Subjects: Prime Minister's XI Cricket Match, Ryan by-election, applications for unemployment benefits, first home owners grant scheme, Centrelink mail out
E&OE................................
PRIME MINISTER:
Well Ladies and Gentlemen Geoff Clark and I have called this little news conference to announce the respective captains of the two teams that are playing in the match between the Prime Minister's XI and the Chairman of ATSIC's XI and it's being held of course at Manuka Oval on the 19th of April. And I am delighted to announce that Steve Waugh has accepted my invitation to be the captain of the Prime Minister's XI. And I am delighted, Steve expressed an interest, a very strong interest in the game as soon as he heard about it during the Sydney test, and we had a talk after the test and in fact, as you know, we rearranged the date of the game so that any of the players that were playing in India would be back in Australia and they could participate.
I want to thank Steve Waugh, he is genuinely interested in the concept of not only the game but also providing greater opportunities for Indigenous Australians to play cricket and I congratulate him and I thank him, because his willingness to captain my team of course gives the event even greater significance, and I am really very pleased. Geoff's got an announcement to make too.
GEOFF CLARKE:
Thanks John. I would like to proudly announce Jason Gillespie will be captaining the Aboriginal side, The Chairman's side on that day. And in 1868 the first Aboriginal side to tour England was an all Aboriginal side from my area, Tjapwuurong people Jardwadjali, Wergaia, Gunditjmara people. And I would like to proudly say that this is a year of celebrations and I think that we can knock off the world champions, and maybe, I don't expect that the Prime Minister will be flying from the trapeze, he may paratroop in, or make a cameo appearance, but I think it will be a day that all can enjoy, and obviously promote Aboriginal cricketers who aspire to become Test cricketers for their country.
QUESTION:
Will you take to the field Prime Minister or Mr Clark.
PRIME MINISTER:
I think my playing days are over. Geoff's younger and more agile than I. I think I am confined to walking, but I'll be there and I'll certainly be there, and I think a lot of people will be there. It will attract a great deal of interest, and it will really be given a kick along by the fact that Steve Waugh and Jason Gillespie are going to captain the respective sides.
I understand that there are about a hundred young Aboriginal cricketers Geoff, who have expressed an interest in being chosen in your team. So, it is going to be a cricket match with a difference.
GEOFF CLARKE:
Forty overs of serious cricket, and there is going to be a celebrity element, and I believe that most of the Premiers have expressed and interest to be on the team, but no doubt me and the Prime Minister will work out those issues later on.
QUESTION:
Any other players that might be likely to be on either of the teams?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well we are working on that. I am not going to give all the secrets away to this bloke. I mean he might.
GEOFF CLARKE:
I've got first pick.
PRIME MINISTER:
Do you?
Look there will be, there will clearly be an element of younger, up and coming players both in my team and in Geoff's team and we're particularly keen to provide an opportunity for Aboriginal cricketers because there are a lot of very good ones, and I have said before, one of the features of Aboriginal participation in Australian sport is that for some reason it perhaps hasn't been quite as prominent in cricket as certainly in certain codes of football.
I mean there is a very high percentage of indigenous people play Australian Rules, something like eight per cent of players, which is very high. Fairly high Aboriginal participation in both Rugby League and Rugby Union, not so much in cricket, and we would like to change that, and this game will, in a very prominent way signify the way that cricket's commitment to providing greater opportunities and I think that is to be welcomed.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister are you concerned by yesterday's Newspoll which shows in Ryan that Labor's going to win the seat.
PRIME MINSITER:
Well am I concerned? Well there's no point in me giving commentaries on polls. There's going to be a by-election next weekend. It's obviously very tough, very tough, and I'll be going back to Ryan next week. I'll be campaigning for at least another day. I take it very seriously. I have been trying hard from the very beginning. I haven't blown hot and cold about my interest in Ryan. I haven't sort of being wondering whether to dip my toe in the water, but my opponent who at the beginning didn't even want to run. I've had my coat off from the very beginning and I am taking it very seriously because I don't take the people of Australia and the people of Ryan for granted.
By-elections are very tough. In the end people do have to make a choice about who they want and we have a very good candidate and we are running a very strong local campaign and Bob Tucker will be a very energetic representative if the people of Ryan vote for him but its tough.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister are you considering making changes to rental assistance?
PRIME MINISTER:
No.
QUESTION:
This morning Labor said that they're expecting a doubling of applications for unemployment benefits and your own Minister, Tony Abbott, backed that up as well. Is that the Government's assessment for the next two months?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well Tony would be across the detail of that. But it is not uncommon to have, as Tony said, applications for increased applications for jobs at this for unemployment benefits at this time of the year. But look we have to keep all of these things in perspective.
There was some softening in the economy in December and that was revealed by the national accounts, and what our response is to, not panic but where you can do something, as we did with the doubling of the home savings grant, you do and there has already been a response to that. There's no doubt in my mind that the announcement that I made on Friday will give a massive adrenalin charge to the home building industry in Australia. There will be enormously increased interest in buying and building new homes. That will create thousands of jobs, and it will give new hope to young home buyers.
Now that is a Government responding immediately where it can but not losing control of the need to run a firm budget and also remembering that the fundamentals of the economy are very strong.
QUESTION:
Prime Minister why has the Government delayed the mail out of 170,000 letters informing..?
PRIME MINISTER:
That was explained yesterday by Mr Anthony. There's nothing unusual about that. We just want to make sure that the information conveyed to people is full and accurate that's all. There's not going to be any policy change.
QUESTION:
What about suggestions that there was intervention from the Prime Minister's Office. Is that not true?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I haven't heard those suggestions.
(ends)