PM Transcripts

Subjects: Tasmania, Ansett.
JOURNALIST:
On Monday Kim Beazley, in his package for retiring or forgiving Tasmanians $120 million debt said that is the (inaudible) compensation wrapped up.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well that';s his interpretation on that. There';s a bit of smoke and mirrors in the Beazley debt forgiveness proposal because it does involve cutting some payments under the Commonwealth/State Housing agreement and also encouraging Tasmanians to go out and borrow private sector debt. So there is a far amount of swings and roundabouts in relation to that.
JOURNALIST:
What specifically would you do about the Commonwealth';s obligations under the Gordon (inaudible).
PRIME MINISTER:
Well we';d continue to talk to the Tasmanian Government about it but I';m not sure that the obligations have been, over the years, I mean bear in mind that it was an obligation that was apparently entered into by the Hawke Government. I mean obviously we will honour any legally enforceable obligation but I think there';s a great deal of doubt as to whether there is one. We think the best way to help Tasmania is to give projects specific assistance such as the doubling of the rebate, the Bass Strait rebate, that';s a very major provision. And the co-funding of the Arthur Highway and the other road links that are mentioned the policy and the other individual projects, all of which will provide specific help for individual projects.
JOURNALIST:
(inaudible) in August extending the Bass Strait equalisation payments to passengers and you seem to have dumped that idea, that yours is just to, if you like, increase the subsidy. Why weren';t you interested in…
PRIME MINISTER:
Well it';s not a question of rebuffing anything, it';s really a question of providing the help in the way that we think is best. I mean what we';ve done is to introduce a flat rebate which is really going to encourage people to come to Tasmania, we';re increasing it significantly and it';s going to be a flat rebate and as result you';re going to encourage people to come to Tasmania on a regular basis rather than at particular times of the year and from an long term point of view we made the on balance judgement, and you can either argue either side on that, I mean I';m not saying one is 100 per cent right and the other';s 100 per cent wrong. We think on balance that is a better way of providing the help.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister when will you launch Peter Hodginson';s campaign in May you committed to ensuring the Alwyn Johnson case went to arbitration, we';ve heard nothing since, where is it?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well the Alywn Johnson case, it has gone to arbitration, I';m certain. I';ll check. I have met Mr Johnson only a few weeks ago and my understanding is that there was an offer of a handling of it made by the Commonwealth Bank and my understanding is that that is proceeding. But I would have to check the detail of it. Certainly that';s my understanding. I don';t carry every single detail around in my head, I';ll check that out.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister when you put the Coalition Tasmania package alongside Labor';s package it is a modest package isn';t it?
PRIME MINISTER:
Not if you take into account the draw backs of the Labor package, the fact that they';ve got to borrow from the private sector and there are some reductions in the Commonwealth/State Housing payments. It';s not modest at all.
JOURNALIST:
Even when you take that into account there';s $150 million benefit to the state…
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I don';t accept that figure. I mean you can assert that but I think you';ve got to set off against the debt forgiveness, you';ve got to take into account the other things that I';ve mentioned.
JOURNALIST:
If I owed you $200 and you said don';t worry about it, I';d be better off…
PRIME MINISTER:
If a condition of that is I';m going to take something else away from you that you might expect and I';m going to require you to go out and put yourself in hock to somebody else for some of that amount, not necessarily so. That';s the difference Barry.
JOURNALIST:
The State Labor Government has had to step in to bail out the Abt railway project operator to ensure that it continues and it';s said that there needs to be more Commonwealth funds to ensure the project is completed. Are you going to give them any more money?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well we have given very strong support for that project but no responsible Commonwealth Government could be in a situation that everytime a state government wants some money they just put their hand up and ask the federal government to do it. We just can';t operate in that fashion. No state has been as advantaged by our communications policy more than Tasmania. No state has got more Natural Heritage Trust money proportionally than Tasmania. No state has been better treated under the RFAs than Tasmania. In these three areas Tasmania has been dealt with and compensated disproportionately and in a very favourable way when you look at her population.
JOURNALIST:
So if the Abt railway is to be finished it';s going have to be state funds?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well we made a certain commitment and we';ve honoured that commitment.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard John Kim the Chief Executive Tourism Tasmania council has put out a press release this afternoon condemning you for using his conference as a party political (inaudible) especially after your office said that wouldn';t be done. Do you owe him an apology?
PRIME MINISTER:
No I don';t cause I was informed that it was perfectly in order for me to make that statement.
JOURNALIST:
He says he expressly asked your office not to..
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I was informed that it was perfectly in order to use it as a forum to announce the policy. That';s what I';m saying and I';ll say.. I beg your pardon?
JOURNALIST:
(inaudible).
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I don';t know, perhaps you should go and ask Mr King.
JOURNALIST:
Well he says…
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I can only tell you what my position was. I expressed sought advice on that and I was informed that it was perfectly in order.
