PM Transcripts

I';ve just visited the Warragamba township and there';s obviously a lot of very sad stories there. Can I say what a fantastic job the fire authorities of New South Wales, the Rural Fire Service has done and all of the emergency services have done, and once again it is an example of how when we have adversity as a community in Australia people work together and the community spirit and the resilience and the never-say-die attitude of the people out at Warragamba was absolutely fantastic.
It is a difficult situation but I';ll leave comment to the experts so far as what is happening with the fires but needless to say the emergency arrangements that exist between the NSW and Federal Government will come into operation. I';ve spoken briefly to the acting Premier of NSW and I';ll have further discussions with him or Mr Carr over the next couple of days. Any resources that are needed from the federal government in relation to the defence forces automatically become available and speaking on behalf of the Commonwealth Government, this is a total community effort and we will make any resources available to assist the NSW authorities but to date they are handling the situation magnificently.
I want to congratulate the NSW government, the fire services and all the volunteers and the NSW police for the fantastic job they have done.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard can you describe the scenes you saw in the Warragamba area?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well very devastating. Burnt homes are always very sad and the people had great spirit and that';s the fantastic thing about it and they';ll come back and none of them were defeated. They were sad, they were upset, they were scared but they were not defeated.
JOURNALIST:
Did you only fly over Warragamba…?
PRIME MINISTER:
No I didn';t only fly over, I went into the township and I spent about an hour and a half talking to the people who had either lost or nearly lost their homes.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard, how would you describe what you saw from the helicopter?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I think to an untrained eye such as mine it looked quite ugly but as I say I';m not going to hold myself out as an expert. I don';t comment about operational matters, military or firefighting. I leave that to the experts. I';m an untrained person in these matters. I';m here on behalf of the community to express our admiration for our firefighters and to express our empathy and support and mateship towards our fellow Australians who have lost a lot.
JOURNALISTtralians who have lost a lot.
JOURNALIST:
Are you concerned at the suggestion that things are possibly going to get worse over the next couple of days?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well, once again I';ll leave that to the experts. It is a very difficult situation and the commissioner has said a number of things about that but suffice it to say it is a very very serious challenge and I think all of the community should understand that and I know that those involved in fighting fires are very aware of it. They are doing a fantastic job and they deserve the gratitude and the admiration of the entire community.
Thank you.