LEADER OF THE OPPOSITION   CHECK AGAINST DELIVERY EMBARGOED UNTIL DELIVERY  AUSTRALIAN LABOR PARTY 1998 CAMPAIGN LAUNCH  KIM BEAZLEY'S PLAN FOR THE NATION - JOBS, SECURITY AND OPPORTUNITY  WEDNESDAY 23 SEPTEMBER 1998  BRISBANE  Nearly 100 years ago, our forebears created a new nation on this continent - a land to which people from all over the world could come to make a contribution. As we enter a new century, we face again the same challenge that confronted our nation's founders. Can we come together, and put petty rivalries and differences aside, and build a new nation for a new century?  We're here in an election campaign that will decide how Australia enters that century - our second century as a nation.  But above all, we're here to launch a claim for the Australian people.  We launch their claim for jobs, for decent health care, for an education, for security and opportunity in their lives.  We launch their claim for the better Australia that they deserve.  The Labor Party has listened to the millions in our community who feel betrayed by a Government that has divided Australian against Australian, boss against worker, 'haves' against 'have-nots'.  We have listened to those voices, and we have learned.  Our opponents have not listened. In this election campaign, as they have for 2 ½ years in Government, they wrap old prejudice in the guise of reform:  - As they pursue a flawed and unfair GST, they confuse stubbornness with courage.  - As they pursue the sale of Telstra – a policy John Howard announced in this very place - they tell the Australian people they will only sell another 16%, while telling those in the know that they will sell it all.  Our opponents like to call themselves good economic managers. It is just as well they think so, because no-one else would, with annual economic growth down by 1% on average, a $30 billion increase in foreign debt, and job creation in their first 30 months running at less than half the level achieved in Labor’s last 30.  In this election, we stand at a fork in the road to the future. The two roads that lie before us will produce two very different Australia’s in the coming Century. Both Australia’s are countries of great natural beauty, abundant natural resources, and populated by a creative and courageous people.  But only one of those Australia’s will have a Government committed to finding jobs for all Australians who want to work.  Only one of those Australia’s will have a Government which will invest in the skills of its people.  Only one will be there to reward the work and effort of ordinary Australians.  In short, only one will have a Government that sees itself as a partner in the lives of the Australian people.  That Australia will be the one with a Labor Government.  Historians 50 or 100 years from now will write of this last election of the 20th Century as a contest between a vision for the whole nation, and a plan for a tax.  Those same historians would scoff at the absurdity of a Coalition proposing a new $30 billion tax on Australian families, with economic crisis looming offshore, unemployment stuck above 8%, and widespread insecurity in Australian society.  That tax is John Howard's only answer to all the problems which beset us: a new 10% GST on everything from baby food and clothes to schoolbooks, a 10% GST on jobs, on holidays, retirement units, funeral services.  A tax from cradle to grave.  And a tax that will snake down every suburban street, every day: into the mailbox in the envelope with the telephone bill, into the shopping bag every week on the supermarket docket, through the coin slot at the railway station, at the turnstile at the football or the cricket.  John Howard's GST will be there when the sink gets blocked and you need to call out a plumber. It will be there when you need a removalist to move house. And it will be there on every child's birthday, and every Christmas time.  This is a tax Australia should never, ever have.  And which we could never, ever get rid of.  We put at the centre of this election campaign a plan for our nation, not just a plan for a tax.  And that is the plan I release to you today. Too few campaign launches in recent years have done what campaign launches used to do - what Ben Chifley, and even Bob Menzies, used to do - and that is launch comprehensive, detailed plans for the nation. Today, Labor releases that plan - in 263 pages of detail - a plan for jobs, security and opportunity for all our people.  Our last 2½ years have had one strong theme, and that theme is our belief that Australians deserve security and opportunity in their lives, and that this belief must drive a Government program as broad and as comprehensive as Australian life.  There is no one magic source for that security and opportunity. It is not good enough to mouth assurances that they will somehow magically trickle down from on high, or emerge out of some soulless economic machine. If a tax looks like it is going to hurt, that is because it will. Governments cause pain frequently enough, even when they don't mean to, and there is no mystical virtue in accepting pain for pain's sake.  I say why don't we put security and opportunity first? I see an Australia where Government values and cares about its citizens.  We must have a Government that believes in the security that comes from a strong universal health care system - the security that comes from knowing that your health is more important to the system than a dollar.  Real security is knowing that when your child falls ill - seriously ill - in the middle of the night, there is a public hospital and the best medical care modern science can provide, and that you can get that care no matter how much money you have.  This is why Labor is restoring and increasing funding for public hospitals. It is why we will inject an additional $2 billion into public hospitals over the course of the current Medicare agreement.  It is also why we are abolishing the Howard Government's harsh new fees for nursing homes. We say that Australians who need nursing home care today have a bargain with our generation. They saved this country in wartime, and made it safe for us to live here. We must not repay our debt to them by making them sell their family homes to get into a nursing home, in their moment of greatest vulnerability.  Labor is putting back the money the Howard Government took out - and then some - and we are doing so as a statement of principle. Nursing homes are the same as public hospitals - end of story. We do not charge up-front fees for public hospitals, we will not do so for nursing homes.  Labor also believes that the great opportunities for our nation in this coming century must be opportunities shared by all Australians.  We are a nation of just 18 million in a region where many nations grow by our entire population every year. There is no future for our nation and our people without a skilled and united population - none.  I see a future where every generation of Australians is more skilled than the last, where education helps our people to secure employment throughout their lives, and where Australia's opportunities in the global economy are always pushed forward by the skills of our people.  