13 March 1998
TRANSCRIPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER
THE HON JOHN HOWARD MP
ADDRESS AT THE OFFICIAL OPENING OF
THE BRIZTRAM PROJECT OFFICE, SOUTH BRISBANE
E&OE........................................................................
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Thank you very much to Rob Borbidge, the Premier of Queensland, to Joan
Sheldon, the Deputy Premier and Treasurer, to John Moore, my federal
Ministerial colleague, other Ministers, the Leader of the Opposition in
Queensland, members of the Brisbane City Council, ladies and gentlemen.
As you are aware, one of the objectives that my Government has had over the
last couple of years is to make certain that the foundations of the
Australian economy are strong, to make certain that we are seen throughout
the world as being a strong, reliable country economically in which
inflation is low and in which the business investment climate is extremely
attractive.
Now that has, of necessity, involved us taking over that two year period a
number of decision which have sought to reduce our public spending and to
get our budget deficit which we found to be $10.5 billion back into
surplus. We have done a very good job along that path and I hope that in
the next federal budget it will be possible for our Treasurer to announce a
budget surplus with will represent a major turnaround in such a short
period of time.
But that hasn't been an end in itself. When you embark upon a programme of
getting the books in order of fiscal consolidation as the boffins call it,
or simply reducing the deficit as we call it, when you embark upon that
sort of programme, it's not just end in itself. You also get a benefit
from it. It is something that I call a social bonus. You get something out
of sensible economic decision making, you give yourself the capacity
further down the track to do things in a directed, intelligent, measured
way that you want to do for the long-term benefit of the country.
And one of the social bonuses to come out of our expenditure restraint and
other decisions that we took, was the capacity we had to announce in the
last federal budget the establishment of a Federation Fund of $1 billion.
And that was designed principally to fund the development of major
infrastructure projects all around Australia, to mark the federation of
Australia, the Centenary of Federation in the year 2001, to generate jobs
in the construction phase of those projects, and to leave the future
generations a lasting, practical memorial of one hundred years of the
federation of the six Australian colonies into the nation of Australia in
1901. And as a result of that Fund being created, as part of the social
bonus, what we have already announced is a commitment of funds to the
Darwin to Alice Springs railway, a commitment to the National Gallery of
Victoria, a commitment to building that major infrastructure project at
Jervoise Bay in Western Australia which will support the oil and gas export
industries of Western Australia which are so important, not only to our
country, but also to the state of Western Australia.
And I am pleased to announce today that we will be committing out of that
Federation Fund a sum of $65 million towards the Light Rail Project which
was announced by the Premier of Queensland in November of last year. I
share all of the enthusiasm of both the Premier and the Treasurer for the
Briztram project. I share all of his belief that it will be a visionary
transport project that will tap the heritage values of Brisbane. Just
three quarter of an hour ago, I had the opportunity of talking to a number
of the diplomatic visitors we have at our Liberal Party convention here in
Brisbane, and I was talking about the different cities of Australia, and I
made the observation that I have now been in politics since 1974 and in
that almost 24 years that I have been in politics, of all of the great
cities of Australia, none has been more dramatically transformed in that 24
year period than the city of Brisbane.
I can still recognise the other cities, and I recognise some of the old
values of Brisbane as well. It still retains some great deposits of its
earlier years, but it really has been transformed into a modern,
attractive, dynamic diverse city. And it needs, part of that
transformation, it needs infrastructure, it needs long term planning, it
needs an adequate transport network and this project will help to give it
that. And that is why it is a project that admirably fits the bill so far
as Federation funding is concerned. It is precisely this sort of project
that the Federation funding was designed to augment. And it will create
the jobs, it will provide the linkages between communities. And in every
respect it does fit the bill.
And can I say to you, Mr Premier, and to you, Joan, as the Treasurer of the
state of Queensland, that I have an enormous respect for the commitment you
have for the development, not only of Brisbane, but also to the development
of the state of Queensland. You are both great Queenslanders and you are
also very loyal partners with myself and our other heads of government in
the future long term development of our country.
But you do understand the particular needs of Brisbane, and the particular
needs of Queensland. You are fathers for the mining industry of this
state, you have stood up for the interests of Queensland in promoting the
need for a sensible outcome to the difficult problem of Native Title. You
know the value to Queensland of the jobs and investment that will be
involved in settling the difficulties involved in that legislation. You
also understand the importance of small business in the life of Queensland
and you also understand that in the 1990s government, in the 1990s the kind
of society we want could only ever be created through a shared endeavour
which involves a partnership between the government, the community and the
individual. The Government can't do everything on its own. But it's got
to help and it's got to provide leadership and it's got to provide
facilitation and this project really does epitomise that and epitomise it
very well.
So I congratulate you, Mr Premier and Deputy Premier and I congratulate the
Government of Queensland on this visionary project. I'm delighted to
associate my Government with it in a practical way. And that, of course,
won't be the end of federation funding support for the State of Queensland.
This project was number one on the priority list given to me by the Premier
of Queensland. There are other projects and of that more will be said at
an appropriate time. But we are working very closely with the Government
of Queensland. We share a vision about the future of this State and, of
course, as part of that, a vision about the future of the entire country.
But can I just diverge from the project and just say one other thing. And
I think it is important that I say it as the very proud patron of the great
St George Rugby League Club. Can I say how delighted I am that the, at
times vigorous and spirited but I think at all times rather tragic tribal
war that racked the great game of rugby league, now appears to have come to
an end. The armistice will be consummated at Lang Park tonight and
appropriately enough between Manly and the Brisbane Broncos. And given my
loyalties and given the fact that I am a leader for all of the Australian
people, I shall not choose, I shall not gain to express a preference for
the outcome. But the real winner of that clash tonight will be the
followers and lovers of rugby league and the many Australians, whether here
in Queensland or in Sydney or elsewhere, were devastated by the tribal war
that went on for a number of years. I think it is a wonderful thing and
it's been settled in, I hope, a lasting fashion. I wish the game well and
I hope it is well supported.
But, ladies and gentlemen, again, my congratulations to the Premier of
Queensland, to his Government for their vision and their foresight and
their commitment to the development of Brisbane and the development of the
State of Queensland. And I'm delighted to lend my Government's support to
the tune of $65 million out of the Federation Fund. We look forward to
further cooperative endeavour in the months ahead. Thank you.
[Ends]
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