EMBARGOED UNTIL DELIVERED
SPEECH TO THE BULLETIN-NEWSWEEK LUNCHEON 4 JULY 1984
IT IS A HAPPY COINCIDENCE AND I AM SURE A HAPPY OMEN
FOR SUCCESS THAT THIS FIRST ISSUE OF THE COMBINED
BULLETIN-NEWSWEEK SHOULD FALL ON THE FOURTH OF JULY
INDEPENDENCE DAY.
SO, FIRST LET ME SAY TO OUR FRIENDS FROM NEW YORK,
REPRESENTING THE AMERICAN HALF OF THIS VENTURE, THAT YOUR
PARTICIPATION IS ENTIRELY COMPATIBLE WITH THE SPIRIT OF
INDEPENDENCE WHICH THIS DAY CELEBRATES NOT FOR AMERICANS
ALONE, BUT FOR ALL THOSE WHO CHERISH DEMOCRACY EVERYWHERE
AROUND THE WORLD,
FOR, AS I UNDERSTAND IT, THIS UNIQUE VENTURE IN AUSTRALIAN
PUBLISHING IS NEITHER A MERGER NOR A TAKEOVER; BUT AN
ALLIANCE OF TWO INDEPENDENT FORCES TO COMPLEMENT THE
STRENGTHS OF EACH; AND BY THIS DECLARATION OF INTERDEPENDENCE,
THE BETTER TO MAINTAIN AND ENSURE THE INDEPENDENCE OF BOTH.
AND THAT IS THE SORT OF ALLIANCE, WHERE AUSTRALIAN AND
AMERICAN INTERESTS ARE INVOLVED, THAT I CAN ALWAYS ENDORSE
AND SUPPORT. w--K
CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY
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THERE WAS, I MUST SAY, ONE ASPECT OF TREVOR KENNEDY'S
LETTER OF INVITATION WHICH RAISED A DOUBT, IF NOT
APPREHENSION, IN MY MIND.
BECAUSE, AFTER OUTLINING THE COURSE THESE PROCEEDINGS TODAY
MIGHT TAKE AND WHAT WAS EXPECTED OF ME, . TREVOR WROTE:
" PHILIP ADAMS WILL WIND THE WHOLE THING UP."!
NOW, IF EVER I SENSED A SET-UP, THAT IS IT.
BUT I SUPPOSE AT LEAST WHEN PHILIP WINDS THE WHOLE THING
UP, IT WILL HELP OUR AMERICAN FRIENDS UNDERSTAND WHAT
THEY'RE REALLY GETTING INTO.
BECAUSE PHILIP, AMONG OTHER THINGS, REPRESENTS ONE OF
THE GREAT STRANDS OF THE BULLETIN TRADITION ICONOCLASTIC,
RADICAL REPUBLICANISM.
THAT'S THE OLDEST BULLETIN TRADITION; AND IT'S SOMEHOW
MANAGED TO SURVIVE SOMETIMES SO FAINTLY AS TO BE ON THE
VERGE OF EXTINCTION FOR OVER ONE HUNDRED YEARS.
AND OF COURSE WHEN WE'RE SPEAKING OF THE BULLETIN'S
RADICAL TRADITION, WE CAN'T IGNORE THE OUTSTANDING
CONTRIBUTION OF ONE OF ITS LEADING WRITERS. s / 3
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I MEAN, OF COURSE, DAVID MCNICOL.
How COULD IT EVER BE SAID OF AUSTRALIA, TO ADAPT OSCAR WILDE
ON THE UNITED STATES, THAT WE HAVE NO OLD INSTITUTIONS AND
NO ANCIENT MONUMENTS, WHEN WE HAVE THE BULLETIN AND
DAVID McNICOLI
BUT SERIOUSLY, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN, FOR ALL THE VAST
CHANGES IN ITS STYLE, OUTLOOK, POLITICS AND OWNERSHIP,
THE BULLETIN 1U AN INSTITUTION; AND IT IS AN AUTHENTIC
AUSTRALIAN INSTITUTION.
AUSTRALIAN NATIONALISM, THE AUSTRALIAN ETHOS OF THE MATESHIP
OF THE BUSH, A DISTINCTIVELY AUSTRALIAN L. ITERATURE, THE
AUSTRALIAN BRAND OF HUMOUR ALL GREW TOGETHER WITH THE
BULLETIN AND THE BULLETIN'S CONTRIBUTION TO EACH,
EXPECIALLY IN ITS FIRST THREE DECADES FROM 1880, WAS
SEMINALLY AND ENDURINGLY IMPORTANT.
