PM Transcripts

ELECTIONS 13 MiAY 1974
THE POLICY SPFCl
THF' PRIM~ E MINISTER OF AUSTRbALIA6
HON. E. G. TV71ITLAM, -P
9 . BIArKTO' TN,,
29 APRIL. 1974
A IT. S t. A"
INDExeo Co~ y.
Jjj. . A U 8 r I I A I I A 6q

Men and Women of Australia,
Just 17 months ago, I stood here, and from this
place and from this city I asked you to choose for Australia
a new team, a new program, a new drive for equality of
opportunities. You gave us a clear mandate to go ahead with
our program for the next 3 years. For 17 months we have
driven ourselves to carry out you;: mandate, to carry out the
program I placed before you. Now the government you elected
for 3 years has been interrupted in mid-career. Our program
has been brought to a halt in mid-stream.
Everything we promised, everything we have achieved,
everything you expected of us your expressed hopes for
yourselves, your families, your nation all this is suddenly Lt=
threatened. It is threatened by the actions of the men you oco
I rejected a mere 17 months ago.. It is threatened by the actions
of men elected to the Senate not in 1972, but in 1967 and 1970.
It is threatened by men who refused to stand by the umpire's
verdict your verdict to give , s a chance, to give you a
chance, to give Australia a new chance.
These men who have falsified democracy now ask
you to turn back. Turn back to what? Think again how it n
was when you elected us in ! 972. Unemployment was at its " 4 A
worst for 10 years. Our rate of gr: owth was one of the
world's worst a paltry 20. The Australian dollar was
grossly undervalued. Foreign money was. flooding in to buy
up Australian resources and Australian industries on the chieap.
Accelerating numbers of nigrants w/ ere leaving in disillusion.
Australia was still deeply involved in the war in Viet Nam.
Our whole foreign policy was based on hostility to China. We
were running an army on the cheap by conscripting young men.
There were young men in prison foe their conscience.
Australia was a. d2ep3y divided nation. Our young people were
becoming alienated frorr. the mainstream of Australian society.
S The disrespect in which our nation.-al leadership the Liberals
were held at home had spread to cidre~ ect for Australia abroad.
Think again, indeed!
Mark today's contrast. The Australian economy i
one of the most buoyant and vigorous in the world.
Full employTmnt has been restored. Business
activity is at its highest for a decade, company profits are
at record levels and business expectations are at an all time
high. Through our economic policies and our social security
program, Australia's prosperity i3 becoming more fairly shared
than ever before. Abroad, Australia has never stood so tall. We have
buried old animosities. We dare-hold in new respect by old
friends and allies. Never in her history has Australia been
more secure.

2
We have ended national division, national
disunity by ending our involvement in Viet Nam, and ending
conscription. We have opened up new and expanding markets for As,
our farm products. By placing family reunion for migrants above mere f'e
recruiting, we have stopped the rmigrant drift. t
For the first time Australia has a government
determined to promote Australian ownership and control of
Australian industries and resources. 0 N( 446 ' IR
O-^ N& oub
For the first time fcr a generation Australia has
a government dedicated to equal opportunity for all its
citizens. We have more than doubled spending on schools. d JLu-cJG
We have abolished fees at universities, colIee 3 of zaivanced
education and going one better than oar pledge at technical
schools. For the first time Australia has a government
determined to make the conditions of life more equal for all
Australians, wherever they live in Australia.
For the first time Australia has a government WQ A
seriously concerned to give equality of opportunity to women.
For the first time Australia has a national
government involving itself directly in the affairs of. our
cities. For the first time Australia has a government ready an
to give local government direct access to the national finances.
For the first time Australia has a nrational
government prepared to co-operate in renewing our decaying
urban transport systems. 27
For the first time Australia has a national
government determined to fulfil its con: stitutional obligationAa1
towards the aboriginals L
For the first time Australia has a government
determined to preserve, protect and enhance Australia's
national estate our natural and historical inheritance,
what we keep from our past, what we transmit to the future.
For the first time Australia Las a national
government which recognises the significance of the arts and
artists in our society. Our support for the arts has
released an unparallelled burst-of creativity in this nation. N. ox

These achievements are just some of the fruits of
programs based on expert advice. . Je sought and obtained the Ow co-operation of the most highly qualified Australian men and
women to enquire into and to report upon basic requirements
in Australia's social and economic structures. Tnese reports 5a4
are public. The work of these enquiries and commissions is
the basis of a continuing, coherent. comprehensive program.
The new initiatives 1 announce tonight are the new dimensions
and expanded fruits of this work.
This premature election means that these fruits
are being denied the Australian people. It has meant deferring
our entire legislative program. ' Oe have this legislation
ready to go; it is crucial legislation, and we have it ready.
We ask you to send us back to get on with the business your
business. In the Parliament that has been dissolved four
referendum bills had been twice rejected by the Senate. Under
the Constitution the Governor-General is submitting each of
them to the electors. Six other bills had been twice rejected
by the Senate. That is why under the Constitution the
Governor-General has dissolved both Houses of Parliament.
The Senate had also rejected nine other bills.
Some of them had been introdiuced a" second time. When the
Parliament was dissolved 24 bills were waiting to be passed.
The government will reintroduce all these rejected and
pending bills in the new Parliament. Also,* 107 new bills
have been already drafted and are awaiting introduction in
the new Parliament; a further 104 bills are being drafted on
the government's instructions.
I Our programs the programs you endorsed in 1972
had been developed over the previous si; x , ears. They were
published policies; they were debated in public; they were
scrutinized in Parliament. Time and time again as an
Opposition, we put positive proposals up for debate in
Parliament. By contrast our opponents have never since put
up a single proposal for examination by eitier Parliament or
the public. When they forced tnis election, none of us knew
anything of what they proposed. All we knew was what they
opposed. And that's really all we know now.
In defence of their wealthy friends and vested t
interests, they rejected the democratic principle of equal
electorates; they blocked attempts to democratise and modernise
the trade union movement; they denied representation in the
Senate to the people of the inorthern Territory and the
Australian Capital Territory; they sought ' L deny to local
government direct access to national revenues and borrowings;
they preserved for foreign mining iaterests the right to
exploit our of f-shore resources. -They preserved the inequity,
inefficiency and injustice of an anti{ uated healtA scheme.
They have prevented one million of our fellow-citizens from
having any protection against hospital and medical charges.

4
By shelving the Trade Practices Bill they left
the door open to monopolies and big corporations to fix
prices, organise cartels and exploit the Australian customer.
By shelving the Ausralian ndustry Development Corporation
Bill they blocked the most effective instrument for ensuring
Australian control of our industries and developing new
industries. They left the door open to foreign takeovers and
foreign exploitation of the Australian economy. Yet you had
given us a clear mandate for every one of these proposals they
have opposed and obstructed.
These are the men who forced a premature election.
Now they are asking you to make a judgement affecting your
lives, your families and their welfare, your nation's future
for the next three years on the basis of policies cooked up in
the last three weeks. When they destroyed my government's
power to govern they had no more idea of what their policies
would be than you did. All they knew is that they were out AW
S to destroy the Whitlam Government. The Leader of the g
Opposition in the Senate admitted on the night of the
dissolution of Parliament " T'e embarked on a course some
12 months ago to bring about a House of Representatives
election". In the five weeks that the Senate sat this year
votes were taken on 43 occasions. The three opposition
parties combined to defeat the government on 42 of those
occasions. They had made the parliament unworkable.
What a spectacle This must present to the world
a world where everywhere democracy is under challenge. In
no other country in the world could an Upper louse, elected
3 years ago ' and 6 years ago, use an outdated majority, a
chance majority, to bring down the government elected by the
people only one and one-third years ag.
SAnd in Australia this had never been before
attempted by the Senate. Until our opponents lost office,
after 23 years, it had never even been threatened in the
Australian Parliament. One result of their actions is that for only the
third time in Australia's history, we are to have an election
for the whole Senate as well as the House of Representatives.
In addition, you will be asked to support referen. um proposals
to make the Australian democracy more equitable and more
efficient. REFERENDUMS The last occasion on which you voted for the whole F& W
of the Senate and the House of Representatives was 1951. The
first referendum proposal is desicn-i: to avoid the situation
after 1951. Barely two years aftr the 1951 double dissolution
there had to be an election for h& af the Senate ' and then a year
later a separate House of Representatives election. It is
quite wrong to suggest that the present dissolution of both
Houses of itself synchronises future elections for them. 4

It does nothing-. of the sr. The-ehiections for the two Houses
will remain out of kilter' unless you accept our referendum
proposal. Australia has too -many elections. Since 1963 we
have had a national election every, 1j years. That is not
good for Australia. It does not make for good government or
for a healthy Parliament.
* Australia needs a period of stable government.
Australia needs a period of stable lecadership. we enter upon
a timne of difficult deci; sions. Such-decisions can * be taken'
* only by a united governme-at1 a united ' leadership, a united -Party,*
a united nation. Anid ou-r government alone offers such unity,
-Such leadership. We need a Parliament which re'fects the will of the
W people as fully and accurately as pom3ible. Our referen'dum
proposals are designed to achieve this.
-Our proposal to synchro-iise elections fo h-Senate
and House of Representatives was reccmmended as far back as-
1958t ye. a1part Contitution Review Committee establishd
under Sir Robert 21enzies in 195G. The second proposa. is to--
allow the Constitucion to be c-Ilt_ red if a m~ ijority of all the
electors in Australia approve anC ilsd a majority of the
electors in not less than one-half of th,! States; this
proposal was also recomaended by the Ct-onstitution Review
Comiteein 1958. The third proposal is that after July 1976
there should be equal electorates in the Uois!_: of Representatives
and in every State Douse of Parliament; thle inethod has been
perfected for the. U. S. Congress and State legislatures by the
U. S. Supreme Corurt over the lz. t 10( years; in Australia'it will
be applied by the High Court. The Sen~ ate o-pposed your having
a vote on any of these issues, eve, th-ose recommended as far back
as 1958. But where tha Senate tcerejects referendum proposals,
the Constitution gives you, peopl. e, the right to vote on
them regardless of the Scnates re-Jection-.---
* It is not i thoui-s. gpifi canc3 that our opponents
-used their -nui-ibe-Ls in the Senate' ock your chance of
having your say as -electo,-s on pronoSals to make Australia
a more stable deniocracY anid a more. iaqial democracy. Despite
their obstruction, you will1, at referendumns on the same day
as the elections, be able to. hav -_, our say.
Iknow that thesc matters require your thought and:
your time if you are to make a reasonable judgement. I ask you
again as I asked you two weeks ago, give close thought to
them and five minutes of your-time for the future of Australia
on the 18 N. ay.

THE ECONOMY Ue Australians all now face together one of the
great historic challenges of our time; to make democracy
work; to make the parliamentary system work; and make it
work better. We share this challenge with most other
parliamentary democracies. Equally, with them, with all
major trading nations, with all mixed economies, we share the
problem of inflation. We are all seeking ways by which the
expectations, the wishes, the aspirations, the hopes of every
member of the community can be reconciled with freedom, good
order, security, stability. There is no simple answer, no
one answer, no easy cure. But if a solution is to be found
or even attempted, we need a strong, courageous, united
Sleadership. We need at the same time, a national leadership
passionately concerned about the preservation of the democratic
system and a leadership compassionately concerned to protect
the weaker members of the community. I suggest to you that
our government, since you elected it only 17 months ago, has
Sshown such dedication and has shown its capacity for firm and
courageous decisions decisions which were sometimes
initially unpopular, opposed by powerful interests, but which
have proved their correctness and which have proved the
doomsayers wrong. World events and the policies of -our predecessors
inevitably meant a higher rate of inflation in 1973 than in
1972. We have acted firmly to moderate these pressures.
s And these policies are beginning to work inflation
has slowed. All our efforts to curb inflation have been opposed
or obstructed by our opponents. Where we took administrative
action, they criticised. Where we took legislative action,
they obstructed. Where we sought more powers from you by
way of referendum, they opposed. Uhere we have sought
co-operation with the States, governments of the same political
persuasion as our opponents have failed to pass the necessary
legislation. SA1dministratively, we cut tariffs by 25% to. reduce
the price of imports without damaging Australian industries.
We have twice revalued the Australian dollar reflecting its
true status as one of the world's strongest currencies.
By legislation, we have tried to promote competition.
As long ago as 1963 the present Chief Justice Sir Garfield
Barwick pointed to the need to outlaw collusion between
corporations in fixing prices above their genuinely competitive
level. Last September we introduced legislation to do just that.
Our opponents in the Senate combined-' three times, not just to
oppose this legislation, but to prevent it from even being
debated. 6

