Fax from 26 November 1996 TRANSCRIPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER
THE HON JOHN HOWARI? MP
DOORSTOP UPON ARRIVAL FROM A EC FAIRBAIRN
E& OE
JOURNALIST: Prime Minister are you buoyed by Dr Mahathir's comments that Pauline Hanson is a
person of no consequence?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, I didn't know he'd said that but you know my views on that general subject. I
had a very successful meeting. I very much welcome the discussions I had with Dr
Mahathir, with the President of China and many other regional leaders. It was a good
meeting from Australia's point of view because the process of trade liberalisation
which will, if implemented by everybody, generate thousapds of jobs for Australians
will go on.
JOURNALIST: Are you disappointed Dr Mahathir made those comments when he didn't actually raise
the issue with you in his talks?
PRIME MINISTER:
Look, I'm simply not going to comment on that. You know my view on those things
generally and I'm just simply not going to respond to that.
JOURNALIST: So what's the big boost from the APEC meeting for Australia? 26/ 11/ 96 20: 01 Pg: I
Yak rroii 26/ 11/ 96 20: 01 Pg: 2
PRIME MMNSTER;
Well, the good news out of the meeting is that the process of trade liberalisation
involving everyone, I mean that's important, goes on. And there are thousands ofjobs
in this exercise for Australians, That's why we are in it. We are not in it because of
commitment to some nebulous economic theory. We are in it because this is the
fastest growing economnic region of the world and if the goals can be worked towards
and achieved then there will be tens of thousands of more jobs created not only in
Australia but throughout the region and that's very good news for the poorer countries
of the region, all of which have very young populations, very high levels of
unemployment and the need to lift their economies. And what encouraged me greatly
was the commnitment of the United States and Japan, the two most powerful economies
not only in the region but in the world, to the process, and it is something that
Australia should be very much part of arnd something which it will be part of under this
Government as it was under the former Government.
JOURNALIST: Your trip to Beijing next year, will that fu~ rther cement your relations with China?
PRIME MSTER:
We have good relations with China. There were some misunderstandings. They in my
view have been substantially cleared away. The Chinese President at the end of our
discussion in English said to me " face to face it is much better we clear up things",
and I don't approach China in any courting sense, but just in a sense of having a
sensible mutually beneficial relationship with the most populist country in the world
and a country incidentally that invests more in Australia than any other country other
than Hong Kong, of course in a few months time Hong Kong will be part of China.
JOURNALIST: Pauline Hanson has raised concerns about some aspects of the action plan relating to
foreign investment in real estate. She says Australians are in danger of becoming
tenants in their own country. Is that a valid concern?
PRUME NMNISTER:
No, see you later.