EMBARG03DO UNTIL DELIVERY CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY
ANNUAL CONFERENCE OF REGIONAL DAILIES
DUBBO 30 SEPTEMBER 1986
Chairman, Directors, ladies and gentlemen.
First, let me thank you for the invitation to Hazel and me
to be with you tonight at this celebration to mark the
Anniverrsary of the Regional Dailies Association of
Au Stcr Ii a.
This is not, of course, my first involvement in one of the
Association's annual conferences, having previously been
with you during my ACTU days and again two years ago at your
meeting in Canberra.
I assumo, by the way, that there is no particular
significance intended in the zoological surroundings tonight
either that you regard your industry as an endangered
specieG or that I should regard this captive audience as
fairf cjm
of course the relationship between politicians and the media
is as close as it is uneasy. There are cynics on both
sides. Samuel Butler once said that the most important service
rendered by the press is that of educating people to
approach printed matter with distrust.
Whereas the American journalist Frank Simonds replied, there
is but one way for a newspaperman to look at a politician,
and that is down.
Seriously, however, it is a pleasure to be here tonight,
away from Canberra and the State capitals, and in the
company of professional newspaper people who are in close
touch with the ordinary men and women of Australia.
In a continent as large and with such a scattered population
as Australia, the regional dailies serve a vital role. Your
papers do much more than just offer a news service. They
foster a sense of community and identity.
At last count t he 36 member papers of the Regional Dailies
Association, I am to'd, had a combined circulation of well
over half a million, with a readership of around 2 million.
Aside from promoting co-operation between its members, the
Regional Dailies Association has an important industrial
relations role, as well as sponsoring research and promoting
the industry.
It is a measure of the group's effectiveness that the
Association remains strong and viable some 50 years after
its establishr~ ent. This is a credit to the leadership of
the organisation.
The strength of the regional dailies is based on the
provincial ci. t.. es and towns of Australia. Although
Australia is regarded as one of the most urbanised countries
on earth, this overlooks the fact that almost one in three
Australiano lives outside the capital cities.-
only a small percentage of these non-metropolitan
Australians live on the land, in the sense of being farmers
or residents of very small country towns. Most of them~ live
in large provincial towns and cities of the kind represented.
by your newspaperz places like Burnie, Ballarat, Bathurst,
and Bundaberg.
Although the garm crisis and Australia's related balance of
payments difficulties have recently focused ouch attention
on provincial Australia, the fact is that for well over a
decade now irdeed, since its inception at the turn of the
century the Australian Labor Party has had strong regional
roots and policies.
In the early 1970s the ALP was the first major political
party to articulate a coherent policy of regional
development. flany of those innovative programs were
suspended in the years following 1975. But the philosophy
remained part of Labor's thinking.
The principle of popular participation of grassroots
democracy, if you like has always been one of the
distinguishing characteristics of ALP philosophy. Those of
you who follow the Labor Party's vigorous internal debates
would be aware that in practice this democratic spirit is at
times overproof. I
Ii 3
This participation principle has become, and remains, a
touchstone of governmental practice in the 1980s. When I
launched the Labor Government's re-election platform, I
said: " The needs of the four and a half million people who
live and work outside the major cities are at the
forefront of our Government's concerns. We recognise
that distance in this vast country can create problems
for country people and as we implement our policies
during our second term in the fields of health,
education, transport and communications, the special
needs of country people will have a high priority."
These priorities have become enshrined in the platform and
principles of the Australian Labor Party. They are
reflected in the ALP Platform of 1986 which, among other
things, calls for a national recognition of employment and
unemploymnent imbalances. Here in Dubbo, for instance, the
unemploycnent rate ( 12 per cent) is higher than the rural
average (, 10.3 per cent). And the proportion of Aboriginal
people in the ranks of the unemployed ( 12 per cent) is
double their share of the population ( 6 per cent).