7
Only the Labor State of South Australia has
cod-operated in setting up land commissions to stop the spiral
in residential land prices. The average price for a home
site in Adelaide is $ 5,000 and has begun to stabilise. The
average price in Sydney is $ 18,500 and is still rising.
Not content with obstructing our efforts, our
opponents in their election promises now propose economic.
vandalism. Their policies mean soaking the average
Australian wage and salary earner. They mean cutting back
on opportunities for creative employment. They mean the same
sort of unemployment Mr Snedden as Treasurer created two years
ago. They mean the same rise in indirect taxes which they
imposed when in government they pretended to reduce income tax
in 1970. They mean disrupting our program for help to all
Australian schools. Their policies mean that once again, as
happened so often in the long life of the previous government,
O Australian children year after year will be set back in
their opportunities. When ' ir Snedden speaks of cutting back
on government spending he means cutting back on schools, on
health, on social security. They are the only fields where
meaningful cutbacks can be made. lhy should the children of
Australia, the migrants, the old, the handicapped, the sick,
the retarded, the aborigines, the disadvantaged groups pay
the price for r Snedden's economic fantasies? Let our
opponents say clearly, honestly, unequivocally, that their
weapons in the fight against inflation in Australia are. to be
the children of Australia, the aged of Australia, the
handicapped of Australia, the aborigines of Australia, the
disadvantaged people in our Australian community. For that
is what their policies mean. These are the consequences, the
undoubted consequences of their rag bag of proposals.
Forget their half--bahed proposals and look at the
performance their performance of obstruction in Opposition,
Stheir performance of mismanagement in government.
You will recall how for a disestrous week before
Christmas 1971 the then coalitioc* 9-g-.'-rnment nearly fell
a'part about the internatioual v. 1iue of the Australian dollar.
The Leader of the Country Party the man who wants to be
Treasurer, the man whose remedy fcr inflation is to double the
price of oil threatened to ., ilk out of the government
unless he got his way. And get his disastrous way he did.
Their division as much as their actual decision to devalue did
great harm to Australia in those days. Australia cannot afford
a repetition yet nri. thiig is m'ore certain, than that the
return of our opponents to government would mean deep,
unbridgeable and continuing division and damage on the matter
of the value of the Australian dollar. Division on such a
matter means undermining the strength of the Australian dollar
u

8
Following the decision in 1971, this nation was flooded with
millions of dollars of unwanted foreign capital, capital which
sought to buy Australia up on the cheap. You must not allow
it to happen again.
This vast infusion of foreign money was one of the
root cauces of the inflationary problem which we have faced
ever since we came into government. The men who created
that problem now ask you to give them back the government.
The same men created the major economic prohierm much more
than an economic problem a social and huxian problem which
we first had to face when we came into government. It was
the problem of unemployment. The Budget of 1971 created
Australia's worst unemployment for 10 years. The man who
made that Budget, the Treasurer who presided over that
unemployment, is the present Leader of the Opposition. We
promised to restore full employment. We have restored it.
Every comparable country in the world shares the problem of
inflation. Ile are distinct from all those countries in this:
that in Australia alone, there is._ no unemployment; in
Australia alone, unemployment and inflation do not march side
by side. Our opponents by their divisions,, by their decisions,
started the new round of inflation in Australia. Yet
simultaneously, they created unemployment. And these are the
men who ask you to give them control over your economic-affairs.
V..

9
TAXATION The new prosperity our policies have created, the
restoration of full employment we have achieved, the rise in
wages and salaries has brought new problems, in particular for
the lower and middle wage and salary earners. It has created
a whole new range of problems and new inequities in the field of
personal taxdtion. In Septenber 1972 our predecessors appointed members
of a Committee under the chairmanship of Ir. Justice Asprey to
inquire into the structure and operation of the present
Commonwealth taxation system and to formulate proposals for
improving the system by making changes in it, abolishing any
existing form of taxation or introducing new forms of taxation.
The Committee was to have regard to the effects of the present
system upon the social, economic and business organisation of
the community and upon the economic and business organisation
Sof the community and upon the economic and efficient use of the
resources of Australia and to the desirability of a fair
distribution of the burden of taxation and of a system of
collection which not unduly complex and did not involve the
public or the administration in undue difficulty, inconvenience
or expense. The Treasurer, Crean, an:-I have had discussions
with the Asprey Committee, which will make a report to us by
I June. Its recommendations will therefore be taken into account
in this year's Budg et, when we shall be giving urgent consieeration
to the restructuring of the taxation system.'
In my Policy Speech in I! ovember 1972 I promised that
we would expand the terms of reference of the Asprey Committee
to include State and Local Government taxation systems and
Scollection methods. The Premiers of South Australia, Western
Australia and Tasmania agreed to coopel. te but the responses of
the other Premiers made it impossible for the Committee to carry
out the expanded inquiry.
Last month, however,. at a Constitutional Convention
standing committee which I chaired, it was decided that Commonwealth
and State officers should confer and report on the
respective occupancy by the Commonwealth, State and Local
Governments of the fields of income taxation, excise dutie2 And
sales tax, vehicle and fuel taxes, death duties and land and
property taxes. ' e shall be consulting fully with the States
on those items of shared taxation, such as death duties, on
which our officers are to report.
The Treasurer has already announced in Parliament that
the estate duty law is to be amended to e-tablish a Board of Relief
to hear applications for release from liability for duty in cases
of serious hardship. Such a Board has proved its worth in the
case of income tax. The estate duty board will be empowered to
release an estate from all or part of the duty payable where
ayment would impose serious hardsh; ip on a beneficiary or
beneficiaries and where relief granted would be for the benefit
of beneficiaries so affected.

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One aspect of estate duty is particularly unjust
the taxation of the matrimonial home. This practice constitutep
a failure to recognise the role wo; ien play in our society. The
person who looks after the home and the family contributes as
much to the economic value of the family home as the person who
goes to work. In estates in which the matrimonial home or an
interest therein passes to the widow or widower of the deceased
the value of the deceased's interest, up to a limit of $ 35,000,
shall be excluded from the dutiable value of the estate; the
prooortion of the value exempted from duty will be reduced by
2% for every $ 1,000 above this limit.
This is one of the very few completely new undertakings
in this policy speech. It will cost only about $ 10 million
per year but will ensure that no widow or widower will have
to sell the family home in order to meet federal estate duty.
The present income tax law allows concessional
deductions for dependants to Australian resident taxpayers only
where the dependants are themselves resident in Australia. In
Sthe case of a migrant who comes to Australia intending to bring
his wife and children out to this country as soon as he has made
Sa home for them, a period of 5 years is regarded as a reasonable
time for the wife and children to join the migrant in Australia.
If he maintains the family during this period income tax
Sdeductions for the dependants are allowable to him.
However, migrants who . are maintaining dependent
relatives overseas with no view to bringing them to Australia,
or who may be prevented from bringing them to Australia by
restrictive emigration policies in force in some countries, are
unable to qualify for a tax deduction for dependants. It is my
Government's intention to extend the provisions of the income
tax laws governing dependants' deductions so as to entitle people
in these situations to the taxation advantages availale already
to all of us maintaining dependent relatives who reside in
Australia.
SCUSTOMER PROTECTION The Australian Government has already taken
important measures to protect the -safety and economic interests
of customers. They include the 25% tariff cut and decisions
to. ensure cheaper colour television sets and radios. 7iTen
passed, the Trade Practices Bill will make safety stanrlrds
mandatory, and will require specified information to be disclosed
when specified goods an1 services are offered for sale.
Collusive price-fixing by corporations , ill he prohibited and
the protection of customers will be promoted through the
encouragement of a competitive climate in industry. Last year
we established the Interim Commission on Consumer Standards,
which has recommended that a permanent body.. succeed it.
We will establish a Bureau of Customer Protection.
The Bureau will ensure that consumer interests are properly
consulted and represented in all aspects of governmental
activity on consumer protection.

.11
The PILu~ trali-in Coveri::. ent la~ hor9 tories twi 1 he
or inntJ~ LeLoward:: pro-luct T0i1 : tfwr esults Of suoch tests
b ie. e t u1 l. c.
MlEW STRUCTURES The greatest burden on the Australian economy,
the b~ iggest drag on our nr~ timnl prwosperity is the inefficient,
costly structures iLnheritted frcii L1.0 p& SL. The great thieme of
our legislative program th~ e program now disrupted and deferred
by this premature electir) has ber; en one oi: refLorm and
renovation. Wie rccognise-d from i-he heginninq that thf.! ref'orms
vie wiere sceeking for Austra] izon socie ty -for a more -ju! st and
humane Australian society would be possible only through
reforms in the structure of tha government itself.
9 The accumulated dcadwocd of inefficiency of our
urban sprawl, uncoordinated local government bodies, too many
trade unions, obsolete communic at ions, archaic public transport
systems, lack of hospitals; where most people now live, our land
* use and abuse, the duplication of es. sentiail scervices because of
a misinterpretation of the true mcnaningy of fedUeralism, an
education system which until latyear never took adequate
* account of needs it is all these archaisms, anachronisms, and
inefficiencies which generation after generation, have built
into the Australian economy such-. high costs for such poor returns.
And this is precisely what we. hacvb attempted to reform and
restructure institutions and system,. s whose ine ffici~ erncy or
antiquity impose a tremendous buirden on th'c Australian economy
and the Australian Society.
The onsitution~ i~ a~ s~ " There shall bie ah
Inter-State Ccmrission". One2 of the first acts of the Menzies
Government in 1950 -was to repeal the act establishing the
Conssion pqc . oenmn n9-1: 21. o The
Government will re-estabis omsso h _ yhea r.
Vle hav'e completely * ccmoulelJle thoe epartmental
* structure of the Australian Governmcm! t. To qive2 organisational
thrust to our new priorities we -hfivo created new; depa--rtmncnts
Mlinerals and Energy, Urban and Regional Davelopnient, Ahoriginal
Affairs, Environment and Con serva tici and Horthern Devalopi nent.
We have remodelled and reinviqrritc'd othw-r departments and! ltave
amalgamated and are amalgamcat~ ln; st'L! 3. others. Vie Ihave, a rnoct,
efficient administration. Even r,. or e: important, the national
government is now equippe( 3 involve itsel-i-in new important
and urgent fields. In 1972 1 said:
'" We shall need the help and seek the helrh of the
best Australians. W'e shiall rely of course on
Australia's gireat Publ) Iic Service. tic shiall seek
and wielcome. ad ice arid co,--operatormbyn
the confines Canb , Xra':.

12
To promote further the efficiency of the Australian Puh-Ii qervice
w; e shall establish a R~ oyal Cornnision. It will b; e headed by one
of PAustralia's most dTstin uished and experienced former public
servants a great servant of the Australian people Dr. H-. C.
Coombs. I have already announced, our acceptance of the
recommenda tions of Sir James \ lernon's I1: oyid Coi-miission on the
Post Office -that tl'ut Post Office __ snould-be I-: ndeyeuident of the
control of the Publ--i; cService Board. an. that a separate
Australian Postal Coiymiru~ iov' nd Au: tralianTeleco nunications
C ORnissron ( incor--Lc-rat iriq the 07ex seas icmuriain
Commtission) should be established. 1e( shill follow the same
principle in the transpurt fielld for the Australian
National RaiJlwa s, our: airportKri & tcve' q oprations and,
~~ Lti wththe respective Statas, the Mewcastle dockY ardl andI.
We have armred the admi nistrative machine with new
capabiliti's -and new organs to c-a1 with the increasingly
complex and difficult problem's ofL planning tor the needs of -a
growing iridustrizl soci ety. Srme ofL -% he new~ bodies were given
permanent statutory form, slich as th-& schools Commission, the
Social welfare Commission, T. he Isat and flea3. th Services
Commission, the Prices Jus t. fijat. ion Tribunal and the Pipeline
Authority; others ha-d tileir statutory charter utterly
transformed such as tho Grants Ccmn; si: on, the Cities CoMlission
and the Industries Ass; istance C ommission.-
Obviously, our newC Ldeirart-mc-n* Cs, statutory authorities,
the comnssions and enr~ uirij. es aL'Aisj. nci the Government and the
Pavlii-nenrt cannot oper: ate wvjti-iout staff, without advice, vlithout
qualified men and wvomen. Of crsthat costs money not a
cent too much, not a cent too soon. Yet for the sake of paltry
* short-teinA saving~ s, at th,-e pri. ce nf ). osing the timne and talents
of men and women who hav cr' te1rqcuctdy--
judges, academics, sta te pulcservants and businessm-ten, our
opponents propose -to thaiottlei These nmew activitieS; they . itend
to cut off the source of : 2xper t an(! pulic advice so essential to
any planningj for tLhr-. effoctivO,-ef , ficidm-t, mo! 3t humane andi least
exp:) nsive ways of decaling wit', A ustralia' s accumulated soCial an~ d
ecoinomic problems for the re-st of this centCury. . The fact is that
wie have to spend a little plan a lot now, in 1974 ife
are to build a decent, humane, efficient society for the
generations to come.
so we have begun 1Lasic andA quite massive reorganisation
of the s~ tructuLre-S wii-ch oerensUse. in
hustralia to carr:' out tic pol's ule This w. e propose
to continue to do. -In some 2: e/ Jrota YIy eCf'ucatioin, ' i>
able to act immciatelyvf o-her fields, , e nad to ; q-ait for
moreD information and moze e; perL so weimmediiately sr-t
_ L~ ut getti-. g th-at advice ai-d, *. r. cru? ti-nc the ex). rts. I'II othc,:
fields, like health I , ot conrt btuL.~
Dat in all f ields and all levelIs, t. he wor'k goes on. It mnust ixit
Ibe interru. pted. It must not be disrupted. I utnth
dlestroyed.

