AUSTHALIA
PRIME MINISTER
E. O. E. -PROOF ONLY--
TRANSCRIPT OF PRIME MINISTER ON 2UE 21 AUGUST 1985
JONES:
The Prime Minister is on the line. Good Morning Prime Minister.
PHIMX MINISTERl:(
Good Morning Alan.
JONES: Well Prime Minister you've got a bit of a fight on your bands
if the polls are to be believed I suppose.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well the last poll has us In front.
JONES: That's right.
PRIME MINISTER:
Now that's the sort of fight I like. Are you saying I've got to
fight to get further in front -and that's right, 3 and we'll get
there.
JONES:+ flight. Well congratulations firstly on tbe youth initiatives.
Some commentators argue that you're long on rhetoric and short
on facts. I must say that I feel that we're most probably a
bit short on rhetoric these days. Do you think that there's
a greater need to encourage young people to be ambitious and
positive and committed?
PRIME MINISTER:
Indeed I do, Alan, but I wean it's no good just urging them.
You've got to give them a realistic framework within which that
ambition has the opportunity of being achieved. And I believe
we've struck just the right note. I've been very impressed,,
Alan, as I've moved around and talked with young people that
contrary to the sort of knocking that goes on from a lot of
older people about our young I believe we are enormously
fortunate in the quality of our young people. They want to
work. They really do.. There is a very, very miniscule minority
who don't want to. But there haven't been enough Jobs for them.
So what we've got to do, Alan, and particularly what the
traineeship is about is to direct our attention to those young
people who haven't, for one reason or another and Its
normally not their own fault -the opportunity of going on to
-MLNLi6* Fk( UN 2UL
' PRIME MINISTER ( cont'd):
either tertiary education, further technical training, or
apprenticeships the kids that ei. ther have had no job or have
gone Into dead end sort of jobs. So the traineeship idea is
about giving financial incentive to employers and to the tra. ning
institutions to have kids going into these areas being trained
on the job and then having a quarter of the year off the job to
have a broader training so that they just don't stay in dead end
jobs but get the capacities they've got developed so that they
can move on to more satisfying and rewarding jobs and that's
Lhe Idea.
JONES: Is the setting of the rate at $ 90 perhaps a concession that
your minimum award rates may be a factor in preventing people 1
from-putting young people on?
PRlIME MINISTER:
No wbat is involved there is, you see what Paul said last night
was that they'll be negotiating between employers and unions
taking into account time spent at the work place and it will
involve payment of at least $ 90 a week. Niow that's recognising
that you can't be expecting employers if they are going to not
just having people working for them but some of the time is
going to be spent training them, and some of the time about
a quarter of the year Is going to be spent away from the job
in training institutions, that you can't have the expectation
that. you're going to get a full award wage when a lot of it~. s
going to be training away from the job. So it's directing
yourself to the realities of the sort of employment and training
mix that will be taking place, Alan.
JONES: Right, well now PM difficult problems in relation to the framing
of the Budget and I suppose a lot of public attention on the
deficit and particularly an wages policy do you feel that in
spite of the fact that you've schieved this desirable dip
underneath the $ 5 billion and a very sgni. ficant reduction in
the deficit which I'm sure the community would welcome, that there
is nonetheless a bit of a time bomb inside that given that
PAYE continues to go up and there are a lot of people who'l11 be
moving to higher marginal tax rates if we can't get them some
relief. PRlIME MINISTER:
You appreciate that we will be bringing down a tax package next
month where we will be directing our attention to the level of
rates and we've recognised from the beginning of the tax
discussion at the end of last year that the rates have to be
reduced and they will be.
JONES: Right. Well now wages policy: there's a very firm commnitmnent,
which I'm sure has been welcomed by the community, that you
can't be passing on problems with the movement in the dollar
into wages. But it does focus on the fact that much of your
success is derived from the importance you've attached to the
Prices aud Incomes Accord, and yet full wage indexation is a
central plank of that. Hiow do you see your ability to resolve
that seeming conflict? 12
MINIZSi'LH UN 2UL
P13IME MINISTEH:
That's an important question. Let me make these relevant points:
the Accord refers to ttAe importance or' full wage indexation, and
it also In the context of the Accord refers to taking account of
relevant economic cir'iumstances. And what we're saying not
merely to the trade union movement but to the whole of Australia
is that we've been given ani enormous opportunity by the
competitive advantage bestowed upon us by the devaluation and
that means that Australian industry can now better compete on
overseas markets and can better compete against imports. Now we
don't want to dissipate that -advantage by passing on the
effect of the devalUation into wages. So we are asking for that
to be taking into account. Not that we're walking away from the
Commitment to the maintenance and through time the improvement
in standards. That's a legitimate expectation of Australian
working men and women. What we're going to do is say well now
look we've just got to take account of this now In a number
of ways including discounting we're saying and that will
mean that the existing jobs which people have will be made more
secure. But Importantly it means that we'll create thousands
and thousands more jobs for the kids of people who are working.
2And I believe that working men and women are concerned, not just
for themselves, for creating opportunities for more jobs
particularly for their own kids.
JONES: Quite right.
PRIME MINISTER:
And that's what we're about.
JONES: Yes I thin'U there'd be-widespread support for that. PM I just
wonder one of the real problems that most probably Australia
doesn't understand nationally is this problem about tr. ade.
Difficulties with the commodity prices in the world and then
the problem about the import prices because of the dollar
movement. Are you worried about this growing trade deficit
and the problems that we're going to have in reduicing it?
PRIME MINISTER:
I don't want to go into technical economist jargon but what we're
experiencing is i-. curve that's the language of the economist,-
which simply means that in the immediate impact of devaluation
you get a worsening of your current accounts because the price
of imports goes up. But then when the devaluation starts to
go in and be taken advantage of so that your Australian industry
can compete better against imports and is more competitive in
the export market,, then you come into the position where you get
the benefit of the devaluation. And they's why 1 mean it's
a very logical question for you to put after the previous one
that's why it's so important to ensure that we get those benefits
and don't dissipate them.
JONES: Sure. Well Prime Minister you're busy and we've got to take
the news as we always seem to have to do when I'm talking to youbut
thank you for Speaking with us this morning and good luck
because I think the community is certainly prepared to support the
initiatives of the government to keep the economy going and to
Vage 3
MINISTER ON 2UE Page
JONES ( cpnt'd):
see that we can compete satisfactorily int. ernaiorally and that's
the objective of all Australians.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well thank you Alan. I think Australians are entitled to be
proud of the Budget that Paul Keating has brought down for the
government. I think it's going to be great for all Australians.
JONES: Thank you Prime Minister. The Prime Minister of Australia,
1dr. Bob Hawke.