E&OE....................................................................................................
LYNEHAM:
On coastal security, Defence Minister, John Moore, says Premiers Richard
Court and Peter Beattie have been making these issues up for parochial
political advantage, do you agree with that?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, they certainly have been scoring the odd political point, as
State Premiers always will...
LYNEHAM:
But they weren't making these boats up.
PRIME MINISTER:
No and he didn't say that. And we're very serious about
examining whether our coastal surveillance arrangements at present
are adequate and that's why I've set up this very high level
task force. And that will report within six weeks or two months and
it will have the factual information arising out of both the Cairns
and Coffs Harbour landings to help it.
LYNEHAM:
And when Peter Beattie says your Government is out of touch with the
urgent need for coastal security, Australians will "puke"
when they see you've called another inquiry.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, that's typical of State Premiers where they feel they can
kick the Federal Government to the sort of transient political advantage.
I don't remember Mr Beattie, the day before the landing at Coffs
Harbour when I spent the whole day with him, saying anything about
coastal surveillance.
LYNEHAM:
But 15 boats so far this year with more than 250 people on board,
it is a serious matter - quarantine, risk of disease, all sorts of
things.
PRIME MINISTER:
Paul, I'm treating it very seriously. And we have to be realistic
about what can be achieved. But I assure the Australian people that
we'll leave no stone unturned to give ourselves the best surveillance
system that we can afford.
LYNEHAM:
The two CARE Australia aid workers being held by the Yugoslavs, are
you completely satisfied that neither of them was working for western
intelligence?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, the Foreign Minister dealt with that question yesterday and
I totally endorse everything he said in relation to that. And I ask
again that the authorities in Belgrade let them go. They're not
combatants. They don't come from combatant countries. They were
there on a humanitarian mission. And according to all of the normal
canons of civilised behaviour between nations they ought to be released.
LYNEHAM:
But they're caught now in an international powerplay, aren't
they? They're effectively pawns in a very dark and dangerous
game.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, if that be the case, that is a reflection on Slobodan Milosevic
and the Belgrade Government. It is not a reflection on them. I want
the families of the two men to know that we have every diplomatic
and other resource that we can muster gathered to try and get them
out. We share their concern. We understand the anguish they must be
going through and I think all Australians feel for them very deeply.
LYNEHAM:
Back home do you see a link between Senator Harradine's
renewed call for youth allowance compensation and his vote on the
GST?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, they're questions that should be directed towards Senator
Harradine. We naturally want his vote on the GST...
LYNEHAM:
He wants about $100 million of your money in the May budget.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, I'm not going to talk about what's in the budget.
And I'm certainly not going to publicly canvass Senator Harradine's
motives. I've always found him a decent, reasonable man. I hope
he takes the view, as he should, that as the Australian people voted
for the GST then the Senate ought to put it through. And now you've
got all the States and the Territories backing the GST. You've
got three Labor, three Liberal Premiers all saying get on with it,
pass the GST. They're all happy with it. The Tasmanian Premier,
Senator Harradine's own State, said that he came away happy because
he got a good deal from the Commonwealth. Peter Beattie, Bob Carr,
positively lyrical about the benefits of a GST. Now, this is a message
going to the entire Senate: get on with it, do the will of the Australian
people.
LYNEHAM:
You're waiting until the end of the month for the critiques of
the John Howard/Les Murray preamble. Do you concede that at this early
stage you don't seem to have a hit on your hands?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I never concede anything in these things. They have a long winding
experience these things, and I've put it out for comment and
I'm getting a few. I'll get some alternatives...
LYNEHAM:
Most of the Premiers don't like it, and I notice Mr Murray's
had another go at it. He says your first joint effort was rather "baggy"
whatever that really means.
PRIME MINISTER:
I don't know what that means either. Paul, look, this is the
first time in a hundred years anybody has tried this, and never did
I think it was going to be universally accepted. Of course not. I'll
have a look at what people put up. I've asked the Premiers to
give me their responses. Some of them will give it in verse, some
of them will....
LYNEHAM:
We could have the Jeff Kennett/Peter Beattie version?
PRIME MINISTER:
You might have the first verse written by one and the second by another.
But we'll have all of those and I'll have a look at it all,
and I'm a reasonable man.
LYNEHAM:
Finally, Victorian Premier Jeff Kennett says your Government is giving
quite serious consideration to buying a substantial property in East
Melbourne as a Prime Ministerial residence. Is this true?
PRIME MINISTER:
No, it is not. There won't be any money made available to buy
further Prime Ministerial residences while I hold that job.
LYNEHAM:
But if say a Prime Minister Costello were to be in office, he could
buy something in East Melbourne...?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well you can hypothesise about possible successors of mine, you can
hypothesise about what they might do. I'm just speaking for the
Howard Government. There are two residences, the Lodge and Kirribilli
House. I can say to the Australian people, I have got far more important
priorities with their money than to buy further houses for the Prime
Minister.
LYNEHAM:
Thanks for your time.
PRIME MINISTER:
Pleasure.
[ends]