4I ) AL
PRIME MINISTER
CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY EMBARGOED UNTIL DELIVERY
SPEECH BY THE PRIME MINISTER
LAUNCH OF BUILDING PROGRAM FOR CAMBDEN PHARMACEUTICALS
WERRIBEE 6 NOVEMBER 1986
DISTINGUISHED GUESTS, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN
OVER RECENT MONTHS A COMMON THEME IN THE SPEECHES I HAVE
BEEN INVITED TO MAKE HAS BEEN THE CHALLENGE THAT WE FACE AS
A NATION. THE THEME IS SIMPLE: AUSTRALIA MUST TAKE ON AND
BEAT THE BEST IN THE WORLD IF WE ARE TO RESTORE AND THEN
IMPROVE OUR LIVING STANDARDS.
TODAY, I AM VERY PLEASED TO BE ABLE TO SAY, IS AN OCCASION
WHERE WE DON'T NEED TO TALK SO MUCH ABOUT THE CHALLENGE, BUT
ABOUT HOW IT'S BEING MET. WITH CAMBDEN PHARMACEUTICALS, IT
IS NOT A CASE OF WHAT SORT OF PRODUCTS WE SHOULD DEVELOP FOR
THE INTERNATIONAL MARKET, BUT WHAT HAS BEEN DEVELOPED IN
RESPONSE TO THE OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE TO AUSTRALIAN
INDUSTRY.
THE BUILDING PROGRAM BEING LAUNCHED TODAY WILL SEE
MILLION WORTH OF PLANT AND LABORATORIES CONSTRUCTED FOR THE
RESEARCH, DEVELOPMENT AND MANUFACTURE OF CAMBDEN PRODUCTS.
BY ANY MEASURE THAT IS PROOF OF CAMBDEN'S CONFIDENCE IN ITS
CAPACITY TO GROW IN COMPETITION ON TOUGH INTERNATIONAL
MARKETS. CAMBDEN'S BELIEF IN ITS ABILITY TO TAKE ON THE BEST IN THE
WORLD AND SUCCEED IS UNDERLINED BY ITS EXPECTATION THAT MORE
THAN 80 PER CENT OF ITS SALES WILL BE EXPORTED. WITHIN FIVE
YEARS THE COMPANY BELIEVES EXPORT SALES WILL REACH $ 100 Mi.
WHAT HAS BEEN ACHIEVED HERE SHOULD STAND AS AN EXAMPLE TO
MANY OTHER AUSTRALIAN COMPANIES AND WORKERS.
I'M SURE MOST OF YOU HERE HAVE HEARD THE INSPIRING'STORY OF
HOW, NOT TOO LONG AGO, BRUCE WALLACE WAS RUNNING A PHARMACY
IN COBURG. BUT, AFTER DEVISING IN A BABY'S BATH A NEW
PRODUCT CALLED PSORIN, HIS COMPANY HAS NOW DEVELOPED TO THE
STAGE WHERE IT HAS ALREADY SIGNED CONTRACTS WORTH $ 17.5
MILLION IN INTERNATIONAL MARKETS.
2.
WHILST I AM RELUCTANT TO LOSE SUCH CREATIVE ENERGY FROM
WITHIN MY ELECTORATE OF WILLS WHEN CAMBDEN MOVES HERE TO
WERRIBEE, I AM OPTIMISTIC THAT THE EXAMPLE OF THIS DYNAMIC
PERFORMANCE WILL INSPIRE OTHERS TO FOLLOW IN GENERATING NEW
GROWTH WITHIN THE REGION.
CAMBDEN PHARMACEUTICALS DEMONSTRATES THE ATTRIBUTES
NECESSARY FOR AUSTRALIAN FIRMS TO BE SUCCESSFUL OVERSEAS:
CONFIDENCE IN YOURSELVES, YOUR PRODUCT AND THOSE AROUND
YOU; READINESS TO WORK WITH GREAT APPLICATION AND DEDICATION;
EAGERNESS TO USE THE BEST AVAILABLE ADVICE AND
TECHNOLOGY; PREPAREDNESS TO FOREGO PRESENT SATISFACTION FOR GREATER
LONG TERM REWARD; AND
TOTAL COMMITMENT.
SINCE THE SLUMP IN THE WORLD PRICES OF OUR TRADITIONAL
AGRICULTURAL AND MINERAL EXPORTS THERE HAS BEEN A RAPID
RECOGNITION OF THE NEED FOR MORE COMPANIES LIKE CAMBDEN IN
AUSTRALIA TODAY. WE MUST HAVE EFFICIENT, EXPORT-ORIENTED
INDUSTRIES, PARTICULARLY MANUFACTURING INDUSTRIES.
