Subjects: cal indemnity insurance; gun laws; Iraq.
E&OE...........
LIEBMANN:
Good morning.
PRIME MINISTER:
Steve.
LIEBMANN:
The United Medical Protection has now appointed a provisional liquidator. New South Wales Health Minister Craig Knowles says this is worse than HIH and Ansett, this is a national crisis. Does your Government now have a long term rescue plan that';s going to protect health services and doctors and patients?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well it would help if responsible people like the New South Wales Health Minister didn';t inflame the situation with panic talk. This is a problem that is not really the fault of any one government or group within the community. It';s come upon society and we have to work together to solve it. I';m not blaming the New South Wales government for it. I';m not trying to make political capital out of it, and they shouldn';t try and blame us. So let';s get that sort of nonsense out of it. What we have said is that as from today until the 30th of June at least we will give a guarantee in relation to any claims that might arise from procedures carried out from today until the 30th of June. We will use that period of time to talk to all of those who have responsibilities in this issue to bring about a long term, can I put it this way, restructuring of the whole situation so that we can avoid this type of development occurring in the future. Now that';s an ironclad guarantee. If people like, the Government will put that guarantee until the 30th June, we';ll put it in legislation.
LIEBMANN:
So you';d legislate….
PRIME MINISTER:
Oh yes of course, sure. I don';t mind doing that. It doesn';t make frankly any real legal difference, but we will give the guarantee and if people feel more comfortable about it being in legislation and I assume that the Labor Party and the Democrats will signal immediate consent now, today, for the legislation going through the Parliament. But we will use the next two months to talk to people. We can';t give un-ended, you know an open-ended guarantee. No government can do that. We';re dealing with your money and your listeners'; money, your viewers'; money. It';s not ours, it';s taxpayers.
LIEBMANN:
But that';s not going to be of comfort. For example this morning I heard a surgeon on his way to work this morning on radio. He';s got a full book, his first appointment in the theatre is at eight o';clock this morning. He said he';s going to cancel everything unless you can give him an ironclad guarantee, not just to June 30th, but beyond.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I didn';t hear him, and I';m not disbelieving you, but I didn';t hear him and I don';t think it';s very sensible for me to sort of….
LIEBMANN:
[inaudible]
PRIME MINISTER:
No no, we are dealing with a difficult position and I';m being very explicit about what we will do. At this stage I';m not going beyond that and we can';t just write a cheque for past obligations and for all future obligations. We';re not going to do that. What we are going to do is to stabilise the position for a couple of months and to use that two month period. For example today Helen Coonan is going to talk to the AMA and to UMP. And we will use that two month period to talk to everybody and I hope during that period of time not only to stabilise the position but provide some long term alternatives. Can I say to that surgeon any procedures you carry out today are covered by the guarantee.
LIEBMANN:
But only till June 30.
PRIME MINISTER:
Yes, but by the 30th of June I believe that as a result of the discussions we';ll have had, and if other people who have responsibilities including state governments do their bit, play their part, then we';ll have a longer term solution to it. It';s not one of those things where I can produce to you right now every detail of the long term solution because it involves other people doing things. I mean one of the things we have got to do is to change the litigious mentality of the Australian community.
LIEBMANN:
Okay. Are you prepared to legislate to restrict damages, to….?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I can';t. I need the cooperation of the states to do that because they control the common law of Australia.
LIEBMANN:
And you think they should?
PRIME MINISTER:
I do and I would say to the states if we';re to have a long term solution to this problem we need a willingness to go further in relation to the curtailment of claims than has so far been indicated by any state government. You really have to go a long way. The community can';t have it both ways. We can';t have an unlimited right to sue yet complain if doctors are not available because they can';t afford the premiums.
LIEBMANN:
Are you considering a special levy to cover negligence payouts?
PRIME MINISTER:
No, we';re not considering…..
LIEBMANN:
There';s a report this morning you are.
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I haven';t considered and the Treasurer hasn';t considered any special levy. We will work through this situation. We need a breathing space, a stabiliser, and that is what the short term guarantee in relation to UMP';s policy holders will provide and we';ll be looking to others with responsibilities, the states, the doctors, to join us and if we';re sensible and don';t indulge in panic talk I';m sure we can work our way through the problem.
LIEBMANN:
Should your Government have seen this coming? Are you playing catch up again?
PRIME MINISTER:
No, we';re not playing catch up at all because we can';t act in a way that forces the hand of a company when you';ve got potential claims of three, four, five-hundred-million dollars. You';ve got to be very careful otherwise you';ll be accused of meddling in the private business affairs of companies.
