DLP demands action on permissiveness.  The Leader of the Democratic Labor Party, Senator V. C. Gair, opened his party's 1972 election campaign in Sydney yesterday with an attack on the permissive society. Children have a strict right to be protected by the State against the merchants of drugs, pornography and permissiveness, Senator Gair told his Sunday afternoon audience of 500 at Anzac House. A handful of young girls in gold DLP t-shirts in the hall, a map of Australia emblazoned with "DLP," a banner bearing the slogan: "This time make a change for the better, vote DLP, a recording of a song. 'God Bless Australia’, which was set to the tune of “Waltzing Matilda" set the tone of the occasion. Permissive policies could destroy a nation, just as surely as external aggression, Senator Gair said. "To oppose them is the duty of any party concerned with Australia's defence, strength and selfreliance," the stocky figure declared firmly. It is clear that as far as the DLP is concerned, the 1972 poll is to be a morality election. This will suit the Government because the Liberal and Country parties are themselves trying to get "antipermissiveness" to stand as an election issue. The decision that Senator Gair should open the party's campaign not in Melbourne or Brisbane, but in Sydney, was evidence of the party's desire to broaden the base of its support. Another sign of the new DLP ambitions was Senator Gair's determined appeal to the rural vote. He repeated the party's opposition to any revaluation of the dollar which, he said, would significantly reduce the incomes of Australian farmers" and damage the prospects of Australian export industries.  Rural aid.  Senator Gair boasted that the DLP was "the only party" to consistently advocate the establishment of a national rural finance corporation. He criticised the Government’s recent decision to release 565 million for longterm credit as totally inadequate. Senator Gair did deal with the old DLP verities defence and foreign affairs, State aid, and hatred of the ALP. But the most bitter words of the afternoon came from the Federal president of the DLP, Mr J. Brosnan, who made swinging attacks on the press, Leader of the Opposition, Mr Whitlam and the president of the ACTU, Mr Hawke. He charged that large section of the press was going flat out for the Opposition for the first time since 1956. The ALP stood to destroy everything Australians held dear. "They are determined to destroy our defences; they are determined to destroy human life: they are determined to destroy our independent school system; they are determined to destroy the minds of our kids through drugs and pornography," he declared. Mr Brosnan alleged that the ALP had raised $11 million to face the most critical election since 1956. Most of the money had come from "conscripts" in the trade unions. However it was still Senator Gair's afternoon and the DLP's anti-permissiveness theme was accorded proper attention. If the family is the basis of our society, and the DLP believes it is, then it follows that permissive policies, which denigrate marriage, family values and the authority of parents, will, in time, erode the internal cohesion of the nation," Senator Gair said.  Gair outlines DLP election policy.  Keep nuclear options open  The development of nuclear technology as part of the nation’s defence policy was urged last night in the Federal election policy speech of the Democratic Labor Party. This development, first for peaceful purposes, would ensure that our nuclear defence options remain open to arm us against aggression in the event of our having to stand alone and without allies. The speech was delivered in Sydney by the party’s leader, senator V.C. Gair who declared that Australia now stood, this first time in its history, as a nation in its own right. It now had to depend on itself and no longer on allies. As Australians, Senator Gair said, we must never settle for a little timid, inward turning, selfish, defenceless nation, stagnant in growth and self satisfied to the point of folly. The DLP will have 121 candidates in the election on December 2. Senator Gair said Australia must regard its defence policy as its chief insurance premium against aggression. The DLP also urged continuation of national service, a rejection of isolationism, the strategy of forward engagement in South-East Asia, the strengthening of its Indian Ocean naval forces and the quick completion of suitable naval and air bases on the western coastline. There should also be active reserves of fully trained members for all services. Local industry capable of supplying the requirements of the armed services should he encouraged. Other details of DLP policy were:  Economic Policy: Whichever Government came to power after December 2, inflation would be its major economic problem. It was only through a firm prices, incomes and wages policy, under vigorous Government leadership, that the community would be convinced that all sections, and not just wage earners, were being asked to shoulder some burdens in the antiinflation battle. The DLP would urge the Government to support he party’s Prices Limitation Bill, already introduced into the Senate. It would also establish a prices surveillance tribunal with Commonwealth backing whose job would be to publicly examine price rises, especially in key economic areas. It would review tariff assistance so as to improve the efficiency and competitiveness of the economy, and also introduce a productivity wage in order to tie wage rises to productivity and to increase purchasing power. There was also need for a much stricter Government control of foreign capital inflow into Australia. Other necessary measures were the restriction of Commonwealth Government spending, effective legislation against restriction trade practice and the establishment of an inflation advisory council.  'Testing' takeovers.  On the subject of overseas investment and capital inflow, Senator Gair urged that all takeovers of Australian companies should be the subject to Commonwealth Government approval. A usefulness test should be applied to all new imports of overseas capital. Australian industries should be encouraged to use the Development Bank and other sources of capital investment within Australia. In the case of exploitation of Australian resources by foreign companies against the national interest, the government should have the legal right to intervene. The Government should also have the power to control dumping or "the loading of the prices of goods produced in Australia by agreement with foreign parent companies. On wages the DLP believed the Government should support substantial increases for workers on, or near, the minimum wage. Senator Gair also urged the Government to support the case for equal pay for women where the work was of equal value. This would prevent employers from using women as cheap labour. It would also slow down the wholesale absorption, on economic grounds of married women into the workforce. This caused severe physical and mental disturbances to countless Australian children.  Family allowances: the DLP would continue to press strongly for a significant increase in the level of family allowances. This would be done by substantial increases in child endowment, an initial increase to at least 10 per cent of average weekly earnings, and the payment of a realistic allowance for the wife who chooses to remain at home and care for the family. There was no reason why family allowances should not be calculated as part of taxable income. Taxation: The DLP believed that the concession of greatest value to married people in general and parents in particular, was the family tax concession. The Taxation Committee of Enquiry should consider this as a matter of priority. Other recommendations for consideration by the Committee were a site tax which would be additional to present rates and land taxes, to be imposed on all land zoned for industry at a rate proportional to the market value of the land and a substantial payroll tax to be imposed on all employment in densely populated areas. The proceeds would be used to pay subsidies to assist employment in sparsely populated areas or in new cities distant from existing metropolitan areas. Both these measures would encourage decentralisation. On the question of family help, families needing assistance should have their incomes assessed in the normal way. If their incomes fell below the accepted minimum income on a needs basis, the government should supplement their income by an extra payment. In the area of Commonwealth State taxing powers, Senator Gair said the State should he made responsible for meeting their entire expenditure from their own taxation, principally personal income tax, wealth tax and mineral royalties. 'These fields of taxation should he reserved exclusively for the States," Senator Gair said. The Commonwealth should confer with the States to devise means of providing capital assistance to local government bodies. This would enable them to undertake urgent sewerage works and thus combat pollution.  