F. UCATI O1.1 The vdluc of the work of our new Comnmissi~ ons ancl
Committees of Enquiry have been great and continuingi. e
arnel. Cormmtltee on * Schools, now instituted as the ' Schools
Cormais Aon, has transformed the outlook for Australian
education. We have* almost doubled Au-stralian G over nmnt fqlr'.
on education. That money has beens distributed Z1CCo1! din-. J to
needs of all schools. Ile have assum& ed full financial reop-: n0--
bility for tertiary education. Vle have. abolished fees for
tertiary and technical education. For the first-time qeare
giving assistance to teachers' colleges and pre-schcol teachers'
colleqecs on the saine basis as univer. si ties andl colle-,; es of
* advanced education. We are giving much more generous allowancens
to studE-nts and have more than trebled the nu.: iber of teaching
scholarships. The parents of Australia well know -and history
* will record that the greatest single achievement of our
* W Government in its first year was to change the face of education
in Australia, and to change the basic attitudles, of the Australian
people towards education. If we had achieved nothing else, iwe
would be remembered for this-that we buried once and for all
the futile and divisive debrate over so-called " State rights" and
" State aid" for s; chools. T. e not only freed vast amounts of money
f or schools; we freed the whole deboate on'education so that froill
now on, parents, teachers, and educcational authorities can engage
rationally in discussion about what is really best for our schools
what is truly best for our chilcdr. n.
Of course, many reforms st.' 1 remain to be made
within the Australian education system. The Schools Commission
is already conducting a study of those -_ rours not receiving full
Wbenefits their schooling.-the culturally dis~ advantaged
* child, the linguistically disadvantaged, the emotionally or
intellectually aisadvantaged. The greatest inequiity in the
* systcem ' how: ever, as the Karmel Cormm-ittee itself remarked, is its
bias ajainst girls: the fact that so few girls as compared to
boys sit for their final sc'-iooP &; rWAS or continue into the
technical trades or enter the brofes:; ions. This is one. th~ e
major reasons w~ hy women are concentyr-ted in the less wjell paid
Jobs in our society. I have as3-ed the Commission to study the
causes of this situation and recomn. nd remedies.
1have drafted a bill to establish a C-urriculum
Deve) opment Centre.

CHILD CARE The advice of the qualified and the concerned m~ en
and women now being made available through our commissions and
enquiries enables the Government to imlpleMent its broad vision
of the nature and purpose of education in a modern society.
Tile want not only to provide wider opportunities for education.
for a lifetime, we want to provide opportunities for a life-ti!. i-e
of education. Such opportunicties must be made available if
Australians are to be able to lead full and happy lives
rewarding to themselves and to the cOmmunity. In a society
undergoing such rapid change a~ s ours, the plain fact is that a
majority of people will changeterocptonmr hnoc
in their lives. Rcdundancy Is no longer the lot of manually
skilled workers alone. Few occupations are going to be left
untouched by the technological revolution.
In the next Parliament our big initiatives in
education will concern the care and education of pre-school
children, technical training, and adult retraining. The
foundations of our initiatives rest on work done by the
Social 11elfare Commission, the Pre-Schools Committee, * the
J'angan Committee on Techni cal and Farther Education arid the
Cochrane Committee on Adult Training and Re-Training.
There are at Dresent about 1.3 million children
of pre-school age. For more than one in four of these children,
there is no parent at hoi-me during wvorking hours. of these only
one in every 10 attends a chill care centre. A child in
Canberra has twice as gjood a chance Lf attending a pre-school
as a child in Victoria and four times as good a chance as a
child in Nlew -South OaJes. least 15,000 children aire left
totally unattendedi] durincj the day. Thousands more are left to
the care of brothers or sisters. Furthermiore, for too many of
our primary school childran there is , here to go outside of
school hours or during vacations. Too rf; any children begin
school with educational, cul tural. or psychological disadvantages.
The Government's Droqran for these children ) reflepcts
the recommenEtiers of the PeSho mitewhosceorot
was tabled last December, the Social 7elfarc conmmssion,_ Lpi; h
was established by ain act atVoHvaesidn iber, ar) d thr
Priorities Reviewz Staff. The. roiq ran will aa e"" elop
of services__ includingi the development of famnily dIay cr
diay centres, preschools, T~ tyL. O uis, outside of school care,
Li,, irqenc ard occasional care, todi-iers qrourns and _ y-tin
po4-ols. Pro-. ision will. he imi-Ade fo tof: care by relativl-S,
or hhors TheH scen! ill be diese and f lexib-le
troe cogn Ise d if fe r ent nie cd s o f dI f ' k: c-rent communities.
To encouragje the creatiiion of child care csnntres in
indrustry, ". 1es~ ai remove t1' e' Innr wt ip. Lrrcomc-Tax Act
w; hich' 1inipEdes the( tax dieduct-ibITity ofsedn--_ cm~ ne
on child care.

15
Ve envisage that 50-0,000) children will benefit by
1.977 and that by 1930 all Australian children will have access to
local centres designed to take care of their educational, health,
psychological and other needs. All children, not just the
4 year-olds, whether cared for in their own home or in full,
part-time or occasional care, will have access to free pre-school
education. Child care servi. ces wil~ l be subs idi sned ith parents
contributinq to the cost aeoc~ oto their me~ ns, the inain
thrust of th~ e prograt in tFhefirst yer being to assist
disadvantaged children, it is esLimatedI that the cost of thi~ s
program in the first year a program of vision and imagination
based on a compassionate understandi -ng of the needs of the child,
the parent and the community will $ 130 milli-on.
We are determined that technical education shall
cease to be the Cinderella of Australian educationl. The reports
* of the Kangan and Cochrane Commiittees will provide an effective
and expert basis for hold new initiatives to allow technical
skills to find their proper and honoured place in a changing
society. These proposals represcnt a major attack on social
inequality. We have drafted a bil~ l for a Technical and Further
Education Comm37ssion. In March last yea r my Government appointed a special
manpowaer commission to study manpower policies abroad. Ne now.
Ppos1 e to am-lalciamatce all existincj5 -r iining chemnes into one new
National Emplo~~. 1ymernt arid Training ]? rocramu . wl oki
W s -6o-aoain-vi-t no movement and employer
organisations to identcify immaediate needs and to make long-term
projectioris of labour needs to meet the future demands of industry.
Ve will offer relocation assistance to those who find themselves
in regions or industries affected bjy economic, structural or
technological change. In the provi-sion of its training
facilit-ies, will give priority to persons affected by
changes in tariff policiesz anid th-ose m-ade ri-dundant by technological
change. N. E. A. T. will trinn ooron5p~ o rtunities for
all persons without discrimination on grounds of race or sex.

16
Our retraining program will help ensure that our
present unprecedented growth in enployincrit opportunities cal).
be met and maintained. Increased productivity and our groving prosperity
depend upon our ability to make full use of the whole of our
available manpower.
STIdJCTUILAL CIX\. CFE
The Government realises that, in times of rapid
tectinological change a mechaninm is nceded to promote and
make easier the movoment of employees from one occupation to
another, from one industry to another, from one region to
W another. Accrdinqlv, the Governnent has decided to
introduce structural adlIustArnent assistarice to inci'viduals
WattY* ! fLVoyers. Indlivi~ duals, including~ sma~ l owners ant
rur i pro" W -C-3, s advecrselyrnj~~~ i~ l, structural ch? n r~ qo
3 1. C 0 1 f J, 1) 1e f q(-Ji(' ICC U MC) Mi 1,17.1i ' t-enance paRyment s,
raininq assistance and rc ocati7onq f rms
will be eliqi. ble f o r consultancy/ qua.-! antees
This scheme will improve the Xusitralian economy
in the interests of the consumer and will provide industry
with a better resource base and pattern of skills.
L

.17
1iAIGTANTS We recognise the outstanding contribution migra-, nts
have made to our productk-ive capacity. Our primary conc(! rn,
8h ow'tvleever.-s, ai. ns d rocti titzheenisr. ecotlneo mhaicv e vhaleueq ibunta vthgeoiro hsadpip-n s ohsl
migrants ovrercclflie the disadvantage inseparable fromn life in a
new country. The number of social workers and welfare officers
x. orkf.': ng amongst migrants has been more than doubled. Sonic 1,500
special teachers 1vv'been employed in schools at 3atnrr
Government cost to give special tuition in ~ ni. hto 60,000
miqra-i1t ebldien, twice the number receiving it under our
predecessors. Provision has also be: en made f.-r emergency
classroom acc.. mmodation, For a. ilts-the numnber of specialised
courses intensive or accelerated courses, courses in industry,
3courses for women arid arrangemwents for onie-two-one tuition in
migrants' own homes has been developed or expanded,
Mligrants have responded and have demnonstrated a
new111 interest in ident.' fyling wit'. Austr:* lia. The number who
Whave beco-ye 72xUStrali. ay--iti011inS 1973 has increased by 48%
over-1972, ind the nun. bter returiining to their countries of
okigin has declined for the first timie in 9 vears.
* SOICIAL SECURlITY For too long Australia has demeaned herself and
mlli. ons ol. our followi-citize.. ns by the idea that those unable
to work, or to engage with full vigor in the xw. ork and leisure
Sof a vig.:-rous community deserved charity but lost their right
Wto self-respect and dignity.
' 1e inherited a system of social welfare based almost
entirely on the% concert of cash payments. We inherited a system
* whereby society accepted that it had fulflilled it~ r. oh~ ligat. ions
Wto the disa-dvantacjcd sections of the comnmunity onece it h
settled upon the leval of cash payments JFor tho! se dotoeid to be
in need. It was an easy way to fob off our coillectiv conscience.
It was a systefa which took litt-le ' real account oif true : ei
It was a systeia which did nothing at all. to provide its
beneficiaries o; victims -with a chance for dignity, a chance
for rehabilitation, a chance for taking a real place in the
living community. The Social W4elfare Commission has been established to
help the Government set goals for social welfare and to allow
the community to help determine these goals. The public reports
of the Corai: is ion serve as a standlard by which the comt:, unity
can judge the Government's decisions and performance.
Certainly cash payments for all classes of pensions
and welfare benefits have been sign-ificantly increased.

Since taking office, we have increasedi age and invalid
pensions by 30% a significantly greater increase than the rise
in average weekly earnings or prices.
We have introduced a number of new benefits and
improved a number of exci.-ting oiien. Ne introduced the Supporting
:', others Benefit and the Or-phans Pension. We abolished the
discrimination of classes of widowys all widowis nowr receive the
same amnount. We, have increased the grants arid liberalised the
conditions for Aged Personr' Homes, th! 2 Home Care program and
Rehabilitation allowances.
Ile have proceeded to abolish the means test according
to our promised scheO~ ula.
My G~ overnment's ovar-riding concern, however, has
been to overhaul th: entire system so that Australia s-hall be,
as once she was, as she ceased to be in the coalition years, a
pioneer and a l. eader.
The TAustrAlian Assistance Plan has been established
to expand and enh,, ance, co-ordiix atte yet diversi f-y the activities
of welfare agencies, official anu' ; clunt~. ry alike. The Plan
places emphasis on th? neec'. for huirnr contact, counsel and
compassion as an adlition to cash payments. Funds on a costsharing
basis with ilocaJ. gover-. n-Rent; and voluntary agencies havre
beeni made availabla In 3.5 regions ohbt. A trl.
In 3.9' 5 the A'ustrcalian Gcvormmnt % ill-make funds
available und( J the Plan tovcy ejo. n u
NATIONAL COMPENSATIOM lie are ( ieter-. nin, 2d to place the security, the welfare
of those who suffer incapacity th; rough z:. cciden;-or sickness on
a sure and certair, ba:-is on t-he basis of confidence and freedom
from f inanc ial. a:' ix ety for tlhenms2 vc-s zand their famil ies.
Australians should not havie ton l. vc ini d1oubt or anricty lest
irnjury or sic] WC5Ss reduce oet! ~ eW hmw~ i ant to reduce
hardships imrpose_; by on(-of the great fi. ctors -for i~ nc. aliy -in
society irnequality of 2uck. Accor0. inaly, in arhl: 7
we established the National Rehabil itat ion and Compnr: satio2
Committee under the chairmanshi of-rl justice 7, ooahouse of th e
N~ ew Zealand Court of Apa. In rubi: uary its teram of reference
were extended to cov, the sick as wcll as the iLnjuired. It is
excpected to report zL the end of June.
N-y Government has dec . Ae-! d to irntroduvo a procjral to
help meet the im. aterial neeas anrl. vdtise the dignity o-1 homcL! Es
men -and wometi.

