Menzies opens ... campaign, policy Speech on Radio, TV.  The Prime Minister, Sir Robert Menzies, said last night that Australia wanted growth and progress and security at home. For this it needed security abroad.  Sir Robert began his policy speech by giving the Government’s reasons for holding an election, then dealt with its foreign and defence policies. More than half his speech was devoted to economic matters and he announced plans for:  A subsidy and loan scheme for housing, competitive scholarships for State and non-State school pupils, increased medical benefits and child endowment, an increased road-building grant to the States, and a subsidy to reduce country petrol prices. Other issues, Sir Robert dealt with included economic growth, trade, restrictive ... practices, northern development and distribution. Sir Robert's speech, which was recorded before a selected audience in Melbourne on Friday night, was broadcast and televised throughout Australia.  Outline of proposals. Sir Robert confined his ... on foreign ... and defence to a ... of government policies and achievements. He said the electoral change needed was to give the government a working majority. The choice you make this time will decide the political and economic future of Australia for 10 years, he said. If it endangers our great alliances, repair will be difficult and slow. If ... a great burst of inflation and rising prices and costs, the answer will be difficult and slow, and the economic casualties high. You will not be able to indulge in the luxury of second thoughts, or of an early and successful repentance. Put the A.L.P. into power this time, and you suffer the consequences for long after my time or that of my most experienced colleagues. Sir Robert made these promises.  Defence. To provide highly mobile, modern and well-equipped forces, maintained so as to co-operate with Australia's SEATO and ANZUS partners to mutual satisfaction. To provide, in Australia, scientific and technical and production hacking.  Economy. To carry on with the objectives of a high rate of economic and population growth with full employment, increasing productivity, rising standards of living, external solvency and stability of costs and prices.  Development. To press on with growth in no timid or faint-hearted way, seeking to avoid any new cost-price spiral. The Government expected that given good government growth should at least equal a total increase of 25 per cent in the Gross National Product, in terms of constant prices, over the next five years.  The North. To establish a special Northern Division of the Department of national Development to examine Northern projects in consultation with Federal and State Ministers and experts. The cost of transport of materials and plant to the north was one of the greatest burdens on northern development by governments and citizens alike. The government proposed to establish a committee of investigation to examine the problem and report to the Government.  Petrol prices. To effect a change in the petrol price so that no where in Australia will the normal price be more than ... above capital city prices. This would be done by arrangement with petrol companies and by arranging with the States for the Commonwealth to make grants to the States to enable them to pay the appropriate compensation to those companies.  Road Works. To increase Commonwealth aid for roads from the £250m granted in the last five years to not less than £350m in the next five years. To discuss with the States the desirability of setting up a national roads authority.  Trade. To change the name of the Department of Trade to Trade and industry, and create within it a special Secondary Industry Division.  Education. To create 10000 special Commonwealth scholarships to be awarded competitively and tenable at secondary schools for two years, to assist children who might otherwise miss the final two years. The scholarships, up to £100 a year for fees and books and a maintenance allowance to parents of another £100 a year, will be open to students of all secondary schools, State or non-State, without discrimination. Another 2,500 similar scholarships will be open to technical school students.  - To offer the States an annual grant of £5m toward building and equipment costs of technical schools.  - To make available £5m a year to supply buildings and facilities for science teaching in secondary schools.  This will be distributed on a school population basis and will be available to all secondary schools, State or non-State, without discrimination.  Child Benefit. To raise child endowment to 15/ a week for third and subsequent children. To pay 15/ a week on endowment for all full-time student children from 16 to 21, whether they are first, second or third children.  Housing. To give a Commonwealth subsidy of £1 for every £3 deposited at an approved institution by a person aged up to 25 to be released for home building or purchasing on or after marriage. The maximum subsidy for one house would be £250 and the recipients’ savings must be accumulated over a period of at least three years. Through a National Housing Insurance Corporation to help people obtain low deposit loans which would fill the gap between available housing loans and the purchaser’s buying needs. The loans would extend to something like three times the borrower's annual income with a reasonable total ceiling. The Government would up to a high percentage of valuation, 95 per cent in appropriate cases, insure the repayment of the loans by approved lenders at approved interest rates.  Benefits. To increase Commonwealth medical benefits by 33 1/3 per cent without requiring increased contribution to medical benefits insurance funds.  Redistribution. To amend the Representation Act so that no State would lose a seat in the House of Representatives through electoral redistribution. Another amendment, to the Electoral Act, would emphasise to Redistribution Commissioners the extent of their discretion to vary the normal electoral quota up or down, to allow for some variation between compact metropolitan seats and very much larger rural areas.  