Arbitration to stay  Industrial relations. The present system of conciliation and arbitration could not practically be replaced as the characteristic method of industrial organisation in Australia, senator Gair said. The DLP did not believe that union organisation should be weakened by legislation. But political stoppages, strikes and black bans, imposed by unions for nonindustrial purposes, should be outlawed by severe penalties. All union ballots should involve compulsory voting and be conducted by commonwealth or state electoral officers. Monopoly power in unions should be resisted. Thus all union ... should be conducted according to a democratic code which adequately safeguarded members rights. ... The DLP regarded the issue of abortion as a fundamental question of human rights, not as a religious question. Therefore the DLP strongly opposed any widening of Federal or State laws which might lead to abortion on demand. Abortion on demand was a direct attack on a fundamental human rights, the right to live. It was also an ultimate threat to the fundamental rights of all citizens. The DLP believed that all Australians should have access to free medical and hospital treatment. Although present voluntary schemes (private fund and government pensioner schemes, etc) were reputed to cover some 93 per cent of the population, there were areas here the cover was as low as 53 per cent. Since 1957 the DLP had supported a national compulsory superannuation-cum-health scheme. The scheme should be paid for out of general revenue. However, the existing fund schemes would be encouraged to continue in operation to provide for private and intermediate hospital systems. Social services. Until a national superannuation scheme was introduced to cover all pensions, unemployment and health insurance, the DLP urged an increase in pensions to an amount equal to half of the basis wage. The amount of social service payments should be worked out by an independent tribunal not by .... The tribunal would also review the ... of living, wage increase, prices and other relevant factors when assessing the amount of pensions payable.  Housing: senator Gair detailed four main reforms which would enable young married couples to raise finance for home building. These were interestfree marriage loans, regular UPdating of home savings grants, priority in home finance loans to young couples buying their first home and capitalisation of child endowment payments for housing purposes. The DLP also urged the provision of a reasonable minimum proportion of housing loans by major institutions in Australia at low interest rates. Tax deductions should be made available on money invested in housing. Taxation rebates should also be made available for home maintenance. Population: the DLP believed that Australia should increase its population quite significantly. The country needed more people both as means of defence and to develop rapidly its economy and resources. The basis of the DLP migration policy was:  Maximum encouragement to family groups. The linking of migration to land settlement and the expansion of secondary industry; sponsorship of migrants to the maximum extent possible; efficient medical examination and screening of migrants to ensure proper moral, psychical and mental standards. A more reasonable balance between sexes in the migration program. The DLP was totally opposed to the radical new population policy which a Whitlam government is pledged to implement. This policy was fraught with grave danger to Australia’s defence, development and social stability. Education: the DLP advocated a system of student loans. These would be for the payment of tuition fees for tertiary education  , to be repaid within a specially determined period. If the student regularly passed his exams, he would receive a certain proportion of the loan back again. As an immediate step towards assisting the non-Government schools to meet their running costs, the DLP urged per capita grants to their students of 50 per cent of the average cost of education a child in the State system. Conservation: Senator Gair advocated the establishment of a national conservation authority, financed by the Commonwealth government and with its own chairman and necessary administrative officers. Rural: To cut costs in the rural sector, senator Gair listed several measures. These were:  - a strong attack on inflation.  - A wide ranging reduction of Australian tariffs.  - Commonwealth aid to lower municipal rates, freights and fares.  - The abolition of Commonwealth estate duty and strong action to eliminate restrictive trade practices.  These policies would help overcome the unfair advantage at present enjoyed by secondary industries over primary industry. Senator Gair condemned the Government's plan to release $65 million for long-term credit for farmers as a totally inadequate substitute for a national rural bank. The money administered through an orthodox banking system, was clearly insufficient to meet rural finance needs. There was no substitute for an adequately capitalised national rural bank to meet the farmers’ cyclic needs for long-term, low-interest credit. Overseas aid: Australia's contribution to overseas aid should be at least equal to one per cent of the gross national product. The Government should also set up an appropriate agency to co-ordinate all aid by Australia, both Government and private, to overseas countries.  Denial by Whitlam on abortion.  The leader of the Federal Opposition, Mr Whitlam, denied last night that a Labor Government would relax the laws on abortion. Mr Whitlam speaking at a press conference in Sydney on the eve of his election campaign opening at Black Town Hall tonight, said this was one of three false claims made in Liberal Party advertising so far in the campaign. He said on advertisement saying the Labor Party would relax laws on abortion is totally false. The two points on which Mr Whitlam claimed Liberal Party advertisements had misrepresented Labor’s policy or intentions were on the health scheme and assistance to independent schools. He said: there is an advertisement saying that under a Labor health scheme there won’t be freedom of choice. There will be freedom of choice for both the doctor and the patient. Another advertisement had claimed a Labor Government would reduce assistance to independent schools. There will be more assistance, he said. On abortion he said: The Labor Party regards this as a moral question for the individual, not the party collectively. Many Liberal Party members in the NSW and Federal Governments had expressed their personal views in favour of relaxing abortion laws as had individual Labor members. At the same time, similar numbers of Liberal and Labor State and Federal parliamentarians had expresses their opinion that abortion laws should be tightened. Mr Whitlam said there would be no collective Labor Party decision on the abortion law issue. It was a matter on which no Federal Government could do anything outside the ACT or the Northern Territory.  Left wing pulls the strings, Lynch.  CANBERRA, Sunday. A political party which had as a candidate a person hiding from the law was not the party to lead Australia, the Minister for Labor and National Service, Mr Lynch, said today. The ALP’s endorsement of Barry Johnston as their candidate for Hotham is a clear example of what government by them would mean, government by sectional interests of the community, he said. Speaking in Melbourne, Mr Lynch mid said the endorsement exposed the so-called reformation of the Victorian branch of the ALP for what it was, cosmetics surgery. Action of this type illustrates to the public that nothing has really changed, the Left wing pulls the strings and the machine acts ..., he said.  Vote switch on leaders.  A change in the leadership of the Liberal Party or the Labor Party could have a marked effect on voting patterns, the latest Herald Survey has found. Only 4 per cent of non-Liberal voters said they would definitely vote Liberal if Mr McMahon was replaced by a leader they preferred; 9 per cent said they would probably vote Liberal if the present leadership was changed and of a solid core of non-liberal voters, 17 per cent said they would probably vote Liberal, and 49 per cent said they would definitely vote Liberal if the leadership was changed. In the same way only 3 per cent of nonLabor voters said they would definitely vote Labor if Mr Whitlam was replaced as leader; 10 per cent said they would probably vote ALP in the event of a leadership change, and 22 per cent of non-Labor voters said they would probably not vote Labor, and 41 per cent would definitely not vote Labor, if Mr Whitlam was replaced.  