Ca ita). r rants will be made available . q-or a
three-ear period to vo untary agecies, local anr~. a-i2r
authlor . tief; for cts such a~ s ngtsetrhses
daycetre a sapncYdTe ~ TTis c-and centres.
This is a program devised in response to a ic.
neglected need; it will be of benefit to the young as well as
the old. It will be of benefit to any person in inediat e , Cdt:;
to the permanently homeless, to the desierted or disturbed womThAiL
and her children, to the aboriginal or teenager in want or distr(-: s
to the battered woman or the battered child, to the singjlepan
in short, to anyone without support or an income.
NUHRSfING HOMES In keeping with the governmenit's commitment to proteuti! ng
arnd improving the position of tho sick arid the aged, the qoveriient
will suzattlyincrease benefAits paid to nursi. nq Fm din
to taKe iento account the increased COScs incurred. by nursi ncy huces.
In addition, an altcrinativc form of financial
assistance wl'YFFe of fered * to rTTeii cht. errriI~ ri~
I) T2I ne thje& I* eIciIIpc) eot rUatxnqr
of these homes reclarding this arrangcment which will enale these
homes to improve still furtCher their stanidardis and facilities.
The ! Ainister for Social Security, Hr. Hfayden, wi) ll
announce the details of the proposals and other welfare mfuasure.:
in the goverpment's welfare pol icy speech in Djoeibourne C~ n
W~ ednesday.
HIEAVY i The government is determin, -d to fulfil its
constitutional responsibility ' for providin~ g ho!: pitcil b : rierfit anid
medical and dental services anid to give all Aistralians. access
to high quality health care at reasonclble ccest.
Our proposal for universal health iirisurance pat
you and strongly supported by you in the elections of 1969 and
1970 as well as 1972, was twice rejected 1, y the Sei*, ate. It wz:. S
among the measures on which the Gove rno.~ Generzal grantced t he--
double dissolution. it will therefore he one of the first
measures brouoht before eho alam~ t. i r tiLU
one mlfon_ Austraflans -are st1 l , otctaeqda iast hosoital
and medi. cal c-harges.
We will extend iuedial eefits Lo ; ovei: 1, hwJtat ions
with op tome t F~ sts.

We propose to restore free hospital treatment established
by the last Labor Government in 1947 and abandoned by the 1ienzies
Government in 1952. ! tJe shall offer to share . with the States half
the cost of making_ hospital treatim: ent free in sitandard wards.
Furthcr, the national. qov'ernment is ite r epred
to build, staf f and operateflhospita õ li areas and regions now
inadequateLy served. ' ie havc alreadly approached the States.
We have offered to provide half the cost of building
and operating a new General Hospital in Launceston and wholly
build and operate a new womien'I s hos-pital in Hobart.
Ile have offered to construct and operate teaching
Wextensions at the Rloyal Newcastle Hospital without cos-t to
the U. S. W. Gov'ernment. In the last Budget we set aside $ 4 million to proceed
Swith the building of a teaching hospital at 1W. estmead,
WThough this project has bee(-n planned by th State governr1, c-nt
for silz years, that government has i. nformoed us that they are un1able
to spend the mnoney' we have provided. our offer still stands.'
The money is there. It is up to the State government to
use it. Ile shall press on withm the establishment of commuunity
health centre~ s, Te ihate and
loaloverninents. The Australian school Dental Scheme will be expanded
to cover all rilnary scoo lddrnb
We shall institute a dornici liary dental servefo
thed tosev 7 OO Ooplhe~
a cost of 600,0OO anmmual. y
Ile shall reconstitute thie Commonwealth Seerm
Laboratories and estc hTFa Phaxin, it~ a3d. C, iii ion to -es arch
.( and w holeo; ale di-1gs th u~. feslnsrcmkJ) 0_ a
bythe Vernon floyal Com! wissio F~ or the Ps fie
CITIES In all. these matters in education, social security,
health we have had these great objective.;: to reduce inequality,
to promote equality of opportunity, to make the system itself
rmo re efficient and equitable. 7, J1 ther~ ain 3 aire comnbined in
the biggest new effort my cjo'i-evnt has mido_-in our qreat cities,
in our growing centres all around AUStralicz. At last Australia
has a national governmclnt reparc-d to i nvolv e it-, sel f i~ n the
* affairs of the places where m~ ost. Au ~ txraliant liVe: our citieS
and our centres.

21
We have recognised, as I said in 1972, that " a
national government which cuts itself off from responsibility
for the nation's cities is cutting itself off from the nation's
real. life". In its direct involvement in cities the Australian
Government has entered the mainstream of Australian life. That
new involvement has been central not onl. y to the affairs of
the great majority of Australian people; it is central to our
relations with State government and local government, Pie not
only want to remould, modernise, revitalise our cities; we want
to remould, revitalise, rnodernise the relations between the
three levels of government national, state, local. tl. have
involved the national governmen~ t in matters w . hich previously
were left to the States or not done at all. If they were left
to the States,* they were too often done inadequately, or not
done at all. If left to local government,. they were too often
done inadequately, finaaced unfairly or not done at all.
0 In this field we have had some examples of splendid
co-operation with the States yet equally we have met some of the
worst obstruction f rom the States.
The Albury/ Uodoiga agreemennt. to create Australia's
first large centre away from the seaboard since the found.' ing of
Canberra has been a splendid example * of co-operation. . Je have
also made agreements with the States for new growth cent)-es,
finarice for sewerage and grants for urban transport. It would
have been unheard of until 1972 that an Australian national
governinent should involve itself di rectly ip regional development,
s-ei\: eracge, urban.-trcunsport. Because previous national governments
even with all their atonopo ly over the really big and gro..,; ing
sources of revenue, w-, ould not involve themselves, nothing effective
* was ever done about c~ ecentralisation; our great cities had the
largest unsewered areas of any comparable cities in the world;
and our urban transport systems were app>-:, a ching breakdown. Of
c~.~: cit hats been impossible in so short a time to reverse
the trendis rc-. salting from decades of neglect. But we have made
a J nnn; a rtbainic
LOCAL GOVERNIMENT Yet crucial to making a good continuationi andl a gcod
culmination of these efforts i~ s the role of local goveroi. cnt'.
And it must 1be sai. 1 tChat our efforts to raise the status of
local govern~ ment and to give local government direct access to
th1 nation's finances have met with scant co-operation from
state governments. Ie huave sought to wake local government a genuine
vlrtrtner in f~ ha ; stc T liñ. rvi c. '~ ll1: the
Gtants Cou.~~, a~ llot; 1.-. Cal j0-v'-L'r1JTIent bodies to make
submissions and t allow the Cormission to ma ke recommrendations
on the amounts of ri,. nay needed to rek-1tce inequalitjes between
regions and within States.-as traditionally it used. to do as
between the States,.

-22-
The role we assign to local governmenit is the real
answer to charges of centralismn. Under a variety of programs
we'have provided local governm-ient with the funds to undertake a
range o activiti-es previously inadequately carried out or
totally neglected. The Auistralian Assistance Plan, the programs
for community health, area imp--rovemnent-, the national estate,
the arts, tourism and recreation a d aborigines all these
provide funds for commrnunity activities to be orqanised by local
government. We deliberately have made and shall make local
government a vehicle for our lcgislation on aged persons' homes
and hostels, sheltered employment, han-dicapped children, mea ls
on wheels, home care and nursing, nursing homies and homeless men
and woi-men. These are all activities which cannot be close],,. y
regulated from the centre and are best planned and implemented
by local government workingq with local communities. They justify
assistance fromn the nation'Is finances but not increases in rates.
W~ e insisted on local, gover-nment representation' at
the Convention on the Constitution in September last year~. We
made local government representation a condition of part iciJ-pation
by the national government.
0At that Convention I put the case for local govevnment
representation on the Loan Council.. The States' Premiers then,
and at a special Premiers' Conference in Octolber, turned down
our proposal that local governiment should have a voice vid a vote
in the Loan Counzcil. Tie forhreferendum now boc": ore you will take the
next crucial step in raising the status of local governriepnt. It
wil. l enable the national government to make grants direct: to
local yoenetbodies, if they wish, zand to borrow m,-oney on
* their behalf, if they wish. Only if this is done can local
governmtent acquire reasonable access to '' le nation's finances.
Only if this is done can local governmenz carry out, the increasing
responsibilities and bear the increasing . h-urdcer-s vyhich federal
and state governments alike iimrpose upocn it and which the p.-eople
* need. Only if this is done can inequality between regions be
reduced. It remains true, as I said in 1972, that more anid more
the standard of life of the Australian citizen depends not
so much on how much hie earns but % Z1tre he lives.
URB3AN TRANSPORT We are providing $ 31 million this year to the state
governments for urban public transporL.-improvement. We are
proosinqt2p1ovide another 141 mil lion to coi : pet FrIc~ ts
CUoimn 1N. 9ths Y. Half the morie y haF, been allocate-d for the
tion of new railway rolling st~ ock, buses andtr: s
Other mcjor proje( cts loeing assistecd include
quadruplicatioii of the railway line lhcatween Granville and Penrith,
construction of a number of acdditioi... 1 tracks in N'elbourne to

-23
relieve congestion and increase the capacity for express services
operating to outer suburban area!-, and electrification of urban
rail links in Brishane andl Adelaide.
From as far back as 1907 each mainland taegove~ rnment
has from time to time-consented to Che Commonw,. ealth Government
constructing or extending railways in its state; these railway's
have always been country lines and have usually involvedC State
expenditure. Last February my g-overnime,' int sought. the M. S. 14.
government ' s consent to construct a railway in the metropdolitan
area, to be constructed and operated without cost to the N. S. U1.
govern-iient. The railway system we scek to construct will radiate
from )? arramatt1-a to Hoxton Park, Castle Hill andf through Carlingford
to Epping. It will allow the i~ ntr. oduction of the best contempnorary
* Signalling practices and carriage sets.
I have told the Premier -that we wish to Provide funds
in the ne." zt uqe heeimc: Lntof-E; ntrC tioi and -the
0ECo rol I~' stoCK
1131 S 1.1G Wrec ogise too that wher-n Australians live is le: s
and* leS a Matter Of truly f ree choicee, but a matter of the
availability and price of resideiAial land. I regret to say that
here agaitn, in our Ce2forts~ to hoJ. d down the pi-ic-e of lizntd, we havke
mnet State goverrnm'ent obstruction. Frum-, the -timue we tooK office
1; e hAve been negotiating with the States to es. tablich land
. friCnogretmsi ssi ons to clear and develop lanei at new centres or On the
of existingl cities. The Commrvissions, by selling
buildingj blocks at'a fair pri~ ce, twov! ld help dampen spiralling
land costs. They would alslo be a key to better town planning. In
the larst B~ udget we allocated $~ 60 million to be spent over two
years by the land coaaissions. Only one State the Labor State
* of South AustL-ralia has so far pa-ssed. the necessary lecjisl& a'ion.
The foL-mer Labor Administration in !( estern Aii7tralia pass!, ed the
legislation in the Legislative Asseinbly, only to have it rejected
in the Upper House.
lie have found the housing problem one of the most
difficult of all our inheritances fromn the previous government.
During the two year: s prior to Deceniber 1972, there was a miassive
growth in money supply within Aust-ralia and vast sums were
channelled to the housing industry for private dwellig
con struct ion. The result of this was that the housinrl industry
became grossly over-extended, long delays occurred in the supply
of materials and labour to building sites, construction times
were greatly extended and excessive cost risQs became the order
of the day. Public housing-proqrairs-for which thle government
provided a record assistance of $ 21l8.65 million in .1973/ 74 were
not being fulfilled because of the demand for resources in private
housing and other building construction.

