p. CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY EMBARGOED UNT DLVRY
SPEECH BY THE PRIME MINISTER
PARLIAMENTARY DINNER FOR
NEW ZEALAND PRIME MINISTER,
MR GEOFFREY PALMER
CANBERRA 2 JULY 1990
Prime Minister Geoffrey Palmer and Mrs Margaret Palmer,
Excellencies, Parliamentary Colleagues
Ladies and Gentlemen
Historians of the future seeking to understand and describe
the dynamism and the enduring nature of the relationship
between Australia and New Zealand will undoubtedly look back
on the year 1990 with justifiable interest.
Their conclusion, will, I am sure, confirm our contemporary
judgement that this year indeed marks a watershed in the
growth of our two countries.
We have already this year marked the 150th anniversary of
the Treaty of Waitangi and I recall with pleasure my visit
to Auckland earlier this year to convey to New Zealanders
the good wishes of all Australans in those celebrations.
Since then we have shared in the heart-wrenching emotions of
Anzac Day a powerful reminder and reaffirmation of the
sturdy comradeship between Australians and New Zealanders
forged by the ANZACs at Gallipoli 75 years ago.
But as significant as those occasions were, they were
essentially commemorations of past deeds.
Today we are celebrating a thoroughly contemporary
achievement a proof that the long standing friendship
between us is not only still very much alive, but is being
expressed in ways that are new, important and
forward-looking.
It's an achievement that will ensure Australia and New
Zealand remain close and constructive partners well into the
next century.
The achievement is the removal of the last barriers to trade
in goods across the Tasman. From yesterday, 1 July, trade in
goods across the Tasman is absolutely free and unfettered.
That represents for both of us a major victory under the
Closer Economic Relations agreement an agreement that is
progressively delivering benefits to the 21 million people
of our two countries in the form of greater access to a
wider range of goods in a more competitive market.
It has taken years of hard work to reach this point. It is
the culmination of a long process which began when people of
foresight in both our countries recognised that if we were
to remain competitive and ensure our place in the regional
and global economy, it was essential that we work together.
Let me take this opportunity publicly to recognise the
vision, determination and cooperation of the " founding
fathers" of the Closer Economic Relations Agreement, some of
whom are here tonight. It was the previous Australian
Government that was responsible on this side of the Tasman
for the preparatory work on CER, and my comments tonight
reflect a truly bipartisan sense of satisfaction over the
way in which CER has developed over the years.
Since the CER Agreement came into force in 1983, total
bilateral trade has grown from just under $ 1 billion in 1983
to about $ 4.5 billion in 1989. That is an average annual
rate of 15 per cent faster than the growth in trade by
either country with the rest of the world.
Our exports to you were worth about $ 2.5 billion last year
a 100 per cent increase since 1983.
And your exports to us broke through the $ 2 billion mark
last year up from three quarters of a billion in 1983.
So in this larger pie, the balance of trade is very close to
equal. At the same time, the total stock of trans-Tasman investment
has grown from about $ 1.5 billion in 1983 to more than
billion at the end of last year.
Those achievements of course have not happened by accident
or through benign neglect. They have come about because
governments on both sides of the Tasman have acted, with
determination and foresight, to make sure that our economies
are strong, competitive and unhampered by unnecessary
regulation.
And they have come about, too, because business leaders and
unionists on both sides of the Tasman have seen and grasped
the opportunitities for change and have built a dynamic and
very productive Australia-New Zealand relationship.
Let's not assume, either, that this achievement is an end in
itself.
There is still much to be done, both under the CER agreement
and in pursuit of micro-economic reform in each of our
countries. As we said in our communique earlier today, we want
Australians and New Zealanders each to be able to regard the
other's economy as an extension of their own. The Tasman
will not be a legal, administrative or financial barrier to
the free flow of commerce.
For Australia's part, I assure New Zealanders publicly, as I
have told Mr Palmer privately, that in considering our
micro-reform options we are committed to taking due account
of our CER obligations.
A major review of the CER Agreement is scheduled for 1992
and we have announced today a mechanism to establish an
agenda for that review, in consultation with the business
community, unions, professions and other interested people.