The Herald Survey interviewed 2500 people in 25 marginal metropolitan and non-metropolitan electorates in six states, the interviews were conducted two weeks ago. Herald Survey is conducted by the Herald by the Australian sales research ... in association with the department of political science in the University of Melbourne. McMahon: Changing values. Liberals' policy for a country of the young.  The text of the Liberal Party’s policy speech given by the Prime Minister, Mr McMahon, in Sydney last night is: Tonight as Prime Minister and Leader of the Liberal Party, I want to talk to you about the issues on which we will fight this election. Basically, it is an election about policies- policies that will directly affect you and your family and for many, many years to come. They will be years of changing values and expanding opportunities, especially for the young. It is also an election about two fundamentally different ways of governing: The Liberal way, which seeks to encourage the freedom, the talents and the dignity of the individual, in a society in which the government is the servant, not the matter. The other is the Labor philosophy of Socialism and the all-powerful State in a society where the Government is the master not the servant, a government which is dominated by the Left-wing and the powerful militant trade-unions. Never forget this: this election is also a contest between two teams. Judging them man for man and collectively, my team is younger, better qualified and more experienced than the Labor alternatives. Half my Cabinet is 45 or under. The Opposition’s shadow cabinet has only one man of that age. On these three tests- policies, philosophy and the team - the Liberal and Country Parties are worthy or your confidence and support. We have the ability to manage your nation responsibly and well, both in calm and crisis. Let me know speak about the Australia of today. It is a country of the young. Every second Australian is under 29. This means that most of the problems of our country are those of growth- the growing up of so many young Australians, better educated, more independently-minded, national in outlook, and determined to play a more significant role in world affairs.  The record. Soon after I took office as Prime Minister in March, 1971, we reviewed and transformed our policies to match the aspirations of Australians in the 1970’s. They were well-considered and well-planned changes, and are part of our determination to build the future on the solid foundation of the past. In defence and foreign policies, we have responded to the great changes in the world, especially in Asia and the Pacific. Three months ago we brought in a Budget with big reductions in personal and income-tax and very significant social welfare measures. Relations between the Commonwealth and the States have seldom been better. Educational programs have been made considerably improved. New laws have been passed against foreign take-overs. The arbitration system has been overhauled. We have announced programs for urban and regional development, for the protection of the environment, the promotion of the arts and the welfare and advancement of our Aboriginal fellow-citizens. This has been done in the last 20 months and it only the beginning. We promise you that the return of this government will guarantee further constructive and above all responsible changes, not for the few but for the benefit of all.  The economy. Basic to success is the state of the economy. As a direct result of government measures over the past year the economy is obviously strengthening. Demand is growing strongly and in the crucial area of consumer spending ... is buoyant. In fact, retail sales have grown from 8 per cent last year to 12 per cent now. The effects of this strengthening of demand have already had their impact in other areas. Production is increasing, unemployment is down, business confidence is high. Meanwhile, we are achieving success in the battle against inflation. The rise in consumer prices is down from an annual rate of around 7 per cent to 5 per cent. In all these we are achieving our economic objectives. But responsibility in managing the economy is basic. My government is pledged to continue the responsible, sound policies of economic management which we have successfully followed in the past. Now I come to some policy decisions of special importance to you all. First, there is one matter directly related to what I have just said.  Taxation. Rising money incomes bring with them steeply rising income taxation. As our record demonstrates, we have no intention of letting personal income taxation become a brake on incentive. Since the last election the government has cut personal income tax heavily- by an average of nearly 10 per cent in the 1970-71 Budget and by an average of 10 per cent in the last Budget- and we completely restructured the tax scale. And within the limits of economic responsibility, we will aim to restructure the income tax scale periodically to ensure that it will not become a burden on income earners. I turn now to other major decisions.  Housing. Australians are homeloving people, but there are many young married people who find it difficult to finance a home of their own. We intend to help them. This it what we will do. We will guarantee, for the first time, loans to buy a block of land on which the owner intends to build his home. This will be done through the Housing Loans Insurance Corporation. We will also arrange for the corporation to be able to insure second mortgages under certain conditions. Furthermore, we propose to help young married persons acquiring their first home to most the repayments of their housing loans. We will do this by paying them half the annual interest up to a limit of $250 in the first year of the loan. Thereafter, we will continue to help at a rate reducing by $25 a year. The conditions are that they must be 35 years or under, paying of their first home and living in it. In addition, those who began doing this on or after January1, 1970, will be eligible. In effect we are backdating the opportunity some three years but without backdating payments. Widowed and divorced persons with children will be eligible on the same basis. We will also raise $10000 the maximum credit foncier-housing loan that can be made available by the Commonwealth Savings Bank at its most favourable interest rate. The same increased limit will apply to War Service Home loans as soon as Parliament passes the necessary legislation. We will encourage the savings bank to make more high-ration insured housing and development up to 90 per cent or more of the value of homes costing up to $16000. The problems relating to sewerage in housing and development generally will be discussed with the states at the first loan council meeting with the states next year.  Education. Turning to education which touches the lives of all of us in a dozen different ways, we need better schools, more teachers and more facilities. In the current financial year, the Commonwealth is providing, directly and indirectly, more than half of the $1,900 million being spent on education in Australia. The initiatives we have taken during the past 12 months have broadened and developed the Commonwealth’s involvement in the education of your children. There are several new measures we now plan to introduce in particular areas in education. We will provide $25 million a year over the next three years for capital and recurrent expenditure to assist the States in their efforts to expand pre-school education. And we will expand our present commitment to technical education and continue it into the future, allocating not less than $20 million a year. We will also double the number of technical scholarships to 5000 a year from the beginning of 1974, with emphasis on scholarships for those students from low-income families. We will give an education allowance of $400 a year free of means test for children in isolated areas who must live away from home in order to attend school or who have to be taught at home. We will assist the physically and mentally handicapped and underprivileged school-age children at a cost in the first year of $10 million. Further, we finance libraries for primary schools at a rate of $10 million a year, on the same basis of co-operation with the states as with libraries for secondary schools. For the business community we will establish a national school for postgraduate management education at the University of New South Wales. We reject outright Labor’s plan to centralise control of every Australian school in a bureaucratic school commission away in Canberra. Under Labor’s scheme the dual system of education would be weakened to the point of destruction. Parents would loss the right of choice, and education authorities would be forced to discriminate between schools no matter what the consequences. Australian will recognise this as a socialist desire to control individual schools by giving or withholding finance. We reject Labor’s so-called needs test on independent school. It clearly shows the intention of powerful sections of the Labor Party to abolish State aid altogether. Surely those bad old days are dead, and gone forever.  