AND IT IS NO COINCIDENCE THAT DURING THIS GREAT FLOWERING
OF THE AUSTRALIAN SPIRIT, THE ORGANISED LABOUR MOVEMENT
TOOK DEEP ROOT IN OUR NATIONAL LIFE AND THE AUSTRALIAN
LABOR PARTY ITSELF WAS BORN.
THE BULLETIN CELEBRATED ITS CENTENARY FOUR YEARS AGO;
AND THE AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY WILL CELEBRATE ITS FIRST
CENTURY OF UNBROKEN FORMAL EXISTENCE IN 1991 LESS
THAN SEVEN YEARS AWAY.
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SAND THESE SIMPLE FACTS SERVE TO REMIND US OF A MOST
SIGNIFICANT, BUT OFTEN IGNORED, ASPECT OF AUSTRALIAN
NATIONAL LIFE.
AND THAT IS, THE REMARKABLE STABILITY AND CONTINUITY OF
MANY OF OUR KEY INSTITUTIONS.
AND THAT IS ESPECIALLY TRUE IN POLITICS AND JOURNALISM,
THE AUSTRALIAN LABOR. PARTY ITSELF IS NOT ONLY FAR AND
AWAY AUSTRALIA'S OLDEST POLITICAL PARTY; IT IS ONE OF
THE VERY OLDEST IN THE WORLD; AND IN THE ENGLISH-SPEAKING
WORLD, OF THEPARTIES WHICH REGULARLY FORM GOVERNMENTS,
WE ARE OUTRANKED ONLY BY THE DEMOCRATIC AND REPUBLICAN
PARTIES OF THE UNITED STATES AND THE BRITISH CONSERVATIVE
PARTY. IN JOURNALISM, THE RECORD ON CONTINUITY IS JUST AS
REMARKABLE. FOR EXAMPLE, SEVEN OF THE TEN MORNING DAILIES NOW PUBLISHED
IN THE SIX STATE CAPITALS WERE ESTABLISHED BEFORE THE END
OF THE LAST CENTURY THAT IS, BEFORE THE AUSTRALIAN
FEDERATION ITSELF.
AND AS I HAVE SAID, THE BULLETIN FALLS WELL INTO THIS
CATEGORY, AS FAR AS VENERABILITY IS CONCERNED.
Now, THROUGH THIS UNIQUE VENTURE, ANOTHER CHAPTER
IS BEING WRITTEN IN ITS LONG HISTORY.
IT IS TRUE THAT IN THIS UNDERTAKING, THERE IS NO
QUESTION THAT EACH PUBLICATION WILL RETAIN ITS
SEPARATE IDENTITY.
HOWEVER, THERE WILL INEVITABLY BE AN INFLUENCE OF
EACH PAPER UPON THE OTHER.
AND IT WILL BE A REAL CHALLENGE FOR THE STAFF AND
MANAGEMENT OF BOTH TO ENSURE THAT THAT INFLUENCE AND THE
CHANGES IT WILL BRING ABOUT, WORK FOR THE MAXIMUM BENEFIT
OF THE READERS THEY NOW SHARE IN COMMON.
FOR EXAMPLE, IT WOULD BE UNFORTUNATE IT WOULD I
BELIEVE, BE A RETROGRADE STEP IF THE BULLETIN WERE TO
ABANDON ITS OWN OVERSEAS COVERAGE OR TO CEASE TO
INTERPRET NEWS AND EVENTS OVERSEAS FROM THE AUSTRALIAN
POINT OF VIEW.
ON THE OTHER HAND, WE SHOULD HOPE TO SEE, ON THE NEWSWEEK
SIDE, AN EXPANSION AND INDEED A BIAS OF ITS COVERAGE
OF NEWS AND EVENTS IN THE ASIAN AND PACIFIC REGION THIS
GREAT AND GROWING REGION TO WHICH AUSTRALIA BELONGS. / 6
M.. ls. rlr. -yq, u . Hl ® r
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AND FROM THAT EXPANDED COVERAGE IN THE AUSTRALIAN EDITION
OF NEWSWEEK, WE CAN HOPE TO SEE ULTIMATELY AN EXPANDED
COVERAGE OF AUSTRALIA AND ITS REGION IN THE NORTH AMERICAN
EDITION OF NEWSWEEK ITSELF.
IF THOSE THINGS HAPPEN IN THE BULLETIN AND IN NEWSWEEK
THEN THIS VENTURE WILL SERVE A VALUABLE PURPOSE, NOT
ONLY FOR THE READERS, BUT FOR BOTH OUR COUNTRIES.
INDEED THIS MERGER REPRESENTS A SIGNIFICANT RECOGNITION
BOTH OF AUSTRALIA'S OWN ROLE IN REGIONAL AND WORLD AFFAIRS
AND OF THE INCREASED INTEREST OF THE AUSTRALIAN COMMUNITY
IN SUCH DEVELOPMENTS.
