Subject:
Queensland local council amalgamations.
E&OE...
KING:
Prime Minister John Howard good morning.
PRIME MINISTER:
Good morning.
KING:
Why do this - Peter Beattie is going to push ahead anyway?
PRIME MINISTER:
Because I think the people of Queensland, particularly those who are opposed to these council mergers should have the right to express their view, that's why.
KING:
Will you also pay the fines though that Peter Beattie has now threatened against those who...?
PRIME MINISTER:
Look I think before you ask should the Federal Government pay the fine, you should perhaps ask, what right has a state government to impose fines on people who merely want to express a view. Yes we should stop and just understand what is occurring. The Queensland Government, apparently backed by legislation, is threatening to fine people if they organise to express a view in a democratic ballot.
KING:
And by Friday Prime Minister that will be law, so if people cop a fine is that something the Federal Government will also pick up?
PRIME MINISTER:
Well Madonna the important thing is to give people the right to express their view and the idea that people should be fined for wanting to express a democratic opinion in a ballot box is fundamentally outrageous and I am amazed that the focus of your question is whether we are going to pay the fine, I would have thought the focus of the question should be the outrage at the very idea that people should be fined for wanting to vote and wanting to express their view. I mean this is very high handed, I know there is a range of views on council amalgamations, and all we are wanting to do is to make it easier and simpler and costless for local councils in Queensland to conduct ballots amongst their constituents as to whether or not the amalgamation should go ahead.
KING:
That might all be true but by Friday Prime Minister this will be law, so people that go ahead with the referendum then risk fines under that law.
PRIME MINISTER:
But ultimately whether those fines are imposed will depend on the strength of feeling in Queensland and what I believe will be a growing resentment, even outrage against the notion that you can be fined for wanting to express your view in a democracy.
KING:
I had a brief chat to the Premier this morning and he's getting legal advice. He said his initial legal advice is that the Australian Electoral Commission might not have a head of power and that he is looking at whether he could actually take out an injunction against your decision
PRIME MINISTER:
Well I don't know where he is getting his legal advice Madonna, the Australian Electoral Commission has for a long time conducted ballots on behalf of local councils around Australia, they've conducted them on a fee-for-service basis. But if Mr Beattie seeks an injunction to stop these ballots going ahead he'll only be compounding his earlier mistake. Can I just go back to the fundamentals of this - of course the Queensland Parliament has the legal right to crush local councils, they can do that legally, and they can impose fines on people who take part in ballots, of course they can, but that doesn't make it right, it doesn't make it democratic. All I am arguing for and all we are offering to do is to make it possible and costless for local councils if they choose to do so, to conduct plebiscites within their council areas to find out what people think of the amalgamations. It may well be that after those ballots have been conducted, the Queensland Government still ignores that expression of opinion, but surely we haven't reached the stage that once the law is passed, people are silenced from talking about it. What Mr Beattie is trying to do is to punish people who want to express a view in the way we all understand and that is through the ballot.
KING:
Prime Minister thank you.
PRIME MINISTER:
Thank you.
[ends]