I MAKE THE FOLLOWING SIMPLE OBSERVATIONS TO ILLUSTRATE THIS
NEED: FIRST, THE FASTEST GROWING ECONOMIES OVER THE LAST
DECADE OR SO HAVE BEEN THOSE WHICH HAVE PLACED GREATEST
EMPHASIS ON EXPORT-ORIENTED STRATEGIES; AND
SECOND, WHILE SERVICES AND MANUFACTURERS HAVE BEEN THE
FASTEST GROWING COMPONENTS OF WORLD TRADE, AUSTRALIA'S
SHARE OF THIS TRADE HAS DECLINED STEADILY SINCE THE
EARLY SEVENTIES.
THE LARGE AND FUNDAMENTAL DEPRECIATION OF THE AUSTRALIAN
DOLLAR HAS BOOSTED THE PRICE COMPETITIVENESS OF AUSTRALIAN
INDUSTRY TO LEVELS UNSEEN SINCE THE 1960' S.
THIS GREATLY ENHANCED COMPETITIVENESS HAS CREATED
OPPORTUNITIES THAT MANY OF OUR BUSINESS MANAGERS HAVE NEVER
EXPERIENCED BEFORE. THE tORE ENTERPRISING OF THOSE MANAGERS
AND ENTREPRENEURS ARE SEIZING THE OPPORTUNITIES AVAILABLE TO
THEM AND CONVERTING THEM INTO EXPORT SALES AND SUCCESS ON
THE AUSTRALIAN MARKET AGAINST IMPORTS.
A FEW MONTHS AGO I VISITED THE NUCLEUS PLANT IN SYDNEY,
WHICH IS ACHIEVING GREAT SUCCESS ON OVERSEAS MARKETS IN
SELLING ITS NEWLY DEVELOPED BIONIC EAR AND HEART PACEMAKERS.
THAT SORT OF SUCCESS IS BEING REPEATED HERE TODAY BY
CAMBDEN. COMMON TO BOTH THESE VENTURES IS INNOVATION, BASED ON
LOCALLY PERFORMED RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT. INNOVATION IS A
FUNDAMENTAL ELEMENT IN MAINTAINING OUR COMPETITIVENESS AND
CONVERTING IT INTO EXPORT SALES AND SUCCESS AGAINST IMPORTS.
THIS DOES NOT MEAN THAT WE WILL NO LONGER NEED FOREIGN
TECHNOLOGY. ON THE CONTRARY, THE CHALLENGE IS TO OBTAIN THE
BEST FOREIGN TECHNOLOGY AND TO COMBINE IT WITH THE BEST
AUSTRALIAN TECHNOLOGY TO DEVELOP PRODUCTS THAT EMBODY
EXCELLENCE IN DESIGN AND QUALITY.
INCREASINGLY ALL COMPANIES WILL HAVE TO INNOVATE IN ORDER TO
SURVIVE. IN THE PAST, A BUSINESS STRATEGY WHICH
CONCENTRATED ON FULLY DEVELOPED AND SOMEWHAT CONSERVATIVE
PRODUCTS FOR THE DOMESTIC MARKET HAS BEEN RELATIVELY
PROFITABLE AND RELATIVELY LOW RISK IN AUSTRALIA. BUT
AUSTRALIA CAN NO LONGER AFFORD TO RELY ON SO SHORT-SIGHTED A
STRATEGY. WHILE INNOVATION ALSO INVOLVES RISKS THESE MAY BE
GREATLY OUTWEIGHED BY THE RISKS INVOLVED IN FAILING TO
INNOVATE.
AGAINST THIS BACKGROUND, CAMBDEN'S APPROACH IS REFRESHING
A STRATEGY BASED ON UTILISING AUSTRALIAN RESEARCH FACILITIES
TO CREATE NEW PRODUCTS FOR WORLD MARKETS. CAMBDEN HAS
RECOGNISED THE POTENTIAL REWARDS THAT WILL FLOW TO A COMPANY
WHICH IS WILLING TO OFFER FUNDING, FACILITIES AND PERSONNEL
FOR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT AND SPECIALISED MANUFACTURING.
TANGIBLE EVIDENCE OF YOUR COMMITMENT TO FOSTERING AUSTRALIAN
RESEARCH IS CAMBDEN PHARMACEUTICAL'S PROVISION OF $ 100,000
TO THE CSIRO DIVISION OF CHEMICAL PHYSICS TO ASSIST IN THE
PURCHASE OF A CONVERGENT BEAM ELECTRON MICROSCOPE. I
UNDERSTAND THAT THE DIVISION AND CAMBDEN EXPECT TO EMBARK ON
A NUMBER OF COLLABORATIVE RESEARCH PROJECTS. I CAN ONLY
AGREE WITH THE CHIEF OF THE DIVISION, PROFESSOR CHADDERTON,
THAT CAMBDEN'S CONTRIBUTION DISPLAYS GREAT FORESIGHT AND
CONFIDENCE IN OUR RESEARCH CAPABILITIES.
