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PRIME MINISTER
7 March 1997 TRANSCRIPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER
THE HON JOHN HOWARD MP
DOORSTOP SYDNEY
E& OE
JOURNALIST: What are your thoughts on the Grand Prix this weekend... ( inaudible).. . how will it
backfire? PRIM MINSTER:.
It's a long time since I've seen anything as stupid, as bloody minded, as anti-Australian
as what the union is doing in Victoria. Any pretence that this is other than an attempt
to sabotage the Grand Prix is completely without any merit or without any substance.
This piece of stupidity will backfire on the whole trade union movement. I'd like to
know what Mr Brniby and Mr Beazley think of what the union is doing. Australians
will see it as an attempt to sabotage a great Australian sporting event. And when you
try and sabotage the great Australian sporting events, you incur quite properly the
wrath of the Australian people no matter what the event is, and even amongst people
who don't follow car racing it will be seen as an attempt to stab a great Australian
event in the back in which it plainly is.
JOURNALIST: ( Inaudible).. . great Australian event stolen from another Capital city?
PRIME MNITER:-
Look, I'm tbe Prime Minister of Australia, as far as I'm concerned when something
comes to Australia, I'm happy. I1d on't care whether it's in Sydney or Melbourne or
Adelaide or Perth, I'm not a city specific Prime Minister, I'm an Australian specific
Prime Minister. FarxoM 07/ 03/ 97 15: 04 Pg: 1
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JOURNALIST: ( Inaudible) potential to damage Australia internationally?
PRIE MINISTER:
I think it sends a terrible message. Particularly given that we'll be hosting the Olympic
Games in four years' time, I think it's a terrible message to send overseas. I mean
they're just so out of touch with contemporary Australian opinion. I would imagine
that decent trade unionists in Australia would absolutely cringe at this tawdry little
exercise. JOURNALIST: Mr Howard, just on another matter can you give any guarantee there won't be cuts to
Medicare or pharmaceutical benefits in the Budget?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, I can give a guarantee that the decisions we take in the budget won't unfairly
treat any section of the Australian community. I'm not going to respond to a whole lot
oft a whole lot of individual items of speculation. You always get options, you always
get speculation in the lead up to a budget. Most of it turns out to be completely
unfounded. I give a general guarantee that we'll take care to protect and defend the
safety net and that the decisions we take will be fair and balanced and just. And
beyond that I'm just simply not going to rule individual things in or out. But I just
issue the general sort of caution or admonition that in the past we've had a lot of these
shock horror stories and in the reality you've had very sensible and balanced results.
And I don't expect this budget to be any different and it won't be any different.
JOURNALIST: Do you believe inaudible billion out of health?
PRIME MINISTER:
I don't answer hypothetical questions.
JOURNALIST: The NSW Government says it needs another $ 240 million... to keep the hospitals
running how do you feel about that?
PRIME MIINISTER:
Well there's a Premiers' Conference in what, two or three weeks time, and therefore
this is the season for shadow boxing before the Premiers' Conference. I predict that
this years' Premiers' Conference will be quite a positive event. And I'd predict that
between now and then there'll be a little bit of positioning from all Premiers. I
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r understand that. They understand that. But at the end of the day the public hospital
system of New South Wales is the responsibility of the New South Wales Government.
I mean, there's no way that Bob Carr and Andrew Refshauge can shift responsibility
for problems in the New South Wales health system on to us, Can I just say on this
that if five or six years ago the Federal Labor Government had done something about
encouraging people to stay in private health insurance then you wouldn't now have the
same pressure on public hospitals in New South Wales or indeed in other parts of
Australia. Graham Richardson warned this, other observers warned it, wvarned about
it, but the former Labor Government did nothing and now, very belatedly, Mr Carr
says that it's a big problem, that people are falling out of private health insurance.
Well, why hadn't he done something about it some years ago? We've inherited that
problem. We're doing something on the 1st of July. We're putting almost $ 500
million into the pockets of Australian families to encourage them to stay in private
health insurance. Now, that is a massive injection of money into the system from the
Federal Government which in time will take some pressure off the State hospital
systemn. And it's a bit rich that Mr Carr and Dr Refshauge can now turn around and
say to us we want another $ 200 million. I mean, their mates allowed the private health
system to bleed to death when they were in power. They should have been saying
something to Keating and Beazley and Lawrence some years ago.
JOURNALIST: On the ' work for the dole' scheme have any reports come back to you?
PRIME MINISTER:
Yes, we'll be taking that committee report at the Cabinet meeting in Pakenham in
Victoria next Tuesday and I'll have something to say after that Cabinet meeting
regarding further details of the ' work for the dole' proposal. But it has been very well
advanced. The taskforce under the chairmanship of Dr Kemp is met very regularly and
it will have a very detailed report for the Cabinet. And after the Cabinet meeting I'll
have something in more detail to say about the ' work for the dole' proposal.
JOURNALIST: ( Inaudible)
PRIME MIISTER:
We won't be breaking our election commitments in the health area.
Thank you. Fa rom07/ 03/ 97 15: 84 PS: 3