I say to the parents of Australia that Labor shares with them their most natural desire in the world - the desire for their children to have a better life than they themselves have had.  This is why we will not play favourites with Australian children in their schools on the basis of ability to pay. Decent governments do not allow disadvantage to entrench itself in the school system. We will not. Our Australian schools need better funding, and Labor will provide an extra $964 million to give it to them.  We must also make post-secondary education a path to better jobs for young Australians. This is what Labor's investment in the vocational education sector is all about. Where our opponents see vocational education as an opportunity to economise, we see it as opportunity which must be writ large for young Australians. Labor is restoring $120 million in growth funding to this sector.  I want Australia to be a nation where all children who can benefit from a university education, get that opportunity - because they deserve it, and because we need them to get it. If we truly wish to take our place among the 21st Century’s most creative nations, we must invest now in the citizens who will put us there.  John Howard has not launched an education policy in this campaign, instead, he will launch into more education cuts if he wins. Another 3 years of Mr Howard and Dr Kemp, and we will have $100,000 fees as standard practice. That is why this election is the last chance Australian parents have to rescue equal access to university for their children. Labor will provide an extra $217 million for Australian universities to set them up for a brighter future, not set them up for a fall.  Which brings me to the one issue in this campaign which has become a byword for security in our population. I am talking about jobs.  As Prime Minister, I want to look after Australians, but I know nothing is as good as giving people a chance to look after themselves.  A job is the heart of family life. A wage supports a family, builds a home, and a decent retirement income. Anything which undermines that undermines our society.  I refuse to accept an Australia where those who want to work cannot find work.  John Howard, on the other hand, seems relaxed and comfortable about it. 2½ years of John Howard's Australia have produced not falling unemployment, but almost exactly the same number of unemployed Australians as there were in 1996, and worse: youth unemployment up to 28.2%, over 50,000 more long-term unemployed, and 194,000 people who have given up on ever finding work - the only reason the unemployment rate is not actually higher than when this Government came into office.  The only thing that makes John Howard uncomfortable about unemployment is my unemployment target.  He attacks it because he desperately, desperately wants me to drop it.  He invites me to drop it because he wants both of us to agree to do nothing about unemployment.  I refuse his invitation.  Today I announce that my Labor Government will set itself a target of reducing unemployment to 5% in our first two terms of office, and I will not stop working until we achieve it.  We can reach that target, even if the impact of the international economic crisis on our growth rate is greater than the Government will concede - as we believe it will be.  We set that unemployment target, because we have the policies to reach it.  And we have the economic policies to grow the Australian economy faster than the Coalition can, and to create more jobs.  Once elected, we will hit the ground running with that plan for jobs:  Labor has $1.5 billion for Australian industry - to increase business investment, boost research and development effort, strengthen existing industries and develop new ones.  Labor has $584 million to help build Australia's infrastructure and develop our regions - the roads, the railways, the ports and storage facilities which give businesses and job seekers all around Australia a better chance than ever.  Labor has a $1.4 billion boost for education to give our people - particularly young Australians - the skills that will get them a job, and secure employment for them through their lives.  Labor has earmarked 35% of the Government's dividend from Telstra, to make that money go to work for all Australians - funding regional infrastructure and science and technology programs.  Labor has tax reform plans - without a job-destroying GST - worth up to $58 a week extra for ordinary Australians and their families. Labor's Tax Credits are a truly new idea for Australia - the first time anyone has produced such substantial tax cuts targeted to middle Australia, and done so in a way which provides a powerful and direct incentive for people to move from welfare into work.  And today I announce the centrepiece of Labor's plan for jobs:  - Up to $300 million a year to create 18,000 full-time jobs, particularly for older unemployed Australians, jobs that will build and repair community services and facilities which have been neglected for too long.  - A $100 million annual boost that will turn the "Work for the Dole" scheme into a genuine jobs programme for 25,000 young unemployed Australians, giving them training and job skills to give them a future in a real career.  - We will invest $78 million to create 50,000 apprenticeships and traineeships over 3 years to give our young Australians a start in the world of work.  - We will spend $20 million a year for a Job Security Fund to help those whose jobs are under threat from industry restructuring and workforce changes.  We have these policies because we understand that the free market does many things well, but not all the things that community’s need done.  Like many Australians, I have looked at the level of unemployment in this country and asked why our local communities still have broken facilities and pothole roads? Why are there so many unemployed, when there is so much work to do? Labor will do something about it.  We have looked at the way John Howard has increased youth unemployment and asked why there are 5,000 fewer traditional apprenticeships than there were 2½ years ago? Why is there no training in this Government's Work for the Dole program? Labor will do something about it.  And we have looked at the number of Australians losing jobs they have held for decades, in places like Burnie and Newcastle, and asked why couldn't Government have helped these people before this happened? Labor will do something about it.  We have a set of policies, because we know there is no one solution to unemployment - and no quick fix. But there must be a quick start, and all policies must work together. They must all be aligned with the ultimate task of job creation.  We need now a nation brought together to fight unemployment, and this is what my plan will do from day one. The measures contained in this plan will start us out towards our unemployment target. On their own, they will directly create 105,000 jobs in our first term in Government.  We can also say that we have funded all these policies, and funded them responsibly.  