CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY EMBARGOED UNTIL DELIVERY
SPEECH BY THE PRIME MINISTER
LAUNCH OF RURAL AND REGIONAL STATEMENT
WARRAGUL 1 DECEMBER 1989
At the outset I want to thank your local member Barry
Cunningham and all those who have worked with him for
arranging this very important function today.
I appointed Barry as the first chairman of the Country Task
Force that I established in 1986 to advise me and the
Government on the needs and wishes of rural Australia.
The Task Force is made up of Labor'MPs who represent rural
electorates, and it has been an outstanding success.
It has conducted a very wide range of consultations with
groups throughout rural and regional Australia and has been
instrumental in the development of what I proudly describe
here today as a comprehensive, well-measured and effective
set of policies directed at rural and regional Australia.
The Statement I am launching today shows the progress we
have already made and the opportunities to improve further
the effectiveness of the programs we have in place.
What is so very striking today about the rural scene in
Australia is the dramatic changes that are underway.
Global trends and pressures are having a profound impact on
Australia's rural communities even the most remote ones.
The introduction of new technology; the restrictions on
world trade; the economic challenge to restructure,
modernise-and compete; the-continued growth of tourism are
all felt by the people and the communities outside the main
cities: The family farm continues as the basic element of
agriculture, but many farms have become larger so as to
increase their efficiency.
Exporters of primary products are becoming better at
meeting the changing needs of overseas consumers.
S Traditional regional industries including clothing
and footwear are being exposed to international
pressures, and many are learning how to compete with
the best in the world.
S The mining sector, which contributes some 36 per cent
of the total value of our exports, is continually
adapting and innovating to keep its international
market share.
S Coastal strips along the eastern seaboard are rapidly
gaining population and experiencing strong economic
growth.
All this activity and change in rural and regional Australia
means the emergence of new social and economic patterns of
life. So it is even more important now that we be firm in
our determination to ensure the equity and effectiveness of
Government policies directed to those people who live
outside the major cities.
Our aim is simple: to ensure that all Australians have the
opportunity to enjoy a high standard of living through
vigorous and sustainable economic development, supported as
necessary by a full range of public services.
It might often be thought that Federal Governments, based in
Canberra, are remote from people in the bush and that they
are concerned only with the big cities.
And it might often be feared that the so-called ' tyranny of
distance' is an insuperable obstacle for a Federal
Government seeking to deliver services to people throughout
the breadth of our vast nation.
Now I don't say that we can completely overcome that
' tyranny of distance'.
But I do say that we have already considerably minimised its
impact on the quality of life that can be enjoyed by people
outside the major cities.
Just over a fortnight ago I addressed the bi-annual
conference of the National Farmers' Federation.
On that occasion I described the comprehensive way in which
we have acted to protect and advance the interests of
Australia's primary producers.
Through our new soil conservation program, Landcare, we are
protecting the most important ingredient of agricultural
prosperity the soil itself.
Through our micro-economic reforms we are improving the way
in which products are moved and marketed within Australia
and overseas. These reforms, unprecedented in their scope,
will benefit all of those engaged in the export industries
which are the life-blood of Australia: farmers and miners
as well as manufacturers.
Through a comprehensive program of reducing the tariffs that
have hamstrung our economy for too long we are boosting the
competitiveness of Australian primary producers.
And, complementing all this, we are seeking, through our
unceasing international campaign for a liberalisation of
world trading rules, to ensure that our primary producers
have fair access to all-important overseas markets.
But of course it is not just our policies towards
agricultural producers themselves that are relevant to
pursuing our goal of a better quality of life for all
Australians. We recognise that rural Australia is home for millions of
people farmers, to be sure, but also factory workers,
tourist operators, the retired, those in provincial towns,
young families who have chosen to live away from the big
smoke.
Accordingly, our Social Justice strategy has placed
particular emphasis not only on providing new services to
alleviate the special hardships faced by those living
outside the big cities but also on ensuring that those
people have decent access to existing services.
Our Environment Statement that I launched in July ' Our
Country Our Future' explained the progress we have made to
date in achieving ecologically sustainable development, and
the programs and methods we will be implementing in
affirming our commitment to that principle.