-24
While maintainInc all our efforts to-rc. over from the
position we inherited, We pro, ) oso fur~ ther nieasures; to reduce
housing costs and the burden of ;' igfor a house.
A major proc id al-uadcy, r am3; en Launched to produce
a uniform housinq code and '. cmmwdp.-cacticcs for dwellinig units
of various types ranging. from hiJh' te med11WL andi low density
housing. This is aime at_ sip aynnd rational ising inany
of the unnecessarily complex and non--st. Drila~ rj ic, ms; whiich ad~ d
unduly to housing costs, and x-Aich do not conL) ibutc! to thle
quality of living.
HOUSE INTSURANCE The government Jis determine6 to civc home--owners the
opporuun3. ty to insure their propcrties, for lower prcinium,-s and
against natural s T ~. 1Jh JVq( 1C
introduced on I f[ chr)) uiary u s ' VIi' iA r21-osr, L
favourable than those se t hOy i SUJ1: c2]: t t111: h1 t: 1k DI.,, XG:
Service HIomejs i u~~ eshiv . r : evrIg~* A
wider ccover than oi-. hcr inuiors ~ c
have come to realisc.
AccordIn-nly Lhc tjvny. n: I isn Au'. itral IJ trz
Gove-rnmient InsuranL: j~ 2 f. e
forms of insV raflc(* hIlcA'm 2, ii~ i'
UI.;-diJS tjcs; e1 oCe) r fo:-no,:~ t~ IIe:
TiFn1RS i I : J Tofc
P~ e will heltp new-,. hiome bye to rearrane their
mortaq( e repmon-._ 1111Tcsrcr andI the( IinisLer fo): Housing
willrhave early dicussicons \/ il: h the mrajor ) c: n3. ing institutions
* mono rttghaigse mpaatltmerc. n t3 Osuor itnhha-te nyt-o'uonnri c is tom hc.; I~ rn. easw lr , arrangcpmayc erliet sso fat
a time when the cderiands5 on their . iJncoPme arc-1igche-t. nI hrc. 1in
to pay more later i~ n life whea .' h) iy are-be. ter able tc) ov
higjher repayments. We are thoroughly aware of the burden interest rates
impose on those buying their cown home, particularly-young married
couples. Ife are determineC. to cEac t-hat burden for those in
in my _ 972 policy spehT unoertook that until
i~ anteer et cn h~ edued a ~ hor would introdue
a scherie of tax deduc-:_. bility for hom-. e i; Itc-' c! i-. s payments. All
ta) payers -wh! ose act~ oal incon or belo-7 wilil be entitled
to dedu~ ct 10 0 of thi r intclsc i e AVMinctS. r'iwi vercentaqle
JJEtoti interest nam2t 7V74hiutYS will e reduced
Py 1% for evei5 100 of ic;: in e o of , Gco. r1hat c-~
as I announced 4i. n rebruacry 19.74 is 6ue to no into & f: t . i. n*
of T fh. The legiTs4a Lion hasJ T The~ d schemed

II
will provide direct tax relief inot&-only for now hiome buyers, but
also for nearly all those %-whc arc: at present paying~ off their
homes. ENVIRONJIIENT Increasing. 1 lh.' z rntoisWvce come to see the relation
between thleir oti'ri hornres h i thr: i.* i ', 70MniLi. ens an
the Whtol;. AuStrillian retn . tt h. 7 j r! q(.' nei:! tion of
Australian.; to tt ( eoest" h:. e 3:. 1c n Yrwls
bex-, weefl oro. wth aidpe3v: i nof tL-he-fliu:~ rmc~ t
govextr-~ 1~ 1~~ ri~~ r~ nt.~ 1A C! I--st CAI, 1) d2d.
to cnsiirL iiha t. crov. th andr jr iC?] Yr: ce nut boiiqhl a t the price
of the dl(,.; ruct. or of thuntio'~ n~ tur-al. and hi!; to'zical
inhe): i4-ZnCc . ICW-h( e, jCv thlat. The polluter must riot future
generations of Aus-k-raJlians.
One of my fir3st-actionsE vat-to* confer with the P r crm i es
of N. S2-7. Vi". ctoria and S: outh st;> ialja on thu fEunctions of the
River Iurray Conw. is-, ion, which have been virtuially un: hanqjed for
years an~ d which are now LuAeJnd2ua to sa feguard the
urban and rural. u~ ers of aqlcreaiate' st1 waterway/.
!, le have Cbt r nictf1Protection Pill
yprovidinqc fon vilo. m1;" I1-~ i il
on them."' I have r po:. e. 1t t1' c yli oH enLr 1 I
impact statents ce. -ilr ;; r
Tr i a,, Z 770. e e5 r ch; t Eli-I
-r 31 o 1~ uI Ti7r'o~
T 1: r to hePm3r5that joint
invo. lvinq X003 -1-s Iit6o 77 õ QJ CA: G~ 0
Corrmittee. on Inciuir-" The Con-. titu'Lton c ivos the Australizin
Government power 4to corit:-ol th-. ey~ port of goods and, in particular,
the export of innerals and t:': imicr. It cai, requi-re that ith
satisfied that the exp) oitcitio of mincra or t.~ c eor~ S
or the manner or -zxterit of tliat e-. ploi1: ation, w! ill. not adversely
affect the environment hcfor-. QV1. iriq(. a toeseeLc port." Otr
. gp\ ernmcflnt will. excrci~ . bs j'mo roqjulaYrly arnd effectively
on the basi. s ot ski:. ilrd and . in~ herc., dnt ilvice.
' Je have drafteOd a National Parks andl 1 Jilcdlife-
Conservation Billi. It wi). l eea. ih~ ilationil Park: s and
Wildlife Commission " 71 Y'iTQhC: JCT e, on a 1
parks, includin such arts a ffuhe ret rr r ( 6
tieJntral, Austral. an71Tre -thcxut' La AA ps an( e
vacatd dncfenc in s ie y i ian Po P1% i-T i
The Governmrnnt ':. rethexotof i tiruts of
kangaroos and relat-d ,;. ecjps. It hi 6ti-' I~ l ii I~ 1th
internM-. i-, il . X4TL7omil1Aty as: Ote t; e irport-ance
of wildlifie cozii.: rvat. 6on. aro . o inccatc : othe i~~: es thlat . it iS.
not siit i., fied with t. 1 l of itni -armniiy in their. approacb. t
conservation pro: 7ram3 for krA:~ s

26-
FORE~ IGN CONTROL OF RESOU31CES
The national estate belongs to all Australians.
We have accepted the responsibility of the national government
to help protect it arid preserve i~ t for the benefit of all
Australians. Equally, we have accepted our responsibility
to protect Australia's resources ' S thtIecfrh utain
will have a greater share in the control and ownership of
their own resources. We have tried to stop the gre at Australian
sell-out. We have tried to help Australians buy Australia
back. In these aims we have met unrelenting obstruction from
our opponents. For years the Australian Labor Party advanced
the idea of the Australian Industr,-y Dc velopment Corp~ oration
Sand in 1972 undertook to expaiid iLs activi-ties: to enable it to
3join aith Aun'L-ralian arnd foreilgr companie-s in the discovery,
development and proces sinq of Austral ian resources. Eight mon ths
ago we introc2uced the legislation; the Senate stalled it.
Con. 1 anion legislation for the National Investment Fund had tlhe
* Same fate. Through this fund wo intend to holp ord~ inary
Australians invest in the devc,.' pwm nt of thei~ r own re,-_ source~ s
and industries instead of subuidising to the tune of millions,
foreign investors and nmulti-n~ itional corporations. T' e F.
will raise f unds by oprtn
for the g& Yc_, q-( iCp ublic andl by LferiiL3-v erjtC: n investi~ ent
bonds to both~ irivate and i~ Lt* inl: n~ ios
Further, the Senate twice re-jected the Pe-trol and
.1inrals Authority Iill. Th1is is designed-as our basic
instrument for ensurinig dcveloprrent of our energy and mineral
Sresources and to maximise thec ownership and control. of th. CEse
W resources by 1' Australians. It was another of th~ e me,_ aSures'-on
which the Governor-General yranted the double dissolution
and it also will be Yrmtbyebfoocrhet the new Parliament.
Our opponents pattern. of resistance to measures
Wdesigned to promote Australian ownership forms part of a
pattern of encouragement of foreign ownership they set when
in Government. The great sell-out occurred when they formed the
Government. They are still the apologiists for forcei-. n ownorship.
Their return to office w~ ould agJain olpen iw. ide the door. As a'
result of thieir policies, 68 of our cnerm' resources are
controlled overseas. just how wide our opPonients opened t ' he door
is now being revealed. T * he Departrent of H'inerali; and Energy
set up by this Government has now received a thoroughly
documented and impartial report on the mining industry
the Fitzgerald Report.

-27
Ausralansnow know for the first time the exteat to wich they
have been suL-sidisirig mining invustors.. riainly foreic ncorporations.
The profit on their operations for the las.-t 6 years
was $ 2,000,000,000. Our prodoccs-lori3 developed a syste m of
taxation concess~ ions so generous to these struggling corporations
that the Australian taxpayer gave*' 3100,0 in subsidi-es and
concessions. But the comcpanies paid only $ 28361-in tax. es an-d
royalties, $ 55 m~ illion less.
We have been paying to be TThie~ oti
Fitzgrald orwc lJ tfe sti tr tiriq poAit fcnr L. formutlation
C~ fpoicusai med at m: 1Li; qtn-e" r tAur~ i to ziu~ trali a of her
natural en.] o,; 1xlat or-mineral and ec-kerj wealth.
__ We will. conitinue to pursue v wih vrigour the surveillance
Vof all foreign takce-over pro~ posals for shares or: assets of
exitin Zutralian compaies. kWe have. estcablisheC[: u' e ine
of new foreign invostmervt proposal1s for wn c"" h e eiiceC1lLC
approval i~ s reci~ red. We haveq n~ It' I a c~ t* f1O LO
certain industries Austr3 3 i iiIiL: U. i
institution. s s; o -"-ere is 1itt 1c! advad. ' t;': 3Ce J1in CJ Jowiflcy C3itoDCJ
institutions to Lbe cstablisicd inte. rcists. This is
parti. cula:': ly thie case in the 2je). d of int-urarnce. In the iareza
of m~ neals we have, indicatedC clearly that it . is our ob-i cctive
to reduce the extent of foreign owner-ship a~ nd con trol and
to rnaxiu. se Ausit-ra~ lian contCrol), parjjticujjnr. y of onerq'~' resources9p
FurthurmoreC we haestpp d thec I-u of Autr~ l~ nland,
andexhage onro. ppro~ ial for foreig inCaIl~ v~~ ni
estate. hzas been Iimrited.
T he G vrieie tn t' ii 1 wa . I
ii.( 1 3 il -e 1)*-Th-' afli.-
p. 1ocgsS of fo),-e ion andne'c: v
CC8: fl ng proC: 5~ i un Cñ e o-oi.~ r ci. o, L OF tftlh 1:
will e c 1 to dCVeP Io' p0 r f'hI'f " k 0l1~ kii i. iiflI:
areas oft c;: port fxrc~~ I J~ w
i L. 11C-f 0 ( yJ d) utLTlhe
world ehcccjv rit.~ td4CA:! hd
* thie resources policies of the t iw G<: lln..="" h=""> met that test triunphant). y. We have no int,-nti on % fia1.:: ocver
to use our possession of vast res: Luarces to 9g:. ng up against
* the resource users. I e stand ready to join with oth-, r nations
in search of solutions. ue recog-nise the interdcpeiidcnce of
our economy and our prosperity withi our great trading partners,
particularly Japan, Northern Amrica anc! Surope, We are,
however, determined that our resources command a fair price
in world markets, This we arei achieving. Througn export controls
and . discussions with exo~:;. h'Oirrei: h--. obtained higher
returns for exporters.

For the first time an Australiai cjovernuiont has U'sed its authority
to reinforce the bargaining power of Australian exporters. We
shall not sell our re.-Dources on; thec clieap.
Australi~ a has emerged az: s one of the world's ene7rgy
rich countries. . chave,; mn~ murm dc4; pen] Ence on imports of
heavy crude oil and we have been amo. ingj the countries least
affected by escalating crude oil prices overseas.
To obtain advice on hoe this situation can lbest be
used for the continuing bc,-nefit of aill !' ustralians the
governmtent has set up a Royal. Corcimssion under r~ r. Justice Collin.-s
to enq. uire into all a-spects of petroleum products, refining arnd
pricing. Further, we ap-proved lastC year the creation of a
Pipeline Authoarity to provide for the transmission of natural
gas by an interstate pipeline ' stein. Thce f irstsag h
National Pipeli-nc Sys tem -Jill link Sydlnuy to the Gidgealpa fields.
It lst iatlyproposed th-at the pipe) line will continue to
Palm Valley. Inv~ w of t'lce cj-i. ical onerrm-s) horta( je in
Weten st~ ia aTZjo int ormw~ ithS! aL study is uinder way~
tov al~ Letho feas ibil1it,' nf pipel-3ine l ink hn-_ twecri Palo, Valley,
R z 1 c r-* i Pert. 1-and3 the 11Ftura1_ q3U-c~ ds on the ortl--cst
The Australian ( Jovternman t is working closely with
the Wecstern Piustralian Governmant on a studly of a ma. jor industrial
complex in the Pilbara baseC. on the utiliza-tion of the ' abundant
suppli -s of natural gas, iron ore and salt in the reolon.
The rellort wiJlprovde the aS: fi or decision on our f-uture
r1o. e dveo~ : iLol. tij-e iIt will. bo reLaay in June.
P RrIiA RY INDUSTRIES
SAustralia' s future as an ex-porte-r rests increasingly
upon o-ur newly discovered imincrcii. re! zourccs. The farm sector,
however, rem-iains and will. long remiain fundamentally important
to our trade, fundamentially impurtant to Australia's pr-osperity.
My colleague, Senator 17riedt, the Mlinister for
Primary Industry, will c. lelivcr the governlment's rural policy
speech in Coulburn on .' ed: nesdl-y. 1l.-t me, however, outline the
Government's general. approach and record.
Eost Australian farmers this year have enjoyed
unexampled prosperity. The avrac jrit income of Australia' s
190,000 rural holdings this year is about 000. Tne average
for the previou5 6 years was less than $ 6,000. Our policies
have contributed in no small measure. In particular, we have
sought aid! to farmers to take the hetadvantage of present
favourable conditions to obtain new mnarkets. We want to encourage
industries whicha have solid, l-png Lerm prosi: ects of selling their
products at a good return to the farimer.