The plan I launch today is the product of hard decisions and careful thought. We know there has been a lot of pain caused in the community by this Government's cuts. We believe that some of the surplus built on those cuts should rightfully be returned to the Australian people who paid for it. But we have focused our efforts on what will produce jobs, security and opportunity - and what will be deliverable in the difficult economic circumstances that lie ahead.  Today the Australian people have before them two Parties who will produce two vastly different Australia’s next century.  Labor's plan is for an Australia where children get the best education we can give them, and the best opportunities to get the skills they need to enjoy secure employment. For life.  John Howard has a plan to tax textbooks.  Labor has a plan to make our health system stronger and look after all Australians when they are sick, no matter how wealthy or poor.  John Howard has a plan to tax Aspirin.  Labor has a plan to re-invest the profits of our most successful public asset, Telstra, in building a stronger nation for the future.  John Howard just wants to sell it.  Labor has a plan to deliver tax relief directly to those who need it, and reward them for hard work.  John Howard may have a plan to cut business taxes, but he's going to make families pay for it.  And Labor's plan will deliver jobs for Australians without work, and greater job security for those in work.  John Howard has a plan to tax employment services.  Australians can vote for a plan for a nation, and a plan for jobs, or they can vote for a plan for a tax. But more importantly, they are voting for the set of values they believe in.  I am standing for the position of your next Prime Minister, but I stand for much more than that.  I stand for the values Australians want from their Government. Because when Australians elect a Government, they do so on trust. They have to. They have to trust how their Government will handle the thousands of tiny decisions that go on in the daily business of governing. They have to be able to trust their elected Government to have what they really value at heart, and never, ever, to think of dividing one group of Australians against another.  John Howard's Government has no comprehension of the day-to-day marginal decisions capable of producing such awesome life-changing effects: the elderly Australian who asks can I stay out of a nursing home just one moment longer, because my house is all I have to leave my grandchildren? Or the person who asks how can I stay in the workforce when in reality, childcare and lower family allowance cost me more than I am paid to work?  These are the things the Australian Labor Party was born to fight for.  After 1996, people expected us to be frozen by defeat.  We were not.  We did what our traditions demand - we got out there and we listened. We listened and we learned. And what we have learned we now put before the Australian people. We greet this election as a renewed force in Australian politics.  My pride in my Party is inexpressible. My pride to stand at the helm of a Party I have loved all my life is unfathomable. That pride is a pride in a Party that has not once broken stride since March 1996. It would be tempting to spend this moment in proud reflection on ourselves, but we may not.  Because this moment is not about the Australian Labor Party, or about the Coalition. This moment is about a nation of people with a tough decision on their hands.  Australians who have been disappointed.  Australians who have been hurt by Government decisions before.  Australians who know that a new Century demands new politics.  These Australians ask themselves if they can vote out a Government that has disappointed them so badly, and hurt them so much, after only 2½ years.  But my fellow Australians, when this Government is gone, ask yourselves who will mourn it? It has been bad for this country - harsh, chaotic, and incompetent. It promises 3 more years of the same. I call on Australians to be just as sentimental about it, as it has been about them. A better alternative waits in the wings - a Party with ideas and the ability to implement them, but above all, one with values - good Australian values, and an understanding of Australian lives.  That alternative is what we are here to launch today - an alternative for an Australia that deserves so much better.  Thank you. Senator Meg Lees. Australian Democrats Parliamentary Leader.20 September 1998. M  MEDIA RELEASE. EMBARGO 1.80pm TODAY. Check Against Delivery.  Campaign launch speech.  (Please note additions incorporated into to the speech in response to the announcements from the Liberal Party Launch earlier this morning. This speech supersedes the version, of this speech faxed to you this morning.)  Looking around us here today, I don't think you could find a more symbolically Australian place to launch an election campaign: standing within the Opera House on Bennelong Point, with the Sydney Harbour Bridge in the background.  Symbolic because we have our own team of stars within the Opera HOUSE - people such as:  • Aden Ridgeway from New South Wales.  • Jim Downey from Victoria.  • Brian Greig from Western Australia.  • John Schumann from the Adelaide Hills seat of Mayo.  • Rick Farley from the ACT and the many other candidates here today.  Symbolic also, because our Party is about is building bridges. The Democrats want to build a bridge between the First Australians and the rest of us.  The Democrats want to build a bridge between rural Australians and the rest of us.  The Democrats want all Australians to embrace the values of honesty, tolerance and compassion so as to build a bridge into a new century, together.  Sadly, there are candidates in this campaign who do not want to bring Australians together.  They are the candidates for One Nation: candidates who stand for division, candidates who stand for intolerance, candidates who want Australia to look backwards - not forwards.  What they believe is dangerous to our society, and I am proud that, in this campaign, we are tackling them head on.  By election day, I am sure that everyone will understand that.  In both Houses there is a battle for balance of power between the Democrats and One Nation, and in both Houses we intend to win.  A vote for the Democrats is not just a vote against One Nation. It is also an endorsement of the values and policies we stand for.  Since the Democrats were formed 21 years ago, there has been a revolution in Australian society -with increasingly complex issues affecting our daily lives. Issues such as the floating of the dollar, deregulation, out-sourcing, privatisation, increasing pollution levels, competition policy and even the recession we had to have. The Australian Democrats have been active, principled contributors to debates on these and many other complex issues over the years.  We are not economic luddites. We do not have our heads in the sand, nor do we want to turn back to the '50s.  We have made solid contributions to the debates on these and many other big issues based on research, dialogue and common-sense. And throughout we have consistently asked the question - how do these issues affect ordinary Australians?  