E&OE....................................................
JOURNALIST:
Will you do a deal with Mr Harradine on Wik? A new deal?
PRIME MINISTER:
If anybody in the Senate, be it the Labor Party, be it the Democrats,
be it Senator Harradine or anybody else, is concerned about the composition
of the Senate after any double dissolution then they should pass the
Government's Native Title Bill without delay.
JOURNALIST:
So you are not prepared to re-open negotiations?
PRIME MINISTER:
We have put in a very fair Bill, it's already a compromise. Talk
of further compromise fails to acknowledge the compromise that is
already there in the Government's Bill. So I just say very directly
to anybody in the Senate who is worried about what the result of a
double dissolution might be: the answer is in your hands. Pass the
Government's Native Title Bill. It should have been passed months
ago and the obstructive tactics of the Labor Party and others in the
Senate have caused much of the current difficulty. The solution is
in their hands, they should pass a fair, decent Bill that includes
a very honourable compromise in a very difficult situation. Thank
you.