Subjects: Queen Mother; Zimbabwe; death of Constable McEnallay; National Australia Bank.
E&OE...........
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard what';s this trip mean to you?
PRIME MINISTER:
Oh I think it';s important given the many links between the Queen Mother and Australia over the years and particularly the historic resonance of her role in World War II, I think it means a lot to Australians of the World War II generation. Of course at that particular time Australia and Britain and Canada and New Zealand and a few other Commonwealth countries did stand alone and I think a lot of people of that generation regard this as an opportunity to salute that particular time and that particular association. That';s one of the major reasons why I thought it was appropriate to come because the Prime Minister represents different sections and different generations of a nation';s community and that particular part of our history and part of our nation';s experience has been very important.
JOURNALIST:
And what did she mean to you personally?
PRIME MINISTER:
Look I come here as the Prime Minister in the context of those sorts of things that I mentioned.
JOURNALIST:
(inaudible) Zimbabwe –
PRIME MINISTER:
Well yes I hope to talk to him in some way, I don';t have a lot of time, I';m going back tomorrow night. But I will have a meeting tomorrow morning with the Canadian Prime Minister and the New Zealand Prime Minister and also other Commonwealth Prime Ministers who might be here. I know both of them will be here. And the Secretary General of the Commonwealth to talk about Zimbabwe. And one way or another Mr Blair and I will make contact but I understand he';s travelling back to Britain from the United States via Prague so I think we';ll make contact tomorrow but I';m not planning a formal bilateral meeting because there simply won';t be time.
JOURNALIST:
Are there further possible measures that could be taken against Zimbabwe such as maybe exclusion from the Commonwealth Games?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well the three member group of Australia, South Africa and Nigeria that was given control of that only had the authority to deal with Zimbabwe';s participation in the Councils of the Commonwealth. We don';t have any power to exclude Zimbabwe from the Commonwealth Games, that';s a matter for the Commonwealth Games Federation. I make the comment however that pressure will grow on that issue. What the federation ends up doing is a matter for it. But I';m not surprised that it';s still being talked about.
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard there';s another funeral tomorrow in Taree for David McEnallay the policeman that was shot. Obviously (inaudible) –
PRIME MINISTER:
Well very much, I';ve already said I think that';s a shocking event, I have to be careful what I say because people have been charged. Talking about the event without making any observations about who may or not be responsible, the apparent murder of somebody carrying out their police duties is an attack on the moral infrastructure of our community whenever it occurs. I do extend my sympathy to his parents, his girlfriend and all his police mates who carry the brunt for us. It';s a very risky business. A lot of people don';t remember that, they tend to take the police for granted, they forget how risky it is and how many police do die in the service of the community and I salute them and it';s a time to remind all Australians of the value of police and the service they render to the Australian community.
JOURNALIST:
Are you concerned about the 2,000 jobs now confirmed lost from the National Australia Bank? Were you informed of it?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I knew it';s been in the offing, the possibility of it, for a few days now. But I';m always sorry whenever retrenchments occur, no matter who the employer is. A government can';t give a running commentary on each individual employment decision and you really do have to look at the overall employment scene and the overall employment scene in Australia is very strong. Now jobs go from one part of the economy, they emerge in another part. And given what the world has been through the Australian job outlook now overall is very strong. But that doesn';t alter the fact that I';m sorry, very sorry indeed for the people who are affected. It will be over a period of time and I hope all of them can gain employment elsewhere. The financial services sector overall has grown very significantly in Australia so you have to keep something like this in perspective, you can';t just say well that';s a net disappearance of 2,000 jobs because the growth in the financial services sector means they could be picked up elsewhere.
Thanks.
[ends]