-29
To this end, we have viqoroiirlv expanded existing
mnarkets and opcncd newi one(-s.
The Tr-ad'e agreemenmt withA Pe~ cISh IO~ Cof China
is onl~ y th-e most and novel. exoam'. 1e. lk. tlhii li term'Is Of
this Aqireement iih-i:. a ocrter coitract kavec . n 1.1nre
f or the supply of Aust; ra-lian vheat and sugar to Ch in a. Tt -is Ibeyond
question thiat the q'efrnl-inent Co,* China '. 111 honou-ar a~ ou~ Jya
agreement, noe-c-s . oliiica. a: oscmltL~. e ~ d
re). ajons Our prko: N.. ot: ecrcg I., f. n o' the Pjo ~~~ ulc~ asww
iadis-putably a signific nt -7ator: in th2 wrt) v Vd 3, U
ri~ rt with whic,' .) oth f; Ades negotl. aze h f& e2c~'~~
In addi-tion, t're P . us':, alianG overnment has roached a
new levl1 of 111& rstr. dJrcj : n trz'.& o w%.. th Japc'-7n, thv Pacif~ ic region,
eastern Europe andI the S;; vict-Union.
We have Is2i30 Acts fo,-r the rtcco and
Sreconstruction of prixi-iry industry i~ n genera.. aind for S; nCh S)) ciU
industries as wool; Wfl(: at meatr eggs in-m-, honey ap õ ' les andper
ile have drafted 16 bfiil~ ls~ nitrogeioow; fci-ti.. z
subsidiEs and v.]; e( at stabi lizatiion and~ For thc! sugar.,~. yx~
* pig-' farming, wool, canned fiiP.&. ts and a'canc! pear i. nustries.
Although our vineat; tiJ.~& n. plajn was edre ru:.
by the itsr3~ lhaa. h;* nwbripJlacod
in jeopardzy by the new llo-tarn. Am; tC-ra. ian ocrme.
pro~ uer Miy coverninent-ocd~ ie or~ tns of priimiary
cmpajnlvs -1) bout h-' cji-i tcIDf.~ y re. ducing tariffs
by 25% across the Bouard weshall. savu prirr. a-y produicers att least
$ 100 million this fina: nriaj. yors:.
The Tarii~ f Poare, oas i~ e succ-eeded h't~ he X( nelstrj-cr
A~ ssistancecormsox on i ash J re
Si~ r John Craw-S'ord. A'thouiq! i thi e L3Ax ta0 t. ric ULrst
tailoe enale1. s ( gToJvun nat to) 5. ud m: ia v~:
on assistance fo0--i~ x tto oni a bq. r1asis, the
COuntry Party in Doouhs es~ ilgei s: S the * ijiil es--ta. blishing
it. I havo ale a s! C& ithz-. OQ co. x rc,. or-t
prom~ oti On and rae hand riuct r on cbl23 ~ c; x
OaL : y and qoi d-' uKiningj2PU and toi~ d~ r~> i~~. a
;>, lanxis f -: rm rs.
The(,, governiment is awaj. ti nrj rc:; ort Afrom a o ite
o ~ hchE~~ h7 Ca; fod saISo nb) or. tep~ . p
Tlmrdc. kiri andl Doci-, D'; I'Arml~ s

FLOOD__ ITiIC." TIOW
Tha recent d-isastrous floods in. Queens land have! amply
deoions t rated the nec~ d for a positive, co--ordinated nationali
approachi to f lood mitigation. jer. onally invited the Premr
of ) ue-: n. s land X suDi-. tit__ a S Ltie-wide panoji floo-d Iiticration
as tlie basis cii Con-3: lcerat ion for Austra'li'an G~'-: r. tassistance.
We rooethat anve.-A fl. c-itiqaion schemofi fov
1Livsoir : ' s shoul. d b! e__ d ta co-or. crc& i'v& ly'b_~ e the
Aiir. a-ralian, Sta La ar local coverwY : nS as jv.' 1
in.-the case of Nov. () Lltll WaJ'tles.
I contr.;-: 2t tl-ii. cc)--operativc appro:, thnis national
ap) tocCh wqit. the attitude of the present Leader of thc Country
Party jhc n 1) told tL--he_ 11ou sro of eprezc~ n tz. tives on 1,16 May 19), 6 3
' Th-problem of flood miticiat-_ oni rcst-~ s.-paarely on State
( Govc:: rments The. pres Co*., monvealt~ h R~ id 7. ads Act expi-res at
the end of Junec. TeBureau of Poads-impa-e a report to assist
the goverrnmunt in consi4dering final-1 * ci-al ass-Istance to the States
for the ensuing pc~ r-: Lod. TjiC Pliniste-r for Trai-spozt tznled 1te
reot last DocevIber. Discussions have since enhedwt
the State-s and also0, -for ' Che firct tLi-c, Lut ina accordance with
the* t, Bureau' s recommecndation, vy., Ath Local -o'. rwn autNioriti-s.
These diacussmons will be r'? sumed af~ tcli the e:~ ections.
ivleanwhile t!) e qovernment has ~ eiddthat it will
itself Pre.!. ' n the con ~ tru. ctio ofLa a na Li. onaLI roal
systa in t: Iiose areas \ wichi iiwth7 ow Cnt. J. i t.. i fn
repniiiies., ti 1Vr12ft'~ ~ Qrrpni)~
the whole Cost of Ol trOitjigl anl d ii tainlncf the i. ncxa.
road -hne. L ~ eaia~ 7r
-inter ests ofl S~"
SccC nriuy a ncw; 4 -1cuic diviLdedhqwc needls t te Y' vc
t nc GItJ'~ L( oal) bn ai. d irok pTsis inc : 1OU'
j'. mu t a': dBatlo and-~ comng cl.. ose t1o Ccanburra it will recuce
L:.. roa.-d () istanc. e bctwcen Sycin-y and i ~ 1o, u r ie by 70 miles.
The~~ m ~ twii Ico lq inL h ic ,. tzte and local govurnment
authoritio. s on the prcise-, routo.

S> eccnc'lv, the ooverroentc aill1 take epos. iit
for the whole cost-ofotot 4& i1 ilrsqui~ c
These__~~~ ucflihe-nrte rcroads ( ovecrthenext three \' ears
_ poo-m~ ioli yc'lln and 23 ilo
on the, FIItzroy r s iq-! rdia ro . tj in Ues toW71Z ra ri d
oteu a oianng mines to i; naodr. u ~ ca roc i~ s
. to mjocr sea and air termi).-als.
Thirdljy, we shall make special povA. son fur roads
between Canberra and nej. crhhcur incJto in 1lew r-; OuItlh W-ales
and betwccn. thez-Northiern Tr. tr> cIthe~ tl-re surrouing
SEA TRAIISPORT We have appointed Mr. M' 1lCOlr SuM2! ie r the former
secretary of the Department of Tran.,: port, cas a Royal Coi-, if'iisioer
to inq1uire into the M1arit.-Ie TIndustry. Ei~ s wilcl~ t e h
foundation of a coiqlete x-oderni:.; ation of the laws cover. ig our:
ports and our coastal and overseas trade.
Vie are particul~ arly awarc-. of the burden placed on
the Tasm,, aniai ecorio! my and on Tasnaiinm by their r-elijance on sea
transpurt. Wle have aryoiritLcd Nimio a membe10r ofJ--the
Grants Co zua5sion as a N~ o al Con,,: i ri o inc-uir into the
impact of freijht ILL-cS, oCAI~ a~ arinecn
THlE i-10! 1.-FORCE' Here then is a picture of tlre nat ion -rich in
resources, and through our policies, ( lett. in,-j ricber; rich in its
ability to develop those re,!( Jnrc('!: i. AnL Hirow( our lO . i c:
getting richer, a n-I t iou. i i r in iaJ'i: ri*. UjJ-t-JIIj h. Iomj
resou,. rces at home anhd abroa, v jAii uo OA Cik œ fcj t1 i'il
to th; tre tnm n io~ n 1, c c o1 . cie s,
oettintj rircher Yet we rcco i-ec [ H At IL-1ebasic AnIst) v'Ilian
resource, the to ( Il r 1jFj jov.. a m ii; j~ arj 1 o : i
the Austral~ ian % workof rce, aS Skillcd EIS ally in theC liO. Cld, a
hardiwo,, rki. nq as any in the world. TIhis workforce is overwhelingly
and increasingly coimposed o~ f employuees. 1'] o0re than ever before
and tLhe trend wX. continiuc the more skilled a pers. on is,
the more likcly it is thlat hie will be an eirployee.
For the first time the submnissions before e
Australian Conciliation and Arbitration Coriu-ission hiavero been
positive and corist. ructive. As soon as we ' were. elected we
reoperied the eq. ual pay. case and our submiasion was suCCCS. Sful.
31

32
In tha 1974 National " laye Case, we argued that the
miniimum wage sli,) ulj 11j e-: tenoed worlen anCm the automatic Viage
adjustmcnts to compensate for risina, prices snould be reintrodiuced.
There are complli-ng . in,,, iu::; t-L-rial, social2 and rworal arguments for
the eoual treatment xwo . er. n thc aorkforce. Further all women
whether in the w" orkfoicc or not, will knowa the need arnd the just"-ice
of automatic adjustim. ent..; to wages a-very t. 1hree mtonths. If accep~ ted
by trio Comdsslon these aUtonwti. C Z. Cj LIEt:,' ntS woxuld remove the
cause of miany inOU2; trial dlispu te: r' and would protect the fam., ily
budget against the effects of infJ.-tion.
The vast itajo::-ity of A'u-sL': liz-n oi-iJpoyees are membcrs
of unions employee a-ociationF*.. Th,:',. fey to industrial
efficiency is efficient cmlw) loyee organisattiecn. Our opponents
have obstructed our efforts to ; o. rieand denocrat.-Lse
Australian trade unions. There are too m~ lany. unions in Australia,
We have souiht to recluce the number--of uyilon: 7. There are too miany
needlo~ ss strik es in Austrcilaa w-, e have sought to reraova the
causes nueelss striik" cs. In tocefforts we have been opposed
by our opponent: s in the her PZrliamnnt and have met with no
co-oper. atioll fror~ thjei Cc ujde~. ate 41-n Ch tts
RestlJonsaibie leadeorship of both unions and iindustry
strongly supporLts a reductiLon in t-he, nuntber of unions and of
demarcaion disputes et.: nrivalj un1, ionS. Our lcg Kt" ation to
help union amalgamation has beeni tiwice reject'ed by the Senate.
In February J., 7,690 the Inri'utrial. Court pointed to the
u r gent need for tae Austr-. Iian.. ' ew South t~~, Queen~ sla. nd,
South Austr-aliari aid Weten Wstralian Parliarrents to remedy
the problewms creatcd by corflictiing atnd unrx:--ordinat~ ed federal
and Srtt c Ir partic-alar this situation has
caused. Jndustr-iai trf throac1-co~ metition fo union membership
within the saina 4indu : rv. Ul have. ;: cted u*,: q. cnt-lv on this riatter
whjlich the Industrial Cutsaicl war~ gent years ago'.
Ile have repeat,, dOly as-ke thle Stat-2s to ce-p aewith us in
co-ordiniatincjgisai Only SQcutli Austr'aJJid has cd-
We have iwet with 20o rosponse in pa.: tizular f rein Nlew South Wales,
the StLate whe.!: e: the pro) Je~ is : 1' cxst acute, most urgenit.
It is not my : ov. rhoweverl, to dwell or) matters
where we have b-eern fairustra& Led, ciAtlir by thei-Seniate ox the States.
For the real story of the . a: t . seventcan inonthr, has-been one of
Coninunq Q ~ izie chievemenL. It has been a story of nc-O)
initiatives carried throughl, of ncov.? baginningso, of new co-operattion
at all levels: tc the gr~ tand enduring1; W ac1.' antagc of tha people
of raiion Outitnhhiss be o see that' n~ o Australian,
nobody % who ]. ivos in Austr-alia and cjs to caZ st his J-oL with
us, shoulci be eXc]. uded frmn the famiily of thc! nation. ive have
s ought to unite the nation and all wiio live in it.