Trade Law. To legislate to deal with restrictive trade practices and to protect the small trader. A bill providing for this will be introduced into the new Parliament. It will be open for public scrutiny for a reasonable time before the second reading debate is resumed.  Other Points. Sir Robert said he would not have time in the 40 minutes in which he appeared to cover fully all points in his policy, but a full statement would be issued. Points omitted covered decentralisation, oil search subsidies, agricultural extension services, mental health subsidies, old people’s welfare and overseas investment.  Menzies Watches Telecast of Own Election Speech  MELBOURNE, Tuesday. The Prime Minister, Sir Robert Menzies, sat with members of his family and private staff in his suite at the Windsor Hotel, Melbourne, tonight and watched the telecast of his own policy speech. The telecast was made Friday night before a selected audience in the studio of GTV 9, Melbourne. About 300 people from Sir Robert’s electorate, Kooyong, and 12 Federal Ministers were present at the invitation of Liberal Party officials. Sir Robert's speech was the first recorded election policy speech delivered in Australia. He told his staff that he wished to spend a quiet night tonight before starting on his heavy campaign schedule, covering the next three weeks. He arranged for newspaper photographers to take pictures of him before the telecast began. Staff members said later that Sir Robert was quite satisfied with his television effort. The telecast was limited to 40 minutes, because it was thought that this was sufficiently long for a public reaction through this medium. It did not cover the full text of Sir Robert's policy speech, which he will amplify during his election campaign. In New South Wales tonight, 11 television stations carried the telecast. Thirty-five radio stations and 2BL and regional A.B.C. radio stations broadcast the speech.  Menzies Watches Telecast of Own Election Speech  Menzies gives Details of Election Proposals. The choice at the Federal election was particularly important for voters who were under 35, the Prime Minister, Sir Robert Menzies, said last night. Sir Robert was delivering his policy speech over a nation-wide radio and television link. Sir Robert opened his speech by saying: this is no ordinary election. He repeated the Government’s reasons for calling the election and said that on November 30 electors would vote on who was to be in Government, not whether the choice should have been postponed for some months. That no Government can live on its past record is true, Sir Robert said. Yet our future growth is largely determined by the quality of what has already been done. There have, as in all other countries, been fluctuations in our fortunes, but the strong general trend has been upward.  No credit squeeze. Those who seek to make ... with foolish and false talk of another credit squeeze must assume that there is such a violent ... in economic activity as will produce an inflation ... boom. We do not anticipate and such state of affairs. ... remarks addressed to under ... he said. You have, as voters never known a Socialist Labor Government at Canberra. Some of you may, therefore, be ... to fall for old .... It’s time for a change, even though it would be a change back to the very people who were dismissed in 1949. Change is a good thing as long as it is a change for the better. Sir Robert said those who recalled the Labour Party Socialist era of restrictions, attempted nationalisation and the discouragement of enterprise which ended in December, 1949, would not need to be reminded that a Liberal Country Party had:  - Helped to create a revolutionary change in the economic climate, in production, in the growth of trade with the world in living standards, in social services, in providing for health.  - Also created change with free choice of employment, population growth, large savings and large industrial investment, increasing educational opportunities, national development credit and security.  To compare Australia today, under a free enterprise Government, with the Australia of 14 years ago is to pinpoint the most dramatic change and growth to be recorded anywhere in the world, Sir Robert said. As electors you have a great chance to make a change, not by turning away from sound and growing prosperity for new and almost hysterical experiments carried out under the close control of Labour’s outside executive- not elected by you but by giving to the government a working majority. That is the electoral change that is needed. An almost equally divided national parliament is no proper foundation for a stable and positive and authority over you. We leave that to the Socialists whose whole doctrine subordinate the individual to the State. Socialism is in fact both repressive and reactionary. Authority in an Australian Government is what it needs to have when it is negotiating with other countries, whether on political arrangements, or trade, or military alliances or arrangements for the common security. It can derive that authority only from you. Dealing with foreign policy Sir Robert said, We want growth and progress and security at home. For that purpose we need security abroad. We want friends and a defence policy which gets us strength and a true willingness and capacity to co-operate with our friends in the defence of common security."  ANZUS pact negotiated.  