Health. In health we consider that everyone in a modern society is entitled to have the best health care that be provided. They must be free to choose their own doctor, their own insurance fund and their own hospital. The fear that you will not be able to pay your medical bills must be removed. We have now decided on several new health initiatives. A free nation-wide dental service for school children, beginning with those under 6 years of age, will be established in co-operation with the states. We hope to start this scheme next year. When it is fully developed over a period of years it will provide for all school children up to the age of 15. The Commonwealth will pay for in-school and mobile clinics plus three-quarters of running costs. Next we will help the states dollar for dollar for community health services for drugs dependence, alcoholism, and mental illness. The government will also renew capital assistance of $1 for every $2 spent by the states on mental health institutions when the present programs end in June, 1973, and we will provide greater assistance to the low-income families to pay for their health insurance. For those with an income under $37,50 a week, the government will pay the ... in full. We will also lift the eligibility limit by $4 a week for each member of the family in excess of two, and we will pay a two-for-one subsidy to the states for voluntary and charitable organisations providing physiotherapy services. A subsidy for home nursing physiotherapy services will be paid dollar for dollar with the states. We will also double the $2 for $1 grants to the states for paramedical services and extend them to a greater number of groups and we will double to $3 a day the handicapped children’s benefit. In the social welfare field, as you know, we have decide to abolish the means test for people over 65 within three years. This will help our elderly citizens. We have also decided that age, invalid and widows’ pensions and war widows’ pensions will, in future, be increased in line with increases in the Consumer Price Index. The adjustments will be automatic every half year and will be in addition to Budget review of the base pension rates.  National growth and progress. Until now I have talked to you mainly about policies relating to your social welfare. I now turn to a different subject on which the future development and quality of life in Australia depends. Within recent weeks the Commonwealth has passed legislation under which we will join with the States in a co-operative effort to enrich life in urban and regional areas. The Commonwealth will promote: the development of submetropolitan centres around major cities. Regional growth centres to relieve the pressures on existing cities. This is a historic event In Commonwealth -State relations. It represents perhaps the most important single development in Australia’s social and economic life within the past two decades. We have already established the National Urban and Regional Development Authority. A number of eminent Australians, highly qualified in this field, have accepted the Government’s invitation to form a special advisory committee to assist the authority in its work. Commonwealth spending in the first five years is expected to rise to the rate of about $80 million a year and will cover land acquisition, all essential services and building construction. As a matter of urgency, $5 million has been made available to the authority this financial year so that it can rapidly develop plans co-operation with the states.  Transport. There is a related subject. The improvement of our urban transport systems and railways is basic to urban and regional development and to easing traffic congestion in our major cities. The Commonwealth is already spending through the states, $1,250 million over five years on roads throughout Australia. Our assistance to the States for these programs will be continued when the present agreement ends in 1974 and will include national highways linking all capital cities. We have decided that we will make grants up to $350 million to the states over a six-year period to assist them in correcting the deficiencies and for making improvements in existing public transport services. Assistance will be concentrated on modernising existing bus, tram and rail services and on new roads including undergrounds. We will also provide a further ... in loans and grants of $95 million over three years to improve interstate and intrastate railways on which our primary producers and manufacturers depend so heavily. And we will complete the linking throughout Australia of all state capitals and Alice Springs with standard-gauge railway system. These programs will of course be carries out in consultation with the States. The commonwealth government accepts in principle the recommendations by the expert group on road safety that the Commonwealth should involve itself more directly in road safety and in other ways promote a more vigorous and co-ordinated approach to national level. It has been decided to create a national office of road safety to support and co-ordinate State and Territory efforts against the road toll. A survey of national needs for improvements at locations with poor accident records will be undertaken in consultation with the States. The results of this survey will be available when the government is giving consideration to comprehensive new arrangements for assistance to the states for roads when the current Commonwealth aid roads legislation expires in June, 1974. In the meantime, $5 million will be made available in 1972/73 and the following year to the States on a dollar-for-dollar basis for expenditure on low-cost traffic management and other improvement projects which could make immediate and significant contributions to road safety.  Trade and industry. Trade and industry in Australia are in are in good shape today. The stage in set for more progress providing the pattern for growth development by the Liberal Country part Government is not interrupted. As a new incentive to industry, we now propose to allow a taxation deduction for depreciation of new income-producing buildings. The deductions will apply to expenditure incurred after today on new buildings, and on alterations and additions to existing buildings. We will allow an annual statutory allowance of 2 per cent based on a prescribed term of years for depreciating the original cost of building. The statutory allowance will remain attached to the building during the prescribed period and will be available while the building is used in producing assessable incomes. The government also proposes to legislate to extend the functions of the Commonwealth Development Bank to provide finance in appropriate cases for the tourist industry. We will continue to give Government support to our industries. Co-operation, not control, is our maximum. Nationalisation and socialisation are Labor’s preferment and intention. The Commonwealth gave special assistance to the wool industry during the period of difficulty of which it is now recovering. In consultation with the states, we are continuing our support for the rural reconstruction scheme and stabilisation schemes for primary producers. We will ... extend our beef roads program by $50 million over five years when the present program ends in 1974. Our export trade is booming and we are co-operating with industry in the developments of new markets. You will remember the ... about the ... of our wheat sales to China. The Labor Party says this was because we would not recognise China on her term- as it was prepared to do. But Labor was wrong, quite wrong. China was resumed buying our wheat as a normal commercial transaction. We have made special arrangements to develop in an orderly way our fast-growing trade with Japan and are ready for the changes which will follow Britain’s entry into the Common Market. Our secondary industries and their growth are of fundamental importance to us for home needs, for exports, for full employment. Our tariff review of manufacturing industries is being made to help industry in the most effective allocation of resources in a growth economy. We are pledged absolutely to a policy of tariff protection for economic and efficient industries. The government accepts full responsibility for all tariff decisions and the security of jobs for Australian will be one of its first considerations. So too will special non-economic factors such as defence. The Deputy Prime Minister and Leader of the Country Party will tell you more about the progress and new initiatives in trade, rural and secondary industries in his policy speech next Monday.  