E&OE....................................................
Well, ladies and gentlemen, no doubt you'll have some questions
but I just thought I'd open by saying that now, more than ever
is not the time to change economic course. It is very, very clear
that only the Coalition Government can offer Australia economic
security, safety and stability against the background of the economic
turmoil in Asia. If my Government had not taken the measures it
did over the last two and a quarter years Australia would now be
weaker and more vulnerable economically than what it is.
Now is not the time to turn back to the Labor Party which gave us
huge debts and huge deficits and tried to stop the Coalition taking
the measures that were necessary to strengthen and protect the Australian
economy and to deliver us the strongest economic foundations for
25 years. And it will mean that although we are not untouched by
the Asian economic turmoil, we will weather the storm effectively.
Nor is it the time to turn to the experimentational policies of
One Nation which would chase away foreign investment, threaten our
export industries and, as a consequence, endanger the jobs of many
tens of thousands of Australians. It is not an occasion to turn
back to the failed policies of the past, nor is it a time to experiment
with other policies which could have disastrous consequences for
employment levels, particularly in regional Australia.
JOURNALIST:
It also not a good time to introduce a GST, Mr Howard.
PRIME MINISTER:
We need tax reform. The fact that we are facing economic challenges
around the world in fact makes it more necessary to reform Australia's
taxation system. One of the great advantages of a broad based, indirect
tax or a goods and services tax rather than the existing indirect
taxation system is that it would make our exports more competitive.
So if people are worried about our export performance, if they want
more jobs in our export industries, they should support tax reform,
not oppose it. The people who oppose tax reform are opposing the
growth of our export industries.
JOURNALIST:
(Inaudible)
PRIME MINISTER:
Well as Prime Minister I never pick sides when it comes to locations
in different parts of Australia but speaking generally, on behalf
of the entire country, let me make it perfectly clear that foreign
investment in this country, in accordance with our longstanding
and successful foreign investment policy, is always welcome. Foreign
investment has generated tens of thousands of jobs over the years
and I think the talk which is going on about this company is a timely
reminder to everybody that Australia is not the only part of the
world in which foreigners can invest and if we give the impression
that we don't want foreign investment, if people start mouthing
policies which discourage foreign investment, what they are doing
is chasing jobs out of Australia. Because in a globalised economy,
if foreign investment doesn't come to Australia it will go
somewhere else and so will the jobs.
The idea that you can have the jobs without the foreign investment
is wrong. The idea that you can say foreign investment is not welcome
and not pay a price is wrong. The idea that you can have it both
ways, as some people would, is wrong. And I think this is a timely
reminder and a timely warning how dangerous and silly and short-sighted
it is to sound unfriendly towards foreign investment because foreign
investment has lifted the living standards of Australia and generated
hundreds of thousands of jobs over the years and that would be at
risk if we say in a globalised economy that foreign investment is
not welcome.
JOURNALIST:
Will you be able to respond to the call of Jewish business leaders
to try and persuade the Liberal Party to put One Nation last?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I've said before that that's something that will
be decided by the State divisions and some of them have already
indicated publicly, like the Victorian division, that that will
occur. That is something for our party organisation and it always
has been.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, the world bank boss has (inaudible) heading for
a depression. Does that put more pressure on you to go to an early
election, do you think (inaudible)
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I am not going to underwrite the views of one individual. I
thought talk of a depression was somewhat exaggerated. There is
no doubt that Asia is going through a difficult economic time, and
there's no doubt that if we had not taken action to strengthen
our economy we would be hurting a lot more now, and it's equally
the case that if we go back to the deficit debt policies of Labor
or we play around with the experimental policies of One Nation we'll
get hurt even more. As for the timing of the election, well, nothing
has really changed. I've read a lot about the timing of the
election and what form it will take. Can I say that nothing has
changed. I will decide, I will decide the election date, as all
Prime Ministers have done in the past, at the right time.
JOURNALIST:
What about (inaudible) the Deputy Prime Minister?
PRIME MINISTER:
I haven't the faintest idea what anybody has...
JOURNALIST:
....that you are obliged to go to the polls if there is no resolution
of your Wik plan by the end of this Parliamentary sitting?
PRIME MINISTER:
The election date will be decided by me in the normal way.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard, if the Wik bill is not passed within a fortnight, will
you use that as a trigger to hold an immediate double dissolution?
PRIME MINISTER:
It's already a trigger.
JOURNALIST:
... on whether you will go to a d.d.?
PRIME MINISTER:
Good try Fleur, good try.
JOURNALIST:
Brian Harradine has said that he is willing to revisit the Wik issue.
Would you like to meet with him before Parliament resumes to see
whether there is scope?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well if Senator Harradine, who I respect on many issues, but disagree
with on others, including Native Title, so far, if Senator Harradine
wishes to speak to me and put a proposition to me, I'm always
ready to do so. But our position hasn't changed. It is in Australia's
interests that the Native Title issue be sorted out. Our Bill is
a fair Bill. It's already a compromise. We've accommodated
all interests and the idea that there can just be further compromised
to the detriment of the national interest is misplaced. It is in
the interest of the economies, particularly of Queensland and Western
Australia, that this issue be sorted out, and it really must be
sorted out. People lose sight of the fact that this is a national
interest issue. I'm not pushing the Native Title Bill to score
some ideological point or to have a double dissolution for the sake
thereof. I want the Native Title issue sorted out.
JOURNALIST:
Do you agree with Mr Fischer's assessment yesterday of how
that needs to be done, in terms of an obligation (inaudible)?
PRIME MINISTER:
I'm not saying anything additional to what I've already
said on the timing of elections. You're just wasting your time.
JOURNALIST:
Are you disappointed that Mr Fischer has been so forthright?
PRIME MINISTER:
That's an interesting variation on the theme, David. Good try.
Two more and then I must go.
JOURNALIST:
Are you obliged to go to a double dissolution on Wik if the Parliament
doesn't (inaudible)?
PRIME MINISTER:
What's the next question?
JOURNALIST:
If you could take your time, and surely (inaudible)?
PRIME MINISTER:
That's an even higher decibel rating.
JOURNALIST:
What's your message to those Taiwanese (inaudible) One Nation?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well my message to all foreign investors is that you are welcome
in Australia. We have a foreign investment policy which protects
the national interest but encourages foreign investment and my Government
will guarantee a receptive climate for foreign investment because
that generates Australian jobs and generates higher living standards
in this country. If we had not received foreign investment over
the years we would be a poorer country, we would have higher unemployment
and our living standards would be lower. And I say it again, you
can't have it both ways. You can't say that you are in
favour of Australian jobs yet chase foreign investment out of Australia
which means you're chasing jobs out of Australia. And the point
people have got to understand in a global economy is that investment
is footloose.
If it's not welcome in one part of the world it will go somewhere
else and it will take the jobs that would have been employed in
that first part of the world with it and that's the message
for Australians who may think there's some easy solution in
saying no to foreign investment. If you say no to foreign investment,
you're saying no to Australian jobs, and by the tens of thousands,
and that would be a very tragic outcome for this country. Thank
you.
[ENDS]