unemployment level of around about seven or eight percent. Now we don't wander around
the place making a point about that and I'm only raising it here because it's germane
to the point that you make and that is large numbers of women have been actively encouraged
by the Labor Government to enter into the workforce because we regard employment as
an equal right for all Australians.
We must take a break. Mr Beasley will be back in just a moment on Meet the Press.
This week on Hedge at seven o'clock.
The cab driver who was nearly bashed to death. Have taxis become the soft targets of increasing
street violence. Conservationists on alert to try and stop an age old whale slaughter
and Richard Gere on life love politics and his new movie. Hinch weeknights at seven o'clock
on 10.
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Fresh Pasta and Pasta Saucers.
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Monday on Healthy Wealthy and Wise.
Lin talks to Australia's rising star David Dixon and finds out what he gets up to in
his spare time.
Jim Brown takes us back in time to Sovereign Hill.
To be Australia's best tourist attraction.
Ross has good advice for people looking for their first job.
Ronnie Byrne shows us the best ways of stripping paint.
And Huey whips up a special chilled soup and a Caesar salad to die for.
Healthy Wealthy and Wise Monday 7.30 on 10.
The number one issue in this election campaign will be unemployment.
Kim Beasley's our guest.
Margaret.
Mr Beasley, governments around the world are wrestling with unemployment.
Australia is not an island in that regard.
However we have an 11 per cent, 11 point something per cent unemployment at the moment.
Australians generally find that unacceptably high.
What level of unemployment do you have as a sort of a working level that you feel that
Australians can tolerate that we have to put up with in order to get the economy back on
track?
Well no level of unemployment is acceptable to us.
So it's naught per cent?
And it's too high now.
I mean basically our objective has to be to see those figures coming down constantly.
And when we get into that track of them coming down constantly not to be complacent about
them.
But they're going up constantly at the moment aren't they?
Particularly, no they've been bouncing around.
As you'd expect on a survey like that between the 11 per cent mark and about the 11 point
five.
But so many people have given up looking for jobs so they're not represented any longer.
The real unemployment is far higher.
You and I know that don't we?
The figures are measured in virtually exactly the same way that they have been measured
in the last decade.
So if you're going to say that there's something particularly unusual about that now that the
nature of that status or that unusual aspect of it has been a continuum since these figures
have been taken.
The fact of the matter is that participation rates are still high.
They're much higher than they were during the last recession.
The accepted definition of full employment in Europe for example is six per cent.
Do you accept that definition?
Is that a target you could work towards?
Six per cent would be a very good one to work towards because that's roughly the sorts of
levels that we were looking at about three or four years ago.
I think unemployment got down to about six to seven per cent.
Well how long is it going to take to reach that level?
That would be a good one to aim at.
But the fact of the matter is that you don't take aim at that.
What you take aim at is getting the levels of growth that will get employment growing
again at a rate that the, not that the community accepts, that's not your problem, but gives
people opportunity.
But if six per cent is ideal, if six per cent is ideal, when do you think we will reach
that figure?
Well nobody's going to put a figure on when you'll reach six per cent.
If you look at the plans of the opposition, if you look at the propositions that we have,
you don't have estimates that go down to that sort of figure in the next 12 months.
You must have an estimate somewhere that enables you to plan toward it.
We plan towards reducing unemployment.
We plan towards giving those who are unemployed an opportunity to get back into the workforce.
So you've got no goal for that level of unemployment.
And we don't put in place policies which will detract from the capacity to create jobs.
So you have no goal, no figure.
And don't you think a goal of getting unemployment down is a good idea?
Yes, yes, yes.
That's the direction which we have.
And what we're trying to do...
You would have to have a goal, you would have to have a figure that you're aiming for.
And what we're trying to do is to get to a level where people feel a sense of job security.
What level is that?
And where they feel they're in a position to be able to change their jobs.
Now they were in that position.
But Kim, the message...
Just a moment.
They were in that position when unemployment levels were at around about six or seven per
cent.
Nobody's making any particular promises on a set of unemployment levels.
What they are making promises about is to bring unemployment constantly down.
And that's our undertaking.
The message here, Kim, if you don't mind me saying that, so seems to be unemployment's
going to remain relatively high under both sides of politics.
But we're better stretcher bearers than the other mob.
That's absolutely untrue.
We would argue that unemployment...
But you're arguing on the basis of safety nets and looking after the unemployed.
Yeah.
Well let me go through it.
Unemployment levels will be considerably lower under us than under our opponents.
So the simple reason is we're not going to introduce a GST.
And your own newspaper study of economists demonstrated that that's an important issue
in whether or not there will be jobs created.
That's the first point.
The second point is absolutely critical.