LIEBMANN:
Alright. So no more help for UMP, nothing on top of the $35 million beyond June 30th…..
PRIME MINISTER:
Well we';re giving a guarantee until the 30th of June. A lot of companies who get into difficulty would be very grateful to get that.
LIEBMANN:
Alright. But no more for UMP, you wouldn';t bail Ansett out. But you and the South Australian Government…..
PRIME MINISTER:
Hang on. We looked after the entitlements of Ansett';s employees to the tune of several hundred million dollars.
LIEBMANN:
Yeah but Ansett, I mean….
PRIME MINISTER:
Well why should we do that?
LIEBMANN:
Alright. But the point I';m trying to make is given that you and the South Australian Government pump another $85 million into Mitsubishi. Where';s the consistency?
PRIME MINISTER:
Plenty of consistency because what was involved in relation to Mitsubishi was a question of whether it located its plant here or somewhere else in the world. Quite a different thing. I mean if this country is to ignore the competitive pull of other locations in a globalised economy then we will lose a lot of industries. We always have to have an eye to the fact that world companies can pick and choose where they locate. That';s quite different from a company that';s manifestly failed as was the case of Ansett.
LIEBMANN:
Okay. But isn';t Mitsubishi just blackmailing you and your Government? I mean every [inaudible] say put up or we';re off.
PRIME MINISTER:
No no. Well it';s not blackmail. I mean there';s a lot of companies ask us for money in those circumstances where we think the request is unreasonable. But the motor manufacturing industry is crucial to the economy of South Australia. Anybody who understands the South Australian economy will know that without the motor manufacturing industry it would be a different state altogether.
LIEBMANN:
Do we need tighter, tougher gun laws?
PRIME MINISTER:
We might.
LIEBMANN:
What do you mean might?
PRIME MINISTER:
No no. When we say we might, well I mean we need fewer guns. Now whether that is through laws in relation to guns or something else is the question. But I am examining this to see if there is anything further that the Federal Government can do. But my understanding is that part of the difficulty lies with the availability under existing domestic laws, state laws, of the semi-automatic hand guns. I have sought some more advice on that issue which I hope to get today, and if there are further things that we at a federal level can do we will do. We respect the right of sporting shooting organisations under appropriate controls to have access to guns, and we also of course recognise that people in the security industry and so forth also have….
LIEBMANN:
But you';re not prepared to ban the import of hand-guns except for the police and defence forces?
PRIME MINISTER:
That is a…well and also sporting shooting, that is an option. I';m happy to put every option on the table and I';ll renew my call to the state premiers if they have any suggestions they want to make to me they can ring me up and I';ll be very happy to consider it because I think it is an appalling thing that hand-guns are still so freely available.
LIEBMANN:
Is military action against Iraq inevitable and if it is are you going to commit Australian troops to a coalition force?
PRIME MINISTER:
I don';t believe it';s imminent.
LIEBMANN:
Inevitable?
PRIME MINISTER:
I think it';s always dangerous to say that something of that kind is inevitable. Clearly Iraq for very good reasons is seen as a destabilising influence to say the least in that part of the world and because of her possession of weapons of mass destruction a danger not only to the region but to the wider international community. If we get a request from the Americans for assistance we will consider that request on its merits. I don';t give any advance commitment.
LIEBMANN:
Do you think you';d have the support of the Australian people?
PRIME MINISTER:
It would depend upon the circumstances and on the case. I think the Australian people understand America';s world leadership role. They don';t want us to be uncritical supplicants to the Americans but they, I believe, support us being strong and loyal and dependable allies.
LIEBMANN:
Can I put one final proposition to you – the suggestion in an editorial in the Sunday Telegraph at the weekend that your sense of judgement has deserted you, that you';re allowing the nation to just drift along. Have you dropped the ball, have you lost the plot?
PRIME MINISTER:
I don';t believe so. But editorials have been saying things like that about me for the six years that I';ve been Prime Minister and I';m not particularly troubled by it. I don';t think the nation';s drifting. I think the nation is strong and vigorous and vibrant. It';s economy is the envy of the world and it';s widely respected in the international community. Now I don';t personally claim all of the credit for that but I think I';ve made a small contribution as Prime Minister.
LIEBMANN:
You';re not in semi retirement mode?
PRIME MINISTER:
No.
LIEBMANN:
Prime Minister thanks for your time.
[Ends]