Energy resources. When the government recently appointed an advisory committee on science and technology, it recognised the need to have the best advice in accessing Australia’s requirements, resources and potential in this field. In addition, we will now establish a national energy advisory council. Its task will be to advise the government on development and management of our energy resources including the marketing of energy minerals both within Australia and overseas. At present we are financing a substantial water resources program with the states. It will be extended for a further five years from now- with a total contribution of funds up to $100 million.  Employment. I now want to speak to you about employment. Full employment is a cardinal principle of Liberal policy. Those Jeremiahs who have been playing politics with unemployment in recent months have been confounded by the facts. They have been wrong- badly wrong- in their guesses. The latest figures show that 82400 persons, or 1,46 per cent of the workforce of over 5,5 million, are registered for employment. That is vastly different from the forecasts by Mr Whitlam and Mr Hawke and the figures would have been better but for industrial disputes and .... The ... adjusted ... has also turned down decisively. We have demonstrated beyond doubt that our policy of full employment can be made successful. And we can ensure you that, because of the strong growth of the economy, all Australians, including young people completing their education this year, can be ... forward with confidence to expanding employment prospects in the year ahead.  Immigration. The development of a nation depends very much on its people and their skills. Migrants to Australia have made a really ... contribution to our national development with their technical skills, their ... and their .... Immigrations continues to be of ... importance. I ..., without ..., my government’s immigration policy. It is to ensure that we have one Australian society- a homogenous and integrated community, not a ... with ... of people who cannot be integrated. We are committed to the policy of attracting new ... from traditional sources and to ... of the migrant intake by the government. It will ... a ... policy, based on the skills of the migrants and their ability to integrate. It is flexible and at all times will be adjusted to ensure full employment. Now Labor wants to abandon the most important ... of this policy. It would ... its policy ... on the ... of ... by migrants already ... here. There would, therefore, be no regard for skills and no real government control. This must not happen.  Women and the young. We have also decided to make two other policy changes which I am sure will be of interest. In the changing ... there is a special ... to identify in positive terms the role of women in our society. So we have decided to hold a Royal Commission into improving the status of women in Australia. We supported the ... for equal pay for work of equal value before the Conciliation and Arbitration Commission in 1969 when the principle was adopted. In the ... now before the commission we have not ... claims for a broadening of that principle to cover women engaged on work exclusively or usually performed by women. We have indicated to the commission the way in which this should be done. The decision will be supported by the commission. At the beginning of this speech I refereed to the predominantly youthful community we have in Australia today. There have been, as you know, moves for a reduction in the voting age to include 18-year-olds. Some states have already decided to allow this. Others are awaiting an indication of the government’s .... In our view, the age at which the ... shall be exercised should be the same throughout Australia. Therefore, we intend to commit with the States after the elections concerning the introduction of the franchise for 18-year-olds.  The differences. Let me now explain some of the very real differences between the policies of the government and those of the Labor Party.  Defence and foreign affairs. First, defence and foreign affairs, which are primary responsibilities of government. We live in a region of turbulence and change. This makes it imperative that we should have effective and mobile defence forces to defend ourselves and that we should have reliable allies. For these reasons we must strengthen our close links with the United States, Great Britain and New Zealand. Labor’s attitude to foreign policy and defence is different. Labor would draw the ... of the ANZUS Treaty as a defence pact, abandon SEATO, withdraw from Malaysia and Singapore and would reduce the Army dangerously below strength by the abolition of National Service. We will honour all those treaties and arrangements. Under the Liberal and Country Party policy, Australian defence capability is designed to protect our interests wherever they might be. Our strength is not limited to continental defence. Labor would turn Australia into a friendless and isolated country and leave the seas and the islands around us defenceless. Labor would take risks that are unnecessary and entirely unacceptable to us. During the past year I have been to the United States and Great Britain, to Indonesia, Singapore and Malaysia and have had frank and friendly talks with the leaders of those countries. They value our goodwill and friendship. They trust us. My Minister for Foreign Affairs has recently visited India and Japan. Our relations with these countries, too, are on a sound basis. We will never put any of these relationships at risk. In dealing with Soviet Russia and the People’s Republic of China, ideological differences have not been and will not be allowed to deter us from seeking to develop in every sensible and practical way those areas where common interest exists. But we will proceed at all times with care prudence bearing in mind that Australia’s long-term interests are paramount. We believe are policies and attitudes are understood and respected by both these countries.  Domestic. Finally, I want to speak to you about respect for the law and the public interest. You must think very seriously about this. We have all suffered because of industrial upheavals for purely political motives without one word of protest from the Labor Party. Labor has supported the draft dodgers and has incited young soldiers to disobey orders. They have nominated one draft dodger as a candidate at these elections. These incitements to break the law are essentially incitements to the logical next step - physical violence, the violence on the building construction sites, intimidation at union meetings- the very violence, left-wing and communist-inspired, against which the government has fought for so long. The Liberal Party stands absolutely for civil liberties, for individual freedom and for the right to dissent providing it is within the law. Unhappily, contempt for the law has emerged in industrial relationships, too. Millions of man-hours and millions of dollars have been lost by decent unionists in Australia, without reason. strong government is needed to control these strikes and defiance of the law. My government has acted decisively to reduce the incidence of strikes and lawlessness and is steadily being successful. Labor, controlled by the left-wing union, would be totally incapable of doing to. It is pledged to abolish sanctions in industrial agreements. We believe that sanctions are essential to the success of the conciliation and arbitration system and we have strengthened this power in the recent changes we made to the Act.  Conclusion. I have said this election is a conflict ... between policies, philosophies and teams. I emphasis that the Liberal Party stands for respect for constitutional government and decentralisation of power. A balance between Federal, State and local governments. Labor seeks absolute power with no checks or balances. It wants to abolish the Senate and dismantle the whole of the existing state structure, including local government. In Parliament, the Liberal party has full freedom in policy and decision making. The Labor Party is directed by its outside non-elected machine, dominated by the left-wing unions. The Liberal Party’s national goals are clear and uncomplicated. We seek one Australian society, free, secure and progressive, within a federation of the States. As we see it, the prospects for this country are unlimited. But the pace and direction of growth and progress are in our own hands. We have the power to build Australia into an even greater nation and a greater power for good- a vigorous and purposeful nation with an authentic Australian character. It is for you to choose which kind of government you want. On the facts I have presented to you, and in the interests of the nation, I am confident you will vote for the Liberal and Country coalition on December 2.  RE-EQUIPMENT OF DEFENCE FORCES.  