PM Transcripts

Subjects: Boat people; military strikes; Ansett; Telstra; education
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard, I noticed very much so in the early stages of the campaign that leadership is the focus of both your advertising campaign, your leadership, and it is now also the focus of the Labor advertising campaign that I saw for the first time last night, where they are playing on the fact that they believe that you will not serve out the next full term as Prime Minister. Now, I know that you';ve laboured this point before but in the light of those ads that went to air last night, can you give a commitment that you will be the Prime Minister through until the next election?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, I';m fascinated that the main preoccupation of Mr Beazley so far in this election campaign is that I may not be around forever. My position is that it is a three year term, a couple of years into that three year term I will make a decision as to whether I';m going to run again. That';s just being open and honest and sensible with the Australian people. I haven';t said I';m going to retire. Right at the moment I';ve got to tell you the last thing I want to do is leave government, and I really am very strongly committed to seeing the Australian people through many of these new and difficult challenges that have come upon us over the past few weeks.
And I thought the personal nature of the attack on my deputy leader Peter Costello in the Labor ad last night won';t work. See Peter Costello has done a terrific job. I mean the reason that the Australian economy is so strong now and able to withstand the shocks that are now reverberating around the world, is that as a team, Peter Costello and I have worked together. Peter Costello is a very strong and effective Treasurer and he has played a very significant role in building the economic strength which is going to stand by Australia. So okay, they have a swipe at Peter. I don';t think that will work. I think the Australian people recognise his quality, I certainly do, and we are a very good team, and we are both frankly rather amused at the tenor of the campaign being waged by the Labor Party. But let them do so. I am more interewsted in really addressing the need for continued strong direction at this time of great difficulty and also delivering very strong economic management because you can';t do anything in areas like health and education unless you have a strong economy. A strong economy is the basis of the capacity of any government to get the resources to spend more on things like health and education and roads and defence and all of those things that people regard quite properly as very important.
JOURNALIST:
All right, so just to sum up what you';ve said there, if I may be so bold, and without wishing to labour this point because we';ve got plenty to talk about this morning. If re-elected, you will be after a couple of years in government in a three year term, you';ll have a look at how you are going and how you are feeling as to whether or not you will run again.
PRIME MINISTER:
Yeah and I think it is right and proper that I tell the Australian people that rather than sort of place…
JOURNALIST:
When you say run again, that means you would serve out the full term and …
PRIME MINISTER:
…whether I was going to run again, yes, as Prime Minister.
JOURNALIST:
Okay, well let';s move on then and let';s look at the fact that you are looking very very strong in this election, I mean, underdog status is always a place where a lot of people want to be in an election campaign. You are looking strong, but it is close, is it not?
PRIME MINISTER:
John, I don';t take anything for granted and I want to assure your listeners as I do all Australians that I will work and fight and toil and argue and advocate my cause and the cause of the Coalition right until the last polling booth closes in Australia on the 10th of November at 6pm. I do not take anything for granted. I think this will be close. The Labor Party has a lot of resources. We are going for our third term. We';ve been a government that has had a go at big reforms and when you do that you inevitably put some people off side, so I don';t feel the least bit complacent and I take each day as it comes, and each day is a challenge, each day is an opportunity to talk to people as I am doing now and ask them to remember that in times of particular challenge, isn';t it better to have people who are experienced and have had a go and have been willing to tackle the hard issues.
JOURNALIST:
Okay, Mr Howard, we';ve asked our listeners to forward some questions to us, and we';ll move on to some of those. The first I have here and it starts this way : Workers are encouraged to remain employed for the betterment of the Australian economy and for self funding their retirement through super. Why are you still retiring Army defence force personnel at the age of 55 when they wish to remain in service?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, part of that of course is a cultural thing as far as the defence forces are concerned. I';m interested that people have a different view. I mean, the view has been taken for a long time now irrespective of other debates about retiring age, that because of the nature of the responsibilities involved in defence there should be an earlier retiring age. I don';t actually have any philosophical commitment to that, and I';m interested. And can I say in response to that person, I';d be interested in examining again the reasons why that occurs and maybe it is time to have another look at it, and so I';ve got quite an open mind on it.