WE HAVE TO BE REALISTIC ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTION WHICH
AUSTRALIA CAN MAKE TO FOSTERING THE OBJECTIVES OF REGIONAL
AND INTERNATIONAL PEACE AND STABILITY. BUT THERE ARE
CLEAR OBLIGATIONS UPON US TO ACCEPT THE RESPONSIBILITIES
ASSOCIATED WITH THE PURSUIT OF THESE OBJECI'VES.
AUSTRALIA MUST MAINTAIN A COHERENT, CREDIBLE AND REALISTIC
FOREIGN POLICY, AN APPROACH TO FOREIGN RELATIONS WHICH IS
AT ONCE PRINCIPLED AND SENSITIVE, FLEXIBLE AND RESPONSIVE,
AND ADEQUATE TO THE DEMANDS OF THE COMPLEX AND FASTCHANGING
WORLD AROUND US. CLEARLY SUCH A POLICY MUST BE
KEENLY MINDFUL OF THE EFFECT ANY DECISION OR SET OF
DECISIONS MAY HAVE ON THE BROADER FOREIGN POLICY
OBJECTIVES TO WHICH HAVE ALLUDEDg/. m7
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THE MATURITY REQUIRED IN THE CONDUCT OF OUR FOREIGN
RELATIONS REQUIRES AN INCREASINGLY SOPHISTICATED PUBLIC,
AND THIS WILL, I BELIEVE, BE FURTHER NURTURED BY THE
PRODUCT RESULTING FROM THE MERGER OF THE BULLETIN AND
NEWSWEEK. THIS IN ITSELF INCREASES THE RESPONSIBILITIES
UPON YOU AS INDEED IS THE CASE FOR THE AUSTRALIAN MEDIA
MORE GENERALLY.
FRIENDS, BEARING IN MIND THE NATURE AND PURPOSE OF THIS
OCCASION, AND THE AUSPICIOUS DAY ON WHICH IT TAKES PLACE,
IT MAY NOT BE INAPPROPRIATE IF I CONCLUDE BY QUOTING
SOMETHING I SAID TO THE NATIONAL PRESS CLUB IN WASHINGTON
JUST OVER A YEAR AGO.
I WAS SPEAKING OF THE RELATIONS BETWEEN THE NATIONS BUT
IT IS NOT WITHOUT RELEVANCE TO THE NOBLE PROFESSION OF
JOURNALISM IN THE WORLD TODAY. I SAID:
" HOWEVER JEALOUSLY EACH OF US MAY GUARD OUR
NATIONAL INDEPENDENCE, WE MUST EQUALLY
RECOGNISE OUR INTERNATIONAL INTERDEPENDENCE.
AND ULTIMATELY, WE HAVE TO RECOGNISE,
HOWEVER DIFFICULT IT MAY BE, EVEN HOWEVER
UNPALATABLE IT MAY BE WE HAVE TO RECOGNISE
THAT INTERDEPENDENCE IS GLOBAL AND UNIVERSAL$ / 8
AT STAKE, IN THE RECOGNITION AND ACCEPTANCE
OF THAT FUNDAMENTAL FACT, IS NOTHING LESS
THAN THE SURVIVAL OF CIVILISATION ITSELF,
THIS WILL BE THE GUIDING PRINCIPLE FOR THE
GOVERNMENT OF AUSTRALIA: THE INTERDEPENDENCE
OF THE NATIONS OF OUR REGION; OUR INTERDEPENDENCE
WITH THE GREAT DEMOCRACIES; BUT ULTIMATELY, AND
SINESCAPABLY, THE INTERDEPENDENCE OF US ALL
ALL NATIONS, ALL PEOPLE IN THE STARK CHOICE
BEFORE US ALL A CHOICE NEVER BEFORE FACED BY
iHUMANITY THE CHOICE BETWEEN SURVIVAL OR EXTINCTION."
MY FRIENDS, THE PRESS OF OUR TWO GREAT DEMOCRACIES SHARES
A SIGNIFICANT ROLE IN MEETING THIS ULTIMATE CHALLENGE FOR
HUMAN REASON AND HUMAN UNDERSTANDING,
AND IN EQUIPPING THESE TWO'IMPORTANT JOURNALS BETTER FOR THE
PART THEY CAN PLAY IN THAT TASK, THIS VENTURE IS WELCOME.
I CONGRATULATE YOU UPON IT, AND WISH YOU EVERY SUCCESS.
t~ l ANDIN EQUPPING HESE TOIORTN OUNL BTE FRTE
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