In a supplementary statement on policies, Mr McMahon said:  Defence. The defence forces are being extensively re-equipped and defence industry is being stimulated by the decision to build new destroyers, helicopters and other aircraft in Australia. The defence vote for 1972/73 is $1,323 million, a rise of more than 16 per cent in two years. Within the 1972/73 vote ... substantial increase in capital equipment ... services to $184 million and to $69 million for defence facilities, including works and housing. Considerable progress is being made in the development of base support facilities, particularly for the Air Force at Learmonth and the Navy at Cockburn Sound. Now plans are being developed to increase the tempo and operational readiness of the CMF. A new CMF ready reaction force made up of three ... groups is to be formed. Substantial improvement in pay and conditions of members of the defence forces have already been made and more are being introduced. The government has already accepted seven specific recommendations of the ... Committee on Defence Forces Retirement Benefits and has adopted six others in a ... version. Further recommendations are to be studied by two independent investigators. National service is still necessary to maintain the army at minimum strength. To assist ex-National Servicemen in starting a civilian career, the Commonwealth has decided to increase the maximum amount of loans available to them get started in a business or occupation. The new maximum will be $5000 for business and $10000 for agricultural activities. This is in recognition with of their special services to the nation.  Papua New Guinea. Self government and independence for Papua New Guinea in accordance with the freely expressed wishes of the people have been government goals of long standing. We have been working closely and harmoniously with Papua New Guinea Ministers on the many ... involved, having in mind that the fact Papua New Guinea House of assembly has set December 1, 1973, as the earliest practical date for self government. It must be obvious that there is trust and friendship between us and we want to sustain this. The transition from a dependent Territory to one now ready to manage its own domestic affairs has been smooth and orderly. We have contributed many millions of dollars and much guidance to help the people of Papua New Guinea shape their own future. Our interest, our advice and our financial contributions will continue to be available.  Aborigines. They must have an equal and an honoured place in our society. They ... be full citizens neither ... nor .... The ... much in our hearts and minds as in the public .... The ... allocated in the last Budget to all aspects ... was increased by 70 per cent of $53,2 million. Opportunities have been created for Aborigines to lease land in their own right, for religious, economic or domestic purposes. The recent purchase of Everard Park in South Australia is an example. Health services are being extended to cope with special health problems, notably childbirth and malnutrition. Those Aborigines who wish to remain separate in their traditional environment will be encouraged and assisted to do so. Those who seek integration within the Australian community will be given effective help in housing, education and job opportunities. We aim to establish in consultation with the States an all-Aboriginal advisory council, elected by the Aborigines themselves. We will also establish a national centre for the Aborigines.  Federal state relations. Co-operation between the Commonwealth and the six states is close and effective. We have increased substantially general revenue assistance to the states, enabling them to expand their own programs greatly. At the same time, we transferred payroll tax, a major growth tax, to the states. We have also increased specific purposes payments to the states and funds for general capital purposes and we have acted to reduce their interest indebtedness. The Commonwealth Government will be taking an active part in the forthcoming Constitutional convention and has been giving its full support for local government representation at the convention. We acknowledge the vital role of representative local government in its special decentralised field. We oppose the stated policies of Labor, which seek to destroy the structure and role of local government by massive amalgamations of areas and by centralisation of control in Canberra. Our aim is to preserve and to strengthen the Federal system at each of its three tiers - recognising that local government is essentially the province of the States. We have promoted the establishment at the Australian National University of an independent research unit, headed by professor R.L. Mathews, to carry out a study of inter-governmental relations.  Home payment assistance. Details of the government’s proposal to grant assistance in respect of interest payments on loans made to acquire the first home owned and occupied by married persons are set out below. To be eligible to receive the benefit they must be married, or widowed or divorced persons with a dependent child and aged less than 36 years when they become liable to pay interest on money borrowed for their first home. The maximum annual benefit will be $250 in respect of the interest paid in the first year of the loan, declining by $25 a year in each succeeding year. It will cut out at the end of the 10^th^ year. The maximum benefit payable in respect of any year will not exceed one-half of the interest actually paid on the loan in that year. Thus, the maximum ... will be $250 in the first year of the loan, $225 in the second year, $200 in the third year and so on, but in respect of any year it would not exceed half the interest paid in that year. This means that a married person who borrowed at age 35 to acquire the first home owned after marriage would be eligible to receive the benefit up to age 44, provided interest continued to be paid on the money borrowed for this home and it continued to be occupied in the family home. Provided it is the first home owned after marriage interest paid on loans obtained to acquire new and previously occupied houses and home units, whether payable to a private or a Government lender such as a state Housing commission, would be eligible to attract the benefit. The interest payments may be on a first, or first and second and even third mortgage, or under an approved contract of sale or other approved purchase arrangements. However, interest paid on fixed-term loans will not attract the benefit. To attract the benefit the interest must be paid under a loan contract where payments of principal and interest are made in equal or approximately equal, instalment at regular intervals not exceeding 12 months. Where both the husband and the wife are liable to pay the interest and both are paying it, they make a joint claim, but the annual maxima, namely $250 in the first year, $225 in the second year and so on, will apply in respect of the home. Young people eligible to receive the grant include those who borrowed on or after January, 1970, to acquire the first home they owned after marriage, provided that, at the time they became liable to repay the loan and pay interest, they were aged no more than 35 years. However, they will not be permitted to claim the benefit in respect of interest paid by them before the date of operation of the scheme which will be set out in the necessary legislation. Thus, a young couple who became liable to pay interest on their housing loan in 1970 would be unable to claim against interest paid for at least the first two years of their loan and the maximum grant they could receive in respect of interest paid in the third year would be $200.  This would reduce by $25 a year in the fourth and in each succeeding year. A young person who borrows to acquire a home before marriage will be entitled to receive the home payment benefit in respect of interest paid on the housing loan after marriage for the first remainder of the first 10 years of loan repayments, provided the family lives in the home.  The environment. The Government is deeply committed to a policy of protecting the environment both in an Australian and a total world concept. We aim for: protect the physical environment from pollution and destruction. Preserve the ... balance of .... Enlarge our natural parklands and breathing space. To do this we have set up, with the States the Australian Environment Council and our own advisory committee and office. The Government has adopted the principle that the polluter should pay and the States, through the  Environment Council, have done the same. It is encouraging to note that industry is beginning to regard pollution control as part of the total cost of production. In future, new development projects within the jurisdiction of the Commonwealth government will require an impact statement where they have environmental implications which need to be considered before approval is given. We will promote the concept of buying back land for national parks and reserves. We will also arrange for a biological survey of Australia's flora and fauna to see what impact man is really making on the natural environment.  