Public policy issues are becoming increasingly complex in the world around us - but within these issues the Australian Democrats are still proud to carry a torch for some simple, enduring beliefs.  We believe that every child has a right to a quality, free education.  We believe that the environment should be conserved and protected for future generations.  We believe in both the dignity of work, and equally, in the dignity of those who are unable to work.  We believe that when sick, Australians have a right to expect quality, free health care.  We believe that Government have a place running some service, such as Telstra, which benefit all Australians, and we believe that governments should be held to account, and responsible to their citizens.  These are the policies that Australia has to have.  For the Coalition and Labor parties, this election is about Just one issue. Sadly this one issue is not health, not education, not the environment, not accountability or jobs.  They are running as single issue parties in this campaign. And the issue is tax: whose tax cuts are biggest, whose sales tax scheme is meanest, whose tax slogans can lead to power.  We are also active in this issue - proud to line up with welfare, church and environment groups as together we push for a real and meaningful debate.  Central to this is the question that the Howard/Costello and Beazley/Evans teams dare not ask - How much tax do we need to fond the policies that Australia has to have?  Well we are not afraid to ask. We believe - as Oliver Wendell Holmes put it - that Taxes are what we pay for a civilised society".  We know that the current surplus is built on the back of service cuts to the unemployed, the elderly and low income earners. These are the people who took the pain, for little or no gain and now deserve a restoration of some services through a social dividend.  Though we are hoping to win seats in the House of Representatives, the Democrats accept that we will not be in Government on Saturday week. But, if Australians reject One Nation, we will hold the balance of power - and our votes will decide this issue for either Government.  We believe that the current tax System is broken, and does need fixing.  However, the Costello plan is unfair, the Evans plans does nothing for jobs, and both plans are unfordable.  Other groups also believe this, and I would like to mention just three of the many public statements of support for our position.  Here is what ACOSS said about our Tax Response - 'By putting forward their proposed amendments the Democrats have brought a much needed element of common sense and compromise into the tax debate'.  The Australian Pensioners' and Superannuants Federation said of us; The Democrats challenge to the major parties to substantially amend their fax plans to make sure they are both fair and sustainable into the future is a breath of fresh air in a debate about tax that was getting s bit stale'.  Finally, the Australian Catholic Health Care Association said they were 'pleased to see the Democrats' recognition of the potential negative impacts on the charitable sector's services of both major parties' tax proposals. '  Today the Liberals and the Democrats are both launching our campaigns in Sydney, and we woke to see in the newspapers that Peter Costello is determined to force another election if we refuse to let him fax food.  Well, I think the voters want all parties to do what the Democrats are happy to do. Sit down together and talk, to get agreement on tax reform for this country which is fair, jobs friendly and affordable and get on with it. And the voters know that a tax on food and books is unfair.  If Peter Costollo is determined to ignore the voters, then he would do well to remember this; - the last Treasurer to force a double-dissolution election for the right to tax books, and many other things was John Howard in, 1983.  And he lost. All Democrat Senators and lead candidates have given an absolute guarantee that there will be no new taxes on food or boots, and that tax breaks which disproportionately reward the already well off are just not on.  There are also a range of other vitally important issues in both plans that we will push hard for at the negotiating table - and if they don't negotiate then we will simply vote their plans down.  We did not back down on Wik, we did not back down on Telstra, and we won't back down on Tax.  The Democrats have entered this campaign with a wide range of specific policy proposals. For instance:  • We propose the establishment of a Small Business Loan Guarantee Scheme to reduce the risk premium on small business loans.  • We propose a reduction in payroll fax for employers prepared to create new, permanent jobs.  • We will work actively towards a referendum to include the concept of environment into the Australian Constitution.  • We will move to strengthen the Trades Practises Act to give the ACCC the power to order big corporations with excessive market power to divest parts of their business.  • We will move to bring politicians superannuation into line with general community standards.  • We reject the callous two-year waiting period for new migrants.  . We propose a three year strategy to provide basic dental health care to low income earners.  In the week ahead we will be releasing our key election policies - in 5 cities over 5 days including employment, education, privatisation and health. So stay tuned. This election is about choice.  On October 3rd, you will have to choose between candidates in both houses - the House of Representatives and the Senate.  For the first time, there are Democrat candidates in every seat in every state and territory - who you can support.  Neither the liberal or Labor Party can hope to control the Senate, so someone will hold the balance of power.  Only two parties can do this outright - the Democrats or One Nation. Here in New South Wales that means Aden Ridgeway or David Oldfield.  This is not just a choice between personalities, but also between policies and values.  It is a choice between tolerance and intolerance, between reconciliation and confrontation, between gun control and gun culture.  It is a battle which for Australia's sake, the Democrats cannot afford to lose. I urge you to vote Democrat in both houses to stop One Nation dividing Australia.  Soon, we will all leave here, and get onto buses and planes and go back to our daily lives. Before we do, I ask you - in this magnificent place - to reflect a little.  The Opera House and the Democrats are roughly the same age. The design and construction of both in the late seventies, was innovative and daring, and I know that Australia is much better off for having both.  It is hard to imagine Australia now without the Opera House. It is also hard to imagine Australia without the Democrats for we have crafted an unique, enduring, positive role in parliament.  So in this spot, on this day, and on the eve of a new Australian century - I ask voters to re-commit themselves to working together as a nation. To embrace a new spirit of community based on honesty, tolerance and compassion. To choose a future in which Australians can expect to feel safe, valued and have an equal chance to realise their dreams. This is the Australia we have to have.  