JOURNALIST:
He says you politicised his conference.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I didn';t politicise his conference, I';m the Prime Minister, I';m in the middle of an election campaign, it was the biggest gathering of tourist leaders in Australia. I think it would been perfectly astonishing if I had gone to that conference, said, which is that case that it';s a terrific industry and then gone outside and released the policy, I mean I think that would have been perfectly, it would have been perfectly juvenile, and can I say that tourism, according to the AAP report, the tourist industry has acclaimed our policy, says it';s superior to the Labor Party';s package and that comes from none other than the Chief Executive of Tourism Taskforce Mr Chris Brown who is not always been a regular supporter of the government';s policies.
JOURNALIST:
… reinsurance has come out today and said that if your capped liabilities for insurance companies, or tourism purchases, there';s expected to be a large blow out. Is there a role for government here?
PRIME MINISTER:
Look I haven';t seen the detail of that.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard the ACTU has issued a statement today saying today, claiming the Federal Government has told the Federal Court that Ansett workers will not get their entitlements unless Ansett goes into liquidation. Is that the case?
PRIME MINISTER:
That';s just not right. Who told you that?
JOURNALIST:
It';s an ACTU…
PRIME MINISTER:
Well if the ACTU has said that it';s wrong.
JOURNALIST:
What is your position on Ansett?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well the position is as I';ve announced on numerous occasions and that is we';ll guarantee their entitlements in accordance with the principles I';ve outlined.
JOURNALIST:
… on Ansett going into liquidation?
PRIME MINISTER:
No it';s never been contingent on Ansett going into liquidation, indeed one the reasons why we decided to support the workers'; entitlements was in fact to prevent Ansett going into liquidation. I mean this is typical of the ACTU, they';re not interested in the Ansett workers, they couldn';t give a damn about the Ansett workers, they';re just interested in politicising this issue in the lead up to the election. Disbelieve anything the ACTU says on this subject between now and polling day. They are interested in scoring political points against me, they couldn';t give a damn about the Ansett workers.
JOURNALIST:
I';m just wondering will that at (inaudible) or at one of the two campuses, the University of Tasmania (inaudible).
PRIME MINISTER:
Just let me see the fine print.
JOURNALIST:
I looked through it and I couldn';t find it, I couldn';t find the location of it.
BOB CHEEK:
The proposal was put to me by the University of Tasmania professor for environmental planning because there';s no town planning in Tasmania and local government have been (inaudible).
PRIME MINISTER:
Presumably it would be where the university wants it to be. If they had it one campus and not at the other that';s where it would be funded, if they had it at both I suppose it would be funded at both. That would be the logical way of dealing with it. I mean we';ve said we';re going to fund the new course so we';d fund it wherever it';s held.
JOURNALIST:
You indicated today that you need Bass back, you want Bass back.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I not only want it back but I need it back. Because in an election campaign you can always have swings and roundabouts, you can always lose seats in one part of the country and you need to pick up seats in another part of the country. So the message I would give to the people of Bass is that if they want a return of the Howard Liberal Government they need to elect Tony Benneworth. They can';t have the luxury if it might be their preference to have the existing sitting member and the Howard Government because, in main fact because of the closeness of the election turn on this particular seat.
JOURNALIST:
You';re not a betting man but given your poll experience in politics what';s your gut feeling about that?
PRIME MINISTER:
Look I think it';s very tough and everybody will, on both sides will work very hard. But I';m not going to make a predication except to say that we have an excellent candidate in Tony Benneworth and it is one of those seats that if people want a Liberal Government then they should vote for Tony.
JOURNALIST:
Are there any other (inaudible) you believe the Liberal';s have a genuine chance of retaining?
PRIME MINISTER:
I think we';ve got prospects in others as well but I';m not going to, obviously we have prospects in all of them.
JOURNALIST:
Why aren';t you as attracted this time, as you were in 1998 to be giving Tasmanian (inaudible).
PRIME MINISTER:
Well that was in a context of quite different situation, it was in the context of a policy on another matter, which is no longer the policy of the state opposition.
JOURNALIST:
Is it still your policy?
PRIME MINISTER:
It';s academic what a federal policy is, I mean I accept that it';s no longer Liberal policy in Tasmania and I don';t in any way dispute the right of the state parliamentary party and I don';t have a policy on that now. My policy is conditional on, continued upon the state party';s policy, the state party has abandoned that policy, I accept that. As far as I';m concerned the new policy is the policy of the Liberal Party in Tasmania.
JOURNALIST:
You mentioned this morning that your children are now grown up and independent, how many of them still live at Kirribilli? Is that fair to the taxpayers?
PRIME MINISTER:
Are you sure you wanted to ask that? You sure? Two of them live at Kirribilli, my daughter who is 27 and she pays rent to the Commonwealth as assessed by my department. My other son who lives at Kirribilli is not wholly independent and doesn';t. I have another son who lives overseas. I think your question is contemptible.
[ends]