PM Transcripts

TEL PRIME MINISTER
STATEMENT BY THE PRIME MINISTER, THE HON P. J. KEATING MP
LIBERALS PUT RECOVERY AT RISK
The industrial stoppage in Victoria is a tragedy for the State
and a cause for great concer~ n for all Australians.
This is a time when all Australians of good will are
determined to work together to maintain the momentum of
recovery. We are attempting to rebuild the prosperity of Australia anld
restore the jobs lost in the recession. The world is not
helping us in this. Success depends on our faith in ourselves
and our fellow Australians.
At this crucial moment the Victorian Government has decided to
deliver chaos.
Mr Kennett and Mr Gude have tried to portray today's strike as
an example of union bloody -mindedness.
Australians know this is not true. The disruption in Victoria
has been caused by the extraordinarily destructive and
dishonest actions of Mr Kennett and Mr Gude since the
Victorian election.
The Victorian Governmeunt's aictions go well beyond their
electoral ana~ Le*. They also go well beyond economic common
sornse, a nd thFe bounds of fairniess and decency on which
Australlian democracy is built.
They constitute an attack on basic liberties as well as wages
and conditions.
That is why Victorians are protesting today, and why so many
Australians share their anxiety.
In the past ten years we have seen a dramatic change in the
way Australians conduct their industrial relations.
In spirit and practice cooperation is replacing the habitual
conflict which for so long dragged us down.
This year the number of industrial disputes is the lowest for
thirty years.
And then along comes Mr Kennett. In one month he has returned
Victoria to the politics of rancour and revenge.
CANBERRA November 1992 T1EL0:. Nov. 92 10: 30 N0.008 P. 01/