33
4ce have soucjht to 3( d Pp; Ortufli. tJes mforeC &%; u21L.
to . O '~ UIt2o 10r&; I ' ve SuC." ai i' ., Zae Ca 1-Iien rt C~ f
3.. e or all Our ouo,) 0C. -Je iiL.\' Q sougit. o ; pV. r n i. 2
for all citJ!. zoos th : L thrw fatiun nicgj) iL no ]. o,-Vcj 6Jqjin u
the i.: xistenfcc am. us 0o: tac g. rosse-: ine~ mualij, the
grouser diszadvantages, the ~ osrdiscriination.
In my p.. olicy specch in 1972 T said tha! L "~ All of us
as Australians are diminiihod whilIe the Abor iginec; a: dcrnio
tbjei r rightful. i1: lace in this nation" Doccmbiibr ). 972 h uh
d. a ill t} V: l.; J g~ u of Abor. iginal ut. 1an
ma Ku: by Sh. eful b'rutality, pi . tt. on egl:, ct. andCL contcernot.
We i. o not claK h: t ou,, r C LL h.) e e whoi. Y SCC. ' otul.*
33uL we m.~ n. w c. ourfc We vei atb ver*' le; t OlYC
a d o) to0 1.) Deupi. ~ ta d~' Aa i-a iuich h.! is ' 0een achi evA: and theroad
f~ or t: 1e, kut. Ire daily clc. arer. For the -first timo
S aborioiria x'oLces h" avoe 1-een hoard and iheedcd. From now on the. 1re
will t1nxvT! local comvmunity councils cnd at tho national level
througa the U i o:.( inal boisin close touch w-. ith
Aborig * inal orJn,, on zand int--rcs ts width authority to s,* peak for thcr-;'
and to work in tchei~ r Myn ~ eg~ cs-) vornmae{ t, o,, e of its f-I-St.
acts, decidocd thiat I rgnsin. t Northern Terri. ry sh ) uli
gratedrigh,_ s-to thcui r traditiun3i* lands> wmrL oc tIc-~ A
esltablished. and ap-poinced Mr. Justice EI. A. kloodlward to advise us
on ho-v logi E-, I t ive uthnrity could best bct given to -that
) Lt. T. I[ oei ~ th; , a not Yeth~
cC: h'eI r2 Sns:. -7o t c) o vir 1I2I? Ii : ii c, nw ~ J; 3 3 to
oftiiciolehve fully acce:: tcd the ovtcrW-, ciI! 1.-p i i-structi4on
of t -Li. gi~ vonY in the reir~ Ou~ fl~ ito
&. cc~. pt rnct.. ona. I i~ feopnr ~ Abc( A. iln.. 4 V. 51110h
zroAu'c.. 1i. n 3az -liamcnzt I , as oasscud, 1 the ncoudr
complecmonta . eil. to to giv6d 0Tiffct to pOPl
q:(-WttY. nI2V$ a ; bn rr ., ched in ~ in: e
a, States:_ cl e 1' id1 0 a
: oreached-c on~ -the trcansfe~ r of rc!-; poa-. sibii. ity for Ao~ iia
is fx-o~,' he Queens . Slid Governm& . t to the Australiean-
Goverrnent., . wtheo pes cii : L deimnded 7 ya. na-o.
I e int4-. cend( to c: 1. iminate the remniantf3 Of discriminatory Queens. le. nd
l~~ a. cs1li jainst Aborigines and : TJlanders, a hope declared
y) r4. m MnCiister Gort-on.
Au~ t. c r looiwiii s neri-itled to free legal aidl
from the Aboriginal Legal Servicos % we establisheOd..

.34,
THE,~ L-AIJI tie have soucT lt, however, to riqlecm 0, jd
within the reach of all .' wu: traliaiis. arc concerned to
protect arnd enhan: e tlhie: ricjhts of z2. l AuStralians. r-Je
are determined to give realj moaning -, to the concept of
equality before thle Law.
The Australian 1. egal AieJ Sarvice has been
established to ensurce ready and equnal access to the Com:' tCs
to give every Ausc'Lralian ezrnual protection bofore thz! Law.
The service is already funct--onincj in all State capitals and
in Canberra and ] aii. Ofii. ces will Joe ened in rec~ i-inai
centres throughout Australi iL n the nex~-t 3
The refusal of Suppl~ y the Senate has delayed
* our legislation to estcah1ish an I'ustralian ombudsman and
Adninistx-ative AFpeals Tiribiiunal.
Pe wanrt to simrplify the law and it~ lecss
expensive, Wea'e-atbis~' d: I., aw ~ for Cct: Lmssion an~ d
* have set-up a Le, isLa1i-ve Drafting~ 2: ns! 7t-itU. L Co ran
in the d3rafting~ of' -, implcr an( larr-and therefo0re(
better law IW e . sI a I Ie cj' is 1at e I.-o 0, en-1 t 1io ': uhl ic
F, r v ant the ma) x3muzn sib-' fredmto ercisce the civil
and p-olica riq'hts e~ oe yOE~~ 1L~ S
VWe wjill proc,, edl with ou r iPre cidoti 6f In form~ at ion
A~ ct. The rcefCrCIOdUMnpooa be fore you are e i-jneci
to protect and enhance 1-ttuos r eassa ~. iocaIy. F, 1
* true eqiiality ofj r-epr esent: a. i-oA in ow: r'laetaypoess
As a further prote: cticrn arjainrst pervers'-wn of
these processes, we -noose for th-e riisclosure of
the sour1ce's of full"!-n asF; ino to
The Cokrcrnftion: wAJ rpin:. Iudc i r
flto-.) m! l-thorls 7cJeindcisimZ) Orn ad'-; e,-Se) yi cLJ3
. ti~ zenrs or lie w-. ill re-introdunce our Qci 21, tt on fe the
Sn oc'r ior Cour~ j-c-iustro ljia, a pr~ pco2Q., laulicheK. hI,
; ir Garfield 1. r in lIW-: i96, clev 2 oj by the present
Tea( der of the O~ o.~ r~ as 1\ trc-~ e~ a d introducerd
i,. ontli ago.

The '\ ur-tral. i. an Coverninent is con\ vjnc-d tha t the
High Court of Australia mnust: hc-comcl th-e final court in all
ma tters pertaininig to Australiai andi to the legal. riqhts afld
obligations of its citizens. Inrocec-. : A4--h our
legslaion to abolish otePiv orc~
SIle have pa., sed three jAfllS concern: fyq onqera 2 arld
life insurance. Pe have 71rafted leg islat ion on novi intawaricc
companPi. s and on the upervision of ins-urancre bro! kers.
have twice introduce6 but not yet M.. 3se( 1 tho Finzancial
Corporations Bill. Ile would nave alre~ ady introduce.( 1
legislation for the controi of the securiie_ industry 1. ut
for the constant dlefeorment of a report front thel 1elect,
Comnmittee on Securities and ). xchanqe whiich the ~* ntesot
up over 4 years ago. Ne shall. introduce a. lat iona 1. Con. n) nie S
Act iwhich vyill ecj h . oriy-rr . cpePS' 0El 11uht by
Lierñ owerr;, Yt~ since thhe late 1950' s hut aelnow. ler190ed
to be un " tta -hkable through sep'Arate. acLs of the S'tate-s
Vle have dJrafted 1).. jEc; slaton to ta! l.' Ian e : thikand
J'und,. merntal to our whole hc OS1) andI fundamcnt. cal
to our programs is the idea of a . xouzAw. tralian national
sp. nt a heal thy prido ancl corifidI~ e c ow~: vs,
our country's promisc in our capacity to 1. i 1t the-stan-' ords
of our people andl help our less foj.-tur. 1: Le I. 0curi t
fuler andl hetter-life.
Sp ri. dec, arid toT o ehnel~ alrpg ec ult hteiv arOteco pla. e richol :) i~. 2i i~ cn-ur if( j forn fl1ic: i~ ounai; il
fulfilmenL e have qiYn higl\, pr4-im)-ty to tliaecc11qIe
of the: 7 arts, hiaa v rcC r t5 Lu1 14et r. l~ ( ounci. for
the Arts, andI prcvirle2 5Q1 ( foi[ lintr art s iri our firl; t.
Judcjet more ttntwi cce ou iven) hby our prdc.-ccs sors.
W CdLe. hut-. no L y(' et. r s cJi. I fo:-
)? otes*;__ are1the Chairman of the Aus-_ tralJian S. chools
ccirriission. It is not jus t the artists themsefl5IVOFS who will
benef it. Our purpose is I* o mal~ e the arts more accessible
to e-ve---y Auctralian, -to let ever,. y mian and ' woman share in
their challenge and enchantment and in the richer and fuller
life they can 1bring.

36.
In the past 17 m,, onths we have encouraged a
greater participation of Australian creative and performing
tal. ent in radio, television and! cinema production.
Nlever before have there been s~ uch opportunities
for Austral~ ian artists. T7e are firmly cornu ritted to
miaininqa hos oportunities and increasing thewt still
f urther. Xn our niext three vears tin we il
prov~ ie at v-J. cost, aa daitionaEDo network
w: rraihavowrcev
a-n g3. C AYs~ eL e will introduoce V11 radio for high quad. ñ ty
U'UPbac at~~ than Oni the iv ento~ lvacepted heawnd
The pub!. ic iiw~ iuiry whAich we estabis41hc2 cajlcuiated that this
wouw. d cost an extra $ 2250 It would have been ; anoth--r
Fill. The pr.-evious coverninrii-Elso turncA a lideye to tChe
tecnial o~ sib2 ~: esOf new AMY ra~ dio stations. Additional
radio œ Jxequcncies w-. ill enable us to exp-And the comciuJa1
oerv' 3ccr;, cr-twbl; ish educational. and fora'i'n language
statio,-ts and uiall-e spf-cialpro' i o ~ 1rt mnoritJy cgroupf;.
W'e slijA. l introdiuCe colour tColevL5Lon in A'utrali~ a
on 1 llm. rch epr ev: tLOU' goC rmub~ ie
~ FsEiW~' ThY:~ ato inquje Ii the Cost Of colour
* tel. evision receivers. On-. of the first. steos I ' Cook after
Ibeco: minc Prilme ilirisr; Ll was to refer the10 ill-uP" ter to the
Tariff ) 2adfol inq~ uiry. E'ecauee~ of action talre. 1 by my
goeri~ ntto datc, colour television rc. ceives in Australia
will1 be availaWle to thce public-at a xmuchi ciicaocr price than
~ ould have been the had. Jh inquiry not brZ! en held.
We hal; e etl. hdthe Filmn and T ol r i S o 1
School anJ we ILicrodhice Tcq-.( JSiL. Y u~ rteA~ rl
ara nlv s the Austi~ xalian I; oniC. L'rthe Au,,-traliari
Na t: 01n1 a-~ CU andJ Col ct) i. onr3 th AutT 1' ii an i111.
CO'MS iCon, -L o 11. i: s ru : onht Aieic inCT
a ndTT-t-1l--Fc-ou) 1-nty.
In short, as far a qovernmnts can act in
terms of money and iiiachiner, , e v re creal~ inq the conditions
for a renascence of Australian creativity.

-37.
-f V3T:' RNA'T TniJ7t%, ITT O MS
: lore than ever before Austral. ians ar1c en-tit * lCe
to feel Lorit'l in theiAr nation. T~ oe have never beec( n liel-0 in
higcher respect abroad. ore than ever beforc Austk-ralians
arc, eititCledl to feel confid6enit. I have said much ahout: our
resources. In the final analysis our r: icbest resource, an
irreplaceablie one, is our naitionial rei,-u t* at. ion). Tha t
reputation has never been higher. Ir have saiA muc-h about
providing security for all. our citizens. In its wiclest
sense this country has ne-ver 1-) en more secure. A u s tr a'( iL now
has bas.-ica).]. y a bi. partisax forei. gn Policy, not b~ ecause of
any change o-f heart or miric1 on the partk-of our opponerits, b ut
bracause we; as a' governmont recoyrnisc~ d and acted ur) ofl the"
rea.-lities of worl affairs and above all t he realities of our
regi~ on. Our op ' poneni11-s hav\, e just cuh: up witk-h reality.
* The feairc, the shih-b) oleths on which they trziae for a
generat:;. on have. been sw-erpt aw! ay. Try as they ight wish as
they magih. our o-f;-onents cannot return to the Dast'.
It is beccause iw. e rcgic1the realities of
* our tines t'hat orforeign policy has )-een so succes! sfl
Wand our defence policy so relevant. e approa--ch the
managementl-of def-ence matter-cs on the basis thi. tL the
interna:: tional situt~ tion and the-atfairs of the region Ere in
the process of rapidt clh ; nqe. Tie saw that defe', nce policy and
foreiLgn policy hdto b~ e b-rought into line wi'jth these changjes,
into lina with tliese reatlities. Ile saw-v how. fax-both deifcrnce
and foreign po: licy had beco-me basedl on p-ast concept~ s iand~ eeep
rtisconcc -tions of thec proesent.
In 1.972 -1 undertook to loadt( this country to her
rightful proud ancd securce pl. ace in th-e w-. orld. IA--can be
w proud of our repu kation can ccoi. n* :. dciint of our sccur'it.
V-e have set a nevy course fo. x-Australia v'ay from
interventionism, towards tr--* uc interlnationali sin. This i s the
most genu;. neiy interinational govern-ment lustra J. ia has ever
O had. VTh have placedl our relations-hips with the United
S tates and the United Ringdom on tho basis of mature
partne rr; h) ip1. ' ec have reneg9ot-iated the aqr-ceint for -the
L-te States flaval Communication St~ ation ilto rth v-est Cape.
The agreement sjigned by our opponent. s: vas a denial of
Austral. ia's rights. The new agreevient asserts and establishesF
them. ha;: ve-wid'. ened our ho-rizons, sought anti, achieved
growing co-operation with t~ te count: ries of the Cornmnwe,( alth
and with the nations round. the In ian and south Pacifi. c
Oceans.