And we can, if you vote for it. Policy Launch Statement A Stronger Australia 20 September 1998  THE CHOICE TO BE MADE  The 1998 Federal Election presents Australians with a clear and vital choice:  - it is a choice between competent economic management under the Coalition Government and a return to the days of Labor’s economic incompetence - the days of high debt, high deficits and high interest rates;  - it is a choice between building further on the foundation of  sound economic fundamentals under the Coalition Government, or frittering away once gain under Labor the advantages which Australia has gained from the restoration of those sound fundamentals over the past two and a half years;  - it is a choice between optimistic realism under a Coalition Government, or backward-looking inertia under Labor;  - it is a choice between the Coalition Government with a comprehensive plan to maximise Australia’s potential as a nation in the twenty first century and Labor’s head-in-the-sand approach which refuses to face up to the realities of Australia’s circumstances and which has no strategy for taking Australia forward in an increasingly competitive world;  - it is a choice between the Coalition Government’s plan to slash business costs by over $10b, thereby boosting jobs, growth and exports, and Labor’s refusal to develop any such plan which will only make it increasingly harder for our businesses to compete against the rest of the world and to employ more Australians;  - it is a choice between a Coalition Government with the courage to confront reality and spell out its future strategy to the Australian people, and a Labor Opposition which tries to pretend that nothing needs to be done beyond spending more money but which, if elected in 1998, will repeat what it did after the 1993 Election - namely, to renege on tax eut promises and increase tax rates;  - it is a choice between a Coalition Government which balances fairness and incentive and a Labor Opposition obsessed with the self-defeating politics of envy;  A STRONGER AUSTRALIA   - it is a choice between the Coalition Government’s initiatives to strengthen the capacity of Australian enterprises to compete in export markets by removing $4.5b of costs on Australian exports, and Labor’s policies which will force Australian enterprises to compete in export markets and against imports with one hand tied behind their backs;  - it is a choice between the Coalition Government’s plan to  provide the States and Territories with an adequate and secure revenue base to fund health, education, law and order and other essential government services in the future, and a Labor Opposition with no such plan and no provision for such services into the future;  - it is a choice between a reduction under a Coalition Government of $3.5b in the cost of fuel to ail businesses, with particular advantages for rural and regional Australia, and Labor which would provide no such reduction;  - it is a choice between the Coalition Government’s  comprehensive strategy to enhance the social and economic security of Australians, and a Labor Opposition which is ail talk and no substance on the issue;  - it is a choice between a future under a Coalition Government in which government does not get out of people’s lives but in which it gets off their backs, and a future under Labor in which suffocating centralised controls are restored, choice is diminished and incentive is stifled;  - it is a choice between a Coalition Government which believes strongly in the principle of mutual obligation in our society and the value of programmes such as Work for the Dole, and Labor which is committed to gutting such programmes; and  - it is a choice between a Coalition Government which has boosted Australia’s international influence through the strengthening of our domestic economy and through constructive and realistic engagement with the countries of our own region as well as those beyond it, and a retum to Labor’s arrogant hectoring system of diplomacy that fails to take proper account of Australia’s real interests and our capacity to achieve results.  Policy Launch Statement  These dimensions of the choice which Australians will make on 3 October point to the broader choice to be made between two fundamentally different views of Australia’s future.  Labor’s view of Australia’s future is a timid, introspective and backward-looking one.  Its guiding lights are centralised and ad hoc programmes of government and bureaucracy, a penalising of incentive and enterprise, and a fear of reform that will only entrench and worsen existing-unfairness and inefficiencies, disadvantage Australia in the global economy and condemn Australians to declining living standards.  In contrast to Labor, the Coalition’s view of Australia’s future is one built on optimism, realism and a clear sense of purpose:  - optimism about the capacity of Australian individuals and  enterprises to make the most of expanding global opportunities, and about our unique assets as a nation: our people, our natural resources and the intersection of our history, geography and diversity;  - realism about our circumstances as a nation and about the need for reform in specific areas if Australia is to maximise its potential into the twenty first century; and  - a clear sense of purpose built on an expansion of choice,  incentive and opportunity and reflected in a plan for the future that delivers lower and fairer taxes, boosts growth and jobs, and ensures a secure revenue base to fund essential government services into the future.  BELIEFS AND VALUES UNDERPINNING THE PRIORITIES OF A COALITION GOVERNMENT  During it’s first term, the Coalition Government’s priorities in public policy have been underpinned by a clear set of beliefs and values. These beliefs and values will remain stronger than ever in a second term. They include:  - our aim to liberale the capacities of private enterprise within the context of a strategic but limited role for government;  - our commitment to strategic objectives such as a more productive economy, more effective markets, greater competitiveness and fiscal responsibility not as ends in themselves but as means for achieving more job growth, rising  A STRONGER AUSTRALIA   living standards throughout the community and an effective social safety net;  - our focus on practical outcomes, rather than ideology, with a presumption in favour of the individual over the State;  - our commitment to the enhancement of diversity, choice and competition;  - our recognition of the limits of markets as well as the limits of government;  - our opposition to both laissez-faire economics on the one hand, and suffocating centralism by government and bureaucracy, on the other;  - our central belief in the importance of strong families, strong workpiaces and strong communities;  - our support for an important role of voluntary and community organisations, particularly in areas such as illicit drugs, suicide, youth alienation, homelessness, violence and family breakdown;  - our special sense of responsibility for safeguarding Australia’s unique and fragile environment; and  - our resolve to further enhance Australia’s record of  achievement as one of the most democratic, tolerant and fair-minded communities in the world by continuing to ensure that ail Australians have an equal right to self-dignity and self-fulfilment irrespective of their gender, colour, beliefs or country of origin.  