The 1986 ALP platform acknowledges three inter-dependent
aims that are central to the principles of efficiency and
equity, namely:
facilitating economic growth in areas possessing natural
development potential and comparative advantage,
assisting the adjustment of urban and regional
commiunities to the stresses and opportunities associated
with change, and
promoting equity and access in the regional provision of
social facilities and services.
As a party and as a Government we appreciate that in order
to give effect to these aims we need to fashion policies
that: are tailored to the specific circumstances of regions,
involve local communities in their design and
implementation, are adaptive to change, and
are consistent with agreements between the Government,
trade unions and the private sector on strategies for
development.
When I articulated the priorities of the second Hawke Labor
Government, X. said that we would aspire to, and be judged
by, our commitment to a more equitable society.
more precisely, we recognise the restricted access of many
country people to a range of community facilities and
services. we had in mind such areas as education, training,
retraining, transport, health, housing, children's services,
communications, and the delivery of benefits and welfare
services. in the area of-telecommunications, to take a topical
example, the Government's policy of uniform charges for
similar services a policy of far-reaching social and
economic benefit to the less densely populated areas of the
country is made possible through a system of cross
subsidies. Some half a billion dollars a year in such
subsidies is directed towards Telecom's 1.5 million rural
consumers. In the Labor Party Platform we undertake to give attention
to the speci: f" ic characteristics of rural and isolated areas,
to seek to overcome disadvantages in access to community
services, and to develop specialist institutions and
programs where required.
These are grand aspirations, fine words, but they are not
hollow phrases. To translate them into reality requir the
practice as i-iell as the spirit of co-operative endeavour.
As I said in the John Curtin Memorial Lecture, exactly three
years ago th: s week, with the election of Labor Governments
throughout Australia, " it should now be possible to devise a
pattern of relationships, in a spirit of co-operation and
consultation, which is most attuned to the circumstances of
our time a set of relationships which more effectively
matches the capacities and responsibilities of the
respective levels of Governments ( including local
Government) than we have ever known in Australia."
You might rightly ask, how has this commitment been
translated into tangible expression for the one-in-three
Australians who live in non-metropolitan Australia.
I am pleased, in fact proud, to say that the runs are on the
board. Financial assistance 1to local Government was increased by
more than 50 per cent during the first three years of Labor
Government. This reflects a recognition of local Government
as an important provider of services.
The 1986-87 Budget saw the allocation of $ 586 million in
Commonwealth general purpose funding to local Government
authorities throughout Australia.
7' This was the first allocation under the new Local Government
( Financial Assistance) Act.
Under these arrangements the level of funding in real terms
is guaranteed fo ' r the next 2 years, combined with greater
emphasis or. assistance to disadvantaged councils a further
tangible expression of equity in practice, of restraint with
equity. These untied grants represent only part ( slightly more than
half) of Commonwealth assistance to local Government
authoritleG. They do not include earmarked grants for
Communityr Employment Projects, for roadworks, for country
town water supplies, and so forth.
Nor do theyj reflect the heightened recognition of local
Government in the counsels of our federal system, such as
the prio: ity accorded local government in the economic and
tax summits and in the Economic Planning Advisory Council.
To some extent, however, it is misleading to treat regional
Australia as a coherent unit, universally different from
metropolitan Australia. Ballarat is as different from
Bundaberg as is Perth from Sydney.
This diversity is as much a strength as it is a challenge,
helping us to survive and benefit from the swings and
distortions in the product markets that influence the
national well-being.
Regional economies need to establish a wider range of
activitiac in order to insulate themselves from fluctuations
in certain markets. This is already happening in many of
our regional centres.
using the natural advantages of cheaper land, large open
spaces, a relatively stable labour supply, a less stressful
lifestyle, often first class education, welfare and cultural
facilities and unique local resources, regional centres have
obvious advantages in attracting specific industries away
from metropolitan areas.