JOURNALIST:
While we are talking about the armed forces, are the Americans and the Brits keeping you fully briefed on what';s going on in Afghanistan at the moment?:
PRIME MINISTER:
Yes they are. We get some intelligence, we don';t just get some, I get regular intelligence briefings and we have access to American and British intelligence and we share our intelligence with them as well. I mean, one of the good things about our relationship with both of those countries is that at the very highest level, intelligence is shared. I was given the same material about Bin laden as Tony Blair was given and exactly the same material and there';s not an enormous difference might I say between what is publicly available as far as the military strikes are concerned and what is being made available to me. It does appear that the Americans and the British have had a reasonable level of, a good level of success in relation to their strikes so far. Inevitably there will be some land action as indicated in the newspapers this morning.
JOURNALIST:
We';re committed to be part of that land action.
PRIME MINISTER:
We are, the question of when there might be some involvement of Australian forces is a matter yet to be determined. We';ve indicated a readiness when we do get a request for involvement and when I';m in a position, subject to any operational considerations I will naturally tell the Australian people. I';ll speak to Mr Beazley about it as a matter of courtesy to him during the caretaker period. I';ve arranged already for Mr Beazley to have a briefing from the Defence Minister and from the Chief of the Defence Force which he had two days ago. Both of them went up to see him. This is an issue where the name of Australia and all Australians is involved and it is not something where I want to engage in any partisanship.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard we do have to accept do we not that if diggers go in there we could have casualties?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well whenever you get involved in military action, there could be casualties and I';ve said that from the very beginning. We all hope and pray that it doesn';t happen. We all hope and pray that the outcome in East Timor where there were no battle casualties might obtain on this occasion. My concern would be that that would not necessarily be the case. This looks on the face of it to be a more formidable operation but we';ll just have to wait and see but there is a danger of that yes.
JOURNALIST:
We are taking emails and callers on the likelihood of the call up too Mr Howard.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, there';s no need for a conscription or a call up. There';s no need for that and it';s just not on the table because there is absolutely no national security need at present for it to occur.
JOURNALIST:
If you win the election will you set about strengthening even more the laws concerning our borders and also will you bring in laws that will halt terrorist propaganda and fundraising in this country as there is no law at present that prohibits this.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well in relation to border protection we have now at long last, because the Labor Party flipped and changed its mind, we have at long last been able to get through the Senate a significant change in the law in that area. Now my answer to that question is that if there is a need to further strengthen it then we will. In relation to propaganda we have to strike a balance here between protecting the country but also respecting free speech. And it';s always important that we guard against an overzealous reaction whenever something like this occurs and I want to strike that balance and that';s the answer I would give to that person on that issue.
JOURNALIST:
Okay when it comes to the day, the 10th, we';re pretty sure that things will revert to these issues, education, health, GST, and employment and we have had a GST question from a number of listeners and that';s the issue of caravan parks and the lifting of the GST there.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well what we';ve done there is we';ve provided an additional incentive for the caravan park operators to take the option that does not involve the charging of the GST. And my understanding is that that is working quite well and it ought to result in those cases where the GST has been imposed, it will still be imposed but the level of rent would come down because the option of not imposing it will be picked up more frequently.
