Subject:
2007 Election, Australian Hospital Nursing Schools, Iraq
E&OE...
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard, will this two for one deal, how will it work? I mean, how can you sell yourself and Peter Costello as a two for one deal?
PRIME MINISTER:
Very, very easy, we're selling a great team. I'm the leader of the team, we've got great people like Peter, Tony Abbott who's with me. Politics is about leadership, it's also about a team and does anybody think Wayne Swan would be better as a Treasurer than Peter Costello? Does anybody think Nicola Roxon would be better than Tony Abbott as a health minister? I think it's a legitimate question to ask.
JOURNALIST:
Prime Minister, there's been a lot of talk about a team but we haven't seen you and Mr Costello standing side by side at announcements for a long time now. Will that be...
PRIME MINISTER:
No, actually it was only a short while ago.
JOURNALIST:
Are you planning to campaign together?
PRIME MINISTER:
There will be some joint campaigning and there'll be individual campaigning but the great strength I have is that I've got experienced people who've been part of the reconstruction of the Australian economy over the last 11 and a half years and the other great advantage I have is that I have a practical vision for the future. This announcement I've made this morning is an example of our practical vision for the future. This will help to address in a very practical way the desperate shortage of nurses we have and it will also address in a very practical way the desire of many young people when they leave school who want to be nurses, they want to be nurses from day one. They don't want to have to wait a long time and go to, just go to university to become a nurse. They want to be having experience of the nursing profession from day one and this opportunity will provide them with that pathway. Any other questions?
JOURNALIST:
Mr Howard, you were on the phone to George Bush this morning, are you going to be following his lead and start to withdraw troops out of Iraq now that this report from the US...
PRIME MINISTER:
Well George...George Bush will speak for America when he makes his address and he will spell out what he's going to do. He did brief me last night on what he was going to say but it's up to him to make that announcement, not up to me. As far as Australians are concerned let me remind you that prior to the surge in Iraq the American troop level in that country was just under 100 times the troop deployment of Australia.
JOURNALIST:
So would you say Mr Howard that a vote for you is a vote for you and not necessarily for Peter Costello? Is that the message that you still want...
PRIME MINISTER:
No, no, a vote for me is a vote for the Coalition. But people don't vote individually for me, this is not a presidential race. They vote for a team, they'll vote for Tony Abbott in Warringah and they'll vote for people in other parts other parts of the electorate.