It's not just safety nets.
Those are vital.
You've got to keep a safety net that allows people in those circumstances dignity.
But more important than that even is the opportunity to get them back into the workforce and keep
them in touch with the workforce.
Now there's plenty of evidence from elsewhere where that is not systematically addressed,
as it hasn't been in the United States and in one or two European countries.
But all that happens is those people become permanently unemployed.
Now training stops that.
Which new programs will you be announcing during the election campaign to tackle unemployment?
Well the Prime Minister will of course be making announcements as far as that is concerned
and I'm not going to make those here.
So there are new programs are there?
But we have operating at the moment now, not just the pump priming measures of extra expenditure
on infrastructure, but we also have a whole plethora of training programs.
Long term training programs associated with Carmichael.
Are there new initiatives to be released?
Now you have heard what the Prime Minister has had to say today.
He said he's two things.
You said that the Prime Minister will have some new initiatives in employment.
The Prime Minister said two things.
The first thing he said was that there will be a substantial building on programs which
are already in place and I might say those programs have been done the courtesy by John
Hewson of saying that as opposed to what he said after the budget, well they're good enough
for us to factor them in another 12 months at least in our particular programs and he
also said that there will be new policy initiatives.
Now he's going to make those announcements, I'm not tonight.
Will they create new jobs or will they just ease the pain?
I think it's important both to look at it in terms of creating new jobs and in terms
of keeping people in touch with the workforce and that's the critical element of training
programs.
We've put people into a situation where the society regards them as effectively permanently
discarded.
There are whole swathes of Britain where that has occurred and it's beginning to be a serious
problem in the United States.
We at least have policies now in place here which in the United States they're attempting
to emulate.
Back with the Minister for Employment, Kim Beasley, in just a moment.
This is Meet the Press.
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And earnest farewells.
How many people know about Maggie's dream?
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Wait a minute.
She has one stupid idea.
She has one stupid dream and that's it?
I'm history?
Will it be farewell, Dr. Joel, forever?
I always wanted to be in my own funeral.
Northern Exposure.
8.30 Thursday on Channel 10.
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Mr Beasley you're a mate of Bob Hawkes.
You stuck with him to the end in the leadership contest but last week he said he thought the
Coalition would win an election.
I mean it's a bit of an act of treachery at this stage of the game isn't it?
I don't agree with Bob.
I think we're going to win.
And how do you view his remarks?
Helpful?
Unhelpful?
Well he decides from time to time to be a commentator but I think he's of a mind too
that the Coalition's policies are such as to make it very difficult for them to win
an election.
Would you like to see him stay out of the campaign?
And he's putting up his predictions.
He's a private citizen now.
I mean he does as he pleases and none of us in the Government are going to wander around
trying to micromanage Bob Hawkes life for himself.
So you don't take any notice of Bob anymore?
Well Bob's got to be a commentator and he's in that category.
He's just like all the rest of you.
Would you like to be going to this election with him as leader instead of Paul Keating?
I think actually that Paul Keating's in a position now, as I said earlier on, to be
able to present a youthful and effective team and an experienced team and he avoids any
issues in this campaign of generational change and I think that that's going to be a very
hard thing for John Hewson to handle because he cannot present that sort of team.
Do you think it would be helpful if Bob Hawke put his shoulder to the wheel in this campaign
and gave a bit of assistance?
I'm sure you'll find that Bob will do that.
In fact I know that Bob's been talking at fundraisers for Labor candidates all around
the country and for that effort I think we owe him thanks.
Do you agree that he would have been there?
He also has to lead a private life as well and part of that private life involves being
an election and general political commentator.
Do you agree with him that he would have been the better leader to take you into the election?
What is the point of rehashing all of that?
That's for historians.
What we've got now, you rehashed it, you asked the question.
The judges are in for this discussion here.
As far as I'm concerned we've got a very effective team to present to the electorate and Bob
Hawke's been gone from the job for the last 12 months.
He's been gone for the job for 12 months but nonetheless the rancour that obviously warms
his heart is still there between his feelings for Mr Keating, we're very plain to see on
Channel 9 the other night.
Now I would ask you whether your Government is at all aware of the disenchantment amongst
voters for the vitriol that's been slung around the place between the two leaders in this
pre-campaign campaign, the likes of which I can't recall in recent times in Australian
political campaigns.
It's degenerated into a mudslinging fight and I think voters are sick of it.
I think I speak for a lot of voters there.
Is your Government at all aware of that disenchantment?
Well I don't think you can have watched terribly many elections in the 1960s when the accusations
of being verbally levelled openly in public against the Labor Party that they're committing
acts of treason and I would have thought that the 1960s election plus the 1975 election
were head and shoulders.