Indeed, if we are committed to achi

Indeed, if we are committed to achieving the goal of the
Pacific Century, we cannot ignore the fact that despite our
region's optimism and its overall prosperity, some countries
are burdened by crippling debt levels and appear to be doing
little more than treading water. In some countries indeed,
people are still not being fed, clothed or sheltered
adequately.
Paradoxically, other nations face dramatic social and
political problems which result directly from their
increasing economic prosperity.
Tens of millions of would-be entrants to the workforce have
left their close-knit rural communities to seek a better
life in the cities. This is true throughout our region from
Shanghai to Jakarta. The population of those two cities
alone are estimated to total some 42 million people by the
end of this century.
And in South Korea, for example, there is a clear connection
between the country's outstanding economic achievements and
the unfulfilled aspirations for greater political
expression.
Ladies and gentlemen
I have so far traversed just about the whole region. I have
left to last a discussion of Australia's role in the region
and Australia's capacity to cope with change.
I could not stand here, of course, and describe the
challenge of political leadership and economic adjustment in
our region unless I were willing to meet that challenge in
Australia.
I think there have been times in the past when Prime
Minister Lee, believing that Australians had protectionism in their blood, wondered whether we were beyond redemption.
At the time of the ASEAN's consolidation and development and
of the growth of the NICs a sceptical eye was cast on
Australia. But I can say with confidence that the era of
Australian complacency of postponing the task of
adjustment is now behind us.
Australia's economic history is replete with examples of a
promising economic upturn cut short by an inflationary
spiral.
In the old days Australians habitually found it hacd to
reconcile their differences about how best to share the
fruits of growth. Excessive industrial disputation was one
result. Wage-push inflation was another. Poor economic
performance was yet another.
But as I said at the outset, the constructive role of
enlightened self-interest has a central role to play in
securing sustained economic growth.

In the Australian environment, that required each party to
understand the role of income restraint and the need to
encourage investment and job creation through mutually
supportive economic policies.
That is the approach which I have attempted to bring to my
stewardship as Prime minister of Australia.
It was the approach which underlay my calling of the
historic National Economic Summit Conference immediately on
coming to office in 1983 an approach which promoted a
shared understanding between competing groups and which
healed the divisions and discords which had marred much of
the seventies and the early eighties.
Few would deny that the approach has worked well. The
pay-off has been an absence of wage push inflation, a more
than halving of industrial disputation, a consistent decline
in the real costs of employing labour, sustained economic
growth, a growth in jobs at twice the rate of the industrial
world, greater confidence in the stability of the Australian
economy and an improved climate for investment.
The Australian union movement now well appreciates the
importance to our future growth prospects of progressively
higher productivity.
That awareness lies behind the current willingness of
organised labour to cooperate with management to reform work
and management practices, to restructure Australia's economy
to make it more outward looking and more internationally
competitive, and to cooperate more closely with potential
new foreign investors in Australia.
A complementary change in attitudes has taken place
regarding protectionisin.
Business groups in particular have come to recognise the
benefits to themselves and to Australia of an open trading
system. They acknowledge the role of reduced protectionism
in improving their ability to export and to meet competition
from imports.
one manifestation of this has been a general community
acceptance of the need to reduce gradually the protection
afforded to some of our least efficient industries in the
context of industry specific plans.
By the end of the current plan for the textile6, clothing
and footwear industries, for example, Australia will be the
only country in the developed world not relying on
quantitative restrictions on TCF imports.
Another manifestation has been the recent call by business
groups in Australia and New Zealand to go beyond the
existing framework of the Closer Economic Relations
agreement between our two countries.