JOURNALIST:
Can we talk about the fate of two Australians who are thankfully now out of goal in Laos and as I understand at the ambassadors residence but still facing the prospect of being put back into the goal again. This is Kay and Kerry Danes, now of course their family lives in Brisbane, their children are here and have been very anxiously watching this whole saga unfold. Reports that I have this morning indicate that they';ll have to pay about $1 million to secure their freedom, by the time they look after legal fees and what have you. Will the Federal Government be helping out financially?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well John I have to be fairly careful what I say here because we are engaged in some reasonably sensitive discussions with the Government and I think I';ll have to take the detail of that for that reason on notice. We want to help as much as we can, we';ve made some progress and we';re very pleased that they';re out of detention and at the embassy. I';ll be talking to the foreign minister about this and a number of other issues later on today and perhaps the best thing I can say to you is that that will be one of the issues that I';ll talk to him about.
JOURNALIST:
Understand. Now Country Liberal Party fellow Dave Tollner, the candidate for Solomon in the Northern Territory, he';s got himself into a lot of strife, you stuck with him.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well he of course is endorsed by a separate party. The CLP in the Northern Territory, although it';s broadly aligned with the Coalition is not part of the Liberal Party. The question of endorsement is a matter for the CLP organisation in the Northern Territory and it really is something they have to talk about, I don';t have any control over that.
JOURNALIST:
No doubt you';d have some input.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I haven';t actually spoken to anybody in the Northern Territory CLP organisation about this issue.
JOURNALIST:
Okay, lets move onto the home buyers grant Mr Howard. Here we have a question asking, well stating many non-taxing paying, well taxpaying non Australians are accessing the fund, the person noted three New Zealanders who have accessed it all have houses in New Zealand, they've come to stay with relatives just so that they can access it. Why could non-Australians with houses in their home country access it, is this not discriminating.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well you are saying that New Zealanders are accessing it for houses in New Zealand?
JOURNALIST:
No they have houses in New Zealand and they';re coming over here staying with relatives and receiving the first home buyers grant.
PRIME MINISTER:
But in relation to a house they';ve bought in Australia.
JOURNALIST:
Yes.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well the point being that it should only be available to non citizens.
JOURNALIST:
Well if the intention…
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I will look at that, I don';t want to suggest off hand that I';m going to change it but I';ll have a look at that. You';ve got to, you don';t want things like this abused but equally you don';t want to overreact to something like that, obviously the argument is they';ve already bought their first homes and therefore they should not be entitled to it even though the first home is in New Zealand. I see the point. I';ll have a look at that, I haven';t actually had that bought to my attention before so I thank the listener.
JOURNALIST:
We';ve had that a few times on this show haven';t we.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well this is the show to come to get some of the novel situations.
JOURNALIST:
Can we go back to the opinion polls for the moment, I know the old adage is the one that matters is the one on the day. But Labor polls taken in Western Sydney according to our Canberra bureau, they tell me this morning that the Coalition will hang on to what are called Howard';s battlers. Now that must be good news for you.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I don';t obviously by definition, I don';t have access to Labor polls. I regard every marginal seat that the Liberal Party holds at the present time as being a tough fight and therefore at risk and that includes seats we hold in Western Sydney. Marginal seats we hold here in Brisbane. If we have some strong arguments to put to people in those seats they certainly revolve around much lower interest rates. I mean the average housing loan in Australia now is $350 a month cheaper to service than it was when we came to office. Interest rates hit 17 per cent under Mr Beazley, unemployment almost 11 when he was employment minister and we inherited $96 billion of federal government debt of which we will have repaid $58 billion at the end of this financial year. I mean the real pitch that we have, quite apart from any perceived strength in areas of these great challenges we';ve suddenly encountered, the great pitch we have is that we have run the Australian economy well and in the end you can';t get the dollars to spend on health and education unless you have a growing economy. And unless you have a growing economy, any promises to put extra money in the direction of education and health become meaningless. I mean you look at what we';ve done with health, we';ve put $2.5 billion a year into the private health insurance rebate, we';re increasing by 28 per cent in real terms the money we';re giving the states for public hospitals and we';ve introduced a GST and all of that GST money goes to the states and the states run public hospitals and public schools and I think the year after next Queensland will be the first cab off the rank as the state that will be much better off under the GST than it would have been if the old funding formula had applied. Now that means Queensland in the years ahead, the state government of Queensland, will have more money to spend on Government schools and public hospitals yet paradoxically Mr Beazley who says he';s the champion of public hospitals and government schools, he';s against the GST. And he';s going to roll it back. Well if you rollback the GST you rollback the capacity of the states of Australia to spend more money on Government schools and public hospitals.