The arts. The Government will continue and extend an active program to foster the arts and encourage an authentic Australianism. In three years we have increased Commonwealth assistance to the arts from $3 million to $8 million a year. The Australian Opera Company has now reached a high standard complementary to its new home at the Sydney Opera House. The Australian Ballet Company has continued to grow in international stature and has been invited to perform in both London and Moscow. Australian drama is reflecting the stimulus provided to writers by the Commonwealth Literary Fund and to production companies by the Australian Council for the Arts. Construction is about to begin on the National Gallery at Canberra. We are spending $800000 this year in acquiring new works of art to add to the national collection which will be on display there. The film industry getting now help from the Film Development Corporation and the Experimental Film and Television Fund. The Australian Film School will begin operations in 1914. The Government has authorised a review of the film industry by the Tariff Board. The Commonwealth art, literature and music advisory boards are spending $1,7 million this year to assist Australian artists, writers and musicians. Through the Australian Council for the Arts and other Commonwealth agencies the government is helping to promote new standards of excellence in the cultural life of the nation.  The 35-hour week. This is not the time for a 35-hour week. It would mean more inflation and, as a result, a reduced material living standard. It would cost the government millions of dollars. The government’s opposition to the 35-hour week is based on our concern for the welfare of the whole nation. The Labor Party, by contrast, in advocating the extension of the 35-hour week on an industry-by-industry basis, seems concerned only with deferring to the demands of powerful industrial onions. We - all of us, Governments and people alike - are fighting a battle of costs, a battle which if lost must threaten jobs, pay packets and pensions alike. We must keep costs down if we are to continue to sell our products- both primary products and manufactured goods- on the keenly competitive world markets. Everybody’s future depends on that.  Tourism. Tourism contributes to the quality of Australian life. The industry itself is one of the biggest in Australia. Already the Government is spending, through the Australian Tourist Commission, $3 million a year to encourage overseas visitors to come here. We have also provided for a contribution of up to $1 million this year on a $1-for-$1 basis with the States on a program for the development of a wide variety of tourist attraction such as Australiana and pioneer settlements, the preservation of historic sites and buildings, fauna sanctuaries and other projects considered to have particular appeal to overseas visitors. The Government has also approved in principle the first stage of conservation and tourist development proposals for the Ayers Rock area. It was authorised the start of investigation, planning and design work. The decision to allow a taxation deduction for depreciation on new income-producing buildings will assist sectors of the tourist industry, as will the intention to extend the functions of the Commonwealth Development Bank to give the tourist industry access to it in appropriate cases. Censorship. The Government will not allow the country to be flooded with pornography. Our approach to censorship will be mature and receptive to responsible attitudes in a mature society. The Government believes that, with its national literature Board of Review and co-operation with the States, it has established a responsible approach to literary censorship. We also believe that it has done the same in film classification. We do not believe as apparently some Labor Party members do, that all censorship should be removed and that should be an open door to pornography. We will, as part of our approach, continue to adopt a strong line in respect of four particular areas: material affecting young people. Pornography. Excessive or unnecessary violence. Material inciting, encouraging or condoning drug abuse.  The drug menace. Drug taking is growing in Australia. We are determined to do all in our power to contain and reduce this menace. We have increased our efforts to locate sources of supply and to apprehend the major criminal element, the pedlars and pushers. This is a difficult task, with world-wide ramification. In the conjunction with the states, we will increase our educational programs to warn the public, particularly the young people, of the dangers. For drug addicts, emphasis must be upon medical treatment and rehabilitation. We will not remove the existing penalties on the use of marihuana or other illegal drugs. We believe that those who advocate the removal of penalties are socially irresponsible. The problem of ... drug addiction is persistent despite greater efforts with law enforcement measures. We have studied the relatively new approach adopted in Britain of treating hard drug abuse as a medical problem as distinct from a law enforcement problem. We are making arrangements for a top-level survey team representing the Commonwealth and the States to visit Britain and to report to us. Overseas investment. We announced in September the Governments decisions following its general review of policy towards overseas investment. The Government is well aware of the vital role overseas capital has played in Australia's development- in adding to the resources available for our growth, in bringing valuable technology and managerial know-how and access to overseas markets and in creating new industries. As a result of the Government's policies in this sphere, Australia is a larger and more prosperous country. However, the inflow of capital from overseas could not be without its costs, including some increase in overseas ownership and control Australian industry. More recently a new factor has affected the situation. The current account has strengthened greatly and with capital inflow continuing to come in at a high and increasing rate, it has been our international reserves which have been increased rather than the resources actually being used in the economy. These developments indicated that the policies which had been served us well needed modification. Four important decisions set out below have therefore been taken- though in the expectation that overseas capital will still have a continuing role to play in future Australian development. The decisions are at follows: first, the government decided to bar short-term borrowings overseas. Secondly, the government has abolished the borrowing guidelines which limited the freedom of overseas-owned companies to borrow in Australia and which thus had the effect of increasing capital inflow. Thirdly, the government has relaxed its policy of not permitting portfolio investment abroad by Australian residents. Fourthly, we have legislated to control foreign takeovers of Australian companies and assets. The present legislation is interim. It will be replaced by permanent legislation at the earliest practicable date. The Government aims to see greater Australian participation in overseas-owned companies and is examining further the means of achieving this. We are increasingly concerned about the acquisition of Australian land by overseas interests. We will investigate this problem in co-operation with the states to seek a common policy to prevent excessive purchase by external interests. Northern territory. Over the last years the Northern Territory has seen the most rapid growth in its history. Government expenditure in the Territory in this period has totalled almost $ 630 million, including almost $200 million for capital works. Within two years a uranium province of world significance has been discovered in the Northern territory. Three mines should be brought into production by private enterprise by about 1976/77. The government is providing assistance by way of road access and regional centre development in collaboration with the ... companies. Following an agreement with the South Australian Government the Commonwealth will construct a ... from ... to Alice Springs at an estimated cost of $54 million. National body urged for development.  