Subjects: Meeting with Prime Minister Blair; Zimbabwe; war against terrorism
E&OE...........
JOURNALIST:
Would you just tell us firstly I guess what areas of our ties you discussed with Mr Blair tonight?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well we talked about Zimbabwe. The British Government';s very pleased about the outcome. I also talked in some length about the international campaign against terrorism. That in fact occupied most of our discussions. We exchanged our mutual assessments of what';s occurring in Afghanistan. The British Government has announced an additional 1700 British troops. Of course there is a very significant detachment of Australian SAS there and they';ve been there now for the past three months. In fact they';re going through the rotation process at present. They were the main issues that we talked about because they';re the issues that are of very significant joint concern to us.
Earlier in the day I talked to the Chancellor of the Exchequer and I also talked to the Foreign Secretary. It';s given me an opportunity in the space of a few hours to really have the best bilateral assessment of issues of world concern to us both, and also on a bilateral basis I didn';t lose the opportunity of having something to say about the weakness of the European Union';s common agricultural policy and the unfairness that that visits upon Australia. But of course economically Australia and Britain are both performing very well by industrial world standards, Australia somewhat better than any at the present time. So we have a good story to tell and it';s very much an opportunity for an exchange of experiences particularly in the area of economic management.
JOURNALIST:
Did the two of you discuss the way forward with Zimbabwe particularly considering Morgan Tsvangirai…?
PRIME MINISTER:
Yes we did. The thought in both our minds is that having got the suspension agreed to there is now an international reprimand on Zimbabwe and that provides the backdrop to efforts within the country to bring about change. It';s important that Africa';s poverty challenges be dealt with, perhaps more important than anything else. But you can';t do that unless you have better governance internally and we both believe that we now have the basis because if we had not decided what we did yesterday there would have been a lot less enthusiasm from the industrialised world including in particular the Americans to provide economic and other assistance. And it';s a two way process. The industrialised world';s got to be ready to help but those seeking assistance have got to be ready to undertake necessary internal reform and change and in the case of Zimbabwe a move towards a more transparent, open and honest electoral system.
JOURNALIST:
Was there any discussion of what else Australia might contribute to Afghanistan or to Iraq or to any other war against terrorism theatres?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well we certainly talked about any possible areas of further activity in relation terrorism. As far as Australia';s contribution is concerned, well Australia';s contribution given our size and capacity is quite outstanding and that';s recognised by the Bush Administration. It was acknowledged by President Bush on the sixth anniversary of the September 11 attack and it';s certainly recognised by the British Government. There is no sense of Australia being expected to do more. Australia is already doing a great deal, a great deal and we were there very early and the extent of our support is both respected and appreciated by the Americans and by others such as the British who are involved. And as I said in my remarks earlier today with the Foreign Secretary the question of Australian involvement in any further theatre of activity beyond Afghanistan would be something that would be assessed at the time that occurred, if it occurs and at the time any request were made and received.
JOURNALIST:
With respect of Zimbabwe, are you disappointed, and I don';t know whether the matter was discussed, that the fact that the Commonwealth Games organisation has invited Zimbabwe to take part in the Commonwealth Games?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well that issue wasn';t discussed. I';m not aware of the background of that. My understanding is that the suspension from the councils does not necessarily apply to that but I don';t know the background to it. We did not discuss that.
JOURNALIST:
……but from your point of view does that sort of hold out any carrot or does it [inaudible] fact they';ve been suspended?
PRIME MINISTER:
No I don';t, I don';t think it does represent an incongruity, no I don';t. The Zimbabwe regime would not have appreciated the decision that was taken yesterday and if you look at the reaction of the British Government, the remarks made by Mr Blair in the House of Commons today, you look at the reaction of the Americans the decision that was taken yesterday was seen as a little unexpected, unexpectedly good, and entirely appropriate.
JOURNALIST:
….back to the campaign against terrorism. What is your assessment after these talks of how it';s going and where it';s going?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well my assessment has not really changed. I think the campaign in Afghanistan whilst over the last few weeks there has been a flare up of resistance which is hardly surprising, but the campaign by and large has gone extremely well but it is still a dangerous operation and all countries whose forces are involved at the sharp end and that involves Australia and Britain as well as the United States, all of those countries have to understand that there is the risk of casualties. It is a very dangerous operation and we are dealing with incredibly well trained, dedicated, committed people. But by and large it has gone extremely well and there';s been tremendous cooperation between our forces and those of the United States and other countries.
JOURNALIST:
Did you discuss preparations or provisions for any potential domestic threat by weapons of mass destruction?
PRIME MINISTER:
No we didn';t specifically canvass that because whilst we each have an interest in what the other is doing, we each have separate domestic efforts on that front.
JOURNALIST:
Tomorrow you';re off to visit the Queen. Now what';s the main purpose of the visit? Is it a…
PRIME MINISTER:
Well the purpose of that is….it';s a call to really brief her as head of the Commonwealth on the outcome of the discussion.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, you say we';ve been contributing a lot already in Afghanistan, are you ruling out any increase in troops or commitments in any other future theatres?
PRIME MINISTER:
No I';m not doing that. I';m just simply making the observation that Australia';s contribution has been very significant and it is seen as significant. You may remember some weeks ago the Secretary of State in a testimony before the House of Representatives or the Senate, I don';t know which, made the comment that our contribution given our size was impressive. So I';m not ruling future contributions out. I don';t want you to read any more significance into what I said other than the plain meaning of those words and that is that it';s a very significant contribution.
JOURNALIST:
Do you think the Australian public would accept a greater contribution?
PRIME MINISTER:
I think Geof that the Australian public will accept our involvement and such level of commitment as its government can justify to it. Australians are always sensible about military commitments. Where they see there';s a clear national interest which they do in relation to the war against terrorism they';ll support that commitment but they want to be told what';s involved, they want proper accounts to be given of how the troops are faring and I do think that the institution of regular military briefings done by military personnel of what';s happening in Afghanistan is a very welcome development. As to anything in the future well I think it depends entirely on the circumstances and I think the Australian public is willing to listen but my position is if there is any further request that request will be assessed by me and by the other members of the Government on the basis of the nature of the request, the Australian national interest, and all of the available information which is the only responsible approach to adopt.
[Ends]