JOURNALIST:
There';s been no mention of the cost involved in rolling it back either…
PRIME MINISTER:
Well we haven';t even been told beyond a few items that amount to a few dollars out of $27 billion, or something, we have no idea. Now, if they are serious about rollback, the rollback will have to run to a billion or two otherwise, at least, otherwise you are not really serious about rollback. But then if they flip flop on roll back then their rhetoric of the last three or four years is meaningless. But can I just go back to this point that you sometimes when you hear Mr Beazley you think there is a disconnect between running the economy well and spending money on health and education. The two are linked. Unless you have a well oiled economy with the budget in surplus and a growing economy you don';t have the wherewithal to spend more on health and education. And we';ve been able to spend more on health and education over the last five and a half years because we';ve saved $4 billion a year in interest on Government debt and instead of that going to people who have lent the Government money it';s gone on additional Government services. So if you want more money spent on health and education, elect a government that can run the economy well because running it well gives you the money to spend, including the access to the GST revenue, which the states will have, and as that revenue grows as it inevitably will with the growing economy they';ve got more money to spend on Government schools and public hospitals.
JOURNALIST:
Still a fair bit of grumpiness out there. We get it reflected constantly in the talkback lines. Amongst, particularly the small business community, with the new taxation system and complying with it and the extra demands that it puts on them.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well John, I don';t deny that there have been some teething problems with the introduction of the GST. I acknowledge that. And I have been willing to alter the Business Activity Statement, I';ve been willing to make other changes which represent fine tuning, we haven';t rolled the GST back and we won';t. But I acknowledge that whenever you have a big change like this, you are always going to have some teething problems. Can I say to small business men and women, I know that, we are trying to respond, we';re trying to fine tune and we stand ready, if we';re re-elected, for further fine tuning. But we won';t be rolling the GST back and it is very important that, having brought in this reform, can I say the last thing the average small business man wants now, having gone through the adjustment process is to go back into it again with roll back. I mean they want rollback like a hole in the head.
JOURNALIST:
You are absolutely right. The BAS has become…
PRIME MINISTER:
Well exactly. Look, it was a big ask but we had a go because we thought that in the long run it would be better for Australia. Now the Labor Party thought it could trade off the transitional discontent. Maybe you can, maybe in the final analysis it will help them in the election campaign but it is a pretty negative way to present yourself as an alternative Government.
JOURNALIST:
Okay, lets move on to possibly what';s been the second biggest story over the last few weeks and that is illegal immigrants. I have two in front of me here, two questions. Mr Prime Minister, why has it taken you and your Government years before you finally got tough with illegal asylum seekers, before we move to that, just the second, we are in favour of the policy of refusing entry to illegal migrants, but if you are returned to power what are you going to do with future boats that we can';t turn around because of the action of the passengers of sinking them etc. How long can we continue to place them on island nations and on naval ships and how much money are we going to pay these nations before we can no longer afford to pay.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I don';t think there is any concern about not being able to fund what we';re doing in this area. It is expensive, but it is also expensive receiving a lot of people into the country and processing them. You say why did it take us so long or the reader, listener does, we have been trying for three years to get certain legislation through the Senate and it has been blocked by the Labor Party and the Democrats. And it is only in the last few weeks that the Labor Party has changed it';s mind on some of those things. We have been steadily strengthening our response. We have tried to strike a balance, but we came to the very strong view that we had to take the action we did in relation to the Tampa and subsequently to send a message. Now, it';s early days yet, some of the intelligence that we get suggests that the message is starting to get through, that some potential illegal immigrants are saying to the people smugglers, “We';re not going to pay you your money until you get us to Australia”. Now they';re then turning around saying “well we can';t do that”. I can';t guarantee that there will be no more boats come but I can guarantee that we will deal with them as resolutely but as decently as we can. Remember nobody has lost a life, to my knowledge, and I really do condemn utterly this attempt made by some people yesterday to implicate the Royal Australian Navy in improper conduct, I mean they rescued those people, they rescued them, and the suggestion that in some way the Navy had fired on the vessel and that caused them to jump overboard, there was a two hour gap between the firing of a warning volley and ..
