeat you've got to have some
sort of question mark about is the United States. But I have
somewhat more confidence about that than perhaps we may have had
a few months ago.
SATTLER:
During the past couple of wreeks you've stepped into two areas of
controversy; medicare and also the pensioner assets test. I'm
wondering why you personally became involved? -/ 8
PM:
Well let me say this that I think there is a great exaggeration
abott the pr. oble. is coming up at the conference. The facts are
that the clear majority of Labor supporters are thorougbly behind
the Government and they are not going to want a Labor Conference
doing anything which is going to make it unnecessarily difficult
for the Labor Government to do its job. In regard to the areas
that you talked about;. I don't see any great problems. There'll
be some there, for instance, on uranium who would not be happy
with the Government's decision. But I believe the Government's
decision will be endorsed. The fact is of course that this
Government in twelve months in office, Howard, has done more to
implement basic Labor policy than any government in the history
of this country in the same twelve wonth period similar in a
twelve month period.
SATTLER: Eventually do you have to endorse Labor policy which is decided
at that conference?
PM: No. The conference said at the last occasion by way of resolution
that the primary responsibility of the Labor Government is to
restore economic growth, That's it* primary responsibility and
then it's a matter for the Government to determine priorities
in the rate at which effect is given to particular policies.
Now that seems to be an imminently sensible thing for the conference
to have said and we've acting accordingly.
SATTLER: You told me last July that you missed beingaable to mix with
friends you just didn't have the time I'm wondering has that
changed since you've been Prime Minister?
PM:
No it hasn't. It's still something that you miss. But I knew
it was part of the job and, you know that's it. I've never been
one to lament about things that you can't change. Though it's
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PM: got many other compensations Ho~~ ard.
SATT ER:
What about Mr-s Hawke because she I'm pretty sure I'm right Qfl thishas
already had to give up her Melbourne home to move to Canberra
with you.
PH: Oh no. It wasn't a question of having to give up the MelbournE!
home to move the Canberra. I mean she has been with me all the
time of course, but the question of the Melbourne home was simply
that wa were not getting down there that frequently and it involved
a cost of guarding the place. They have to have police guards over
the homes of Prime Ministers. It involved the best part of a
quarter of a million dollars a year to guard a place that we
were there, YOU know, real~ ly only relatively a few days of the
year. So, we felt we couldn't justify that so we've leased the
place. SATTLER;
Was that a bit of a wrench?
PM:. Oh yes it is in one way, but look, don't let me sort of overstate
it. We are extraordinarily happy. The Lodge is very comfortable.
. We have a beautiful official residence in Sydney when we ' re in
Sydney and when we're in Melbourne we stay in a hotel and it
would be quite stupid of me to sugge'st that we are sufferiing. It
is not we are very comfortable in that sense. Obviously when
you have to lease your own home, I suppose there's somethinga
bit of a tug in there -but I don't exaggerate that.
SATTLER:
Has she redecorated the Lodge?
PM: No. Not redecorated. We've changed s ome pictures, paintings which
. we simply have got mrore of what we prefer now, But, no, I don't
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PM: think it's a time for, you know, massive expenditures in areas
like that.
SATTLER: In the future has she got a few plans?
PM: Oh she may have down the track, yes, but we've never been ones
for, I think, great ostention in our lifestyle. We've been
able gradually as we've got older to live more comfortably. But,
you know, the Lodge and Kirribillee here in Sydney, are... if people
are not satisfied with the comfort and the context and the
atmosphere of these places well I don't know what would satisfy
them.
SATTLER: Let's just end up on political election talk if we could. Yol,
when you were in Opposition and your colleagues, fairly well
criticised Prime Minister Fraser for fuelling election speculation.
There's been a lot of talk about the next Federal Election. Can
you tell me when it's likely to be and what criteria you are
adopting to make that decision?
PM: Yes. Let me be quite clear about that. What has happened... by
Mr Fraser's decision to call the double dissolution election last
March it threw out of kilter the elections time-table with the
House of Representativesand the Senate. Now under the Constitution,
Howard, we must have a half-Senate election now by about May of
next year because the -enators have to... out of that half-Senate
election, have to take their place by July of ' 85. So there's
got to be an election right around Anstralia for half the Senate.
Now in the past, on 22 occasions that there's been half-Senate
elections, they've had the House of Representatives out as well.
Now what I'm saying is that it seems to me to make sense that
because we've got to have the half-Senate election we should have
the House of Representatives election with it and what I'm thinking
S./ 12
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PM: of is that at the same time we would put a referendum proposal whicb
would ensure. for thr future that elections had to simultaneo~ us so
that there wouldn't be any possibility ever in the future of haiving
this multiplicity of elections. Now that seems to me to make sense
and it would be in line with what's happened in thje great MaiorIty
of occasions in the past and we'd be able to guarantee the people
of Australia forever into the future no unnecessary election.
SATTLER:
You made the point that Australians don't like going to the polls
in winter time, so is it fair for me to speculate that sometime
between December and March next year, December 1984 that is, there
will be a Federal Election for the House of Representatives?
PM:
Quite openly that if you're going to have the Rep.,. and the half-Sinate
together and you've got to have the election before May of
that that so-rt of period you're talking about. seems to be the
appropriate one. Now once we've worked out what we think should
happen we'll let the Australian people know. There won't be
any uncertainty about -it. It. seemed to Il've had the obligation
to give this sort Of outline that I have and, then that's the first
thing, then secondly when we're close to making the-decision w2' l1
let-people know so that things can go along their normial course.
SATTLER: You'll give us plenty of notice will you?
PM: I sure will. None of that sort of businesf we had to put up with
last year.
SATTL ER:
Just finally, personally, what's the first. year been like for you-
Bob Hawke for you alone?
PM: Very, very satisfying. Arid it's given me a sense of identity with
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PM: the Atstralian people I suppose one that I've always had bit
it's a sense of idetity even more, if you like, concretely from
being able to do things and act I think in a way which I hope meets
the aspirat. ions of the Australian people. It's a good feeling.
SATTLER:
What do you want for the next twelve months?
PM: Continued growth and more opportunities, more employment so that
there is more Australians that are going to be able to work and
that all Australians are going to have a happier life. Howard
I've got to go now. Thank you very, very much.
SATTLER: Thanks very much Mr Hawke. It's Labour Day over here in Wester;
Australia, so it's a rather appropriate day to be talking to
you about your first twelve months.
PERTH MARCH 1984 r-. V