Subjects: family benefits; illegal immigration; Telstra; superannuation; Labor – Greens preference deal; suicide prevention;
E&OE……………………………………………………………………………………
JOURNALIST:
Kim Beazley has called the Centrelink letters the scandal of the campaign, what is your response to that?
PRIME MINISTER:
Oh, you know the origin of all of this is that we’re providing a $1000 waiver for overpayments. There’s no scandal, I mean the scandal of the campaign is the way the Labor Party is fragmenting on the issue of the campaign against terrorism and also illegal immigrants. I mean you’ve got the local candidate here in New England has attacked Mr Beazley on both issues. You’ve got the Labor candidate in Parramatta, running his own race. You’ve got what’s his name, Mr Peter Knott, and what’s Mr Beazley’s response, he’s going to have the local candidate here in New England counselled.
JOURNALIST:
Kim Beazley is saying they have not been contacted. Have you contacted those families who are…
PRIME MINISTER:
I mean I haven’t personally rung anybody but I’ve been informed by Mr Anthony that people have been contacted by telephone. But lets get this straight, there was an overpayment and we’ve given people, we’ve given people a waiver, I mean is he against that is he, does he think the whole $1000 should have been collected.
JOURNALIST:
So has Kim Beazley lied then?
PRIME MINISTER:
No, no, Mr Beazley is grabbing hold of anything. He’s reached the stage of the campaign, we’re into the cobble together time in the campaign and we’ve had another example today with these family accounts.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister do you promise that Telstra won’t be sold until services in the bush are up to scratch? What does up to scratch mean, and does it mean that people in the bush can expect the same service as people in the city?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well the goal is to have an equality of services, that’s the ideal, of course it is. How will it be measured, it will be measured like all things are measured, the Government will decide but we won’t do it in isolation from talking to people like these two men beside me and other representatives of rural seats, we’ll talk to the NFF, we’ll talk to all sorts of people who represent rural Australians.
JOURNALIST:
But isn’t that a hollow commitment Prime Minister, without any clearly defined benchmarks?
PRIME MINISTER:
No it’s not, it’s not a hollow commitment.
JOURNALIST:
You’ve got to be able to measure it though within two years time.
PRIME MINISTER:
I’m not going to start putting a time limit on it.
JOURNALIST:
But it’s been put in the budget.
PRIME MINISTER:
Yes, but we’ve been through all of this before and in terms of the period of the forward estimates, the impact of whether you have figures in for Telstra or not is relatively negligible. I think max about $50 to $70 million over the forward estimates period of four years.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard in terms of having some detail on the actual commitment you’re making, you say it won’t be sold until it’s up to scratch…
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I didn’t say that, I said there’d be no further shares sold until it’s up to scratch. You’re putting it a slightly different way around.
JOURNALIST:
So what detail will voters have on what up to scratch means?
PRIME MINISTER:
Look, to start with you have Besley and we’re obviously going to deliver in full on that and I’m not saying that’s the limit of it but that’s certainly something that has to be done.
JOURNALIST:
Do you have a response to Labor’s family package announced today?
PRIME MINISTER:
I have got a response. I mean this is the classic example of cobbling together something on the run. It’s not extra money, it’s a bring forward. I mean he’s derided my baby bonus, that baby bonus is worth about half a billion dollars a year when it’s up and running. And this is $33 million over four years brought forward. People don’t get anything extra, they’re going to have to pay it back. What has happened is that instead of the First Child Tax Refund or the baby bonus being the unpopular flop that he claimed it was, it’s obviously widely supported in the community, he’s now cobbled this thing together on the run. I mean it’s a $33 million bring forward over four years, I mean that’s nothing, absolutely nothing.
JOURNALIST:
Are you satisfied that all families have been contacted who deserve, or should be contacted…
PRIME MINISTER:
Well look I, you saw Mr Anthony’s statement. I mean you’re dealing here with people who have already enjoyed the benefit of a $1000 waiver and as Mr Anthony’s statement made plain, people are being contacted by telephone. But if you want some more detail of that, you’ll have to talk to him. I mean I don’t pretend to carry all of the details of every single department around in my head.
