Subjects: Visit of Australian cricket team to Pakistan
E&OE...........
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard, we understand you';ve had talks with Pakistani Prime Minister about the Australian cricket team';s tour. Can you tell us what transpired?
PRIME MINISTER:
Yes, the President of Pakistan, General Mursharf, rang me about ten days ago to talk about a number of things, including the projected visit of the Australian cricket team to Pakistan. He said that he could guarantee the security of the team, he expressed the strong desire of the Pakistani Government and also the Cricket Board of Pakistan that the tour go ahead. We talked about it. I told him that the decision about whether or not the tour would go ahead would be taken by the Australian Cricket Board, not by the Australian Government. That the security and the safety of the players would be uppermost in the mind of the Australian Cricket Board. I passed on of the contents of my discussion with General Mursharf to the Chairman of the ACB and until now I haven';t said anything about it but seeing it';s the news of the discussion that';s broken I can happily confirm that it took place. Look it';s a difficult situation, I respect Pakistan as a great cricket loving nation and a great competitor and I can understand the desire of the authorities and the Government in Pakistan for the tour to go ahead. Equally, I understand that the security of our players must be paramount. Now this is a matter for the Board to work out, no doubt the Board will talk to the Pakistan Cricket Board, they';ll talk to the Australian players, they';ll talk the Department of Foreign Affairs and we';re ready to provide whatever information is needed. I';m not going to put any pressure on the ACB to take a decision other than one that it believes is in the best interests of the players.
JOURNALIST:
How important though is that guarantee from the Pakistani President that player safety will be looked after?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well it';s obviously something for the Cricket Board to take into account and Bob Merriman said the Board would. It';s not the only thing though that the Board will consider but it';s an important gesture that the President of the country should ring me, he';s a great lover of cricket and he';s very keen that the tour takes place. And it means a lot to Pakistani cricket for this tour to go ahead, an Australian tour of any country is very important to the cricketing community of that country because of our strength and the history of relations and as I say they';re a great cricket playing country and I wish that the circumstances were such that there was no doubt at all that the tour could go ahead. But we know that there have been incidents and they are things that the Board must take into account given the overall responsibility it has for the safety and the security of our team.
JOURNALIST:
What would your response be to the Pakistan Cricket Board';s comments that if Australia doesn';t tour it will lobby all Asian nations not to tour here?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well at this stage I think it';s appropriate that I don';t respond to that and I think it';s also appropriate that that sort of discussion be put to one side. The Board will make a conscientious decision and I know that the Board will take everything into account. But it is its decision, it';s not the Government';s decision, we don';t operate in that fashion. I';ve passed on the information and I wouldn';t have been saying anything about it had the story not broken in Pakistan.
Thank you.
[ends]