Subjects: Iraq; Commonwealth Bank; drought; Victorian state election.
E&OE...........
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, President Bush has won authorisation from Congress to proceed with military action against Iraq if necessary, what';s your reaction to that?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well it';s a very strong endorsement of the stance that the President is taking. He got a very strong vote, almost 300 out of the Congress and he indicates not only very strong support from Republicans but also many Democrats as well. The next important event is of course the Security Council resolution. Australia very very strongly supports the passage of a new Security Council resolution, we agree with the Americans and the British that a new resolution is needed. Nobody wants this situation but confronted with it the President is taking a very strong and an entirely correct stance and they will now move on to the Security Council. And I am hopeful that the efforts of the Americans and the British will not be frustrated by other members of the five Security Council members who hold vetoes.
JOURNALIST:
It allows the United States to take action on its own, if it so decides, if they decide to do that is Australia going to join them?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well that is a hypothetical question. The position at the moment is that America, along with Britain and with Australia';s very strong support is endeavouring to get a resolution from the Security Council giving new force and authority to the weapons inspectors. And any military conflict, whether authorised by the UN or not, can be avoided if there were a total readiness by Iraq, not only to admit the weapons inspectors unconditionally but to nominate and participate in the destruction of the weapons that are the concern not only of the United States but also Australia and many other countries around the world.
JOURNALIST:
Do you think America will ultimately go to war?
PRIME MINISTER:
My approach to this is to take one step at a time, and the next step, having got the very strong authority of his own Congress, the next step is for the United States resolution, supported by the British and I hope by others, to be presented and debated and hopefully passed by the Security Council. We take one step at a time but I keep repeating that it is in the hands of Iraq to prevent any military conflict by responding to the concerns of the world and if it does that then the legitimate concerns of people about military conflict being avoided can be met.
JOURNALIST:
As Australian Prime Minister do you have a direct message to Saddam Hussein?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well my message to him has been quite constant and that is the possession of the weapons of mass destruction that concerns the world, it is getting rid of those and being satisfied that they can';t be bought back that we want. And if that is done then military conflict can be avoided. But all the indications to date are that left to his own devices he won';t do that.
JOURNALIST:
You don';t rule out joining the US in a unilateral action?
PRIME MINISTER:
What I';m doing is dealing with each situation as it arises and we';ve got a situation now where the American President has the strong authority of the American Congress. We now go to the United Nations. If we get a new resolution from the United Nations which is strong and enforceable and unconditional then I think we will have made a great step forward.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister do you think a similar resolution from Australia would help the United Nations firm their resolve?
PRIME MINISTER:
I think what';s needed at the moment is the passage of the resolution through the Security Council. Australia';s not a member of the Security Council and what is important obviously in the Security Council is to marshal the support or acquiescence of the five permanent members.
JOURNALIST:
On a domestic matter Mr Prime Minister, the Commonwealth Bank has again increased its fees, much to the alarm of some consumer groups, does that concern you?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well nobody likes to see fees increased and if people are not happy with the Commonwealth Bank well they should shop around.
JOURNALIST:
Are you planning to go on a tour of the drought affected areas?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I go regularly to different parts of Australia and obviously Mr Anderson and other senior members of the Government are constantly touring around the country and I';m very much across the difficulties that people are experiencing and can I just say that this an area where governments should co-operate, I don';t want to have any point scoring debate with State governments on this issue and I don';t think they should want to have one with me. We each have something to contribute. Farmers don';t want to hear their politicians squabbling over who';s doing most, they want to hear them co-operating and working together and I would say to State governments and I would say to the Opposition cut the politics out of drought, it';s too serious for that. We have responsibilities, the states have responsibilities, the community has a responsibility and we';re all trying to respond in a very constructive way.
JOURNALIST:
Its been suggested the Federal Government should go into the point of debt to help the farm through bonds, is that a good idea?
PRIME MINISTER:
That is unrelated to the immediate drought, that is in the context of a longer term look at whether this country can be drought proofed. I';ve arranged for all of the experts that I can assemble to come and talk to me and some senior members of the Cabinet about this issue in a couple of weeks time. I';m happy to look at all proposals but I think you have to bear in mind that not all proposals are credible. And the question of what you might do in response to what';s put on the table, it';s all too early to start talking about that. People have spoken for generations about turning rivers inland and drought proofing this country and in the past these schemes have been seen as not being practicable. I';m always willing to look again but I';m also very mindful that you have to deal in reality and not deal in things that are unachievable.
JOURNALIST:
Will you be inviting Mr Pratt?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I';ve had a lot of discussions with Mr Pratt, I see Mr Pratt quite regularly and his proposal about covering the drains to prevent the evaporation, that';s essentially one of his main proposals, is an important one. I think we also have to understand that water is a scarce commodity and one of the things that we have to bear in mind in relation to water is the price of it and we have to keep all of those things in mind.
JOURNALIST:
The Victorian Government seems to be preparing for an election Mr Howard, what';s your reaction to that?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I think what';s happening here in Victoria does look ominously like they';re preparing for an early election. I suppose you got to ask the question why. I think four year parliaments are a terrific idea, I can';t understand why somebody who';s got a four year parliament wants to run early, unless he thinks there';s some bad news just around the corner, perhaps in the form of a building royal commission report which identifies the submission of this government to the building industry unions. But then that';s another matter isn';t it?
JOURNALIST:
But who do you think will win?
PRIME MINISTER:
Look we haven';t called an election.
JOURNALIST:
But you must have a view…
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I think I';ll be making a comment on that if and when an election is called.
Thank you.
[ends]