JOURNALIST:
Are you concerned that Kim Beazley isn’t going to stand in the way of an ACT heroin trial?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I certainly will. I will stand in the way of heroin trials to the extent that I constitutionally can anywhere in the country.
JOURNALIST:
On superannuation, when you said you’d match low income earners contributions, does that mean exactly dollar for dollar, and will there be an upper boundary…
PRIME MINISTER:
Well we’ll be making some details of that available tomorrow. Come to Brisbane for the launch at the Savings and Superannuation Policy. Well, we just wanted to give you a bit of a taste of it today and if you come tomorrow there’ll be even more detail. The whole policy will be revealed tomorrow but it will include, as Peter said this morning, some modest abatement of the surcharge, we’re not abolishing it. And it will also include some action in the area that you mention and also people will be able to income split in relation to a spouse who either has no income or a very low income and he or she will get the advantage of a separate threshold and a reasonable benefit limit. It will be a very positive reform for couples.
JOURNALIST:
The term match implies dollar for dollar…
PRIME MINISTER:
Yes.
JOURNALIST:
Has Tony Windsor’s entry into the campaign put your chances into dire straits?
PRIME MINISTER:
No but it is a challenge and that is why I have come here and I am just conveying a very simple message to the people of New England if you want a Coalition government the only way of being sure is to vote for Stuart St Clair. You can’t, I mean it is a very simple message. If you want a Coalition Government in New England, if you are a conservative voter in New England, a normal National Party supporter in New England, the only certain way of getting a Howard/Anderson government is to vote for Stuart St Clair.
JOURNALIST:
Kim Beazley says that Labor’s environment policy wasn’t designed to win the preferences of the Greens, do you believe him?
PRIME MINISTER:
No I don’t. And the best illustration of that is the appalling sell out over Lucas Heights. I mean one third of the radioisotopes needed to fight cancer are going to disappear if Lucas Heights is closed down. Or are we going to have a re-run of the Gareth Evans letter. Remember the infamous Gareth Evans letter written at the time of the 1998 election when somebody attacked their undertakings and he said these are the sort of things you have got to do in an election campaign but if we get elected we can fiddle it at the edges. I mean that is the attitude of a lot of people in the Labor Party in relation to illegal immigration. If they win the election they will fiddle at the edges in relation to the Border Protection legislation.
JOURNALIST:
Kim Beazley says you can bring the isotopes in from overseas.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well that is not right because they have a very short life. There is an expression called the half life of these isotopes and it is from a practical scientific point of view virtually impossible so I am told to do that and that is why having this facility in Australia is so crucial to medical research. Fifty-nine other countries in the world have this kind of facility and this is Mr Knowledge Nation, he’s going to throw this away all for a handful of green preferences.
JOURNALIST:
Can you assure country voters that they will have the same level of telecommunications services from Telstra as their customers in the city before any more of Telstra is sold?
PRIME MINISTER:
I can assure country voters that they will be given the same treatment in relation to telecommunications services as other Australians are and they are entitled to.
JOURNALIST:
Shouldn’t you have some kind of independent evaluation?
PRIME MINISTER:
No not necessarily.
JOURNALIST:
So how can you measure it?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well people make judgements on a whole variety of things. Look can we just say it again that we are not going to sell any further shares in Telstra until services in the bush have been brought up to scratch. And you know we don’t believe in digital divide. We believe that people in the bush are entitled to the sort of services that are available to people in the cities and the very nature of telecommunications makes the delivery of that sort of commitment quite feasible.
JOURNALIST:
On Greens preferences, where is that going to hurt?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well look I am not a commentator. All I am saying is that if we don’t get green and Democrat preferences then it’s harder for us and that brings me back to New England. I mean nobody in this area should romance with the idea that you can sort of have an independent and also have a Coalition Government. It’s quite, it’s a highly dangerous thought for a conservative voter in New England.
JOURNALIST:
If you are re-elected will you vow to stay on until the war on terrorism is over?
PRIME MINISTER:
I intend to see the Australian people through our current challenges.
