PRIME MIN15TER 31/ 92
STATEMENT BY THE PRIME MINISTER, THE MON P. 3. KEATING MP
ECONOMIC PLANNING ADVISORY COUNCIL
Today I will be chairing the 41st meeting of the Economic
Planning Advisory Council since it was formed nine years
ago. Looking back on those years I think few would question
that the kind of thinking which the organisation has
encouraged in Australia has fundamentally changed our
economic debate. In 1983 it was 8 dramatic departure to
discuss theb economy, as we did in the Economic Summit, in
terms of a three or four year scenario. Today, three or
four year scenarios are part of the budget process, and most
importantly are at the centre of One Nation. The community
now expects political leaders to be able to relate policies
and medium term outcomes and defend their scenarios, in a
way which timply did not occur in past decades.
There is no doubt that the work of EPAC has contributed tothis
extens3ion of our political and economic time frames.
In its studies of the current account, growth prospects, the
labour market, investment and other key economic variable3
over the years the work of EPAC has broadened and
strengthened our national economic debate. Over nine years
it has produced 160 papers, including nearly 50 council
papers and as many discussions papers covering most of the
difficult issues we need to address in managing the
Australian economy.
We owe a debt of gratitude to Geoff Miller, the director of
the staff from the foundation of EPAC to September 85, and
to Don Challen, who succeeded him as acting director until
the middle of 1986. I know everyone who worked with him with
recall with admiration the work of Fred Argy, the director
for over five years until his retirement last August if we
can describe Fred's busy schedule these days as
' 1retirement". And I want to commend Richard Whitelaw, the
current acting director, for his capable administration of
the staff since Fred left.
2
EPAC and its staff have much to be proud of, but like any
other institution of government it benefits from periodic
reassessment. The Council meetings claim the time of a
great many busy people from state governments, from business
and unions, and there have been suggestions that the time is
not always well spent. We sometimes discuss staff studies
which could just as well be read in our own offices. We
often find ourselves discussing short term issues, like the
current state of the economy, when we should be focusing on
medium term issues, and structural rather than cyclical
problems. Because the meetings are scheduled well ahead, we
often find there is no special problem to consult upon when
we do meet, or no EPAC meeting scheduled when we have a
problem which might benefit from wider consultation.
To enable the EPAC secretariat and the Council to
concentrate on medium term issues I propose that the Council
should have one scheduled meeting early in each year. This
will enable Council members to discuss concerns about the
medium terin problems facing the Australian economy, and draw
up a work program for the staff to explore the issues.
Normally these studies would be published, as they have been
in the past, and EPAC would also continue to encourage the
discussion of working papers in academic and specialist
seminars before the final study was put together. The full
Council need not meet to examine these studies as they are
completed -instead the Council should deputise a steering
committee ' to oversee the work program of the staff and the
publication of' reports.
CANBERRA 27 March 1992 a It~. i H