COMPETENCE IN ECONOMIC MANAGEMENT  The issue of competence in economic management lies at the centre of the 1998 Election. Economic competence not only influences jobs, growth, interest rates, debt, investment, opportunities and living standards. It also affects the capacity for funding adequately the government services that Australians need.  THE MESS INHERITED FROM LABOR  In March 1996, the Coalition Government inherited from Labor a legacy of deficit and debt which, without determined corrective Policy Launch Statement action, would have been a continuing drain on Australia’s economy and society.  Labor’s record of economic mismanagement needs to be kept in clear perspective and in high profile:  - the UNEMPLOYMENT RATE peaked at 11.2 per cent in December 1992 and was 8.5 per cent in March 1996. Between March 1983 and March 1996, the unemployment rate averaged 8.7 per cent.  - The UNDERLYING BUDGET DEFICIT for 1995-96 was $10.3b. From 1983-84 to 1995-96, the Commonwealth budget averaged an underlying deficit of 1.6 per cent of GDP.  - COMMONWEALTH GENERAL GOVERNMENT NET DEBT increased from around $16b (4 per cent of GDP) in 1989-90 to around $96b (nearly 20 per cent of GDP) in 1995-96.  - Between March 1983 and March 1996, HEADLINE INFLATION averaged 5.2 per cent. UNDERLYING INFLATION average 5.1 per cent over the same period.  - INTEREST RATES hit record highs in the late 1980s and were still high in March 1996.  - Variable bank home loan interest rates peaked at 17 per cent in 1989 and were 10.5 per cent in March 1996. Between March 1983 and March 1996, they averaged 12.8 per cent.  - Variable bank business interest rates peaked at 20.5 per cent in 1989 and were 11.25 per cent in March 1996 for small business and 10.75 per cent for large firms. Between March 1983 and March 1996, they averaged 14.25 per cent for both small business and large firms.  - Australia’s high inflation rate and debt levels over the 1980s added a substantial RISK PREMIUM to our foreign borrowing, with a differential between domestic and US 10-year bond yields of more than 250 basis points in March 1996 and averaging 450 basis points over the second half of the 1980s.  - FOREIGN DEBT rose from around 15 per cent of GDP in 1983 to over 40 per cent by March 1996.  A STRONGER AUSTRALIA   THE RESTORATION 0F SOUND ECOIMOM1C FUNDAMENTALS  From March 1996, when the Coalition was informed of the true state of the Australian economy, we set about turning around the legacy of deficit, debt and mismanagement which we inherited. We did so because it is only on a foundation of sound economic fundamentals that sustainable long-term growth can be built.  Our record of achievement in fixing Labor’s economic mess has laid the foundations for solid Australian economic growth at a time of regional crisis and global instability:  - The UNDERLYING SURPLUS was $ 1.25b in 1997-98, a $ 11.5b  turnaround from the deficit of $10.3b in 1995-96 and achieved without any increase in income tax rates, the company tax rate, the wholesale sales tax or petrol excise.  - ECONOMIC ACTIVITY has grown by 3.9 per cent through the year to the June quarter 1998  - INTEREST RATES have fallen since March 1996  - Variable bank HOME LOAN INTEREST RATES have fallen by 3.8 percentage points since March 1996 and now average around 6.7 per cent - their lowest level since the early 1970s;  - SMALL BUSINESS INDICATOR BORROWING INTEREST RATES from major banks are around 7.7 per cent - down from 11.25 per cent in mid-1996.  - COMMONWEALTH NET DEBT to GDP remains on track to be  halved by the turn of the century compared to a ratio of around 20 per cent inherited in March 1996.  - PRODUCTIVITY rose by 3.8 per cent through the year to the June quarter 1998 (measured as (trend) non-farm market sector output per hour worked) - more than double the average of 1.7 per cent per annum between 1983 and 1995.  - EMPLOYMENT (as at August 1998) has risen by 222,400 since August 1997 and by 317,000 since March 1996.  Policy Launch Statement  - Real business investment was 13.4 per cent of GDP in the June quarter 1998 (after reaching a record 15.4 per cent in the March quarter) and bas averaged 13.4 per cent since the March quarter 1996, compared with an average of 10.5 per cent between the March quarter 1983 and the March quarter 1996.  - THE UNDERLYING CPI rose by 0.4 per cent in the June quarter 1998 and 1.6 per cent through the year - only slightly above the record low (of 1.4 per cent) in the December quarter 1997. Through-the-year underlying inflation bas now been below 2.5 per cent for the past two years.  - The INTEREST RATE PREMIUM Australians pay over US rates,  reflecting perceived risks, has fallen from over 250 basis points in March 1996 to an average of 29 basis points in August 1998.  A STRONGER AUSTRALIAN ECONOMY THROUGH COMPETENT ECONOMIC MANAGEMENT  On these sound macroeconomic foundations, the Coalition Government has built a stronger Australian economy and enhanced the prospects for future growth. We have done so through a wide range of policy initiatives.  - We have modernised Australia’s industrial relations System,  particularly through the 1996 Workplace Relations Act. In doing so, we are promoting innovation, choice and productive partnerships in individual workplaces to the common benefit of employers and employees in those enterprises.  S.  - Building on our reform of Australia’s financial System following the Wallis Financial System Inquiry, we are establishing a world-class framework for financial sector regulation that will enhance AUSTRALIA’S CREDENTIALS AS A FINANCIAL CENTRE.  - Our $1.26b Investing for Growth INDUSTRY POLICY STATEMENT m December 1997 provided specific incentives to encourage research and development, boost investment, help Australian business capture new export markets and harness the opportunities provided by the information economy.  A STRONGER AUSTRAHA • We are modernising Australia’s communications  INFRASTRUCTURE through expanding competition, broadening consumer choice and requiring specific performance benchmarks.  - SMALL BUSINESS DEREGULATION has eut red tape and reduced compliance burdens.  - Our commitment to MAKING AUSTRALIA ONE OF THE GREAT SHARE-OWNING DEMOCRACIES OF THE WORID has expanded community involvement in great Australian enterprises such as Telstra.  - MICROECONOMIC REFORMS, particularly in the transport sector, are creating new opportunities for Australian exporters and greater potential for growth.  - Sectoral policy measures, including POLIÇY PACKAGES IN THE AUTOMOTIVE, PHARMACEUTICALS AND TEXTILE, CLOTHING AND FOOTWEAR INDUSTRIES, are encouraging renewed investment, greater competitiveness and continued reform.  - We have placed a special emphasis on national literacy and numeracy and revitalised apprenticeships and traineeships.  - Our $1.25b Natural Heritage Trust (which we recently boosted to $1.5b), the Regional Forest Agreements, the Supermarket to Asia initiative and the ‘Agriculture - Advancing Australia’ package have provided a much more productive framework for SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT AND NATURAL RESOURCE PROTECTION.  We have also taken specific initiatives to reduce the tax burden, strengthen compliance, reduce unfairness and encourage investment. Those measures include:  - the 1996 Family Tax Initiative;  - incentives to take out private health insurance;  - a tax rebate for low income aged persons to assist low income self-funded retirees;  - capital gains tax relief on the sale of small business assets;  Policy Launch Statement  Capital Gains Tax relief on the sale of a small business for retirement; and  a range of measures to address tax avoidance.  COMPREHENSIVE TAX REFORM  Comprehensive tax reform is an essential prerequisite for competent management of the Australian economy into the twenty first century. It is the single most important item of unfinished business in building an economic infrastructure that will enable Australia to compete and prosper in an increasingly competitive world economy.  Only the Coalition bas a plan for comprehensive tax reform - a plan to deliver lower and fairer taxes, boostjobs and growth, reduce business costs and increase exports.  THE Coalition’s Tax Reform Plan builds on, and complements, our economic achievements in other areas outlined above.  Labor’s head-in-the-sand approach to tax reform will have inevitable consequences:  - it will deliver higher tax rates as the base shrinks;  - it will lead to increasing reliance on income taxes and therefore an increasingly unfair burden being borne by wage and salary earners;  - it will increase the disadvantages of Australian businesses seeking to win export markets or compete against imports;  - it will discourage savings and penalise those who live off their savings;  - its growing complexity will add to compliance costs and encourage more avoidance and evasion by those who can do so; and  - it will make the revenue base of the States and Territories even more inadequate and inefficient for funding necessary community services into the future.  A STRONGER AUSTRALIA   11  COALITION PRIORITIES FOR A NEW AND BETTER TAX SYSTEM  Three overriding priorities underpin the comprehensive TAX Reform Plan which we have presented to the Australian people.  Our first priority is to reduce the tax burden on Australians. to boostjobs and to increase growth.  That is why we are slashing personal income tax by $13 b a year -resulting in over 80 per cent of taxpayers having a top tax rate of 30 per cent or less compared to around 30 per cent of taxpayers currently.  It is why we are reducing business costs by over $10 b a year and, in particular, cutting the costs facing Australian exporters by $4.5 b a year.  It is why we are reducing fuel excise by $3.5 b a year, with the particular benefits that will flow from that reduction to rural and regional Australia.  It is why we are reducing the cost of private investment goods by $7.5 b a year.  It is why we are abolishing the hidden wholesale sales tax and replacing it with a 10% Goods and Services Tax which is rebateable to businesses and which will generale cash flow benefits for most businesses.  It is why, working with the States and Territories, we will abolish nine other indirect taxes:  - Financial Institutions Duty;  - debits tax  - stamp duty on marketable securities;  - conveyancing duties on business property;  - stamp duties on credit arrangements, installment purchase arrangements and rental agreements;  Policy Launch Statement  12  stamp duties on leases;  - stamp duties on mortgages, bonds, debentures and other loan securities;  - stamp duties on cheques, bills of exchange and promissory notes; and  - ‘BED taxes”.  It is why we are abolishing provisional tax and the provisional tax uplift factor and replacing it by a new simpler Pay As You Go System.  It is why we are providing for more generous Capital Gains Tax rollover relief and retirement exemption to be extended to small business.  It is why we are simplifying tax administration for businesses.  And it is why we have established a mechanism for consulting with the business sector on reform of the business investment base and moving towards a 30 per cent company tax rate and a 30 per cent maximum Capital Gains Tax rate, subject to the need to maintain overall revenue neutrality.  OUR SECOND OVERRIDING PRIORITY IS TO MAKE THE TAX SYSTEM FAIRER, AND IN PARTICULAR MORE RESPONSIVE TO THE COSTS OFRAISING FAMILIES.  That is why we are boosting the Family Tax Initiative and significantly increasing family benefits in real tenus at a cost of over $2 b a year.  It is why we are providing a new 30 per cent tax rebate or benefit on private heaith insurance premiums  It is why we are improving work incentives for low and middle income families by significantly reducing effective marginal tax rates, by reducing the family benefits withdrawal rate and by increasing the income threshold for family payments.  It is why we are making tax cheats and tax avoiders pay their share of tax by reducing opportunities to operate in the cash economy.  It is why we are more than protecting social security recipients and lower income groups from the impact of tax reform on prices.  It is why we are providing special measures for older Australians to protect the value of their savings and retirement income.  It is why we are addressing particular anomalies in the tax treatment of trusts while also providing for the refunding of excess imputation credits and special grandfathering arrangements.  It is why we are making the Fringe Benefits Tax System fairer.  And it is why we have locked in the GST rate by stipulating that any request for a change would need to be made unanimously by ail State and Territory Governments, would need to be endorsed by the Commonwealth Government of the day, and would need to be approved by both Houses of Federal Parliament.  THE THIRD OVERRIDING PRIORITY IN OUR NEW TAX PLAN IS TO MODERNISE THE FINANCIAL BASIS OF THE AUSTRALIAN FEDERAL SYSTEM AS IT PREPARES TO ENTER ITS SECOND CENTURY.  That is why the Commonwealth will provide the States and Territories with a stable and growing source of revenue by giving them ail of the revenue from the GST conditional on their abolition of the inefficient taxes referred to earlier.  The budgetary position of the States and Territories will be significantly enhanced over time by this historic reform.  Commonwealth arrangements will ensure that in the transitionary period of implementation the States and Territories will be no worse off financially than they would be under current arrangements.  From 2003-4, the States will be better off financially, and increasingly so over time, because the GST revenue will grow at a rate significantly stronger than projected Commonwealth grants under the existing System and the State taxes being replaced,  In 2003-4, the States and Territories are projected to gain an additional $370 million; in 2004-5 an additional $1.25 b; in 2005-6 an additional $2.25b rising to an additional $7b in 2009-10.  