JOURNALIST:
Does that mean until the war is over?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well obviously that’s part of the current challenge.
JOURNALIST:
What are the other current challenges?
PRIME MINISTER:
The economic ones.
JOURNALIST:
On a local level, New England has one of the highest youth suicide rates in the state, what commitment can you make over the coming years to us?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well we have already done that. We introduced a major youth suicide programme several years ago and I launched our policy for the future yesterday in Parramatta. The good news is that although the youth suicide rate is still too high, it is now lower, partly as a result of our policies, I’m not saying totally, it is now lower than what it was and we have made some progress and one of the initiatives we’re going to focus on is a study of carbon monoxide poisoning, which is, I understand the second most prevalent means of suicide. We’re going to try through the introduction of some design rules and other things to try and do something about it. I mean I have taken a very big interest in this issue in the time I’ve been Prime Minister, we have committed quite a lot of resources to it and it’s a big social problem. The good news is that we are making some progress in youth suicide. The suicide rate amongst young males in country Australia was particularly high. We have made some progress on that and we’re now going to move on to the slightly older age group.
JOURNALIST:
Are you confident John Anderson can retain his seat?
PRIME MINISTER:
I am, very confident John is going to retain his seat. I think he’s, I think he will do very well. But look, this is a tough election for the Coalition and the preferencing and the deal that Mr Beazley’s done with the Greens on preferences, selling out his commitment in relation to medical science in the process, is going to make it very tough for us but I hope we get home and I believe John will retain his seat.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Anthony’s seat, will you get a chance to campaign in Richmond?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I don’t think I’ll be able to get to Richmond but I’ve been there I think a couple of times over the last three years. It’s a tough seat, I mean there’s no point in beating about the bush, it’s a marginal seat but he’s a very good member and I think he’ll make it but all those marginal seats are tough and that’s why I say to people who are naturally National Party supporters in the seat of New England, don’t imagine you can have the luxury of an independent and the Howard Government. You’ve got to really decide which you want because you run the risk.
JOURNALIST:
What is the government’s plan for refugees when the Pacific islands will take no more?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I don’t believe that …you talk about a point where they won’t take any more. I believe that the policy we’re now implementing is having a deterrent effect on people entering the pipeline. I’ve said all along that I can’t guarantee there’ll be no more boats but I’m certain of this that if we do what Mr Brereton wants to do and abandon the Pacific Island approach then you’re going to deliver a very powerful incentive for more boats to come to Australia. One of the reasons why we have as many now is that for too long we sent the message that we were an easy place to get into. We had extremely open laws in relation to claiming refugee status, and part of the reason in turn for that is that we had trouble getting legislation through the Senate. I think the message that Mr Brereton sent on Friday was appalling. He’s the alternative Foreign Minister of Australia and he’s in effect saying that if Labor wins they will abandon the Pacific Island approach, that’s what he said and I mean there’s no alternative right now if you abandon the Pacific Island approach other than to bring the people onto the Australian mainland.
JOURNALIST:
So does this approach run indefinitely?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well of course I’m not going to start putting a particular time on it. I’m not going to, I mean that’s getting into hypothetical situations. This is a difficult issue, I don’t pretend otherwise but unlike the Labor Party we have a clear position. We are not willing to have entry into Australia determined by people other than Australians and the constructive effect of what Mr Brereton said on Friday was the opposite of that.
JOURNALIST:
Is it therefore time for Australia to reconsider its position on the International Convention on Refugees?
PRIME MINISTER:
I’m not, I don’t think that follows at all.
JOURNALIST:
Can you tell us at what income levels…
PRIME MINISTER:
No, no wait until tomorrow. You have just been given a taste of it. Come to Brisbane, you are coming to Brisbane…..
JOURNALIST:
I would love to come to Brisbane but I’ll have to talk to Phil Coorey about that.
PRIME MINISTER:
That sounds like a Labor Party candidate on certain policies. You can’t quite commit yourself.
JOURNALIST:
What are the benefits to the economy of providing a tax break…
PRIME MINISTER:
Well you have a look at the totality of the policy and you will see that there are pieces in it for every income range and that is important.
Thank you.
[ends]