Our Womens' Health policy recognises the special health
needs faced by women living away from the major health care
centres. With that detailed but necessary background, I come now to
the purpose of today's gathering: the launch of this
Statement on Federal Government policy for rural and
regional Australia.
The main purpose of this Statement is to demonstrate our
continuing commitment to a certain way of undertaking the
business of government in rural and regional areas.
Our approach is consistent; it is principled; and at its
heart is the notion of social justice. This has special
meaning for non-metropolitan Australians because, among
other things, what distinguishes the city from the country
is options, opportunities, access and information.
We understand the effects of sparse population: narrower
choices of goods and services; higher transport costs; and,
often, considerable personal inconvenience in gaining access
to shops and services.
We are aware of the narrower range of educational and
training opportunities, and the uncertainty that can be
caused by being some distance from health and medical
services. And we are aware of the all-embracing importance
of the road network just as you are presumably aware of
the enormous cost to Government of maintaining and improving
it. I should say, as a counterpoint, that we also understand the
great benefits of living in country Australia. I'm sure you
agree: rural and regional Australia is a wonderful part of
the world to live in. It offers a clean environment; it is
a treasurehouse of natural beauty; and it embodies all the
best community traditions of Australian life.
My conviction on these issues is based firmly on the fact
that the policies and philosophy of the Labor Government
represent the only comprehensive and effective framework for
protecting and advancing the interests of rural Australia.
That is increasingly reflected in the substantial number of
non-metropolitan electorates that return Labor candidates as
Members of Parliament candidates of the calibre of Barry
Cunningham, and elsewhere in Victoria, John Brumby, John
Mildren, Neil O'Keefe and Peter Cleeland. And might I add,
never has the rural community been better served by a
Minister than it is currently being served by John Kerin.
So as a Government, we are not prepared to relax in our
commitment to social justice or to neglect the relevant
issues of access and opportunity. Of course we could take
the easy way out: we could simply say that people have a
free choice about where to live; we could turn a blind eye;
we could respond opportunistically to noisy sectional claims
at a significant cost to the overall community in short,
we could do as the Opposition currently proposes to do:
divert resources to the middle ground, and leave everyone
else can look after themselves.
We reject that approach. The stock-take of our activities
in this Statement shows why we have succeeded in genuinely
promoting the quality of life in rural and regional
Australia: we have managed the economy in such a way as to
achieve restructuring without recession: there
has been record job growth;
our policies have been consistent, coherent and
comprehensive;
S these economic policies have gone hand in hand
with our social justice policy: creating national
prosperity and ensuring it is fairly shared;
S we have not shied away from implementing special
programs where they are demonstrably needed; and
S we have worked closely with State and local
governments to ensure services are coordinated and
comprehensive.
And it is those principles that underpin the whole
philosophy of this Statement.
The process of preparing this Statement has given us the
opportunity to identify where we can further improve the
effectiveness of programs already in place, and where we can
implement new initiatives to fill the gaps.
Today I am launching a new series of modest and welltargetted
initiatives:
S to provide more support for people who provide
long-term care for disabled people in rural areas and
for geriatric care;
S to improve the quality of information people in rural
areas receive about Government policies;
S to expand health services available for rural women;
S to improve the services available to young people
including an expansion of the system of hostels for
secondary school kids;
S to expand the New Enterprise Incentive Scheme which
helps currently unemployed people to start their own
businesses;
S and, finally and importantly, there will be a review of
the current system of tax zone rebates which provide
relief to tax payers in remote and isolated areas.
This review will consider anomalies in zone boundaries
and special zone rebate arrangements, as well as
problems with social security testing arrangements
affecting people in isolated areas.
Ladies -and gentlemen
We are a Government for all Australians, no matter where
they live.
6.
Together with our overall economic management policies, our
micro-economic reform program, and our social justice
strategy, the steadfast approaches and the new measures
outlined in this Statement will allow us together to make
further progress towards our goals for rural and regional
Australia and for the country at large: economic
prosperity, social justice and better quality of life.