JOURNALIST:
It was only small arms fire wasn';t it?
PRIME MINISTER:
Of course and it';s a normal sort of thing.
JOURNALIST:
And there was no secrecy about that?
PRIME MINISTER:
No.
JOURNALIST:
When the thing was very first announced they said that they had fired some warning shots from small arms.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I mean I am not sure that was the case. Whether it was or it wasn';t, the fact is it was just a warning volley, there was nothing aggressive about it and there was a two hour gap between the firing of the shots and the people going into the water. You saw the photographs and I understand from Mr Reith that there is an infra red Naval video which is not of great quality but provides even starker evidence of what was alleged on Sunday.
JOURNALIST:
Yes, its freely available on the net. We are going to have to wrap it up now because we';re coming up to 9 o';clock but I would like to give you now the free kick question and I am going to do the same thing for Kim Beazley when he joins us on the programme.
PRIME MINISTER:
Fair enough.
JOURNALIST:
And it is tell us why people should vote for the return of the Howard Government?
PRIME MINISTER:
I think people should vote for the return of the Howard Government because we have given good Government over the last five and a half years, we';ve had the courage to undertake difficult reforms, we';ve responded to great national challenges such as gun control, East Timor and more recently, illegal immigration and if re-elected we';ll not only continue the programmes that I have announced over the last 12 months but we';ll also tackle some ongoing issues of great importance to the future shape of Australia such as the balance between work and family, how to get a greater involvement of an ageingpopulation in the productive capacity and activity of the Australian community and also some of the great environmental challenges such as water quality and salinity.
So we are offering a strong record, current strength but also a willingness to tackle some of the longer term challenges that Australia has.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister why should people not vote for Kim Beazley?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well he';s not done anything over the last five and a half years to define to the Australian community what he stands for. I still don';t know what he really believes in. One of the reasons he';s asking for an innumerable number of debates with me is that he feels he is running out of time to define himself to the Australian community. The Labor Party has opposed all of our major attempts to strengthen and reform the Australian economy. When last in Government they drove interest rates to 17 or 18 per cent. They left us with $96 billion of Government debt. He was the Finance Minister. They took unemployment to almost 11 per cent when he was Minister for Employment. They are going to roll back a very successful taxation change that this nation has needed for a quarter of a century and nothing that they have done over the last few years indicates to me that they have learnt the real lesson of economic management which is so important, particularly at a time of great economic challenge. Not only have we faced great security challenges now, but we face a great economic challenge because the world economy is going to get tougher and you need people like the members of my Government in charge who have demonstrated our capacity at this difficult time. It';s the last time in the world to risk the relative economic incompetence of Mr Beazley and his colleagues.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard we thank you. We must apologise to those listeners who e-mailed us and faxed us with many, many questions that we haven';t had a chance to ask. We will endeavour to get those to you over the coming weeks. I am sure, bearing in mind the state of the play in Queensland we will be seeing a fair bit of you in the Sunshine State.
PRIME MINISTER:
I will be back. I love coming to Queensland and I';ll be back again before polling day and I hope to have the opportunity of talking to your listeners again.
JOURNALIST:
Ok we look forward to that.
PRIME MINISTER:
Thank you.
[ends]