Fax from PRIME MINISTER
29 January 1997 TRANSCRIPT OF TE PRLME MINISTER
THE HON. JON IOWARD MP
DOORSTOP INTERVIEW -BALLARAT
E
PRIME MNISTER:
Have you got any questiis?
JRNLST: Mr Howard, do you think ( inaudible)?
PRIME MINISTER:
Fabulous news because it's good for small. business, it's good for jobs, it's good for
investment, it's good for families, particularly for. Austraian home buyers, all around,
absolutely fabulous news.
JRNLST: Is it good for a place Ballarat though that's got an unemployment level that's above the
national average?
PRIME MINISTER:
Yes it is because what it will do is produce aneven better climate for investment in
small business. The key to reducing unemploment in Australia remains a growing
small business sector and we have done many things to improve the small business
climate. Low inflation, the interest rate cuts we've had, the new unfair dismissal laws
that are removing the intimidatory aspects of the former law, the capital gains tax
concessions, all of these things are building a better small business environment and that
is particularly good for regional areas like Ballarat 30/ 81/ 97 11: 47 Pg: 7
Fax from J~ IJST:
couivo now to a further intorst rate Imu somnewhei, down the rm= k?
PRINM NSTEL.
I don't want to speculate about interet rates. We've -hed three cuts. Obviously if
inlation stays down, tha?' s pood, big Pm, t ot going to get into this businass of; it's not
rgt for me or the Tresm toe xtt busicess of spculating about future levels of
interest rates but what we now have is a return to the low inflationary envirmmcat of
the early 1970s and in the longer tegM indee in the mediu tarm that is tmendous
news for the whole Australian commaurity.
JRNL$ T:
What = r the implications oftli budge bl'bw out going to be?
PRIME. MINISTER:-
I thinik you will find tha we will onoc again do the right thing y the Australian people.
We will. get fte balance rig& betweq g" thz id; of wnnmeay cexediture and
equally protecting the, leaving intact the social securiy Safty net
JRNLST: When will we be getting the tax cuts thro* gh
PRE UMSTEL.
Look, I don't bave aqydiing to add to whai Pdae Costello said yestrtday. Don t even try
it
JENUST: Surely anty increase in, employment just ini the small business sector is not going to fix
the figure substantially. What else is there?
PRIM NMITER.
Over t= m Flaur, it is the only dhing that w ill slg~ cantly reduce unemployment
becaus the big employer in the. Austlz tommity in the long term is te small
business sector because it will grow mmr rapidly. Ifs no subject to the same
downsizing as the larger corporatons and having a vigorous, sufficiently well
deregulated small business sector is tremendously -important for fiture emaployment
growth. But it will take time, it really will. I mean, if the former Govenment had 13
yarm and left us with an umemployment raz of 8.5% and its importinant in the absuvd
for them to be banging the tablc after only: 11 months and saying, why is it still 8-SO%?
HOW ridiculous. HOW impatiuiet. Faoxm 30/ 01/ 97 11: 47 Pg: 8
I Fax from JRNLST: Are you prepared to put any figure on what level you could reduce it to and when?
PRIME MINISTER
NoIdon'tdealin those sorts of fi Ideal inasteadyresolve to redue
unemployment over a period of time.
JRNLST:
Will this run iwno a honor budget as Gareth Evans said?
PRME MINISTER
No no. Gareth Eva= s is grasping for words., Hejust flailing around with a line. I
mean, they were the mob that left us with he problems.
JRNLST: How difficult is it going to be to get $ 3 billion wettb of cuts through the budgpt?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well we shifted Si-8 billion in latbdgtW we will do the right thhxg byt
Australian commmity. We will get * e balance ight We will be mong but fair once
agaimn
JANLST: Can you guarantee that thee will be no farther welfte cuts?
PRIME M[ NISTER:
Peter Costello gave a guarantee yesterday in relation to the social security safety net?
JRNLST: Should the overnmat have kwwn aboul the Wugot blow out?
PRIME MINISTER:
We did know about it and we revealed it yCsteaY. What happened ws that there was
an estimating error made by the Treasuny acd the Auralian Taxation Offie. I'm not
critcising them for that. Thse tinprae imprci. You're dealing with $ 130 billion
in revenue and you're out in one year by $ 1.6 billion. It's repevttble but we've revealed
the situation and we're setting about ixing it. 38/ 81/ 97 11: 47 Pg: 9
Fax frpom JRNLST: Do you see a double dissolution if the Senate rejects the changes to migrants?
PRIME MINISTER:
I like the idea of parliaments running their full term but I ought to say this, that there's
very strong support in the Australian community for the measure to impose a two year
waiting period on benefits for new migrants, very strong support in the Australian
community for that measure. It's a fair measure. We're giving new arrivals fair warning
of it and I think it's the sort of measure the Senate ought to pass without further delay.
JRNLST: Will you go as far as to call a double dissolution?
PRIME MINISTER:
Look, I don't deal in empty threats. I want to serve three years. I don't think the
Australian public wants another election. The Australian public is fed up with early
elections. The Australian public votes the Government for three years. They like it to
run their three years.
JRNLST: Do you think the Australian public though wants to see something done about
unemployment in the short term? You keep referring to the long term. What about the
short term?
PRIME MINISTER:
I think everybody would like to abolish unemploymcnt overnight but it's not real life to
think that that's going to happen. When you've been in office for only 11 months and
you've inherited an economy which a previous government mishandled for 13 years, it is
quite ridiculous of that former government to then bang the table and say, why do we
still have unemployment? It will take time. It will take time for some of the measures
that we have already introduced to have a beneficial effect but you can't gainsay the fact
that we've had three cuts in interest rates. We have an historically low level of inflation.
We've introduced capital gains tax relief We've fixed the unfair dismissal law. We've
faed industrial relations. All of these things will produce a more benign climate over
time for small business and people must understand that it does take some time but
when these measures fully bite, they will have a beneficial effect on employment.
JRNLST: How will we fix the estimation errors? 380/ 1/ 97 11: 47 Pg:
Fax from 308/ 1/ 97 11: 47 Pg: 11
PRIME MINISTER:
You can never be certain that an estimate proves to be exactly right. You will get every
single budget, no budget has ever come in completely on target, ever, in the history of
Australia, ever completely on target. You can never be certain. people are only human
and they make the estimates on the best information available and ifts happened with
former governments, it's happening with this Government and it will happen with future
governments, and there's no good my pretending, or anybody pretending that you can't
avoid these things but it's $ 1.6 billion out of about $ 130 $ 140 billion of revenue.
JRNLST:
I believe that Cabinet discussed the High Court's Wik decision yesterday. Was there
any developments in that?
PRIME MINISTER:
I don't discuss the contents of Cabinet discussions. Thank you.
ends