This review will be an exciting one. It will take us beyond
the familiar domain of economic issues into uncharted
territory. Both of us have, rightly, rejected the notion of political
union. That is not on the agenda. But we have to acknowledge
that as economic integration proceeds, complex questions
will be raised about how best to co-ordinate and harmonise
the decisions and actions of two sovereign nations.
As a result progress may be a bit harder in the future than
it has been so far. That does not mean we should ease up;
it means we should try harder. And to that end we have
agreed that the Australian and New Zealand Prime Ministers
will aim to meet together once a year to take an annual
stocktake of the total bilateral relationship.
As our increasing joint economic strength is applied to take
full advantage of the regional and wider world market, so
too must we translate the sorts of free trade commitments we
have under CER to the wider trading environment. The
creation of a market of about 21 million people is not an
end in itself.
Australia and New Zealand are committed to free and fair
international trade. We must maintain our continued joint
pressure for a successful outcome to the Uruguay Round of
multilateral trade negotiations. We will work together with
New Zealand in ensuring that more open trading arrangements
and cooperation are developed through the process of Asia
Pacific Economic Cooperation.
The Uruguay Round is the major international economic
enterprise in which we are currently engaged. Australia and
New Zealand are working closely together for a successful
outcome to the Round across the full spectrum of
negotiations.
The GATT system has been placed under enormous strain by
continued recourse to protectionism and discrimination,
often by countries which themselves have benefitted greatly
from the existence of the GATT.
Agriculture is a case in point. Agricultural policies in
the OECD area led to a total transfer from consumers and
taxpayers of US$ 245 billion in 1989.
Australian and New Zealand producers, the world's most
efficient, are kept out of markets in which consumers are
forced to pay inflated prices for basic foodstuffs.
Countries are being denied opportunities to trade their way
out of their problems.
Resources that could be applied through investment to the
restructuring of Eastern Europe are being diverted to
generate inefficient production.
For all these reasons, agriculture is the pivotal issue in
the achievement of a successful outcome in the Round. It is
also why our two countries will continue to work closely in
the Cairns Group of fair-trading agricultural nations to
ensure a fair game and a level playing field.
Mr Prime Minister
Speaking of playing fields it's traditional that whenever
Australians and New Zealanders get together, the talk turns
to sport.
Unfortunately we could not continue our regular Trans-Tasman
Prime Ministerial golf tournament this morning; I think
under the atrocious weather at dawn our scores would have
made us look more like cricketers than golfers.
When we last met, we presented two perpetual trophies for
trans-Tasman competition in women's cricket and rugby
league. our women cricketers have already been able to
bring the Southern Cross Trophy back across the Tasman. We
are also looking forward to the back-to-back competitions
coming up in August in both codes of rugby with the
Australasian Trophy for League and the Bledisloe Cup for
Union. But with all this talk of trophies, Mr Prime Minister, let's
not forget the main prize.
In meeting today to celebrate the achievement of free trade
in goods between our two countries, we're not celebrating a
victory of one side at the expense of the other.
We're rejoicing in a triumph of mutual cooperation and
shared endeavour, where the trophy is enhanced prosperity
for future generations of Australians and New Zealanders.
The increasing integration of our markets, our close and
effective liaison over the full range of policy issues and
our close cooperation in international forums, add up to a
startling and deeply encouraging fact: the Tasman that
separates us is becoming more and more like a bridge that
brings us together.
And let me close my saying to you personally, Mr Prime
Minister, how much we on this side admire and respect your
contribution to this achievement.
It is common ground that neither Australians nor New
Zealanders wish to abandon or undermine the separate
national identities of which we are so proud.
Within that framework, you have displayed vision, energy,
and political will, and you have demonstrated the capacity
to take tough decisions necessary for New Zealand's
long-term future.
That determination has delivered benefits not only for New
Zealanders but for Australians too.
So we are all the winners as a result.
That fundamentally is the cause for celebration today. In
welcoming you to Canberra on this visit, we salute you for
your active contribution to the cause of closer economic
relations between relations between Australia and
New Zealand.