EMBAROED AGAINST DELIVERY CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY
PRIME MINISTER
SPEECH BY THE PRIME MINISTER
" THE WINNERS' FIELD DAY" BOONOKE 8 MARCH 1984
Ken, Ladies and Gentlemen
Thank you very much for your very warm welcome.
I was struck in reading the report of last year's field day
by two things.
One was that your chief guest last year was the mighty Ron
Barassi standing in for Malcolm Fraser who had to excuse
himself at short notice due to the " singular nature of the
handover following the election five days earlier". There
has been no such reshuffle needed this year!
Second, Alec Morrison, on this day last year, told you
" Tomorrow or the day after it will rain.
Tomorrow or the day after devaluation will boost the
wool cheques.
Tomorrow or the day after the recession will give way
to recovery".
Well Alec must have been a clairvoyant, or was it just
recognition of what we as a Labor Government were capable of
achieving? While I cannot claim full responsibility for it, the drought
has broken; we did devalue and, with the later float of the
dollar, contributed a further important boost to your
industry; we have also seen the economy firmly repositioned
on the path to recovery and all Australians stand to benefit
from this.
In short, the last year has seen a real turnaround in
Australia's fortunes. My Government aims to maintain the
strong growth trend now establistred and expects the rural
sector, and particularly the wool industry, to be among the
principal beneficiaries as well as major contributors to
this.
The Australian Labor Government believes that the best way
to help ensure Australia's primary industries have a more
stable and prosperous future is to focus on sound economic
management. As a Government we have accordingly sought to
be responsible, flexible, realistic, respecting of market
realities and concerned to address basic issues such as
employment, costs, inflation and taxes. In all of this we
have sought to build a national consensus a consensus
involving farmers as much as any other group in the
community. Indeed it is with some pride I recall the initiative I
mounted some years ago as President of the A. C. T. U. bringing
Australian unions and wool industry representatives into
consultation. Those contacts then were highly productive
and demonstrated the benefit to all concerned of
co-operative approaches to industry problems.
The Government introduced into Parliament last week a Bill
to give the Australian Wool Corporation powers comparable
with those of other major statutory authorities and place it
in a position where it can commercially evaluate alternative
sources of finance for its operation.
The Corporation operates in an increasingly difficult and
competitive environment and needs to be able to take
advantage of the best borrowing rates available.
The amendments to the Wool Industry Act 1972 proposed in the
Bill will allow for better management of woolgrower funds
for market support operations and for wool research.
The Bill now before the Parliament quite deliberately
recognises the value or the wool industry to the Australian
economy. It is a far cry from the lone bale of wool exported by John
Macarthur in 1807 to the export in 1982-83 of nearly 612
million kilos of wool valued at $ 1.9 billion, second only to
coal in total value of exports.
The Australian wool industry has time and again demonstrated
its remarkable resilience and adaptability in the face of
drought, fire and flood as well as unpredictable overseas
markets and competition from man-made fibres.
But despite the adverse conditions it has at times had to
endure or overcome, Australian wool has remained a winner.
Australia now has 133 million sh6le-producing over one
quarter of total world wool output and supplying about half
of all wool entering world trade.
Changes in the destinations of Australia's wool exports
reflect the changing relationships between Australia and her
trading partners. Although the infant wool industry
flourished in response to demand from British textile mills,
our major markets now include Japan, USSR, China and the
EEC.
Similarly the wool industry has shown its capacity to adjust
to its changing role within the Australian economy. Since
the wool prices boom of the 1950' s, following the outbreak
of the Korean war, wool's share of Australia's export
earnings has declined dramatically as the mineral, tertiary
and manufacturing sectors have expanded. It nevertheless in
1982/ 83 remains significant at 10 per cent of the total.
Australia may no longer be riding on the sheep's back but
the wool industry has proven to be low cost and efficient
and remains an important contributor to the national
economy. It is at once a valuable source of national income
and export earnings, and provides significant employment
opportunities. You will all recall that before the last election I promised
that a Labor Government would provide $ 28 million per annum
for wool promotion funding during the triennium 1983-84. We
were not able to honour this pledge fully in the last budget
principally, as you would all know and appreciate, because
of our inheritance from the previous Government of a much
higher deficit than we could have reasonably anticipated. I
am, however, very conscious of the importance of this matter
to the industry and have therefore recently directed that it
should be brought forward again for national consideration
prior to the normal 1984/ 85 Budget discussions.
An announcement of the Government's decision should be
possible before the Wool Council meeting in May.
Finally let me say that in John Kerin you have a Federal
Minister for Primary Industry who brings a real commitment
and feeling of responsibility for the people of rural
Australia. He has a very strong personal commitment to see
that the immense contribution that # Irural and provincial
Australia makes to this country is~ fully recognised within
Government and that sensitive policy making and fairness
pr eva ils.
In moving around the country over the last twelve months,
talking to individuals and producer representatives, John
has impressed everyone with his tremendous drive, ability
and sincerity. He has managed hrW portfolio with great
expertise and has become an outstanding Minister in my
Government, deserving the full support of the wide interests
he represents.
I know you all appreciate this and will lend him you full
support in his not always easy task.