THE GOVERNMENT IS CONSTANTLY SEEKING TO IMPROVE THE
INTERFACE BETWEEN INDUSTRY, PUBLIC RESEARCH CENTRES AND OUR
HIGHER EDUCATIONAL RESEARCH INSTITUTIONS. BUT WE ARE ALSO
ADDRESSING OTHER SIGNIFICANT BARRIERS TO INNOVATION AND
INCREASED INVESTMENT IN R D.
FOR EXAMPLE, WE HAVE PROVIDED INCENTIVES TO STIMULATE
PRIVATE SECTOR RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT; IN PARTICULAR THE
150% R D TAX INCENTIVE WHICH HAS BEEN EFFECTIVE FROM 1
JULY 1985 AND THE COMPLEMENTARY GRANTS FOR INDUSTRY RESEARCH
AND DEVELOPMENT SCHEME. THESE INCENTIVES ARE AIMED AT
DIRECTLY STIMULATING FIRMS TO UNDERTAKE MORE AND LONGER TERM
INVESTMENTS IN R D PROJECTS.
THE GOVERNMENT HAS SUPPORTED CAMBDEN'S WORK THROUGH THE
GRANTS FOR INDUSTRY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT SCHEME AND
THROUGH EXPORT GRANTS, AND THE VICTORIAN ECONOMIC
DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION HAS EXTENDED A $ 1M LOAN TO CAMBDEN.
AND I MUST SAY, CAMBDEN'S RESPONSE TO THESE INCENTIVES HAS
BEEN MAGNIFICENT. WHEN THE PLANT IS COMPLETED IT IS
EXPECTED TO EMPLOY 250 PEOPLE, RISING TO ABOUT 500 WITHIN
FOUR YEARS.
THE AUSTRALIAN COMMUNITY CAN ONLY BE THE POORER IF WE DO NOT
EXPLOIT EFFECTIVELY THE OPPORTUNITIES PROVIDED BOTH BY
AUSTRALIA'S GREATLY IMPROVED COMPETITIVENESS AND OUR
CAPACITY FOR APPLIED RESEARCH. NOW IS THE TIME TO BE BOTH
FORWARD LOOKING AND OUTWARD LOOKING.
AS CAMBDEN DEMONSTRATES, THE OPPORTUNITIES ARE THERE: BOTH
THE RESEARCH TALENT AND INCENTIVE, AND THE OVERSEAS MARKETS
FOR INNOVATIVE PRODUCTS.
YOURS IS AN EXAMPLE OF A COMPANY WHICH RECOGNISED THAT, WITH
OUR SMALL PHARMACEUTICAL MARKET, GROWTH CAN BE ACHIEVED ONLY
BY CONCENTRATING ITS EFFORTS ON INTERNATIONAL MARKETS. IT
HAS RECOGNISED THAT TO GROW WILL REQUIRE INNOVATION AND A
SUBSTANTIAL COMMITMENT TO RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT. IT HAS
RECOGNISED THAT IN THE QUEST FOR NEW AND BETTER PRODUCTS IT
PAYS DIVIDENDS TO USE ALL THE EXPERTISE AVAILABLE IN
RELEVANT AREAS. IT HAS RECOGNISED THAT OUR PUBLIC RESEARCH
INSTITUTIONS ARE A VALUABLE BUT ESSENTIALLY UNTAPPED
RESOURCE, TO BE ASSISTED AND NURTURED, AND THAT EFFORT IS
REQUIRED TO ENSURE THAT THE OUTPUT OF THE INSTITUTIONS IS
NOT WASTED BUT EXPLOITED TO THE BENEFIT OF AUSTRALIA.
THIS ENTERPRISE IS BY NO MEANS ALONE IN HAVING THESE
ATTITUDES. BUT REGRETTABLY CAMBDEN PHARMACEUTICALS IS NOT A
TYPICAL AUSTRALIAN COMPANY. I HOPE THAT WILL CHANGE IN THE
NEAR FUTURE, AS OTHER COMPANIES TAKE THE LEAD SHOWN BY
CAMBDEN AND OTHER INNOVATIVE, EXPORT-ORIENTED COMPANIES. IN
THE MEANTIME I HOPE CAMBDEN FULFILS ITS AMBITIONS AND I WISH
THE MANAGEMENT AND THE STAFF AT CAMBDEN EVERY SUCCESS.