Tourism is one area in which many regional centres have
undertaken substantial development. Stimulated by the
depreciation of the Australian dollar, tourism has continued
to grow at more than 10 per cent p. a. since 1984 when the
number of tourists visiting Australia, and the number of
Australians choosing to holiday at home, first exceeded one
million. This trend is accelerating.
When I visited Cairns recently it was very apparent that
tourism development was providing the city with an economic
alternative in the difficult times being experienced by the
local sugar industry.
Here, too, in Dubbo and the central west generally there is
evidence of the community diversifying its economic base.
In place of an almost total dependence on agriculture, we
now see light manufacturing industry and a growing tourism
industry, inicluding such outstanding attractions as the
Western Plains Zoo.
In order to promote the development of robust, diversified
regional economies the Commonwealth and the States are
collaborating on the Country Centres Project, a pilot scheme
operating in eleven country areas. Working in conjunction
with the local community and private sector interests, its
purpose is to develop local self-help strategies based on
realistic economic and community development opportunities.
Such initiatives have assumed increased importance and
urgency as the historical rural base of many provincial
cities has been eroded. I hardly need remind you that world
prices for most of Australia's major agricultural and
mineral products have plummeted to despairingly low levels.
In the case ol' agricultural commodities a large part of the
reason is to be found in the excess production artificially
stimulated by the subsidising practices of Euirope and the
United States.
The price-de-rcssing effects of these absurd policies has
contributed to a 20 per cent decline in the export income of
our farming conmunity. In my visits to towns like
Canowindra, ' Ao , ee and Cowra, I have witnessed the human
dimension of this Crisis.
Because agriculture constitutes 40 per cent of Australia's
total exporto, however, the consequences are felt not just
in rural Austz-alia, but in the metropolitan areas as well,
These reduced returns are slicing $ 6000 million off our
national incoms. The nation has had to tighten its belt as
a result.
we have responded to the changed international environment
with a number of strategies. We have attacked the most
important caluse of the problem the agricultural
subsidising practices of Europe and the US not only
through bilate -al representations, but also through the
multilateral system, the General Agreement on Tariffs and
Trade ( the GATT).
The minister for Trade, John Dawkins, recently organised the
fair trader alliance, a group of 14 like-minded, efficient
agricultural producing countries that had suffered from the
policies of the major trading nations.
7
Less than a fortnight ago, at the historic GATT ministerial
meeting held to launch a new round of multilateral trade
negotiations, Australia and the new alliance enjoyed an
astonishing victory we overcame formidable EEC resistance
in having the problems of agricultural trade and subsidies
effectively included in the negotiating agenda for the new
round.
This is the first time that the GATT has addressed itself to
agriculture. The recent sale of heavily subsidised wheat by the EEC to
the Soviet Union underlines the importance of getting
meaningful multilateral trade negotiations underway as soon
as possible, now that the new round has been launched.-
Although fundamental and absolutely necessary, this
multilateral strategy is a long-term one. Therefore it is
being supported by a range of domestic initiatives aimed at
providing imnmediate assistance to the rural sector.
If we cannot increase world prices in the short term, we
certainly can reduce costs through productivity and
efficiency gains in our rural industries. Recent decisions
concerning the diesel fuel rebate for primary producers,
fertiliser rubsidies, and bounty instead of tariff
assistance : or farm machinery, have all reduced the cost of
farm inputs.
In the case of the hard-pressed Queensland sugar industry we
have sought to raise productivity by encouraging the removal
of various restrictive regulations imposed under State
legislation. This could reduce industry costs by some $ 130
million. on the broader rural front, in the face of declining world
prices, we have sought to increase Australia's m~ arket share.
This year has seen several new initiatives, including the
start of a four year program of marketing innovations for
the meat industry; a $ 10 million market promotion program
for the horticultural industry; and $ 25 million over
years to develop innovative marketing methods for
agriculture generally.
our efforts have not been confined to the farm sector. The
minerals industry is an important part of provincial
Australia, It also supplies 40 per cent of our export
income. it too is suffering the price-depressing effect of
oversupply and new technologies.
