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PRIME MINISTER
27 October 1997 TRANSCRIPT OF THE PRIME MINISTER
THE HION JOHN HOWARD MP
RADIO INTERVIEW WITH MATT PEACOCK
AM PROGRAMME, ABC RADIO
E& OE
ANNOUNCER: In Scotland today our Prime Minister is elated over his victory at the Commonwealth
Heads of Government meeting in resisting a push to set uniform greenhouse gas
emission targets. Mr Howard today attended a retreat with the other Commonwealth
leaders away from the prying eyes of the media at the golfing resort of St. Andrews.
Matt Peacock prepared this report for AM,
JOURNALIST: Finally John Howard is having fuzn and he could scarcely contain his good humour as
he strolled over the world's oldest golf course with his wife Janette at the CHOGM
retreat in the picturesque St. Andrews. It is here that the leaders came by train in their
luxury Pullman coaches to fraternise, play tennis and finalise their position on Nigeria,
who remains suspended but not expelled from the Commonwealth for another year.
They could even attend a pre-lunch presentation by the Scotch Malt Whisky Society
with practical as well as theoretical application on how to enjoy a really good malt. So
did Mr Howard taste or sniff.
PRIME MINISTER:
The Prime Minister should never confess to sniffing anythin8. You know, I look but I
don't sniff
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JOURNALIST: Mr Howard has every reason to be pleased he has just been chatting with Nelson
Mandela, the unrivalled celebrity at this conference who has risked the wrath of the
United States and Britain by urging a trial outside Scotland for the Libyan Lockerby
bombing suspects. The South African President even offered to mediate on native title
between Aboriginal Australian and the Federal Government, an offer that was quickly
rejected. But Mr Howard says he has accepted an invitation to visit South Africa. It is
on greenhouse, though, that Australian diplomacy has been victorious with its efforts
over the past few days reversing a strong push by Europe and British Prime Minister
Tony Blair to set specific gas emission reduction targets for Kyoto. The final text was
not specific at all, Mr Howard smugly observed. But even better for the Government
it includes those magic words, " differentiated responsibilities" and a commitment for
all countries to pull their weight. This is just what Australia wanted and camne about
with the help of Canada and interestingly, developing countries like India-
] PRIE M[ NISTER:
And you have now got a position where the Europeans are saying this, the Japanese
are saying this and the Americans are saying this and we are saying something else. I
think what you have got is a situation where if the goal of action is to be achieved then
you have to allow for differences in opinion between different countries.
JOURNALIST: And how supportive will the fact that CHOGM is now mentioning differentiation be in
Kyoto? ] PRIME MINISTER:
Very good Matt. Because what it does is represents an expression of view of a whole
variety countries, big countries, industrialised countries, developing countries with big
populations. JOURNALIST: Like India?
PlUME MINISTER:
Yes. Very small countries with small populations. So it is encouraging. I don't want
to overstate it, I never do in these things. But certainly all the talk about stand off's and
this and that haven't mnaterialised.
JOURNALIST: Do you think that the fact that the Europeans, the Germans, for example, have been so
hostile to President Clinton's announcement of last week may have the effect of
helping Australia's cause too?
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PRIME MINISTER:
It wasn't very clever of them being so hostile to the Americans.
JOURNALIST: What about President Mandela, did you discuss the Wik offer that he made any
further? PRIME MINISTER:
No that didn't come up.
JOURNALIST:
Mrs Howard, how are you finding the trip so far?
MRS HOWARD
It has been very interesting, it really has. I think the most important thing has been to
meet the other leaders and to develop a personal relationship with some of them. And
it doesn't really quite matter where you are when you are doing that. Except it is very
nice to be in Edinburgh. I2ha dn't been here before and it is very interesting.
JOURNALIST: And what have you both been doing today?
PRIME MINISTER:
What do you mean?
JOURNALIST:
No more resigning Ministers on this trip, the name Cheryl Kernot hasn't even been
mentioned, although the Prime Minister has finally conceded that his policy on aged
care homes will need some changes, but he says only small ones.
PRIE MINISTER
It will be fine tuning but the principles of the policy are going to remain because the
principle is very sound. And that is that where people can afford to make a
contribution to their own care they should be asked to do so. That is part of the
principle of mutual obligation. We are not asking people who can't afford to do so to
contribute to their care, we will look after them. We will provide a helping hand to
people who don't have the resources to care for themselves in their old age. But
people who do have the resources, there is nothing wrong, and I don't for a moment
retreat from saying that if you can afford to make a contribution to your care itis only
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reasonable that you do so and not ask the general body of taxpayers to pick up the bill.
Now there is nothing wrong or un-Australian or unfair about that, it is a perfectly
sound principle.
JOURNALIST: Tomorrow the CHOGM conference winds up and the Prime Minister heads for
Indonesia where he will be discussing trade, the currency crisis and, of course
greenhouse with President Soeharto.
[ Ends]