Sir Robert said his Government had negotiated the ANZUS pact and had made it clear that Australia would defend Papua New Guinea against attack as if it were part of the Australian mainland. That promise of ours is as a result of ANZUS completely backed by the United States, he said. Yet the ALP has never been enthusiastic about ANZUS. Sir Robert said his government had helped to negotiate SEATO and send Australian forces to Malaysia as part of a Commonwealth Strategic Reserve under SEATO. Since Malaysia had expanded into Malaysia, Labour in parliament guardedly supported the concept of Malaysia, but attached terms to any ... support which it knew to be ... to Malaysia. The pledge the government had given, to join with Great Britain and Malaysia itself to resist armed attack on the political independence and national integrity of Malaysia, had already had a marked effect among Australia's neighbours and allies. It is essential that they should know, as a result of this election, whether the Australian people stand behind our clear-cut statement, or prefer the ambiguous, uncertain, equivocating, fluctuating and almost mumbling attitude of our opponents, Sir Robert said. There is a similar conflict about the establishment of the American naval signalling station at North West Cape in Western Australia. When Labour's outside governing body, the 36, whom you are being asked to vote into power on polling day, met at Canberra to consider this matter it went within two votes of opposing the American proposal outright. The switch of one vote would have warned the Americans off. Finally, a grudging approval was given, but on terms as to control which, as which is well known, but the Americans were not prepared to accept. You must resolve these issues. It is vital that Australia’s foreign policy and relations with foreign powers should be clear and steady, and that the world should know that they are managed by a government which has a clear mandate from the Australian people. That is what we are asking for that, above all, is why we are having an election.  Foreign Policy Issues Stated  Sir Robert said the Government had a notable defence record. It would maintain the armed Forces in such ... as to enable Australia to co-operate with SEATO and ANZUS partners to their satisfaction and its own. ... would provide in Australia at Woomera and in the Department of Supply ... and technical and ... backing. Australia is ready and able to meet its international commitments, Sir Robert said. After dealing the Government’s record in the development of the Armed Services. Sir Robert said: we can look our allies in the face with justice and have no temptation to appease our enemies. He said the objectives of the Government's economic Policy were a high rate of economic and population growth with full employment, increasing productivity, rising standards of living, external solvency and stability of costs and prices. They are being successfully achieved, he said. Indeed our opponents have realised that their prophecies of a depression, unemployment and gloom have been proved false. Having realised that they cannot frighten you they have now decided to try, rather offensively, to buy you.  Economic Rate of Growth. They have made a series of irresponsible bids which would add hundreds of millions to the money in circulation without in any way increasing or cheapening production or supply. In short, they are offering you an inflationary boom of unprecedented .... Sir Robert said that the rate of development in Australia was greater at the end of the Governments 14 years of office that ever before. We believe and confidently expect that over the next five years, good government growth should at least equal a total increase of 25 per cent in the gross national product in terms of constant prices, Sir Robert said. Discussing development of Northern Australia, Sir Robert said the government would establish a special northern division of the Department of National Development. Two special problems in the north were water storage and use and freights. The Government would fully support the Water resources Council. Sir Robert said the cost of transport of materials and plant to the north was one of the greatest burdens on northern development by governments and citizens alike. The Government proposed to establish a competent committee of investigation to examine the problem and report to the Government. Sir Robert said the government would bring about a change in the price of petroleum products (other than fuel oil) so that nowhere in Australia would the normal price be more than 4d a gallon above the level of Capital City prices. We propose to effect this by arrangement with petrol companies and by arranging with the States for the Commonwealth to make grants to the states under section 96 of the constitution to enable them to pay the appropriate compensation to those companies. City prices and those and present with a 4d or smaller differential will not be affected. Turning to the questions of roads, Sir Robert said the government would early next year put before the States proposals on Commonwealth aid to succeed existing legislation which would expire in mid 1964. Under the current legislation a total of £250 m has been granted to the States for roads over a five year period. We intend that over the next five years our contribution will not less be than £350m  National Roads Authority. The Government would propose a national roads  authority try to provide a focal point for the planning and development of comprehensive system and to help in co-ordinating the activities Commonwealth and State Governments in the roads field. The nation would benefit from a thorough going survey and appraisal of the existing roads system and of foreseeable road requirements. Sir Robert said to make clear that the Department of Trade was concerned with tariff policies, trade treaties, and promotion of secondary products, its name would be changed to Department of Trade and Industry. A special Secondary Industry section should be created inside it under a senior official working ... under the ... and secretary to the department. Announcing proposals on education, Sir Robert said: first, there are many good pupils in secondary schools who would benefit if ther were helped the final two schools ... which they might otherwise miss through family circumstances. There are many ongoing technical training. Any scheme which assists a