The Governiment for its part has sought to ease the
regulatory burden on mineral exports. By easing controls on
the export of coal. and crude oil, alumina and bauxite, we
have increased the capacity of mineral exporters to respond
flexibly in what has become an intensely competitive
international ma rket.
All these rural initiatives would be of only limited
benefit, however, if they were not complemented by a sound
general economic strategy that is, a coherent set of
economic policies directed towards addressing Australia's
externally induced economic difficulties. Such a strategy
is firmly in place.'
As a result of the very difficult decisions of the last
Budget, the Government has been able to reduce substantially
its borrowing requirement in the coming year. This will
feed through ultimately to lower interest rates and easier
finance in the private sector.
On the wages front we have signalled the fundamental
importance of further restraint. We will do whatever is
necessary in order to maintain Australia's newfound
competitiveness and to control inflation.
Both the Budget and wages policy will contribute to the
easing of the burden currently borne by regional Australia.
I was heartened, Mr Chairman, to read the editorial in your
own paper, the Bundaberg News-M4ail, following the Budget.
As you said,
" The federal Government has lived up to its promise and
given Australia the tough. Budget it feels will lead us
out of tho economic quagmire it looks good and
hopefully will work towards bolstering the economy."
Mr Chairman, regional dailies like the Bundaberg News-Mail
play an important role in the economic life of provincial
communities. They assist in the promotion and success of business in the
local area, often providing local business with information
that is more focused and relevant to regional needs. News
of local stock markets or the results of agricultural
research relevant to the area are often most effectively
conveyed through regional media.
When I say media, however, I also encompass regional
television ( as wiell as radio, of course). As a Government
we are committed to offering a better level of services to
regional areas, a level of service comparable to that
enjoyed in the cities.
Already through the ALISSAT satellite, some remote areas are
receiving ABC television for the first time. A more
far-reaching expression of that principle will be the
equalisation of commercial television services. This
involves the most significant change to the production and
distribution of television in this country in the 30 year
history of the industry.
Before the end of this decade even by 1988 in many cases
most country television viewers will have access to second
and third commercial channels.
our decision on equalisation favours fair competition
between stations, and thus a better deal for consumers.
I know it has been said that equalisation will lead to a
loss of local programming and identity, with the spectre of
regional trtations becoming mere slaves to the networks.
We do not ihare that view.
There are two guarantees. First, there are the regulatory
provisions of the Australian Broadcasting Tribunal
concerning local content.
The second and, in my view, greater guarantee is the
established and legitimate demand for local news and
programming. Those stations that express and identify with
the interests of the local community will. be better able to
resist their new competitors and hold their viewers.
Indeed, what we could see is an even stronger local flavour
in regional television. Some stations may gain more than
others, but people living in non-metropolitan Australia will
benefit nost of all.
After all, somewhat similar circumstances have not deprived
regional radio or newspapers of their local identity.
Indeed, as each of you would well know, it is the
cultivation and expression of a regional perspective that
underpinn your viability and popularity. Without such a
strong scnse of local identity you would not be here tonight
celebrating the 50th anniversary of your Association.
once again, I thank you for the opportunity to be here
tonight, to enjoy this occasion with you, and to share a few
thoughts with you.
our country faces difficult economic circumstances imposed
on us from, outside. The Government is very conscious of the
fact that nowhere is this more clearly felt than in regional
Australia. I can assure you, however, that we are on the right track in
solving the underlying problems.
But sound policies alone are not enough. The period ahead
requires an active spirit of co-operation and restraint by
all parties. It is not a time for confrontation or
divisiveness.
I believe that, by helping bridge the gap between
metropolitan and provincial Australia, the regional press
can contribute much to fashioning that necessary mood of
shared endeavour and a determination to succeed.
I congratulate the Regional Dailies Association on the
achievement of your 50th anniversary and wish you well for
the future.