The Country Party would press for a joint Commonwealth-State Council for Industrial Development if the Government was returned at the elections, the Deputy Prime Minister, Mr Anthony, said last night. He said the council would assist in the co-ordination of government decisions and programs with a view to developing a comprehensive and forward-looking nation-wide policy for industrial development. Mr Anthony was delivering the Country Party’s policy speech in Lismore. He said there was wide support in industry for a more co-ordinating and concerted approach to Australia’s industrial development. We recognise this need and we shall be taking steps to achieve this objective, he said. The approach we shall be following will not be one based on the direction of industry by government, nor one involving inflexible master plans for the economy as a whole. Rather, it will involve looking and ... ahead in ... co-operation with industry much more than has been the case in the past. Our aim will be to help and encourage and guide industrial development. We shall seek to ensure that industry’s own policies can be established in the full awareness of the government’s policy. As an immediate first step, he believed the Commonwealth should discuss the establishment of the council with the States. From his experience of the great value to primary industry of the Bureau of Agricultural Economics, he believed similar expertise on a firmly established basis within the government would be of real value to secondary industry in the development of policy. He would try to see that the Office of Secondary Industries within the Department of Trade was adequately equipped to do what he believed would be a task of major national importance. Mr Anthony also promised support for the wool, dairy and fruit industries. The Commonwealth would progressively lift its contribution for wool research and promotion in the next three years to $41,8 million a year.  Open-ended commitment. The States have been promised a $10 million grant in the Country Party policy to assist them in programs designed to assist and encourage cream suppliers to change over milk supply. Mr Anthony has made an open-ended commitment to the fruit industry to provide whatever assistance is necessary to facilitate adjustments in the industry. He stressed in his speech that he wanted an Australian Australia, whose people had the will to use their great resources and their resourcefulness to fashion a life of quality for themselves. He wanted an Australian society built on the standards and values that have served us well and which I see no reason to change. He said it had been claimed for some time that a big issue in the elections was the cities. He agreed with this. But another big issue not just in the election but in Australia’s future, was the country which the Labor Party relegated to a secondary status. There was a need in the country to stimulate expansion of industry to bring jobs and growing prosperity and give Australians the kind of life they wanted and where there could be city amenity with country ... and calm. For the first time, the Commonwealth Government had committed itself wholeheartedly to a program which could change the face of Australia. It had established the National Urban and Regional Development Authority and expected its spending to reach $80 million a year in the next five years. But more than legislation is needed, Mr Anthony said. There must be a determination by governments, by industry and by the Australian community to make this program work. Australia now has the chance to give its people a new kind of life in its urban and regional areas. The chance to show the world how a sensible nation can order and balance its development. The Country Party believes there must be a balancing of our desire for material goods and convenience with our responsibility to preserve the environment. We believe a very important contribution to this objective will be made by a more sensible distribution of population and industry so that natural systems are not overloaded. We believe there must arise a greater understanding of the need for every member of the community to accept the discipline and the cost of conserving resources and preserving the environment. The Country Party saw inflation as a real threat to the nation. It was one of our most dangerous enemies, not just an economic phenomenon but social evil. The inflation conflict was not a government fight. It was a battle the government could not win without the support of the people. Not until our national psychology of inflation is changed will real progress be made, he said. Not until we learn that there can be no real advance in living standards without real advances in productivity will there be real success in the struggle. Mr Anthony said the government had helped the wool industry fight its way through a crisis of unprecedented seriousness. The country Party, in the face of strong criticism from the metropolitan press and abuse from the Labor Part, really went out on a ...- we really stuck our neck out- for the woolgrowers of this country, he said. Let no woolgrower forget that. Let no country town or community which relies on good income forget it. Mr Anthony said that if, as he expected, the Australian Wool Corporation came down strongly in favour of the sound scheme of acquisition of the clip, the government  would work with the industry to bring about the reforms it wanted. It would work with the States to give the wool industry a new foundation of sensible marketing reforms. We want the wool industry to have, as soon as possible, the best marketing scheme it is possible to devise, he said. For wool research and promotion, the government will progressively lift its contribution over the next three years to $41,8 million a year. A three year total of $113 million. We will be looking to the industry to increase its contribution. The Country Party has demonstrated beyond question its determination and its ability to win through for wool. We are nor now going to loosen our grip. Mr Anthony said that Britain's entry to the Common Market made it urgent to assist cream suppliers to change over to the supply of whole milk to enable the industry to place greater emphasis on production of dairy proteins. He said the Commonwealth government make a grant of $10 million to the States to assist them to assist and encourage cream suppliers to change over to milk suppliers. Details would be worked out with the States and ... consultation with the industry. There was real concern for the fruit industry, he said. The facts on which to base a decision on the industry’s claims for currency adjustment assistance on export during 1972 were not yet available. Accordingly, the government had agreed to an interim measure to enable co-operative canners to bring payments to growers for 1972 fruit up to 85 per cent of the fixed price. He said the government would seek agreement with the industry and the states on what production levels should be and would then try to provide whatever assistance was necessary to facilitate adjustments. The farmer and those who depend on him across this nation ... affected by and must respond to change, he said. But in one thing there will be no change. And that is the determination of the Country Party and of the government to continue to strongly support rural industry in the interests of the people of rural Australia and of the nation. Mr Anthony said ... would remain a ... Country Party objective to seek further liberalisation of the taxation impost, especially estate duty. The Country Party welcomed the impact which the thinking of young Australians was having on shaping the nation. The party would look with growing determination for ways of bringing younger people into the main current of affairs and for ways of applying their energies and their enthusiastic approach to the solutions of problems. The Party had a special interest in the Northern Territory and against a background of rapid development, the government had offered the establishment of the Territory Executive to a minister some state-like responsibility with acceptance by the Executive of financial responsibility. If this offer was accepted, it would be the first step towards ... for the Territory. The Country Party wanted to see policies of orderly marketing which had worked well for agricultural products, applied to mineral resources. There must be orderly, sensible and responsible development of these resources, he said. Governments- Commonwealth and State- must work with industry to establish sensible, long-range programs for the development of our resources in the best interests of the whole of the Australian community. The Country Party’s objective was to extend the government’s principle of foreign ... to other forms of foreign investment as far as this could be achieved. We want to ... a real and effective partnership between Australia and overseas interests, he said. We want to see a national approach by all governments to ensure that Australian land remains in Australian hands to the maximum possible extent and consistent with the national interest. The Country Party wanted the Australian Government to pursue through every suitable channel, its objective of normalisation of relations with China. The Country Party earnestly hopes that solutions will be found to the difficulties which have so far stood in the way of a more complete recognition of China by Australia, he said. We hold this hope, not as part of a pecuniary approach, but because we want the Australian people as the Chinese people and all people to understand their place in the world’s family.