17e have: Irouciht co-operation and frin:. 1ship with
Japan, our greatest trading partner, to a new~ l-vel.
Followinq an agreem.--ent in principle between Prime ' Iinister
Toy last Octobe.-r, We'i c1e into a treal-y of ricileWShi
theTra of Fjs~ er
Ue have sought to 1. realh Oown ideological constraints
which had for so long; oLbstructeO! meaningful relationships with
countries such as China, Past Germiany aylo Uar1 Viet!~~ L
Wc have sought to remove any taint of racism from
our national and ite: rnatioja. nolicies.
Pe havo co--opera'tel c. Lo. sely with the Government and
H~ ouse of Assemibly of Papua P ew Gluinea as our neighbour moves
* towards independlence bDy Dccemher this year.
TlJe hwave forgued and intiriate links with the
countries of'. A. S. V". A. rlI. TnrI. 0neSIa-, the Philippines, ~ a~ a
Thai lan!. e-n6 1i-lrrh ave acce-pt-ed their inv ita tio. n
to co-operatec with A. S i Qfl devt-lorv ' ot ts.
With the agreceme: nt of all1 it-s nieibers, we have
secured the remodellinrg o; . E A PC
Ue haove-, taken f irm moarures for disarmlaltent and
against the develo; rf cnt and pr: ol zf-ra ticr of nuc lear waos
Pe have ratif-ied the nuclear non-prolifera. tion treaLy and
the Sea.-led Arms Cont--: ol Treaty. Ile have protosted ar1a jis t
C h i ne se t es ts IWe niali used every availab?. o, leqal. an.-.
* politica). channel to persuade F-rance to desist from its
atmospheric polluinlon ixn our h em) ni S I crr
VWe have actively suipported the obrjectives of the
zoofpne ae ad nutrality in South Fna; t Asia and the
Indian Ocean z~ ne of peaco. Pe haye madle pol-.' rrful
W reprOsentat4io3ns in T,*' ashi~ nq1: c-n an. ocwto p! r suacle the-m
to exorcis8' restrai~ nt annI not to ma]:. ehe Indian Ocecmi yet
another scene for great, pownr rivalry.
Wehave introlue3 1, ul: vetpa~. lciQtn
to eaals nAsi] inPvio'n: L; It:~ c] nY' in
order to . lii-v h! a ruaii-. our a ir) ) Yoq rain, arvO -move.
tctdh0{~-I Zton a 1 ta3-cq ei, wih C, we~ hav, aci; eptc d, o( 7

39.
Dr, T-PNCE W'. e have encouraged and supotd the-, ' Jetente
betwoen the great po',, Yers-. 1,, e have tal-en aclvantag of the more
hopeful ou-L. ook in our region to _ reorjanisc: Australia's
defence forces. To giv,, e a tarigible and pcactical basis to
our defence relations wi1.. th ot-hcr countri. es we have ebredon
an expanded progia of exercises w, it h our neighbours and.
traitional allies. In June, the l? rqest peacc-timei exerCise
ever held in Australi-a will be helrd in Queenslanrd involving
over 8,000 servicemeri fromn Australia, P1ew Zealanrl, the U~ nited
States and Gj: eat Britain.
The Deputy Prime ! JnistCer, iny . closest colleague
downn the yca:,_ s, T1r Lance Parn;; rd, has provocd the most
const.-ructivc. and effective, ministerial, hea( 2 of the, dlefence
forces in Aut: la'ahistory. T-je has ayialgaal-. cd the IDcfa~ ncce
JDeparytvtent and the 3 Service tert ( is reo;~ n~ din the
report, of the-iqorsho-ad Coitmit-Cee wshi. ch our predE. cc,. ssors
sup-pressr-2 -oz 15 yeaors. HeI has-underta):,' n to es1to;*& jish the.
co:,-bined Au.-tralian Defence Frce Academ~;-y. The scvices are
being~ equipped to pleay a gjreater role in case of c1neracricies
and natural disasters. He has presenter'. to the Parliame-nnt a chiarter
for the Citizen Military Force s, -a newv cdisciplinary code o
the forces a nenw p2: ocurcenert p~~~ mfor taW,' s : cna ie
aOrcraft and destrors. ( Our p) Xo5cft. ta-nkzs %,, ere orclerci y h
last Lab-or Governmient a quartern of a century ago.)
fie has ap.-po~ nted. a military ombudsman.
F~ e has instiituted. the-regul ar ; rceviev, of: sn. vitce Pay and
allowances and a comprell-ronsive andl coiworoeni, ibl a Defence
Forces Retirement ar(! Docath 11( new~ itc schcme. Pie has co-o-: 1: inated
the passaae of 17 measures 31-alin( T With 3-0_ repatriOat: io31, taxa-Ftion,
eduication and acco-mmodati'on bene fits for sorviceiztfn and the
draftIing of 9 more such measures.
In short, we have.-ila) ycd steidily and firmly
towards our aimi that Auta:.* salhave theC cfence-. forces
she needs -finely e-quipperl, higjhly professi. onal, high mobile
and highly respected.

rV
Here then i. s a record of achieve-ment, of purpose,
yet it-is a record of a governrnent w.. hich has heen in office
a mere 17 months. It is a record -6f a government which came
into oiflfice after 23 unhrol! en Years of Dower hecld by our
~ o~ o~ ns~ 23 years or decay and neglect. It i~ s a record of
a govcrrni.. ent whicl-had hva, -o overcoiie unparaliclled
o b st *-, ti: ion i n . a S c n a 4-Q i n i) ic h I JLt wa s in a i,, noc) r it Y. ThiS
was our legacy inl 1972 23 yearis of* our opoets'iStZ1, e~ s
and a hostiAle Sen,-ate. rl-e havre lived with the part and wer have
ovc _ rcc-. nea thec-past, the record shiow-s it.
11ow our opponernt,,: propose._ a return to the past,
* the attitucles aneA policies of . the past whiich you so firmly
rejecteO only 17 imonths agjo. tlhere hoe no ~ mistake abrout
the truLe na-'. ture o: E thes tii-. n-s and olicies. In the, oast
17 months our oppo. nents ha-ve siiown no repentancc,, they h'ave.
done ) o On ev r mAjor issue ilow a) s always, they
* come cOown on the side of prvl~. Th-e who7Lle thrust their
policies . ceiflis theC retenL-ion o-c priviloge priv-41l':. io. ThiLs has been tl-e t x runningJ through the~ ir
pattern o-C'f obStruction and o-Pporsition. They resistO. to the
ele-enth hour our proposals ~ oqivo 1mosti mone'.,, to the -oSt
nee-dy sc] ools. The \ 7 havo ohbst--_ ct-ed "-at every tu" rn our la r
to give health covor tCo th-: milliii unlprotectec! Australians..
OQl : every cccas:! on tILhey have s~ prung to the dlefence of we'illthy
interest-. who fear-that ouir ofo~ sto retain the greater
haeof Iuiztralia; n control ov'er our resources may inconvenience
tbc-m1. They hay--opposedt our every effort to have qreate-r
c'ualil-in parli~. lcentary re~~ eiaini uta.
The last elect~ ion was oezscritiaJ. ly about the
pro-motk-ion of op,? tuin itict-: of ;: urr c, i -* XorJt-un itie 3 ane-d morla
eC'ual opportunities, all~ i Austra1.1* 0r1S. n the past .17
onths that effort has been carrica on with zcst, deter-ii,, iation
and Ispucciceecs s sccs of course the tiimeF hasbe
short, the back~ log of 23 years so groat The question now
is % whether that work1-shall go on.-.--The quostion iS whether the
great opporitunItie. s this nation* offero -shall ba more and m.. ore
equally sha-red, whether prfvilege halbe deeper and ezeeper
entrenched. This lawhat you have to1c lecide.
W~ hen they makeo thieir jue~ geii,: ent I to the basic
intelligence and idealism of t! 7 Australian people. I rely on
it, and I -rely upon it with confidenno-a. in all my fafforts to
reform and revital. ise Australia, in my efforts to reform
and revitaliSe the Australian Lalo. P. artv, 1 have relied upon
that: inteolligencia and t,-ha't Lresñ Andi voru havje never Let
me down. T look to the imen cJ. 7, ustrali-' who bel,-ieve in a fair
go not. just a fair go for an elected' g overnmnent, hut a fair
go for all those of their fel. low citizens to whi . Cur policies
have brought a new hope, a ne' chan ce for a Odecent life. I
look to the women of Australia, who .'-ell ifnow what our program,

has-alre-ady meant for the future, welfare of our children, of
our aged, our sick, oxr f~ look,.-to the idealism
of that vast new constitucency of irura anl women over the acjTe
of 18 now voting for thc first tiri~ e. It ip, al-ove all their
f; uture at stake. 1' or the outco.-me o this clectio must go
t ar to de!: ocrmine the sort of Austcal ia they will be living in
for the rest of their lives.
Bere is the recordl. !! ere is the:. promise of the
fulfilment of the pi-ogram!; w have begun with such vigor and
determiation with dcaicaticn. que, tion is whetCher
the action of our opponents last month was only a temporary
interruption to thosre progrc~ ms or the-i-r dlestri. ction. It is
nonsenfse to believe that oppunlants w'oul. d accept and apply
our prcjms and policies w, h ich they resisf. ed and. deriJded for
* 23 yas rel. ory--Austrahians?-it is a tima for decision,
and I put thc. e quetionsj to ' iou.
Are you for e. fcU. i go, not just a fair go an elected Govornwm: nt, but a fargo for our program to w-ork?
Are you for giving us a chaince to make them work?
Are youi for Pixst--aliris haiga fair opplortunilty
to have a fai-r share in conti. L. and1 ownership of theirJ. 3 own
resources? Are you In favour of giving every Austral1-ian chlildi,
whatever his parents i~ iani ocj ~ cd a ifair start, an equal
start in life? Av~ e yo. u : E-01. h du. wa have given to our
children, to the O-pcndLrt, tho cli. ,; z! dvantaqge-d in our community?
S Aro y'ou foi: thic :, iore docent the more humane,
the more toie: caP:, thc :~ int : ooe'coi ety wic have been
trying to build1 in thie last J. 7 im. onths?
A ro: t 1, e A u str, 1i a n p-cofIe-to allowed to rear)
the full harvest, 11 of ouor pro'jrams?
I don't1 be). imive the. Autralian people areL(-going
to turn h-ac. 1 don't belie4. ve they'r going to turn their backs
on the promis-. of the future.
I d. on' t bohl ove thg ecoing to throw wimy the
new opjortuwA.' S -11C newJ hiopes, -! ic new iitiozial fpirit ar-A
national self-r. se.

r 42.
I ( Ion't -elie7e they wjia :. 1 a >-ar Of the
tactics, the bl;: tart opportmn. i sm of ouw opponents.
I don't believe for a :-icren t th. Cy arr-AhCit
do wlh! at they , ave refused to do in all our histcry
a strncg, united cqover: frent, i tqovnrnmnent wilJ. l a clear program,
a proven record, a great record, and hand this country over to
a Odiscreitied, di. sunited, ( iiscarded coalition of fru-ltration
and futility, without policies, without unity, without
leader,. jhip. And t1at is the real choice on the 18 tva,,,.
Therofore I looj: lith ronfidence to a great vrote
of affirmation on the R 1ay a migyhty votc of ye yes I-o
our xeferenCitui prop -sals yes to tu return of o-r gjovernment
t" e fut!. Iv,, a bright confidant, prCoud, secure future