student to carry through a course of technical study for an additional two years would have great national value in these times. We propose to create special Commonwealth scholarships to be awarded competitively, at standards to be worked out with the  State. There will be in the case of secondary schools 10000 such scholarships per year, tenable at a secondary school for two years. They will cover each year payments for fees and books up to £100 a year and a further maintenance allowance to the parents of £100 a year. They will be open to students of all secondary schools, State or independent, without discrimination. There will also be 2500 scholarships carrying the same benefits open to students at technical schools. Second, having in mind the urgency of increasing technical school facilities, we will offer to the States an annual grant of £5m towards the building and equipment costs of technical schools.  Finance for education planned. Third, there is a special need for improved science teaching in the secondary school, if we are to keep in step with the march of science. As some recognition of this need, we will make available £5m a year for the provision of building and equipment facilities for science teaching in secondary schools. The amount will be distributed on a school population basis and will be available to all secondary schools, Government or independent, without discrimination. Sir Robert said child endowment would be raised to 15/ a week for third and subsequent children. Having in mind the education responsibilities of parents, 15/ a week endowment will be paid in respect of all full-time student children from 16 to 2l, he said. This would apply whether they were first, second or third children. Sir Robert said the Government proposed to solve two special housing problems. The first was the difficulty experienced by young married people, particularly in the age group up to 35 in financing the purchase of a home. He said: We will provide a Commonwealth subsidy of £1 for every £3 which a person in this age group deposits or shall have deposited, over a period of at least three years in an identifiable account at an approved institution to be released, upon or after marriage, for home building or purchasing. The maximum subsidy for one house will be £250. Thus by Commonwealth subsidy, £750 saved in this age group for a home after marriage will be increased to £ 1000. For obvious reasons, this will not extend to the purchase of State houses, or for the purchase of house and land costing more than £7000. The Minister for National Development, Sir William Spooner, said in Yass last night that this scheme would apply retrospectively as far as prospective homebuyers' sayings were concerned. He said applicants would have to establish that they were under 35 and married or about to be married, were buying their first home and had been paying over a period of three years into a bank or other savings institution for the purpose of buying a home. Sir Robert said the second special problem of the homebuyer was filling, often on oppressive terms of borrowing, the gap between available housing loans and the buyers need. We must not encourage too much uniformity of dwellings in a refreshingly individualist country. To meet this problem we will assist the obtaining of low-deposit loans related to the income and reasonable creditworthiness of the borrower. We will do this by a system of insurance by a National Housing Insurance Corporation. Loans, the subject of the guarantee, would extend to something like three times the borrower's established income, with some reasonable total ceiling.  Housing Loan Proposals. The Government will, up to a high percentage of valuation, ranging up to 95 per cent in appropriate cases, insure the repayment of such loans by approved lenders at approved rates of interests which, under guarantee, should be reasonable. Sir Robert made these promises on health matters: In view of the medical profession assurance regarding stabilisation of fees, we will increase Commonwealth medical benefits by 33,1/3 per cent. This means that the gap which has to be met by the patient will be reduced by at least 20 per cent. All contributors to medical benefits insurance funds will be entitled to this increase without being required to make any increase in their weekly contribution to the fund. Sir Robert said that under the existing methods of dividing the electorate quota into the population of each State to determine how many seats the State should have in the House of Representatives, growing States stood to lose a seat. The Government thought that was wrong, and proposed to amend the Representation Act to see it did not happen. Another amendment to the Electoral Act would emphasise to Redistribution Commissioners the extent of their discretion to vary the normal electoral quota, up or down, to allow for some variation between compact metropolitan seats and very much larger rural areas. The amendment would provide that they would specifically take into account community of economic, social and regional interests, difficulties of communication, remoteness or distance, the trend of population changes, physical features and the relative areas of proposed divisions.  Restrictive Trade Practices. Referring to restrictive trade practices, Sir Robert said: privately imposed restraints which are against the public interest or submit the small trader to oppressive limitations should be eliminated. After the publication of a broad statement of policy in general terms, the government has held many discussions and has received many criticism and suggestions. I now announce that we will, after the election, assisted by these and any further discussions and suggestions, prepare and introduce into the new Parliament, a bill to deal with restrictive practices and to protect the small trader. After its preparation and introduction, it will be open for public scrutiny for a reasonable time before the second reading debate is resumed.