In cumulative terms, over the first 10 years of our new tax plan the States and Territories are projected to be $25b better off.  This is the single most important change in Commonwealth-State financial relations for over half a century. It provides the States and Territories with a stable and growing revenue base to fund its provision of community services and other responsibilities into the future.   More fairness AND choice FOR families  A Coalition Government will continue to put the needs of families, and in particular a recognition of the costs of bring up children,, at the centre of national policy making. This focus is clearly evident in our  - $2b package of enhanced family measures in our Tax Reform Plan;  - a total of over $30b allocated for funding for public health care under the Australian Health Care Agreements and our new 30 per cent tax rebate/benefit for private health insurance premiums to be introduced from 1 January 1999;  - our increased assistance for carers (for specific detail see Our Families, Our Strength, Our Future policy document, as well as accompanying documentation on the additional initiative for carers announced today);  - our enhanced funding for rural and regional health (for specific detail see our Rural and Regional Health - The Best oF Health  policy document);  - our commitment, announced today, to boost education funding to raise educational standards, benefit disadvantaged schools, improve literacy, numeracy and language skills, and help in the education of isolated children (for specific detail on these initiatives see our Raising Standards policy document released today);  - our expansion, aiso announced today, of the New  Apprenticeship scheme (for specific detail see our Skilling Australia for Jobs policy document released today);  - our assistance to families seeking to balance work and the care of children through the greater flexibility in work arrangements flowing from our workplace reforms;  - our anti-drugs strategy (for specific detail, see our Tough on Drugs: Strengthening the Fight policy document);  - our commitments to boost funding to fight crime and violence in our society (for specific detail, see our Opportunity and   A STRONGER AUSTRALIA   Choice Women’s Policy document and our Crime - A Safer and Stronger Australia policy document);  - our provision of additional funding for family and relationship support and for youth suicide prevention (outlined in detail in the Our Families, Our Strength, Our Future policy document).  Further details of our record of commitment to Australian families is provided in our First Term Achievements document released today.  A FAIR GO FOR REGIONAL AND RURAL AUSTRALIA  Our commitment to rural and regional Australia is reflected in a wide range of initiatives. These include:  - the $3.5b initiative in our Tax Reform Plan to slash the cost of fuel, which will be of particular benefit to primary producers. This initiative includes the new diesel fuel credit scheme to effectively reduce diesel excise for ail off-road (including marine) users from 43 cents per litre to zero, and for larger transport users (including rail) from 43 cents per litre to 18 cents per litre. In addition, business users of petrol and diesel will save about 7 cents a litre relative to where they pay now through their access to a refund of the GST paid on fuel;  - our $1.5b Natural Heritage Trust to protect and restore Australia’s natural environment;  - our $70m Rural Transactions Centres initiative announced today (see separate accompanying documentation);  - our $250m Regional Telecommunications Infrastructure Fund which is to be boosted by a further $70m;  - our recently announced investment of an addition $195 million improving Australia’s roads;  - a doubling of the size of the Medicare Easyclaim network;  - an additional $80m for the Blackspots road programme.  Further details of our record of commitment to rural and regional Australia is provided in our First Term Achievements document released today.  SECURITY FOR OLDER AUSTRALIANS  The Coalition Government is fully committed to protecting the interests of older Australians through a range of programmes aimed at retirement income security, enhanced quality of life and improved access to health and community services.  This commitment is reflected in  - the legislation we had passed for the first time to link pensions to 25 per cent of Male Total Average Weekly Eamings when Consumer Price Index increases fail to maintain that level;  - our introduction of a tax rebate for low income aged persons which has created the same effective tax free threshold for ail retirees on the same income, whether pensioner or self-funded  retiree;  - the abolition of provisional tax under our Tax Reform Plan;  - our extension of the Commonwealth Seniors’ Health Card from 1 January 1999 to over 220,000 additional retirees through an increase in the income limits;  - our extension of the Veterans Gold Card from 1 January 1999 to an additional 50,000 World War II veterans;  - the provision in our Tax Reform Plan for a 30 per cent tax rebate or cash benefit on the cost of private health insurance premiums;  - our $280m Staying at Home package in April this year which expanded assistance to carers, respite centres and Community Aged Care Packages;  - our increased spending (increased to around $3b this year) on residential aged care;  - the provision in our Tax Reform Plan for:  - a 4 per cent increase in age and other pensions;  - retention of the existing pensioner rebate scheme and an increase in the maximum rebate by $250 a year for single pensioners and $175 a year for each of a pensioner couple;  A STRONGER AUSTRALIA   - an increase in the income test for pension eligibility and a reduction in the pension income test withdrawai rate by 10 cents in the dollar;  - a special Aged Persons Savings Bonus and a Self-Funded Retirees Supplementary Bonus;  - income tax cuts worth over $ 13b;  - an increase in the tax free threshold to $6,000; and  - a refund of excess imputation credits.  Further details on our record of commitment to older Australians is provided in our First Term Achievements document released today and in our Tax Reform Plan document.  MUTUAL OBLIGATION  The Coalition Government is committed to ensuring an effective social security safety net for those in need or especially disadvantaged.  We also believe in the principle of mutual obligation - that it is fair and reasonable to require those in receipt of support to put something back into our community.  Today we are announcing a significant expansion of the Work for the Dole programme that we established in our first term. The details of the initiative are provided in our separate accompanying Working for the Dole policy document.  ADVANCING AUSTRALIA’S INTERESTS IN THE WORLD  A Coalition Government will build on its first term achievements in establishing clear foreign policy priorities that contribute in a confident and responsible way to addressing the challenges facing our own region and broader global problems. These priorities are spelt out in our Advancing Australia’s Interests foreign policy document.